# Who was Edmund Fitzgerald? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613 "2023-08-15T17:44:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/21 "2023-08-17T16:52:03Z")
29 lives were lost. The church bell chimed ’til it rang 29 times. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/22 "2023-08-24T14:07:42Z")
My mother knew Mr. Fitzgerald, and she said he just gave up after the sinking. “We all said he sort of went down with his ship”. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/23 "2023-08-24T16:38:49Z")
There’s a moral to this somewhere. I assume it aslo explains why so many governments have rules about not naming streets, schools, parks, etc. after someone still living. It’s bad enough when your name matches something notoriously memorable by coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/24 "2023-08-24T16:53:16Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > I assume it aslo explains why so many governments have rules about not naming streets, schools, parks, etc. after someone still living. Note that not every town has such rules. There are, for example, a number of streets named after Obama. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/25 "2023-08-24T17:32:01Z")
There have recently been multiple US Navy vessels named after still-living Presidents - USS Jimmy Carter commissioned in 2004, Carter is still alive. USS Ronald Reagan was commissioned in 2003, Reagan died in 2004. USS George H. W. Bush was commissioned in 2009, Bush died in 2018. It appears they’ve stopped naming ships after Presidents though - Bill Clinton left office 22+ years ago and there are no plans to name a ship after him. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/26 "2023-08-24T17:32:09Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > There’s a moral to this somewhere. I assume it aslo explains why so many governments have rules about not naming streets, schools, parks, etc. after someone still living. It’s bad enough when your name matches something notoriously memorable by coincidence. It’s awful when you Google your name… … and find a pedophile. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/27 "2023-08-24T18:22:19Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Note that not every town has such rules. The last I heard, our town charges an added fee if you name a street after someone living. If you’re not a developer and want to change an existing street to honor someone, the name changing fee is larger and the process of changing the name is a fairly long and involved one. Not that developing a subdivision isn’t long and involved and costly. But you were probably doing that anyway. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/28 "2023-08-24T19:41:34Z")
As far as other streets named for living former-Presidents, I looked for “George Bush St” and found two. Both were in Texas and both in subdivisions with Presidentially named streets. Also, both subdivisions have streets named for Jimmy Carter and one has a street named for Bill Clinton†. They also left off any middle initials, so they left it ambiguous (perhaps intentionally) as to which Bush they were named after. There’s a cul-de-sac named George Bush Court off the George Bush Street in one of them. I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader as to which is named for the father and which for the son. I did however, find a George W. Bush Street (with the initial). It’s in Georgia… mmm… that’s Tbilisi, Georgia… . † There are other streets named for Clinton, but I’ve already spent more time at this that it’s worth, so I haven’t and won’t bother to look into them. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/29 "2023-08-24T20:20:56Z")
Continuing the hijack. Edgar is still very much alive > **[Edgar Martinez Drive S ~ Writes of Way](https://www.writesofway.org/edgar-martinez-drive-s/)** > > Est. reading time: 1 minute ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/30 "2023-08-24T20:35:16Z")
So has Willie, and this plaza was named for him 24 years ago. Hey! 24! [![](https://i.imgur.com/Gnvi7qx.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/Gnvi7qx.jpg) . Hijack continues. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/31 "2023-08-24T20:52:23Z")
Or having a name that’s synonymous with a disaster and hearing it sung about over and over on solid gold radio. At least a road isn’t going to sink spectacularly (Or at least, not unless it’s in the Florida sinkhole region.) I assume “Sandy Hook”, too, is a geographical descriptor not a person’s name. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/32 "2023-08-24T21:17:22Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > † There are other streets named for Clinton, but I’ve already spent more time at this that it’s worth, so I haven’t and won’t bother to look into them. Pristina, Kosovo is the place to look for all things Clinton, including a statue of him on a boulevard named after him. Also a beauty salon and a cafe while we’re naming things after him. And a taco place named Comandante Marcos, which better be good because it outranks the real guy. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/33 "2023-08-24T22:20:45Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > > [@md-2000](#): > > > > There’s a moral to this somewhere. I assume it aslo explains why so many governments have rules about not naming streets, schools, parks, etc. after someone still living. It’s bad enough when your name matches something notoriously memorable by coincidence. > > It’s awful when you Google your name… > > … and find a pedophile. As to @md-2000: I don’t know how many streets / parks / etc., are named Giuliani in honor of the former NYC mayor. But I bet it’s a shrinking list. As to @Bullitt: I am invisible on the internet under my real name. For a number of years the first hit for my name was an incarcerated armed robber from Newark. Complete with very thuggy looking mugshot. Not a nice man, not at all. No, I am not kidding. Probably explains why I got so few replies to my efforts on OKCupid and [Match.com](http://Match.com). Yes, now I’m kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/34 "2023-08-24T22:41:38Z")
I wouldn’t date you. But I knew that long ago. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/35 "2023-08-24T22:49:31Z")
He was the President of a life insurance company, and his name was immortalized in a song. Not to shabby. How many other people in that role can claim such? ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/36 "2023-08-25T12:43:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > As to @Bullitt: I am invisible on the internet under my real name. For a number of years the first hit for my name Ha ha. For some reason, Googles associates my name with mostly black people in the USA. One key to total anonymity on the intertubes, I assume, would be to have a name that matches a newsworthy current famous person. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/37 "2023-08-25T13:26:49Z")
One of the best places to hide a shiny needle is in a large haystack. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/38 "2023-08-25T15:42:11Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > He was the President of a life insurance company, and his name was immortalized in a song. Not to shabby. How many other people in that role can claim such? John Hancock. In fact he shows up in dozens of songs. > **[Lyrics containing the term: john hancock](https://www.lyrics.com/lyrics/john%20hancock)** > > A list of lyrics, artists and songs that contain the term "john hancock" - from the Lyrics.com website. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/39 "2023-08-25T16:35:11Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > As far as other streets named for living former-Presidents, I looked for “George Bush St” and found two. Both were in Texas and both in subdivisions with Presidentially named streets. Also, both subdivisions have streets named for Jimmy Carter and one has a street named for Bill Clinton†. They also left off any middle initials, so they left it ambiguous (perhaps intentionally) as to which Bush they were named after. There’s a cul-de-sac named George Bush Court off the George Bush Street in one of them. I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader as to which is named for the father and which for the son. > > I did however, find a George W. Bush Street (with the initial). It’s in Georgia… mmm… that’s Tbilisi, Georgia… > > . > > † There are other streets named for Clinton, but I’ve already spent more time at this that it’s worth, so I haven’t and won’t bother to look into them There’s also a Jimmy Carter Boulevard in suburban Atlanta. Quite a a major thoroughfare, too. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613/40 "2023-08-25T19:52:57Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > John Hancock. In fact he shows up in dozens of songs. John Hancock was the president of the company named after him(self)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-edmund-fitzgerald/988613.md?page=3)