on the night of 14 april 1912 the cruise

Titanic twist: 1912 wasn’t a bad year for icebergs after all

Professor in Earth Systems Science, University of Sheffield

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Grant Bigg receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council.

University of Sheffield provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK.

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At 11.40pm local time on the cold, moonless night of 14 April 1912, the crow’s nest lookouts on board the RMS Titanic sighted a large iceberg only 500m ahead. Despite quick action, the iceberg still struck the ship aft of the bows and water flooded into the ship across several compartments. In little more than two and a half hours the Titanic sunk, taking with her 1,514 lives.

The dramatic and sudden sinking of the ship that was touted to be unsinkable provoked a great search over the next 100 years to understand how the fateful crash happened. And whether or not there was a greater risk from the number of icebergs in 1912 has been a major cause for debate.

Theories linking exceptional iceberg numbers to effects such as sunspots or extreme tides on the coast of Greenland have perpetuated the idea that 1912 was an exceptional year for icebergs, stacking the cards against the Titanic on her maiden voyage. Indeed, ships travelling through the northwest Atlantic in the days leading up to the tragedy did exchange a number of reports of ice.

But our recent research , using the iceberg records of the International Ice Patrol and an iceberg-ocean model, counters this accepted view. We’ve found that the number of icebergs in the region was neither exceptional nor unprecedented.

Following the Titanic disaster, the International Ice Patrol was established to monitor ice hazards and warn ships in the northwest Atlantic. One way they measure the iceberg hazard is by reporting the number of icebergs seen south of 48°N, a latitude extending out into the Atlantic from the south of Newfoundland. This recording has continued since 1913, and ship reports prior to this gives data reaching back to 1900 of ice in the area that the Titanic sank.

In 1912, 1,038 icebergs were reported crossing this latitude circle. In a record that varies between no icebergs and well over two thousand a year, this qualifies as a significant number. But there are several years in surrounding decades with similar numbers, including five years with at least 700 icebergs crossing the region between 1901 and 1920. The iceberg risk in 1912 then, was significant, but not unprecedented, and has been much greater in recent decades.

Source of the titanic iceberg

Our iceberg-ocean model also allows us to suggest a likely origin for the iceberg that collided with the Titanic. The longstanding view of iceberg movement in the northwest Atlantic is that icebergs from successive glaciers feed into the ocean current. Following it, they flow south along the east Greenland coast and then north along the west Greenland coast, finally circling Baffin Bay and heading south along the Labrador coast towards the Atlantic shipping lanes.

There is no way to say from which point along this long journey the infamous iceberg might have originated – it suddenly appeared out of the night and then disappeared after colliding with the Titanic. But our model allows us to use the winds and currents of the time to give the likely origins and routes for icebergs reaching the vicinity of the Titanic sinking in mid-April 1912.

It is very likely that the Titanic iceberg calved (broke off) from a glacier in one of the fjords of the southwest corner of Greenland during the late summer or early autumn of 1911 and took a more direct path, across the northern Labrador Sea, to its rendezvous with the ship.

Placing total faith in model results without supporting observations is problematic. And, even the model suggests there is a small possibility the iceberg originated from further north, in Baffin Bay, so the question of the Titanic iceberg’s origin can never be resolved with absolute certainty. But descriptions of the iceberg from survivors and the fact that five sixths of the icebergs modelled as passing 48°N latitude calved from southwest Greenland in 1912 support our model.

Icebergs ahead

More localised iceberg models are used on a regular basis by the International Ice Patrol to track icebergs in the NW Atlantic today, in combination with satellite and radar data. Even though there have been years of much greater iceberg numbers in the recent past, this constant monitoring has meant the risk to shipping is now much reduced.

Icebergs are still a threat, however, and the risk in regions without this constant monitoring is significant. As recently as 2007, the cruise ship MV Explorer sank after a collision with an iceberg in the Weddell Sea, off Antarctica and collisions elsewhere occur from time to time.

