In 1909, eight percent of homes owned a telephone, the average wage was 22 cents an hour, microwaves did not exist, America was a country of 45 states and William Howard Taft became president. This was the time when the White Star Line began to undergo construction for their newest vessel, Titanic. The ill-fated ship was to be extraordinary and elegant -- and to this day, she was. Titanic was built in Ireland and had three engines, each of which ran a propeller. She had 16 watertight compartments, a rudder that weighed 100 tons, a heating and cooling water system and advanced radiotelegraph equipment. Those who held a first class ticket could experience Titanic's eight decks, a parlor suite with a private promenade deck, a gymnasium, a Parisian Cafe, service for any desires and of course, the Grand Staircase underneath a gorgeous glass dome. Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer, dedicated himself to ensuring every detail of Titanic was perfect and stated that she was "as nearly perfect as human brains can make her." At an astounding 882 feet and 9 inches, she would be the world's largest ship of her time.
Fast forward three years on April 10th, 1912, and Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. Within her, she carried third class immigrants seeking a new life in America, all the way up to first class passengers, including some of the richest people in the world: Margaret Brown, John Jacob Astor, Benjamin Guggenheim, Archibald Gracie and Joseph Bruce Ismay. As she left the dock, hundreds of passengers stood on the decks, waving goodbye to their loved ones.
Passengers enjoyed four days of luxury on Titanic, until the night of April 14th, 1912, when Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 p.m., which would lead to her inevitable sinking. A combination of events led to this tragedy. First, Edward John Smith, the ship's captain, was going 23 knots, at the very top of the ship's range. It is uncertain as to the exact reason why he did this. However, it makes sense that because Titanic was receiving much attention due to her size, that the captain would want people to wonder about her speed, as well. Next, the lookouts in the crow's nest of Titanic did not have binoculars. While there were binoculars on the ship, the lookouts did not have access to them, as it is said they were stowed away in a locker which no one had a key for. Lastly, a main contributing factor to the sinking of Titanic was the fact that warnings were going unheeded. Titanic received multiple warnings over wireless about many icebergs in the area. However, the most specific warning was not passed on to Captain Smith by the radio operator. While there's no way of knowing what the Captain's response to this warning would have been, we do know that these events contributed to the sinking of Titanic.
Once Titanic struck the iceberg, Captain Smith fetched Thomas Andrews, who was on board for the maiden voyage, to assess the damage. Andrews then proceeded to tell the crew that Titanic had five watertight compartments filled with water, and she was only meant to hold four. He estimated that the ship had about an hour before she would be at the bottom of the ocean and stated that it was a "mathematical certainty."
In 1912, the law required ships over 10,000 tons to carry 16 lifeboats on board, so Titanic actually had more than required with 20. Thomas Andrews had built in extra space and suggested that they put 46 lifeboats which would hold 65 people each (and a few that held 40). However, others believed that the dock would look too cluttered, so Andrews was overruled. Therefore, of the 2,200 people on board, only half would be able to fit into a lifeboat.
After Andrews made the estimated one hour sinking time, the crew began loading lifeboats with passengers on the decks and in the upper levels of the ship. However, when people started asking questions, the captain, still in doubt, told passengers that they would be loading the boats and staying out there for the night and would be back on the ship for breakfast. Of course, passengers did not find this reason enough to get into a lifeboat -- they wanted to stay the night on Titanic because she was big and safe, versus the small lifeboats that were not as safe. Thus, the first few lifeboats were released with less than 20 people. As the ship began to sink, she tilted towards the bow. This is when people started to recognize trouble and panic. They began rushing up to the lifeboats and as many women and children were filled in as possible. When the lifeboats became scarce, the captain used a megaphone to call back nearby boats with too few people in them. However, no boats returned. With time, the ship began to tilt so far up that the top half of her bow was submerged in water. Once Titanic had reached her maximum weight capacity, she split into two, with the back half hanging on by a thread. The top half then proceeded to sink quickly, pulling the bottom half along until the two parts detached. This left the stern of the boat facing the sky with passengers hanging on to the railings. The remaining portion of Titanic sat there for a minute, then began to sink like an elevator ride all the way down, until she was completely submerged underwater. After 2 hours and 40 minutes, Titanic had sunk to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean and there would be 700 survivors of the 2,200 aboard.
To build a man-made ship and claim it “unsinkable” is quite a broad statement and from this, society has learned and evolved. Since Titanic, there have been many changes in safety regulations. The laws regarding lifeboats now ensure that every person aboard will have one. The United States government also enforced the Radio Act of 1912 stating that communications on ships would be operated 24 hours a day. Finally, since Titanic, ships have been refitted to increase safety.
As we know, in 1912, the biggest ship in the world was Titanic -- what you may not know, in 2016, the Oasis of the Seas is the biggest ship in the world. Oasis is a cruise ship out of Royal Caribbean with a twin sister, the Allure of the Seas. These two ships differ in quite a few ways. First, Oasis is 360 meters long and 72 meters above waterline, versus Titanic, which was 269 meters long and 53 meters above waterline. However, Titanic's top speed was 24 knots, versus Oasis, which can go up to 22.6 knots. While Titanic had 9 decks, Oasis has 16, which feature 21 pools and a great variety of restaurants.
While both ships are fascinating in their own ways, it is the tragedy of one that led to the improvements of another. Titanic will remain at the bottom of the ocean and forever in our memories. Because of her unfortunate sinking, we have been able to greatly improve our society.
