Titanic

Captain Edward J. Smith (right) and Purser Hugh Walter McElroy stand aboard the Titanic as it travels between Southampton, England and Queenstown, Ireland, just one day into its voyage — and three days before it would sink. Circa April 10-11, 1912. The man who took this photograph, Rev. F.M. Browne, got off at Queenstown. Both Smith and McElroy died in the Titanic sinking. Ralph White/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images The iceberg suspected of having sunk the Titanic, as photographed by the steward of a passing ship the morning after the Titanic sinking. The other ship had not yet received word about the Titanic sinking but the steward reportedly saw red paint smeared along the base of the iceberg, indicating that a ship had struck it within the last several hours. April 15, 1912. Wikimedia Commons The " Titanic orphans," French brothers Michel (left, age 4) and Edmond Navratil (right, age 2), who were left temporarily parent-less their father died on the ship. The brothers survived and made it to New York, where they stayed for a month before their mother, who was had stayed in France and not boarded the ship, finally recognized them from a newspaper photo and came to claim them. This photo was taken before they were identified. April 1912. Bain News Service/Library of Congress View Gallery The winter of 1911-1912 had been a mild one. Higher-than-usual temperatures in the North Atlantic had caused more icebergs to drift off the west coast of Greenland than at any point in the...

Titanic, British luxury passenger liner that sank on April 15, 1912, en route to New York from Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage. The largest and most luxurious ship afloat, the Titanic had a double-bottomed hull divided into 16 watertight compartments. Because four of these could be flooded without endangering its buoyancy, it was considered unsinkable. Shortly before midnight on April 14, it collided with an iceberg southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland; five compartments ruptured and the ship sank. Some 1,500 of its 2,200 passengers died. After the disaster, new rules were drawn up requiring that the number of places in lifeboats equal the number of passengers (the Titanic had only 1,178 lifeboat places for 2,224 passengers) and that all ships maintain a 24-hour radio watch for distress signals (a ship less than 20 mi [32 km] away had not heard the Titanic’s distress signal because no one had been on duty). The International Ice Patrol was established to monitor icebergs in shipping lanes.

It took just two hours and 40 minutes for the “unsinkable” What would happen next has been the source of inspiration for books, poems, songs, TV shows and films, including one blockbuster Oscar-winning movie. Despite receiving several iceberg warnings on April 14, the A look at the sinking in terms of numbers, below, helps provide perspective into the tragedy. WATCH: Full episodes of The prow of the Titanic under construction at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland Cost to build: $7.5 million ($200 million with inflation) The White Star Line's Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, starting in 1909, with construction taking three years. With a whopping 3 million rivets, weighing 46,000 tons and measuring 882 feet, 8 inches—the distance of more than four city blocks—Titanic was created with the labor of some 3,000 workers. Café Parisien on board RMS Titanic, an extension to the first-class restaurant, pictured January 4, 1912. Bottles of wine in ship’s wine cellar: 1,000 On April 21, 1912, The New York Times reported the luxury liner was carrying cargo worth $420,000 ($11 million today). The manifest included such items as 3,000 teacups, 40,000 eggs, five grand pianos and 36,000 oranges. It was also A menu given to first-class passengers on the day of the sinking of the Titanic and a set of keys used by Titanic crewman Samuel Hemming to unlock the door where the lifeboat lanterns were held after he was ordered by the ship's captai...

Site Navigation • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Titanicwas a White Star Line steamship carrying the British flag. She was built by Harland and Wolff of Belfast, Ireland, at a reported cost of $7.5 million. Her specifications were: • Length overall: 882.5 feet • Gross tonnage: 46,329 tons • Beam: 92.5 feet • Net tonnage: 24,900 tons • Depth 59.5 feet • Triple screw propulsion On 10 April 1912, the Titaniccommenced her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York, with 2,227 passengers and crew aboard. At 11:40 p.m. on the night of 14 April, traveling at a speed of 20.5 knots, she struck an iceberg on her starboard bow. At 2:20 a.m. she sank, approximately 13.5 miles east-southeast of the position from which her distress call was transmitted. Lost at sea were 1,522 people, including passengers and crew. The 705 survivors, afloat in the ship's twenty lifeboats, were rescued within hours by the Cunard Liner, Carpathia. The wreck of the Titanicwas located by a French and American team on 1 September 1985 in 12,500 feet (3,810 m) of water about 350 miles (531 km) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada. A 1986 expedition documented the shipwreck more thoroughly. A section of the National Museum of American History'sexhibi...