Indeed, icebergs will remain a real risk for years to come. Their number is likely to increase as Arctic glaciers respond to global warming and the sea-ice retreats. With shipping routes planned for the Arctic and the construction of coastal installations, monitoring iceberg hazards continues to be important to prevent more titanic disasters in the future.

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The Titanic sank into the Atlantic Ocean 111 years ago today. Here are rare photos of the ship.

Some 111 years ago, the Titanic sank into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

Tragedy struck during the British luxury passenger liner's maiden voyage. Four days into the ship's journey from Southampton, England, to New York City, the Titanic collided with an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland on the night of April 14, 1912.

The 882.5-foot-long ship  disappeared beneath the ocean in the early hours of April 15, 1912, at about 2:20 a.m.

More than 1,500 people of the about 2,200 people on board were killed during the tragedy, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica . The ship's crew and third-class passengers suffered the greatest loss – with 710 deaths in the third class and 700 among the crew.

In the decades following the sinking of the Titanic, the tragedy has been documented with gripping stories, films inspired by the events and extensive research – including underwater footage of the wreckage . 

To commemorate the 111th anniversary of the tragedy, here are some photos of the famous ship and rare artifacts from all those years ago.

Watch: Never-before-seen footage of Titanic wreck site released to public  

How many people died on the Titanic?  Facts on the deaths and the survivors   

What's everyone talking about?  Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day.   

The Titanic’s final days: A daily timeline

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Sunday, April 22, 1912:

White Star hires a second ship – the cable-laying ship Minia – to recover bodies from the scene of Titanic’s sinking. Another cable ship – the Mackay-Bennet – had reached the scene on April 20 and was quickly overwhelmed by the number of bodies to be found there. By the time recovery efforts conclude, 326 of Titanic’s more than 1,500 dead have been found. More than 100 are buried at sea. The others are brought to shore where some are sent home for burial. The remaining victims are buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Saturday, April 21, 1912:

After having been compelled to remain in New York in order to testify at the U.S. Senate inquiry into the disaster, the Titanic’s surviving crew board the liner Lapland for their return to England. British newspapers carry a statement from Captain Smith’s widow that reads: “My hear overflows with grief for you all, and is laden with sorrow that you are weighed down with this terrible burden that has been thrust upon us. May God be with us and comfort us all. Yours in deepest sympathy (Signed) Eleanor Smith”

Friday, April 20, 1912:

Olympic reaches shore after a harrowing voyage in which she tried in vain to reach her sinking sister ship in time to mount a rescue, and the rescue ship Carpathia again departs New York to resume the Mediterranean voyage that was interrupted when she answered Titanic’s distress signal.

Thursday, April 19, 1912:

White Star officials learn that the only tangible remains of Titanic – the 13 lifeboats Carpathia had brought ashore – had been picked clean of their nameplates. Sometime in the night the lifeboats are removed from the dock where they’d been left the night before and placed in storage in the second floor loft of the White Star pier. From there they disappear into history. It is thought they were returned to England and used on other White Star ships.

Wednesday, April 18, 1912:

At last the world learns who has survived and who has died as the Carpathia reaches New York this evening amid a thunderstorm. Before docking, the ship stops alongside the White Star pier and unloads the 13 Titanic lifeboats that she has carried to shore. She then docks in her pier and the Titanic survivors disembark amid a caucophony of friends,family, reporters, photographers and onlookers. The New York Times pays Titanic’s junior wireless operator Harold Bride handsomely for his story, which runs under the headline “Thrilling Tale by Titanic’s Surviving Wireless Man.”

Tuesday, April 17, 1912:

Carpathia continues to relay the list of survivors but doesn’t answer specific inquiries – not even when President Taft inquires about the fate of his military aide, Major Archibald Butt, who, as the world would later learn, had died in the disaster. On board the rescue ship one Titanic survivor writes that the ship was so crowded with people that he spent several sleepless nights seated in a chair.

