The sinking of the
RMS Titanic caused the deaths of 1,517 of its 2,229 passengers and crew
(official numbers vary slightly) in one of the deadliest peacetime
maritime disasters in history. The 712 survivors were taken aboard the
RMS Carpathia. Few disasters have had such resonance and far-reaching
effects on the fabric of society as the sinking of the Titanic. It
affected attitudes toward social injustice, altered the way the North
Atlantic passenger trade was conducted, changed the regulations for
numbers of lifeboats carried aboard passenger vessels and created an
International Ice Patrol (where commercial ships crossing the North
Atlantic still, today, radio in their positions and ice sightings). The
1985 discovery of the Titanic wreck on the ocean floor marked a turning
point for public awareness of the ocean and for the development of new
areas of science and technology. April 15, 2012 will mark the 100th
anniversary of the Titanic disaster. It has become one of the most
famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, films,
exhibits and memorials. -- Paula Nelson (51 photos total)
The
British passenger liner RMS Titanic leaves from Southampton, England on
her maiden voyage, April 10, 1912. Titanic called at Cherbourg, France
and Queenstown, Ireland before heading westward toward New York. Four
days into the crossing, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 p.m., 375 miles
south of Newfoundland. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank
bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water
died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the
freezing ocean.(Frank O. Braynard Collection)
The
luxury liner Titanic, in this photo dated 1912, as she left Queenstown
for New York, on her ill-fated last voyage. Her passengers included some
of the wealthiest people in the world, such as millionaires John Jacob
Astor IV, Benjamin Guggenheim and Isidor Strauss, as well as over a
thousand emigrants from Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new
life in America. The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and
outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational
failures that had led to it. The inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic
began within days of the sinking and led to major improvements in
maritime safety. (United Press International)
Workers
leave the Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, where the Titanic
was built between 1909 and 1911. The ship was designed to be the last
word in comfort and luxury and was the largest ship afloat at the time
of her maiden voyage. The ship is visible in the background of this 1911
photograph. (Photographic Archive/Harland & Wolff Collection/Cox)
A
1912 photograph of a dining room on the Titanic. The ship was designed
to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium,
swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins.
(The New York Times Photo Archives/American Press Association)
A
1912 photograph of a second class area on the Titanic. A
disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class –
were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed
by the officers loading the lifeboats. (The New York Times Photo
Archives/American Press Association)
In
this April 10, 1912 photo the Titanic leaves Southampton, England. The
tragic sinking of the Titanic nearly a century ago can be blamed, some
believe, on low grade rivets that the ship's builders used on some parts
of the ill-fated liner. (Associated Press)
Captain
Edward John Smith, commander of the Titanic. The ship he commanded was
the largest afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. Titanic was a
massive ship - 883 feet long, 92 feet wide, and weighing 52,310 long
tons (a long ton is 2240 pounds). It was 175 feet tall from the keel to
the top of the four stacks or funnels, almost 35 feet of which was below
the waterline. The Titanic was taller above the water than most urban
buildings of the time. (The New York Times Archives)
An
undated photo of Titanic First Officer William McMaster Murdoch, who is
treated as a local hero in his native town of Dalbeattie, Scotland, but
was portrayed as a coward and a murderer in the multi-Oscar winning
movie, Titanic. At a ceremony on the 86th anniversary of the ship's
sinking, Scott Neeson, the executive vice-president of the film's makers
20th Century Fox, presented a check for five thousand pounds ($8,000 US
dollars) to the Dalbeattie school as an apology to the bridge officer's
relatives. (Associated Press)
This
is believed to be the iceberg that sank the Titanic on April 14-15,
1912. The photograph was taken from the deck of the Western Union Cable
Ship, Mackay Bennett, commanded by Captain DeCarteret. The Mackay
Bennett was one of the first ships to reach the scene of the Titanic
disaster. According to Captain DeCarteret, this was the only berg at the
scene of the sinking when he arrived. It was assumed, therefore, that
it was responsible for the sea tragedy. The glancing collision with the
iceberg caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inward in a number of
locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen
watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours,
the ship gradually filled with water and sank. (United States Coast
Guard)
Passengers
and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were
launched only partly filled. This photograph of Titanic lifeboats
approaching the rescue ship Carpathia, was taken by Carpathia passenger
Louis M. Ogden and was on display during a 2003 exhibition of images
related to the Titanic disaster (bequeathed to the National Maritime
Museum in Greenwich, England, by Walter Lord). (National Maritime
Museum/London)
Seven
hundred and twelve survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by
the RMS Carpathia. This photograph taken by Carpathia passenger Louis M.
