Titanic was a British passenger liner operated by the White Star Line that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912, after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City.
The ill fated ship which was one of the biggest of its era left Southampton on 10 April 1912, called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland, before heading west to New York.On 14 April, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles (600 km) south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. ship’s time.
The collision caused the hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard (right) side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea; she could only survive four flooding. Meanwhile, passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partially loaded.
The ship’s lookouts, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee, didn’t have access to binoculars during the journey, and therefore couldn’t see very far.The ship’s second officer was replaced at the last minute, and forgot to hand off the key to the locker that housed the ship’s binoculars.It would have taken only 37 seconds between actually seeing the iceberg, calling downstairs, and deciding what course of action to take if they had the binocular.
The key to the binocular locker humorously resurfaced at auction in 2010, where it was sold for over $130,000.The impact with the iceberg had the ship split into two. It would take 73 years for the ship’s wreckage to be found.The wreck was discovered on September 1, 1985.Today, the wreck is unrecognizable and is now covered in what looks like rusty icicles, called rusticles and a bacterial specimen eating away at it slowly. Scientists claim that the Titanic only has about 20 more years until it is completely gone from the ocean floor.
Titanic was under the command of Capt. Edward Smith, who also went down with the ship. The ocean liner carried some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere throughout Europe, who were seeking a new life in the United States. The richest man aboard was John Jacob Astor IV, who was widely believed to have been the richest man in the world at the time of his death.
These unfortunately means that the disaster would generate so much controversy with some conspiracy theorists and scholars believing the sinking of the Titanic was a conspiracy.
Titanic carried only a total of 20 lifeboats (which was just enough for half of the people on board), four of which were collapsible and proved hard to launch during the sinking.There were an estimated total 705 survivors and over 1,500 dead including all the Engineers on board who stayed behind to regulate things and buy whatever time they could. Likewise, the ship’s band played on for 2 hours to try and calm people down.
Many years later, one of the ship’s Musician was discovered to be alive.Among the notable survivors were The Navratil brothers, known as the ‘Titanic orphans’ (They were the only kids restored without parents. Aged 2 and 4)’, Miss Jessop who survived the sinking of both the Titanic and the Britannic and of course Dorothy Gibson who went on to film Saved From The Titanic. Just one month after the wreck. While the film was successful, it exists only in memories now.
The only known print of the film was mysteriously destroyed in a fire.Other movies were, A Night To Remember and Titanic, staring Di Caprio.Millvina Dean, died at the age of 97 in Southampton after catching pneumonia. She was the last survivor of the wreck. He was 2 months and the youngest when he was rescued.Builder:Harland and Wolff, Belfast.
The 52,310 tons ship boasted a length882 ft 9 in (269.1 m)Beam of92 ft 6 in (28.2 m)With a staggering height of175 ft (53.3 m) (keel to top of funnels)It was built with a budget of £1.5 million.
Launched: 31 May 1911
Completed: 2 April 1912.
One of the least known facts about the Titanic is that Eight Harland and Wolff workers were killed during its construction five of whom have been identified. In addition to the fatalities there were 28 serious accidents and 218 minor accidents recorded by the firm.
