Stockton Rush
Rush in 2015
Born
Richard Stockton Rush III

(1962-03-31)March 31, 1962
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedJune 18, 2023(2023-06-18) (aged 61)
North Atlantic Ocean
(near the wreck of the Titanic)
Cause of deathImplosion of Titan submersible
Alma mater
Title
Term
  • 2009–2023 (OceanGate)
  • 1980s (McDonnell Douglas)
Spouse
Wendy Weil
​
(m. 1986)​
Children2

Richard Stockton Rush III (March 31, 1962 – June 18, 2023) was an American businessman and engineer, best known as the co-founder and chief executive officer of OceanGate, a deep-sea exploration company.

Following graduation from Princeton University, Rush worked for McDonnell Douglas as a flight test engineer on their F-15 program. He later worked for BlueView Technologies and the Museum of Flight in different capacities.[1] In 2009, Rush created OceanGate with Guillermo Söhnlein and was the only founder at OceanGate following Söhnlein's departure in 2013.

On June 18, 2023, he died along with four others in the Titan submersible implosion during an attempt to visit the wreck of the Titanic in OceanGate's Titan submersible.

Early life and education

Rush was born into a wealthy family in San Francisco, California, on March 31, 1962.[2][3] He was the youngest of five children born to Richard Stockton Rush Jr. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Ellen Rush (née Davies) of San Francisco. His maternal grandfather was Ralph K. Davies. His maternal grandmother, Louise Davies, was a philanthropist and the namesake of the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.[4] Through his father, he was a descendant of two signers of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Stockton and physician Benjamin Rush.[5]

As a child, he dreamt of becoming an astronaut and the first person on Mars,[6] and had an interest in aviation and aquatics. He began scuba diving at age 12, and became a commercial pilot at 18 years old.[7][8] He was later told his visual acuity would disqualify him from becoming a military aviator.[8]

In 1980, he graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy.[4] In 1984, Rush received a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University.[2] In 1989, he received a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.[9][10]

Early career

After graduating from Princeton, Rush briefly worked for McDonnell Douglas as a flight-test engineer for the F-15 program before getting his MBA.[10] Later on, Rush worked as a venture capitalist at the San Francisco firm Peregrine Partners. He moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1989 to run the company Remote Control Technology based in Kirkland, Washington.[11] He claimed to have built an experimental plane later that year that he flew throughout his life.[12]

Rush was a hobbyist scuba diver and spent time diving in the waters of Puget Sound. In 2006, following his first trip on a submarine in British Columbia, Rush became interested in ocean exploration at lower depths.[7] Rush began looking into purchasing a submersible but discovered there were fewer than 100 privately-owned submarines worldwide and was unable to purchase one. He instead constructed a miniature submersible using blueprints provided to him by a retired U.S. Navy submarine commander. The vessel Rush constructed was 4 metres (13 ft) long and capable of diving to a depth of 10 metres (33 ft).[8] Following the construction of his miniature submersible he continued to try to purchase a submersible, including attempting to buy Steve Fossett's submersible vehicle following Fossett's 2007 death, but was unsuccessful.[6]

OceanGate

Around 2007, Rush began to explore the idea of founding his own submarine company.[6] He believed that there could be significant market for underwater ocean tourism and that it would provide an alternative to the significant time and technical gear required for scuba diving.[8] Rush founded OceanGate with business partner Guillermo Söhnlein in 2009. According to Rush, the goal of the company was to use commercial tourism to support the development of new deep-diving submersibles that would enable further commercial ventures including resource mining and disaster mitigation.[13] Söhnlein left OceanGate in 2013.[14][15]

While conducting market research for OceanGate, Rush determined that the private market for underwater exploration had floundered due to a public reputation for danger and increased regulatory requirements on the operation of tourist submarines and submersibles. He believed these reasons were "understandable but illogical," and that the perception of danger far exceeded the actual risk. In particular, he was critical of the Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1993, a United States law which regulated the construction of ocean tourism vessels and prohibited dives below 150 feet, which Rush described as a law which "needlessly prioritized passenger safety over commercial innovation".[8]

In 2018, Rush piloted an expedition with researchers and scientists in the San Juan Islands to observe the red sea urchin and the habitat of the sand lance.[16] In 2021, after several delays, Rush finally started his deep submergence business.[17] Prior to the June 2023 dive, Rush was sued by a couple in Florida over a planned 2018 dive to the Titanic that they claim was repeatedly cancelled and postponed. The couple claimed that they were unable to get a refund due to Rush's actions.[18][19] Following Rush's death, the couple dropped the lawsuit against him.[20][21]

Titan expedition and death

Rush was on board the Titan, a submersible owned and designed by OceanGate, to view the wreck of the Titanic, when the vessel lost contact with the surface ship MV Polar Prince on June 18, 2023.[22] Search-and-rescue missions involved water and air support from the United States, Canada, and France.[23]

On June 22, after the discovery of a debris field approximately 490 metres (1,600 ft) from the bow of the Titanic,[24] OceanGate said it believed Rush and the four others aboard had "sadly been lost".[25] A United States Coast Guard press conference later confirmed that the debris found was consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure hull, an implosion, resulting in the instantaneous deaths of all on board.[24]

