William Brown (ship)

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William Brown was an American merchant ship that sailed from Liverpool to Philadelphia in March 1841 with 17 seamen and 65 passengers, many of them poor Scottish and Irish emigrants. On April 19, 1841, about 250 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, she struck an iceberg and sank.

The captain, eight seamen, and one passenger reached the jolly boat and were rescued six days later by a French fishing vessel, then taken to Le Havre. A separate longboat carried nine crewmen and 32 passengers and faced freezing seas and heavy rain. Before the boats parted, the captain placed the first mate, Francis Rhodes, in charge of the longboat. Under his orders, some of the crew forced 12 adult male passengers out of the crowded boat; two women went into the water, and two more men were later found hiding and jettisoned. One crewman, Alexander Holmes, was among those forced overboard; Holmes also later helped rescue the sick daughter of a widowed Scotswoman.

The longboat was eventually rescued by the American ship Crescent and taken to Le Havre, France, with the survivors making their way to Philadelphia by May 10. The only crew member charged in connection with the tragedy was Holmes. He was accused of murdering Frank Askin, but the charge was reduced to manslaughter; in United States v. Holmes (1842) he was found guilty and sentenced to six months in jail and a $20 fine. The case is often discussed in legal contexts about the duties of sailors in emergencies and the meaning of necessity.

The disaster inspired films such as Souls at Sea (1937) and Abandon Ship! (1957), as well as a 1975 TV version, The Last Survivors.