Monday, April 16, 1912:

The worker relayed the list of survivors, which began on the afternoon of April 15, continues with the list being collected on board the Carpathia, now bound for New York, and relayed to Titanic’s sister, Olympic, which has stopped in mid-ocean to act as relay station from ship to shore. Slowly the true fate of Titanic, her passengers and crew reaches America, where yesterday people had read conflicting headlines, one of which had proclaimed “All Saved From Titanic After Collision.”

Sunday, April 15, 1912:

Captain Smith orders the crew to muster the passengers and load and lower the lifeboats. During a mostly orderly evacuation, the lifeboats are lowered under the general rule of “women and children first.” Despite numerous calls for assistance by wireless and the firing of distress rockets at regular intervals, no ships will reach the ship before she disappears beneath the waves at 2:20 a.m. Of the 2,228 people on board, there are only 705 survivors to be picked up when the S.S. Carpathia arrives on the scene about 4 a.m.

Saturday, April 14, 1912:

More ice warnings come through by wireless but not all reach the bridge before 11:40 p.m., when the ship’s lookouts spot an iceberg directly in the ship’s path. Titanic’s First Officer William Murdoch orders the ship turned to port and the engines reversed, but it’s too late. Titanic strikes the iceberg a glancing blow and compromises five watertight compartments. Shortly before midnight the ship’s designer, Thomas Andrews, informs Captain Smith that the ship will sink in a short amount of time.

Friday, April 13, 1912:

By 5 a.m. the wireless is up and working again. After breakfast Captain Smith conducts his daily inspection of the ship and is informed by Chief Engineer Joseph Bell that a fire that had been raging in Boiler Room 6 since the ship left port has been extinguished. However, the bulkhead has been damaged. This bulkhead’s failure on April 15 would play a key role in the ship’s demise.

Thursday, April 12, 1912:

Titanic’s passengers and crews are still acquainting themselves with the ship and her many public rooms and hallways when, at 11 a.m., the ship receives the first of many ice warnings from the Empress of Britain. Another warning comes at 8 p.m. from the French liner La Tourraine. A few hours later, at 11 p.m., the ship’s wireless apparatus stops working. The ship’s wireless operators violate Marconi company rules by working on the repairs themselves.

Wednesday, April 11, 1912:

Titanic reaches Queenstown, Ireland. As in Cherbourg, her immense size makes it impossible for her to enter the harbor. She weighs anchor a few miles from shore, and tenders bring passengers and cargo to the ship’s side. A handful of cross-channel passengers disembark here, the last port of call before Titanic steams into the Atlantic bound for New York. The ship departs Queenstown at 1:30 p.m. She takes with her 2,228 people (including 908 crew).

Tuesday, April 10, 1912:

Sailing day arrives at last. A lifeboat drill takes place before passengers arrive to meet the requirements of the British Board of Trade. The drill takes half an hour and is deemed a success. Just after noon Titanic moves away from her berth. As she passes ships moored along the harbor, the force of her motion creates a suction that draws the New York toward her side. Fast-acting tugboats act quickly and manage to get New York under control before she collides with Titanic. The voyage continues, and Titanic arrives later that evening in Cherbourg Harbor, where she takes on additional passengers and cargo.

Monday, April 9, 1912:

A last-minute shakeup occurs on the eve of the maiden voyage that was intended to give Titanic the expertise of Henry Wilde, who had most recently served as Chief Officer on Olympic under Capt. Smith. As a result William Murdoch is demoted to First Officer, the same post he most recently served on Olympic. Charles Lightoller is demoted to Second Officer, a post that had been assigned to David Blair. Blair left Titanic, taking with him the keys to a cupboard where a pair of binoculars were stored. As a result, the Titanic’s officers lay claim to the binoculars to be used by the ship’s lookouts, who will have to do without on the maiden voyage.

