On April 10, 1912, Francis Browne, then a Jesuit seminarian and enthusiastic amateur photographer, boarded the RMS Titanic in Southampton, England. A relative had given him a ticket for the voyage’s first leg to Queenstown, the Titanic’s final port of call before crossing the Atlantic.

During the journey, Browne captured dozens of remarkable photographs showing passengers strolling the decks, children playing, crew members at work, and the immense liner as it prepared to begin its maiden voyage. His images documented everyday moments aboard what was then the largest passenger ship ever built.

Impressed by the experience, Browne received an offer from a wealthy American couple to pay for him to continue all the way to New York. Before accepting, he sought permission from his Jesuit superiors. Their reply was brief and decisive: “GET OFF THAT SHIP.”

Obeying the instruction, Browne disembarked at Queenstown on April 11, 1912. Just four days later, on the night of April 14–15, the Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank, claiming the lives of more than 1,500 people.

Because Browne left before the transatlantic crossing, his photographs became some of the last known images of the Titanic and many of its passengers while the ship was still afloat.