The Red Star Line was a shipping line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, which also ran the

American Line The American Line was a shipping company that operated independently from 1871 until 1932, when it was absorbed into the United States Lines. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based company was the largest American shipping company during its exist ...

, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The company's main ports of call were AntwerpHarnack, 1938, page 566 in Belgium,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and Philadelphia in the United States.

History

The principal American organizer and general agent of INC was the shipbroking firm of Peter Wright & Sons, a Philadelphia import-export house. The company had established friendships and business ties with two prominent Belgian shipowners, Jules-Bernard von Der Becke and William Edouard Marsily. During the 1860s, the von Der Becke firm became an important importer of petroleum products from Pennsylvania to Antwerp in American and Belgian ships. Clement Griscom, who rose rapidly from clerk to partner at Peter Wright & Sons, was a leader in the firm's shipping affairs and the chief force behind the creation of both INN and the chief negotiator with Belgian's King Leopold, von Der Becke, and Marsily to establish a subsidiary company in Antwerp beginning on September 19, 1872, under the title "Societe Anonyme de Navigation Belge-Americaine" (Red Star Line). The agreement established the Red Star Line as the exclusive carrier of mail service out of Antwerp to Philadelphia and New York. This subsidiary would provide most of the company's profits for the next 30 years. The shipping line's home port was Antwerp and it sailed under the Belgian flag, thereby avoiding the obligation of employing far more expensive American personnel. Clement Griscom led the enterprise from its founding until the International Mercantile Marine Co. took it over in 1902. Red Star Line survived IMM's financial crisis in 1915. In the 1930s Red Star Line was part of Arnold Bernstein Line. The company declared bankruptcy in 1934. It operated until 1935 when it ceased trading. Its assets were eventually sold to the

Holland America Line Holland America Line N.V. (HAL) is an American cruise line operating as a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Founded in 1873 in Rotterdam, Netherlands as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (NASM), the company operated regular trans ...

Heritage

The former warehouses of the Red Star Line in

were designated as a landmark and reopened as a museum on 28 September 2013 by the City of Antwerp. The main focus of the museum is the travel stories that could be retrieved through relatives of the some two million Red Star Line passengers. In the exhibition the visitor follows the travelers' tracks from the travel agency in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

until their arrival in New York. The museum exhibits works of art depicting the Red Star Line

emigrant Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

s by the Antwerp artist Eugeen Van Mieghem (1875-1930), together with Red Star Line memorabilia from the collection of Robert Vervoort. About a quarter of the some two million Red Star Line migrants were Jews, largely from Eastern Europe until the exodus driven by the rise of Nazi Germany. Among them were many famous persons, including regular passenger

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

. On learning of the Nazi confiscation of his possessions, Einstein chose not to return to Germany; his letter resigning from the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences () was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when Frenc ...

, written on the line's stationery, is a part of the museum exhibit. Other notable emigrants included the five-year-old

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

Ships

Red Star Line ships had a black funnel with a white band bearing a five-pointed red star. The house flag was a white

burgee A burgee is a distinguishing flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to ...

with a red star. Belgenland Red Star Line poster

Most Red Star ships were given names ending in "-land". Notable Red Star ships included: * (1873). Chartered from Gourlay Brothers, Dundee, in 1874. * (1896). chartered from

Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent Germ ...

in 1899. * (1908). Chartered from

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

1926–29. *. Sold to Italian owners in 1905 and renamed ''Venere''. *. Completed as

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

''Belgic'' for White Star Line. Transferred to Panama Pacific Line, renamed ''Columbia''. *. Chartered from American Line for seven voyages 1895–98. * (1892). Built by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead. Chartered from

Dominion Line The Dominion Line was a trans-atlantic passenger line founded in 1870 as the ''Liverpool & Mississippi Steamship Co.'', with the official name being changed in 1872 to the ''Mississippi & Dominion Steamship Co Ltd.'' The firm was amalgamated in ...

for four voyages 1907. *. Built by Bartram, Haswell & Co of Sunderland as ''Sacrobosco''. Bought in 1890 after salvage. 1897 transferred to New York – Seattle route, 1904 went missing at sea. *. Scrapped in 1928. * (1889). Sold to Italian owners in 1905 and renamed ''La Plata'' in 1912. * ''Gothland'' (1893). Built for White Star Line as ''Gothic''. Transferred to Red Star Line in 1908 and renamed ''Gothland''. Transferred back to White Star Line in 1911 and name reverted to ''Gothic''. Transferred again in 1913 to Red Star Line and name changed to ''Gothland''. Scrapped in 1925. * (1902). Scrapped in 1927. Lapland

* (1908). Scrapped in 1934. * (1883). Built by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead. Scrapped 1908. *. First ship of this name. Built at Glasgow by J&G Thomson & Co and launched as for

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

. Sold to Red Star Line, renamed ''Pennland'', and refitted in 1881. Went into Antwerp – New York passenger service in 1889. Scrapped in Italy in 1903. * (1922). Launched for

as ''Pittsburgh''. Transferred to Red Star Line in 1935 and renamed ''Pennland''. Sunk in 1941 after being damaged by enemy aircraft. * (1879). Sold to Italian owners in 1906, renamed ''Rhyna'' and scrapped. * (1872). Built as ''Kenilworth'' for American Line. Acquired in 1877, ran aground at Long Branch, NJ on 19 March 1877, subsequently broke in two and declared a total loss. * ''Samland'' (1902). Transferred from Atlantic Transport Line in 1906. Served until 1911 when it was chartered by White Star Line. Returned to Red Star Line in 1913. Scrapped in 1931. *. Sold to France in 1879 and renamed . *. Renamed in 1915. Sunk by torpedo in 1917 with the loss of four lives. * ''Waesland'' (1867). Built as ''Russia''. Acquired and renamed ''Waesland'' in 1880. Transferred to American Line in 1895. Sunk in collision with Houston steamship ''Harmonides'' in 1902. *. Built by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead. An early steamship to be built of steel. She sailed the Antwerp – New York route. Transferred to American Line in 1901 and scrapped in 1912.

* (1917). Launched for White Star Line as ''Regina''. Transferred to Red Star Line in 1929 and renamed ''Westernland''. Transferred to Bernstein Red Star Line of Hamburg in 1935. Was an Allied

in the

Battle of Dakar The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies of World War II, Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa (modern-day Senegal). It was hoped that the succ ...

in 1940. *. Bought as ''Java'' from

in 1878. Sold to France in 1889. *. Launched 1900 and remained with Red Star until

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

1914

In popular culture

The Red Star Lines appear in the

Mario Puzo Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author and screenwriter. He wrote crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' (1969), which h ...

's ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic film, epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Cop ...

'' when the young

Vito Corleone Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film ''The Godfath ...

arrives in New-York. His identification badge is from the Red Star Lines company. The Paris football club Red Star FC are named after the Red Star Line, on which the club's founder

Jules Rimet Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the pres ...

's English housekeeper had travelled. In

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

's ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'', a warehouse can be seen at the Southampton Docks labelled Red Star Line. It is seen through the window of the pub as Jack and Fabrizio are first introduced.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Red Star Line (the ultimate resource

Red Star Line Museum official website

''The Guardian:'' Across the Atlantic with the Red Star Line – in pictures
– from the Red Star Line Museum
Red Star Line, People on the move
(in

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

)
Passenger Lists from the Red Star Line
GG Archives
The Eugeen Van Mieghem Museum
GG Archives {{Authority control Defunct shipping companies of the United States Transatlantic shipping companies Companies based in Philadelphia Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania Transport companies established in 1871 Transport companies disestablished in 1935 Defunct shipping companies