Sunday, April 8, 1912:

It’s a rainy day in Southampton but there’s no time to spare as preparations continue for Titanic’s maiden voyage. Today, as more than 4,000 tons of coal are loaded into her bunkers, the ship also takes on most of the fresh supplies she’ll need for the crossing. The list is quite impressive and includes:

• 75,000 pounds of fresh meat
• 2,500 pounds of sausage
• 2,200 pounds of coffee
• 800 pounds of tea
• 1,750 quarts of ice cream
• 8,000 cigars
• 20,000 bottles of beer and stout

Saturday, April 7, 1912:

Some of Titanic’s most prominent passengers are making their way toward Cherbourg, France, a port where they’ll board ship on April 10. Artist Frank Millet is touring Rome’s Villa Aurelia, which had been bequeathed in 1909 to the American Academy, which coincidentally counted J.P. Morgan as one of its founders. American multi-millionnaire John Jacob Astor and his second wife, Madeleine, have arrived in Naples, where they will remain through Easter. They will board Titanic for the return to America, where they plan to await the birth of their baby.

Friday, April 6, 1912:

Ship’s crew members who had been laid up in Southampton during a recent coal strike hope to find relief today as hiring begins for Titanic’s voyage. The harbor is full of ships whose voyages were cancelled due to the lack of coal. In fact, several ships had their coal commandeered by White Star to ensure Titanic has enough for her first trip. Passengers on these vessels find themselves being transferred to the new White Star liner for their voyage to America.

Thursday, April 5, 1912:

Titanic is “dressed” for Good Friday with flags flittering along her rigging from stem to stern. Curious residents of Southampton are able to enjoy the view but are not allowed to tour the ship, which is the subject of a whirl of activity as the departure date approaches.

Wednesday, April 4, 1912:

Titanic arrives in her Southampton berth just after midnight.

Tuesday, April 3, 1912:

Titanic sails from Belfast for Southampton, where she’ll receive provisions in preparation for her maiden departure. During the trip, she works up to a speed of slightly more than 23 knots, the highest speed she would ever reach.

Monday, April 2, 1912:

Titanic departs Belfast at 6 a.m. on her sea trials and for the first time is photographed moving under her own steam. Her 40-miles journey along the Irish sea takes roughly 12 hours and satisfies the requirements of the British Board of Trade, which certifies her ready for service.

Sunday, April 1, 1912:

High winds prevent Titanic from undergoing her sea trials. She remains in Belfast, where Edward J. Smith assumes command, relieving Herbert J. Haddock.

Saturday, March 31, 1912:

Preparations are made for Titanic to depart Belfast for her sea trials. The ship is swung around to face the path to Belfast Lough and the sea beyond.

Friday, March 30, 1912:

Olympic arrives in Southampton at the end of her last crossing under the command of E.J. Smith. His new command, Titanic, is nearly ready to leave the shipyard that built her after three years under construction.

Thursday, March 29, 1912:

The rush to complete Titanic in time for her maiden voyage means there won’t be time for her to spend a day on public display for a day in her port of registry, Liverpool. Today, however, journalists are allowed to inspect the ship in Belfast.

Wednesday, March 28, 1912:

J.P. Morgan, the American financier whose conglomerate owns the White Star Line, announces his intention to attend an International Art Exhibition April 23-25 in Venice. As a result, he will miss Titanic’s maiden voyage. His suite will instead be occupied by White Star Chairman Bruce Ismay.

Tuesday, March 27, 1912:

The Titanic’s hull is insured for $5,000,000 against damage or loss during her sea trials, which are imminent. The sea trials will test the seaworthiness of the vessel and the performance of her engines and machinery. The policy is underwritten by a consortium of companies on both sides of the Atlantic.

Monday, March 26, 1912:

Herbert Pitman signs on in Liverpool as Third Officer on Titanic, which he’ll join in Belfast before she departs on her sea trials. When disaster strikes, Pitman is ordered to take command of a Lifeboat 5, capacity 65, which leaves the ship slightly more than an hour after the collision with 36 people on board.

