Long before Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet fell in love in the 1997 film Titanic, the luxurious ship was known for being large and "unsinkable". Titanic was the largest ship of its day and was one of three sister ships including the RMS Olympic and the HMHS Britannic. All three were owned by the White Star Line and built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland.
Titanic set sail on April 10, 1912, beginning its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, New York. Her passengers ranged at that time according to class. There were 10 decks from top to bottom where the passengers roomed. There were varying prices for tickets. A first-class ticket ranged from $150 to $4350, which today would be $1700 to $50,000. A third class ticket could go from $15 to $4, which today would be $170 to $460.
Some her most wealthy passengers included John Jacob Astor and his new wife Madeleine, Titanic's builder Thomas Andrews, Margaret "Molly" Brown, Bruce Ismay, owner of the White Star Line, and Isidor and Ida Straus, co-owner of Macy's.
The night of April 14, 1912, has been described as the air being clear with no moon and with the sea so calm, there was no way to see the position of the icebergs. At 11:39 pm Fredrick Fleet, the lookout that night, uttered his now famous words, "Iceberg, right ahead!" At 11:40 pm, William Murdoch is generally believed to have ordered the ship's course changed shouting, "Hard to starboard!" This was in an attempt to get around the iceberg but it was too late. Titanic hit the iceberg, which tore through the lower decks and the first five compartments.
Titanic was designed with watertight doors which would allow her to stay afloat until another ship could come to help. She was also designed to stay afloat with the first four compartments full but not five. Water would just keep filling up and back until she sank. This was just one of the many problems to make the already dangerous situation worse that night.
There were not enough lifeboats for everyone on board. The officers filling the boats did not fill the boats to full capacity which cost more lives in the end. The officers were instructed to enforce the "women and children first" protocol. As the end was a sight though, men were allowed on.
Two hours and forty minutes after Titanic hit the berg, she finally sank below the waves, hitting the sea floor at about 2:30 am on April 15, 1912. Just over seven hundred survivors waited in the lifeboats until the Carpathia arrived. She then carried her passengers to Titanic's original destination, New York City.
Over 1,500 people died in the disaster. Many were from third class but, there were others such as John Jacob Astor, Isidor and Ida Straus, Thomas Andrews and Captain Edward J. Smith, all who went down with Titanic. They were comforted and accompanied by the band that played through the night.
The wreck of Titanic was discovered in 1985, 70 years after it sank, during a United States military mission. The ship had split in two while she was sinking and now lies in two large scattered pieces on the seabed, surrounded by thousands of artifacts. Titanic is one of modern history's deadliest commercial marine disaster during peacetime.
The final survivor of the sinking, Millvina Dean was two months old at the time. She passed away at the age of 97 in 2009.
Titanic was an amazing, luxurious ship. She was carrying many to a new place of opportunity. While many perished in the disaster, those that survived went on to live their lives to the fullest. The sinking surrounded the beautiful love story of Jack and Rose in the 1997 film. Maybe there were some similar stories aboard the ship of dreams after all.
