11/04/2024
Today in History: R.M.S Titanic Departs on Fatal Maiden Voyage!
From Coy Bailey II, Titanic Enthusiast
On this day (April 10th) in 1912 @ 12:00 PM, Harland & Wolff's & White Star Line's, R.M.S. Titanic, sister ship to the Olympic & Britannic, is launched in Southampton, England on her maiden voyage. The ship, packed with over 2,200 passengers was headed for New York City after stops in Cherbourg and Queenstown, with Captain Edward J. Smith at the helm and a very notable high class on board: including "The Unsinkable" Molly Brown, J. Bruce Ismay (Owner), Benjamin Guggenheim, Isidor & Ida Strauss (Macy's Department Store Owners), John Jacob Astor of the Astor Family, and Thomas Andrews (Ships Designer).
This was Titanic's first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and Ismay wanted to make sure that she "made headlines". Traveling by Trans-Atlantic had become a popular way of travel, since air travel wasn't around. Titanic was deemed "The Floating Palace" and "Unsinkable" by her creators. God himself could not sink such a ship.
However, on April 14, 1912 @ 11:39 PM, God put her to the test. Lookout Fredrick Fleet spotted a luring iceberg on a flat, calm, and clear night and announced to First Officer, William Murdoch at the bridge, "Iceberg, Right Ahead"! Titanic's captain, Edward Smith had ignored previous ice warnings that day from several nearby ships and had Titanic at full speed. She would later sink to the bottom of the Atlantic at 2:20 AM on April 15, 1912 with ~1,500 souls lost and only 709 surviving. Few lifeboats couldn't hold the 2,200 souls on board. They made the ship "looked to cluttered" if it had carried it's full capacity.
Titanic would go down in history as one of the worst ship disasters of the 20th Century. Historians are still fascinated by this ship today. Robert Ballard discovered Titanic in 1985. It would take until then for technology to progress and to actually find the ship that was ~12 miles from its last transmitted location. Titanic was only ~200 miles from New York when she sank.
More on this topic can be found through the week at Today in History - History Uncored and for a full Titanic Timeline follow Titanic - The Ship of Dreams -Titanic Uncored on Facebook.
I'll be sharing more posts through the week, as Titanic is my passion.