On April 10, 1912, the R.M.S. Titanic left its port in Southampton, England, and began the transatlantic journey to New York City in the United States. Considered unsinkable, Titanic served as a luxury ocean liner for over 2,000 passengers and crew. On April 15, Titanic sank in just over two and a half hours after colliding with an iceberg. More than one hundred years later, National Geographic Education marks the anniversary of one of the greatest maritime tragedies in history. From Titanic’s construction in Belfast, Ireland, to its discovery under icy waters by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Robert Ballard and oceanographer Jean-Louis Michel in 1985, the Titanic has long captivated the public mind. Use this collection of multimedia education resources to contextualize the anniversary for your students.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. • Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. • In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. • In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find. • In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. • Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more. • While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today. • Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. • Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! • Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space! Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Patrick O'Neill Riley On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic embarked on its maiden voyage, sailing from Southampton, England, to New York City. Four days later the Titanic an enduring legend. Timeline • On March 31, 1909, construction of the Titanic begins in Belfast, Ireland. • On May 3...

No one knows exactly where Captain E.J. Smith was at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. But witnesses said he appeared on the bridge of the “An iceberg, sir,” First Officer William Murdoch replied. So began the worst night of Edward John Smith’s otherwise charmed life. In more than 40 years at sea he had rarely been involved in an accident and never held accountable for one. Now he was about to preside over one of the worst sea disasters of all time. In a matter of hours, more than 1,500 passengers and crew would be dead, including Smith himself. Smith’s body was never recovered, and his final moments remain a mystery, with no shortage of conflicting accounts—including one in which he jumped off the ship holding a baby. As author Wyn Craig Wade wrote in The Titanic: End of a Dream, “Captain Smith had at least five different deaths, from heroic to ignominious.” Rumors of his survival also circulated. Conflicting Damage Reports Captain of White Star Liner, RMS Titanic, Commander Edward J. Smith, c. 1911. At first it appeared as if Smith’s luck was going to hold. Fourth Officer Joseph G. Boxhall made a quick inspection of the ship and returned to the bridge to report that he had found no damage. But whatever relief Smith might have felt at that moment was quickly shattered. Thomas Andrews, the Titanic’s head designer, reported that his inspection revealed flooding in at least five of the Titanic’s 16 watertight compartments. While the ship could have stayed afloat with up ...

No one knows exactly where Captain E.J. Smith was at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. But witnesses said he appeared on the bridge of the “An iceberg, sir,” First Officer William Murdoch replied. So began the worst night of Edward John Smith’s otherwise charmed life. In more than 40 years at sea he had rarely been involved in an accident and never held accountable for one. Now he was about to preside over one of the worst sea disasters of all time. In a matter of hours, more than 1,500 passengers and crew would be dead, including Smith himself. Smith’s body was never recovered, and his final moments remain a mystery, with no shortage of conflicting accounts—including one in which he jumped off the ship holding a baby. As author Wyn Craig Wade wrote in The Titanic: End of a Dream, “Captain Smith had at least five different deaths, from heroic to ignominious.” Rumors of his survival also circulated. Conflicting Damage Reports Captain of White Star Liner, RMS Titanic, Commander Edward J. Smith, c. 1911. At first it appeared as if Smith’s luck was going to hold. Fourth Officer Joseph G. Boxhall made a quick inspection of the ship and returned to the bridge to report that he had found no damage. But whatever relief Smith might have felt at that moment was quickly shattered. Thomas Andrews, the Titanic’s head designer, reported that his inspection revealed flooding in at least five of the Titanic’s 16 watertight compartments. While the ship could have stayed afloat with up ...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. • Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. • In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. • In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find. • In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. • Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more. • While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today. • Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. • Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! • Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space! Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Patrick O'Neill Riley On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic embarked on its maiden voyage, sailing from Southampton, England, to New York City. Four days later the Titanic an enduring legend. Timeline • On March 31, 1909, construction of the Titanic begins in Belfast, Ireland. • On May 3...

Site Navigation • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Titanicwas a White Star Line steamship carrying the British flag. She was built by Harland and Wolff of Belfast, Ireland, at a reported cost of $7.5 million. Her specifications were: • Length overall: 882.5 feet • Gross tonnage: 46,329 tons • Beam: 92.5 feet • Net tonnage: 24,900 tons • Depth 59.5 feet • Triple screw propulsion On 10 April 1912, the Titaniccommenced her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York, with 2,227 passengers and crew aboard. At 11:40 p.m. on the night of 14 April, traveling at a speed of 20.5 knots, she struck an iceberg on her starboard bow. At 2:20 a.m. she sank, approximately 13.5 miles east-southeast of the position from which her distress call was transmitted. Lost at sea were 1,522 people, including passengers and crew. The 705 survivors, afloat in the ship's twenty lifeboats, were rescued within hours by the Cunard Liner, Carpathia. The wreck of the Titanicwas located by a French and American team on 1 September 1985 in 12,500 feet (3,810 m) of water about 350 miles (531 km) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada. A 1986 expedition documented the shipwreck more thoroughly. A section of the National Museum of American History'sexhibi...