© Getty Images

Milton S. Hershey (1857-1945) -

The founder of Hershey's and his wife Catherine spent their winters on the French Riviera. In December 1911, the couple left for another extended European vacation, and for their return journey he sent the White Star Line a US$300 check to reserve a spot on the Titanic.

© Getty Images

Milton S. Hershey (1857-1945) -

Forced to cut his vacation short, Hershey left Europe just days before the Titanic would set sail. Instead, he boarded a German liner called the Amerika, which would later warn the Titanic about the dangerous amount of ice.

© Getty Images

J. P. Morgan (1837-1913) -

Besides his work in the steel and financial industries, J. P. Morgan  was the owner of White Star shipping through his International Mercantile Marine Company. White Star was the line that built the Titanic.

© Getty Images

J. P. Morgan (1837-1913) -

Because of his significant role in building the Titanic, Morgan had a personal suite on the ship. However, he extended his European vacation and missed the sinking.

© Getty Images

William Pirrie (1847-1924) -

Looking back now, it seems a bit suspect that two of the Titanic's biggest backers were both absent from its dreadful maiden voyage. William Pirrie was a viscount and baron, and also part of Morgan's International Mercantile Marine Company.

© Getty Images

William Pirrie (1847-1924) -

Unable to travel on the Titanic due to illness, he was one of the architects of its sister ships, the Olympic and Britannic. In the months leading up to the Titanic disaster, he was questioned about the number of lifeboats aboard the Olympic-class ships. Pirrie responded that great ships were unsinkable, and the rafts were to save others. This would haunt him forever.

© Getty Images

Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) -

Guglielmo Marconi was an inventor and electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system, which he won the Nobel Prize for. After the sinking of the Titanic, the wireless radio's distress calls helped ships in the surrounding area find where to look for the lifeboats.

© Getty Images

Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) -

Marconi was offered free tickets on the Titanic before she sank, but instead he took the Lusitania three days earlier. He had paperwork to do and preferred the public stenographer aboard the other vessel.

© Getty Images

Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919) -

An important industrialist and a patron of the arts, Henry Clay Frick and his wife Adelaide had booked tickets to travel back to New York on Titanic's inaugural trip.

© Getty Images

Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919) -

Thankfully, the couple canceled their trip after Adelaide sprained her ankle in Italy, making them miss the disastrous voyage.

© Getty Images

J. Horace Harding (1863-1929) -

Banker J. Horace Harding shared part of his European vacation with Henry Clay Frick and J. P. Morgan.

© Public Domain

J. Horace Harding (1863-1929) -

Initially, when the Fricks declined to sail aboard the Titanic, they gave up their tickets to Morgan, who then gave his tickets to Harding. But Harding also ended up declining the trip.

© Getty Images

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877-1915) -

As a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt was supposed to board the Titanic just a few months after marrying his second wife, Margaret Emerson. However, he canceled their tickets at the last minute.

© Public Domain

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877-1915) -

Unfortunately, in 1915, he was aboard the Lusitania, a British ocean liner that was sunk by German U-boats. He was one of the 1,200 passengers who died in the attack.

© Getty Images

George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862-1914) -

Alfred wasn't the only member of his illustrious family to cheat death by declining passage aboard the Titanic. His nephew, George Washington Vanderbilt II, was also supposed to be aboard.

© Public Domain

George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862-1914) -

With tickets in hand, George and his wife Edith changed their plans at the last minute via telephone. Instead, they sailed on the Titanic's sister ship, the Olympic. Nevertheless, he would soon pass away regardless, from complications following an appendectomy in 1914.

© Public Domain

Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) -

Usually, when your employer decides they want to spend less money on your transport or accommodations, it's a bad thing. But not in the case of novelist Theodore Dreiser.

© Getty Images

Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) -

Though he never purchased tickets, he was infatuated by the massive vessel. But luckily, his publicist convinced him to take the Kroonland, a cheaper ship, two days before the Titanic sank.

© Getty Images

John Mott (1865-1955) -

John Mott, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who was the longtime leader of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), was another near-miss.

© Getty Images

John Mott (1865-1955) -

Mott was offered a free ticket on the Titanic, which he declined. He took a more humble liner, the SS Lapland.

© Getty Images

Robert Bacon (1860-1919) -

Robert Bacon was a statesman, diplomat, and banker who had served as both the Assistant Secretary of State and the Secretary of State under Theodore Roosevelt in the early 20th century.

© Public Domain

Robert Bacon (1860-1919) -

Having served as US Ambassador to France from 1909 until 1912, he was supposed to return home on the Titanic with his wife and daughter. Luckily, delays kept them in Paris.

© Public Domain

James Cash Penney (1875-1971) -

Then there were notable figures who planned to travel on the Titanic after its maiden voyage.

© Getty Images

James Cash Penney (1875-1971) -

Such was the case for the founder of JCPenney, who was set to sail on the Titanic's second voyage from England to the US.

© Getty Images

Frank Seiberling (1859-1955) -

The co-founder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and his wife, frequently traveled to England.

© Public Domain

Frank Seiberling (1859-1955) -

However, one of their trips was postponed when their ship out of New York to Southampton, the Titanic, sank. It would have been the ship's second voyage.

© Getty Images

John Alden Dix (1860-1928) -

John Alden Dix was a businessman and politician who served as the 38th Governor of New York, from 1911 to 1913.

© Public Domain

John Alden Dix (1860-1928) -

Just like Seiberling, Dix was also on the passenger list for the Titanic's return trip to England.

© Getty Images

Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918) -

Henry Brooks Adams was a historian and descendant of US presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. He was also booked on the trip back to Europe.

© Getty Images

Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918) -

"My ship, the Titanic, is on her way," Adams wrote in a letter on April 12, 1912. "And unless she drops me somewhere else, I should get to Cherbourg in a fortnight." For obvious reasons, Adams was never able to board the ship.

Sources: (Grunge) (Insider) (Smithsonian Magazine) 

See also: Interesting facts you didn't know about the Titanic

© Getty Images