On April 10, the RMS Titanic, one of the largest and most luxurious ocean liners ever built, departed Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.
It spanned feet from stern to bow, and its hull was divided into 16 compartments that were presumed to be watertight. Because four of these compartments could be flooded without causing a critical loss of buoyancy, the Titanic was considered unsinkable. On its first journey across the highly competitive Atlantic ferry route, the ship carried some 2, passengers and crew.
After stopping at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, to pick up some final passengers, the massive vessel set out at full speed for New York City. However, just before midnight on April 14, the RMS Titanic failed to divert its course from an iceberg and ruptured at least five of its hull compartments. These compartments filled with water and pulled down the bow of the ship.
Then the Titanic broke in half, and, at about a. Because of a shortage of lifeboats and the lack of satisfactory emergency procedures, more than 1, people went down in the sinking ship or froze to death in the icy North Atlantic waters. Most of the or so survivors were women and children. A number of notable American and British citizens died in the tragedy, including the noted British journalist William Thomas Stead and heirs to the Straus, Astor and Guggenheim fortunes.
One hour and 20 minutes after Titanic went down, the Cunard liner Carpathia arrived. The survivors in the lifeboats were brought aboard, and a handful of others were pulled out of the water. Hide Caption. Titanic survivors — The ship struck an iceberg near midnight on April 14, and sank into the Atlantic Ocean a little less than four hours later.
Survivors of the Titanic disaster crowded into lifeboats. Titanic victim — This circa photos shows banking and mining millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim with his wife Florette Seligman. Guggenheim died in the Titanic disaster. Titanic survivors — Survivors of the Titanic sinking arrive May 11, , at the Liverpool docks.
Titanic souvenir — A woman buys a souvenir print of the Titanic shortly after the disaster. April , - The luxury liner hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic around midnight and sinks in less than three hours. Read More. At the time, the RMS Titanic was the largest passenger ship afloat.
The ship's length was feet, 9 inches, and it weighed 46, tons. Its top speed was 23 knots. The wreckage is located about miles off the southeast coast of Newfoundland.
The iceberg punctured five of 16 supposedly watertight compartments designed to hold water in case of a breach to the hull. Investigations at the time blamed Captain Edward Smith for going too fast in dangerous waters, initial ship inspections that had been done too quickly, insufficient room in the lifeboats for all passengers, and a nearby ship's failure to help.
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You cannot download interactives. Unna, from the Belfast Titanic Society, shares the untold story behind the building of the Titanic. Every one of the Titanic's engineers stayed at their post trying to save lives as the ship went down. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.
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