Sunday, March 25, 1912:

Herbert J. Haddock signs on as captain of Titanic, a position he’ll have for only one week until Captain Edward J. Smith, commander of the Olympic, arrives to assume command of the White Star Line’s new flagship. Haddock will then assume command of Olympic. On this day Titanic’s lifeboats pass a seaworthiness test. The ship carries 16 wooden lifeboats under davits and four collapsible lifeboats, so called because they have wooden bottoms and collapsible canvas sides. Due to outdated regulations Titanic has room in her lifeboats for less than half of her maximum capacity for passengers and crew.

Saturday, March 24, 1912:

David Blair signs on as Titanic’s Second Officer in Belfast. His post was short-lived, however. When the ship reached Southampton, it was decided – perhaps at Captain Smith’s urging – that Henry Wilde should join the new ship as her Chief Officer, a post he had most recently served under Smith on the Olympic. As a result, William Murdoch was demoted to First Officer, and Charles Lightoller to Second Officer. Blair was bumped from the roster and departed Titanic on April 9, the day before departure.

Friday, March 23, 1912:

Titanic’s sister ship Olympic departs New York for Southampton, where her master, Captain E.J. Smith, will take command of the White Star Line’s new flagship, Titanic. This was destined to be Capt. Smith’s last visit to New York, a port Titanic will never reach.

Thursday, March 22, 1912:

Newspapers in America are already running advertisements for Titanic’s return voyage to England. Titanic, the ads proclaim, will “sail from New York April 20.” The ads also treat readers to a list of the ship’s amenities, which include “French a la carte restaurant, Turkish and electric baths, swimming pool, four elevators, gymnasium, Verandah Cafe, Palm Court.”

Wednesday, March 21, 1912:

While Titanic is being completed, photographers are allowed on board in the first weeks of March to document her internal fittings and furnishings. Newspapers are both sides of the Atlantic publish the images along with lavish descriptions of the ship’s interiors. White Star wants to ensure the public sees Titanic as an improvement over her older sister ship Olympic.

Tuesday, March 20, 1912:

Following his recent transfer from the Oceanic, Charles Lightoller reports for duty as first officer on Titanic. Lightoller will be the most senior officer to survive the Titanic disaster. He floated off the ship as the forward Boat Deck submerged and joined other survivors on an overturned collapsible lifeboat, where they remained for hours until another lifeboat came alongside and took them on board.

Monday, March 19, 1912:

The shipyard workers of Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland are racing to complete Titanic in time for her maiden voyage, which has already been moved back twice. In Sept. 1911 her sister ship, Olympic, had returned to the shipyard for repairs following her collision with a British cruiser. More recently, Olympic returned for the replacement of a propeller blade that had fallen off during a crossing in Feb. 1912. The White Star Line has just announced their new ship would begin her maiden voyage on April 10, 1912.

Sunday, March 18, 1912:

American financier J.P. Morgan has just finished a tour of excavations at Pompeii, where many frescoes and statues were uncovered. The tycoon plans to return to America on the Titanic, which is owned by Morgan’s conglomerate – the International Mercantile Marine, which has been buying shipping companies to gain control of the lucrative North Atlantic shipping trade. One of the two deluxe suites – private promenade deck included – has been set aside for him.

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Why Did the Titanic Sink?

By: Sarah Pruitt

Updated: May 2, 2024 | Original: April 12, 2018

An estimated 100,000 people gathered at the dock in Belfast, Ireland, on March 31, 1911, to watch the launch of the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic. Considered an “unsinkable” ship, the  Titanic  was the largest and most luxurious cruise liner of its day, measuring more than 882 feet long from prow to stern—the length of four city blocks—and 175 feet high, and weighing more than 46,000 tons. It boasted state-of-the-art technology, including a sophisticated electrical control panel, four elevators and an advanced wireless communications system that could transmit Morse Code. Despite these amenities, the fabled ship would never reach its destination.

