Titanic passenger's tragic death could have been avoided if he wasn't given trousers for his 17th birthday

The morning of 14 April 1912, Alfred Rush, a third-class passenger aboard the RMS Titanic, travelling from Southampton to New York, had awoken to celebrate his 17th birthday.

Less than 24 hours later, the teenager would plummet to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, along with over 1,500 fellow seafarers.

In the 113 years since Rush's tragic passing, experts have reportedly analysed his case in great detail, finding that it may have been entirely preventable had he been given a different gift for his birthday that year.

The youngster had been boarded upon the ill-fated ship by his parents, a poor couple who had hoped America would provide their son with a better life. Rush's big brother was already living in Detroit, Michigan, at the time, having travelled to the States in the years prior.

Along with a group of family friends, he was bundled into the Titanic's lowest-placed decks, as his mother and father had only had the means to purchase him a third-class ticket.

The Titanic sunk on 14 April, 1912 (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

For his birthday, however, the other members of his travel group had banded together to purchase him something special.

And when the big day rolled around, Rush was gifted a pair of long trousers, which, in the 1900s, indicated that a teenager was now a man.

After an iceberg was struck by the boat later that night, however, and the Titanic began to take on vast quantities of water, the men were separated from the women and children.

Given the lack of lifeboats on the ship, Captain Edward Smith had ordered his officers to 'load the women and children in and lower away', keeping the men on board.

In the rush of the disaster, however, this meant that several lifeboats were placed into the sea with only half their seats occupied.

One of Rush's family friends, a nine-year-old boy named Frank Goldsmith, had been boarded onto one of the lifeboats along with his mother.

Rush refused to get into one of the lifeboats (Ralph White/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Rush, meanwhile, having been wearing his long trousers, reportedly waited on the sidelines, despite being just 17, telling the heartbroken pair: "No! I'm staying here with the men."

Mrs Goldsmith later told the Bay City Tribune on 24 April that she thought Rush and her husband would 'be able to get away on another boat or raft'.

According to The Mail, he waited on the top deck all night, later going down with the boat. His body was never recovered.

As such, many followers of Rush's story have noted the likelihood that he'd have gone on to live a long, healthy life if he hadn't been gifted long trousers - an 'indicator of his manliness' - the day that the ship sank.