Ogden shows Titanic lifeboats approaching the rescue ship, Carpathia.
The photo was part of a 2003 exhibition bequeathed to the National
Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, by Walter Lord. (National
Maritime Museum/London)
Though
Titanic had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments
and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to
accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety
regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – a
third of her total passenger and crew capacity. This Sepia photograph
depicting the recovery of Titanic passengers is among memorabilia set to
go under the hammer at Christies in London, May 2012. (Paul Treacy/
EPA/PA)
Members
of the press interview Titanic survivors coming off the rescue ship,
The Carpathia, April 17, 1912. (American Press Association)
Eva
Hart is pictured as a seven-year-old in this photograph taken in 1912
with her father, Benjamin, and mother, Esther. Eva and her mother
survived the sinking of the British liner Titanic on April 14, 1912 off
Newfoundland, but her father perished in the disaster. (Associated
Press)
People
stand on the street during Titanic disaster, awaiting the arrival of
the Carpathia. (The New York Times Photo Archives/Times Wide World)
A
huge crowd gathered in front of the White Star Line office in New
York's lower Broadway to get the latest news on the sinking of the
luxury liner Titanic on April 14, 1912. (Associated Press)
The New York Times newsroom at the time of the sinking of the Titanic, April 15, 1912. (The New York Times Photo Archives)
After
the sinking of the Titanic, crowds read bulletins in front of the Sun
Building in New York City. (The New York Times Photo Archives)
Two
messages that were sent from America to insurers Lloyds of London in
the mistaken belief that other ships, including the Virginian, were
standing by to help when the Titanic sank. These two messages are among
dramatic memorabilia set to go under the hammer at Christies in London,
May, 2012. (AFP/ EPA/Press Association)
Titanic
survivors Laura Francatelli, and her employers Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon
and Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, while standing on the rescue ship, Carpathia.
Francatelli reported hearing a terrible rumbling noise, then anguished
cries for help as her rowboat pulled away from the sinking ocean liner
Titanic that dreadful night in 1912. (Associated Press/Henry Aldridge
and Son/Ho)
This vintage print shows the Titanic shortly before leaving on her maiden voyage in 1912. (New York Times Archives)
A
photograph released by Henry Aldridge & Son/Ho Auction House in
Wiltshire, Britain, 18 April 2008, shows an extremely rare Titanic
passenger ticket. They were the auctioneers handling the complete
collection of the last American Titanic Survivor Miss Lillian Asplund.
The collection was comprised of a number of significant items including a
pocket watch, one of only a handful of remaining tickets for the
Titanic's maiden voyage and the only example of a forward emigration
order for the Titanic thought to exist. Lillian Asplund was a very
private person and because of the terrible events she witnessed that
cold April night in 1912 rarely spoke about the tragedy which claimed
the lives of her father and three brothers. (Henry Aldridge &
Son/Ho)
An
item bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England,
by Walter Lord, shows a Marconi cable form. Miss Edith Russell (Titanic
survivor and journalist) to Women's Wear Daily: 'Safe Carpathia, notify
mother' Carpathia 18 April 1912 . (National Maritime Museum/London)
An
item bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England,
by Walter Lord shows the Titanic luncheon menu signed by survivors of
the Titanic. (National Maritime Museum/ London)
R.M.S. Titanic's bow in 1999. (P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology)
This
Sept. 12, 2008 image shows one of the propellers of the RMS Titanic on
the ocean floor during an expedition to the site of the tragedy. Five
Thousand artifacts are scheduled to be auctioned as a single collection
on April 11, 2012, 100 years after the sinking of the ship. (RMS
Titanic, Inc., via Associated Press)
This
Aug. 28, 2010 image, released by Premier Exhibitions, Inc.-Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, shows the starboard side of the Titanic bow.