When Did the Titanic Sink?

On the night of April 14, 1912, just four days after leaving Southampton, England on its maiden voyage to New York , the Titanic struck an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland and sank. Now, more than a century after the Titanic went down, experts are still debating the possible causes of this historic disaster that took the lives of more than 1,500 passengers and crew. Most of them agree that only a combination of circumstances can fully explain what doomed the supposedly unsinkable ship.

It was traveling too fast.

From the beginning, some blamed the Titanic’s skipper, Captain E.J. Smith, for sailing the massive ship at such a high speed (22 knots) through the iceberg-heavy waters of the North Atlantic. Some believed Smith was trying to better the crossing time of Titanic’s White Star sister ship, the Olympic. But in a 2004 paper, engineer Robert Essenhigh speculated that efforts to control a fire in one of the ship’s coal bunkers could have explained why the Titanic was sailing at full speed.

The wireless radio operator dismissed a key iceberg warning.

Less than an hour before the Titanic hit the iceberg, another nearby ship, the Californian, radioed to say it had been stopped by dense field ice. But as the warning didn’t begin with the prefix “MSG” (Master’s Service Gram), which would have required the captain to directly acknowledge receiving the message, the Titanic’s radio operator Jack Phillips considered the other ship’s warning non-urgent, and didn’t pass it along .

It may have taken a fatal wrong turn.

According to a claim made in 2010 by Louise Patten (the granddaughter of the most senior Titanic officer to survive, Charles Lightoller), one of the ship’s crewmembers panicked after hearing the order to turn “hard-a-starboard” in order to avoid the approaching iceberg. Because ships at the time operated on two different steering order systems, he became confused and turned the wrong way—directly toward the ice. Patten included this version of events, which she said she heard from her grandmother after Lightoller’s death, in her fictionalized account of the Titanic disaster, Good as Gold .

The Titanic’s builders tried to cut costs.

In 1985, when an American-French expedition finally located the historic wreck, investigators discovered that, contrary to earlier findings, the Titanic had not sunk intact after hitting the iceberg but had broken apart on the ocean’s surface. Materials scientists Tim Foecke and Jennifer Hooper McCarty have cast blame on the more than 3 million rivets that held the hull’s steel plates together. They examined rivets brought up from the wreck and found them to contain a high concentration of “slag,” a smelting residue that can make metal split apart. This may have weakened the part of the Titanic’s hull that hit the iceberg, causing it to break apart upon impact.

Mirages and hazy horizons were created by weather conditions.

Two studies done around the time of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster in 2012 suggested that nature played a key role in the ship’s fate. The first argued that the Earth came unusually close to both the moon and the sun that year, increasing their gravitational pull on the ocean and producing record tides, which caused increased amounts of floating ice in the North Atlantic around the time of the sinking. 

The second study, by British historian Tim Maltin, claimed that atmospheric conditions on the night of the disaster might have caused a phenomenon called super refraction . This bending of light could have created mirages, or optical illusions, that prevented the Titanic’s lookouts from seeing the iceberg clearly. It also would have made the Titanic appear closer, and smaller, to the nearby ship the Californian, causing its crew to assume it was a different ship without a radio, preventing them from attempting to communicate. From their vantage point, and with these hazy conditions, when the Titanic started to sink, the Californian’s crew would have thought it was merely sailing away.

The lookouts had no binoculars.

Second officer David Blair, who held the key to the Titanic’s store of binoculars in his pocket, was transferred off the ship before it left for its maiden voyage from Southampton and forgot to hand over the key to the officer who replaced him. At a later inquiry into the sinking, a lookout on the Titanic said binoculars might have helped them spot and dodge the iceberg in time. Blair kept the key as a memento of his near-miss; it was auctioned off in 2007 and fetched some £90,000.