Personality and personal life

In a 2022 podcast with CBS reporter David Pogue, Rush discussed his attitude toward what he perceived as excessive safety precautions. He said: "You know, at some point, safety just is pure waste. I mean, if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed, don't get in your car, don't do anything. At some point, you're going to take some risk, and it really is a risk/reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules."[26]

Rush married Wendy Weil, a pilot and teacher, in 1986.[27] The couple had two children.[28] Wendy Weil Rush is a great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Blun Straus, both of whom died in the sinking of the Titanic, through their daughter Minnie Straus Weil.[27][29] She is the former Director of Communications at OceanGate.[27] Rush had made friends with prominent entrepreneurs such as Jay Bloom, who declined Rush' invitation to embark on the Titan sub, following his concerns of safety.

References

  1. ↑ Mazarakis, Anna (June 23, 2023). "Big Dreams and Daring Marked the Life of Stockton Rush '84". Alumni News. Princeton Alumni Weekly. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Roberts, Sam (June 22, 2023). "Stockton Rush, Pilot of the Titan Submersible, Declared Dead at 61". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  3. ↑ Calvert, Scott; Campo-Flores, Arian (June 22, 2023). "Stockton Rush, Founder of Titanic Submersible Company, Saw Opportunity in Undersea Tourism". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Wendy Weil Is the Bride Of Engineer". The New York Times. July 6, 1986. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  5. ↑ Dowd, Katie (June 21, 2023). "Missing Titanic submersible CEO Stockton Rush is from prominent San Francisco family". SFGate. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Locker, Melissa (April 14, 2017). "The Man Who Wants To Send Us To The Bottom Of The Ocean". Fast Company. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Timmins, Beth (May 9, 2017). "Stockton Rush: Meet the man leading tours of the Titanic". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Perrottet, Tony (June 2019). "A Deep Dive Into the Plans to Take Tourists to the 'Titanic'". Smithsonian. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  9. ↑ Morrow, Allison (June 21, 2023). "Stockton Rush: What we know about the Titan submersible's pilot". CNN Business. CNN. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Sommerlad, Joe (June 22, 2023). "Who is Stockton Rush? The OceanGate CEO missing in Titanic tourist submarine". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  11. ↑ Reznick, Alisa (October 31, 2013). "Company plans carbon-fiber sub to dive deeply, cheaply". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  12. ↑ Victor, Daniel (June 20, 2023). "Titan Pilot Is a Booster of Deep-Sea Tourism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  13. ↑ Betts, Anna (June 20, 2023). "OceanGate Expeditions Was Created to Explore Deep Waters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  14. ↑ Hubler, Shawn; Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas; Betts, Anna (June 23, 2023). "OceanGate Founder Pushed to Expand Deep Sea Travel Despite Chorus of Concerns". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023.
  15. ↑ Cornwell, Paige (June 24, 2023). "OceanGate cofounder recalls origins, defends late CEO's approach to safety". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023.
  16. ↑ Long, Katherine (September 15, 2018). "In a five-person submarine, scientists in Friday Harbor unravel the mysteries of the Salish Sea". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  17. ↑ Boyle, Alan (July 13, 2021). "OceanGate sub makes first dive to Titanic wreck site and captures photos of debris". Geekwire. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  18. ↑ Morgan, Silas (June 21, 2023). "CEO of company that owns missing Titanic tour sub faces fraud lawsuit by Winter Park couple". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  19. ↑ Kari, Doug (June 23, 2023). "Lawsuits foreshadowed Titanic sub disaster". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023.
  20. ↑ Hurley, Bevan. "Florida couple drop lawsuit against OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023.
  21. ↑ Greenberg, Chloe. "Winter Park couple drop lawsuit against OceanGate CEO in light of his death". Orlando Weekly. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023.
  22. ↑ "What we know about the passengers on board missing Titanic submersible". Sky News. June 19, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  23. ↑ Henley, Jon (June 21, 2023). "Titanic sub live updates: vessel may have less than 20 hours of oxygen left, says US Coast Guard, as search continues". The Guardian. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  24. 1 2 Chao-Fong, Léonie (June 22, 2023). "Titan sub: crew have died after catastrophic loss of pressure chamber, US Coast Guard confirms – latest updates". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  25. ↑ Regan, Helen; Renton, Adam; Picheta, Rob; Sangal, Aditi; Hammond, Elise; Meyer, Matt (June 22, 2023). "Missing Titanic sub crew believed to be dead, tour company says". CNN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  26. ↑ Slisco, Aila (June 20, 2023). "Stockton Rush was issued a dire warning on submersible, Titanic expedition". Newsweek. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  27. 1 2 3 Patil, Anushka (June 21, 2023). "Submersible Pilot's Spouse Is Descended From a Famous Titanic Couple". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  28. ↑ Darlingberg, Dwomoh (June 22, 2023). "Stockton Rush's Married Wife and Children: Meet His Partner Wendy and Their Kids". TheDistin.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  29. ↑ France, Lisa Respers (June 22, 2023). "Wife of submersible pilot is a descendant from Titanic couple who perished". CNN. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
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