(Premier Exhibitions, Inc.-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
This July 5, 2003 image shows the Titanic's crow's nest. (David Bright)
The
Titanic's port bow rail, chains and an auxiliary anchor boom. Dr.
Robert Ballard, the man who found the remains of the Titanic nearly two
decades ago, returned to the site and lamented damage done by visitors
and souvenir hunters. (Institute for Archaeological Oceanography &
Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island Grad. School of
Oceanography)
The
giant propeller of the sunken Titanic lies on the floor of the North
Atlantic in this undated photo. The propeller and other portions of the
famed ship were viewed by the first tourists to visit the wreck site in
September 1998. (Ralph White/Associated Press)
This
1998 image shows a 17-ton portion of the hull of the RMS Titanic as it
is lifted to the surface during an expedition to the site of the
tragedy. The piece along with 5,000 other artifacts is set to be
auctioned as a single collection on April 11, 2012, 100 years after the
sinking of the ship. (RMS Titanic, Inc., via Associated Press)
This
July 22, 2009 image shows the 17-ton section of the RMS Titanic that
was recovered from the ocean floor during an expedition to the site of
the tragedy, as it was displayed. The piece along with 5,000 other
artifacts is set to be auctioned as a single collection on April 11,
2012, 100 years after the sinking of the ship. (RMS Titanic, Inc., via
Associated Press)
A
gold plated Waltham American pocket watch, the property of Carl
Asplund, is displayed in front of a modern water color painting of the
Titanic by CJ Ashford at Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers in
Devizes, Wiltshire, England, April 3, 2008. The watch was recovered from
the body of Carl Asplund who drowned on the Titanic and was part of the
Lillian Asplund collection, the last American survivor of the disaster.
(Kirsty Wigglesworth Associated Press)
Currency,
part of the artifacts collection of the Titanic, is photographed at a
warehouse in Atlanta, Aug. 2008. The owner of the largest trove of
artifacts salvaged from the Titanic is putting the vast collection up
for auction as a single lot in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the
world's most famous shipwreck. (Stanley Leary/Associated Press)
Photographs
of Felix Asplund, Selma and Carl Asplund and Lillian Asplund, at Henry
Aldridge & Son Auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, April 3,
2008. The photographs were part of the Lillian Asplund collection of
Titanic related items. Asplund was 5 years old in April 1912, when the
Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage from England to New
York. Her father and three siblings were among 1,514 people who died.
(Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press)
Artifacts
on display at "TITANIC The Artifact Exhibit" at the California Science
Center: Binoculars, a comb, dishes and a broken incandescent light
bulb, Feb. 6, 2003. (Michel Boutefeu/Getty Images,Chester Higgins
Jr./The New York Times)
Eye
glasses found among the debris of the Titanic wreck were among a
sampling of Titanic artifacts on display, Jan. 5, 2012 in New York. The
complete collection of artifacts recovered from the wreck site of the
RMS Titanic will be auctioned by Guernsey's Auction House in April, 100
years after the sinking of the ship in 1912. (Bebeto Matthews/Associated
Press)
A
golden spoon found among the debris of the Titanic wreck was among a
sampling of Titanic artifacts on display, Jan. 5, 2012 in New York. The
complete collection of artifacts recovered from the wreck site of the
RMS Titanic will be auctioned by Guernsey's Auction House in April.
(Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)
A
chronometer from the bridge of the Titanic on display at the Science
Museum in London, May 15, 2003. The chronometer, one of more than 200
artifacts raised from the wreck of the Titanic, was on display at the
launch of a new exhibition commemorating its ill-fated maiden voyage
along with vials of perfume oil. The exhibition took visitors on a
chronological journey through the life of the Titanic, from its
conception and construction, to life on board and its sinking in the
Atlantic in April 1912. (Alastair Grant/Associated Press)
A
logo meter used to measure the Titanic's speed and a Gimbal lamp were
among artifacts recovered from the RMS Titanic wreck site and displayed
at a press preview of a Titanic artifact auction at the Intrepid Sea,
Air & Space Museum, January 5, 2012 in New York City. On April 11,
2012, the 100th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Titanic,
Guernsey's will auction the complete collection of more than 5,000
artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck site. (Mario Tama/Getty
Images)
Artifacts
of the Titanic displayed at a media-only preview to announce the
historic sale of a complete collection of artifacts recovered from the
wreck site of RMS Titanic and showcasing highlights from the collection
at the Intrepid Sea, Air & SpaceMuseum, January 2012. (Chang W.
Lee/The New York Times)
A
cup and a pocket watch from the RMS Titanic displayed during a news
conference by Guernsey's Auction House, Jan. 5, 2012. Guernsey's will
auction the largest collection of artifacts recovered from the wreck
site of the Titanic as a single lot in an auction timed for the 100th
anniversary of the sinking of the famed ocean liner. A uniform button
stamped with the White Star Line flag and a small porthole displayed at
"The Titanic Artifact Exhibit" at the California Science Center, Oct.
2002 in Los Angeles. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images, Brendan
McDermid/Reuters, Michel Boutefeu/Getty Images-2)
These
spoons, salvaged from the wreckage of the Titanic on the ocean floor,
were part of an exhibit at the Maritime Aquarium, in South Norwalk,
Conn., Feb. 1, 2002. RMS Titanic, Inc. is the sole salvage company
allowed to remove items from the ocean floor where the luxury liner sank
in the North Atlantic. (Douglas Healey/Associated Press)
A
gold mesh purse is among the artifacts recovered from the RMS Titanic
wreck site shown at a press preview of a Titanic artifact auction at the
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, January 5, 2012 in New York City.
On April 11, 2012, the 100th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the
Titanic, Guernsey's will auction the complete collection of more than
5,000 artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck site. (Mario
Tama/Getty Images)
The
April 2012 edition of National Geographic magazine (and the on line
version available on the ipad) will take your breath away as you see new
images and graphics from the wreck of theTitanic that remains on the
seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12, 415 feet (3,784 m).
Few disasters have had such far-reaching effects on the fabric of
society as the sinking of the Titanic. View more at
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/04/titanic/sides-text (National Geographic)
With
her rudder cleaving the sand and two propeller blades peeking from the
murk, Titanic’s mangled stern rests on the abyssal plain, 1,970 feet
south of the more photographed bow. This optical mosaic combines 300
high-resolution images taken on a 2010 expedition. (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS
TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The
first complete views of the legendary wreck. Ethereal views of
Titanic’s bow offer a comprehensiveness of detail never seen before. The
optical mosaics each consist of 1,500 high-resolution images rectified
using sonar data. (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL,
WHOI)
As
the starboard profile shows, the Titanic buckled as it plowed
nose-first into the seabed, leaving the forward hull buried deep in
mud—obscuring, possibly forever, the mortal wounds inflicted by the
iceberg. (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)
Titanic’s
battered stern, captured here in profile, bears witness to the extreme
trauma inflicted upon it as it corkscrewed to the bottom. (COPYRIGHT©
2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)
Titanic’s
battered stern is captured overhead here. Making sense of this tangle
of metal presents endless challenges to experts. Says one, “If you’re
going to interpret this stuff, you gotta love Picasso.” (COPYRIGHT©
2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)
Two
of Titanic’s engines lie exposed in a gaping cross section of the
stern. Draped in “rusticles”—orange stalactites created by iron-eating
bacteria—these massive structures, four stories tall, once powered the
largest moving man-made object on Earth. (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC,
INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)
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