RMS Titanic
RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912, after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK to New York City, US.
The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,502 people in one of the deadliest shipwrecks in modern history. The RMS Titanic was the largest ocean liner at the time and most luxurious. She was the second of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, and she was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. On her maiden voyage, she carried 2,224 passengers and crew. Under the command of Edward Smith, her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia, and elsewhere throughout Europe seeking a new life in North America. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard.
Because of outdated marine regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats to hold 1,178 people, less than half the people on board. During the sinking, however, the boats were not filled to capacity carrying only 699 of the passengers. Six survivers were saved from the water. After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic went to Cherbourg in France and Queenstown in Ireland before heading west towards New York. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles out, Titanic hit an iceberg at aproximetly 11:40 P.
M. The glancing collision caused Titanic’s hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea; the ship gradually filled with water and foundered around 2:20 AM. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. Almost all of the women and children from first class were saved and put safely in life boats. Only about half of the second class women and children, however, were able to depart safely from the ship. Third class on the other hand had very few survivors from lack of priority.
The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life. Not only that, but local newspapers gave false information to the public stating there was no loss of life and that the ship was being towed safely to shore. This of course led the families to believe their loved ones were fine. Many family members of victims sued the newspapers for false statements. New regulations were set, however, by marine safety.
One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for Life at Sea. (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Additionally, several new wireless regulations were passed around the world in an effort to learn from the many missteps in wireless communications, which could have saved many more passengers. The wrecked Titanic remains on the seabed, split in two and at a depth of 12,415 feet. Since its discovery in 1985, thousands of artifacts have been recovered and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history.
Works Cited Adams, Simon. Titanic. New York: DK Pub., 2004. Print.
Encyclopedia Titanica : Titanic Facts, Survivors Stories, Passenger and Crew Biography and Titanic History. Web. 11 Jan. 2012
“Allure of Titanic Endures 100 Years after Sinking.” Hamilton Spectator. 20 Dec. 2011. Web.
11 January 2011
” Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & More. Web. 17 Jan. 2012.
