Let’s start with the leading characters.
Although, according to Cameron, “Rose DeWitt Bukater” and “Jack Dawson” are fictitious characters, there really was a passenger called J. Dawson on the Titanic. His first name was not Jack though, but Joseph, and he was a part of the ship’s crew.
Nonetheless, there are still fans out there who still lay down flowers on the grave of the wrong Mr. Dawson...