There weren’t enough lifeboats.

No matter what caused the Titanic to sink, such a massive loss of life could probably have been avoided if the ship had carried sufficient lifeboats for its passengers and crew. But the White Star liner left Southampton with only 20 lifeboats, the legal minimum, with a total capacity of 1,178 people. Though Maurice Clarke, the civil servant who inspected the Titanic in Southampton, recommended it carry 50 percent more lifeboats, his handwritten notes at the time later revealed that he felt his job would be threatened if he did not give the famous ship the go-ahead to sail. Due to the chaos that ensued after the Titanic struck an iceberg, the 20 lifeboats departed the ship with some 400 empty seats, leaving more than 1,500 people to perish in the frigid ocean waters.

HISTORY Vault: Titanic's Achilles Heel

Did Titanic have a fatal design flaw? John Chatterton and Richie Kohler of "Deep Sea Detectives" dive the wreckage of Titanic's sister ship, Britannic, to investigate the possibility.

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A Timeline of the Sinking of the Titanic

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From the time of its inception, the Titanic was meant to be gigantic, luxurious and safe. It was touted as being unsinkable because of its system of watertight compartments and doors, which of course proved to be just a myth. Follow the history of the Titanic, from its beginnings in a shipyard to its end at the bottom of the sea, in this timeline of the building of the ship through its maiden (and only) voyage. In the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, all but 705 of its 2,229 passengers and crew lost their lives in the icy Atlantic .

The Building of the Titanic

March 31, 1909: Construction of the Titanic begins with the building of the keel, the backbone of the ship, at Harland & Wolff's shipyard in Belfast, Ireland.

May 31, 1911: The unfinished Titanic is lathered up with soap and pushed into the water for "fitting out." Fitting out is the installation of all the extras, some on the exterior, like the smokestacks and the propellers, and a lot on the inside, like the electrical systems, wall coverings, and furniture.

June 14, 1911: The Olympic, sister ship to the Titanic, departs on its maiden voyage.

April 2, 1912: The Titanic leaves the dock for sea trials, which include tests of speed, turns, and an emergency stop. At about 8 p.m., after the sea trials, the Titanic heads to Southampton, England.

The Maiden Voyage Begins

April 3 to 10, 1912: The Titanic is loaded with supplies and her crew is hired.

April 10, 1912: From 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., passengers board the ship. Then at noon, the Titanic leaves the dock at Southhampton for its maiden voyage. First stop is in Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic arrives at 6:30 p.m. and leaves at 8:10 p.m, heading to Queenstown, Ireland (now known as Cobh). It is carrying 2,229 passengers and crew.

April 11, 1912: At 1:30 p.m., the Titanic leaves Queenstown and begins its fated journey across the Atlantic for New York.

April 12 and 13, 1912: The Titanic is at sea, continuing on her journey as passengers enjoy the pleasures of the luxurious ship.

April 14, 1912 (9:20 p.m.): The Titanic's captain, Edward Smith, retires to his room.

April 14, 1912 (9:40 p.m.) : The last of seven warnings about icebergs is received in the wireless room. This warning never makes it to the bridge.

Last Hours of the Titanic

April 14, 1912 (11:40 p.m.): Two hours after the last warning, ship lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg directly in the path of the Titanic. The first officer, Lt. William McMaster Murdoch, orders a hard starboard (left) turn, but the Titanic's right side scrapes the iceberg. Only 37 seconds passed between the sighting of the iceberg and hitting it.

April 14, 1912 (11:50 p.m.): Water had entered the front part of the ship and risen to a level of 14 feet.

April 15, 1912 (12 a.m.): Captain Smith learns the ship can stay afloat for only two hours and gives orders to make first radio calls for help.

April 15, 1912 (12:05 a.m.): Captain Smith orders the crew to prepare the lifeboats and get the passengers and crew up on deck. There is only room in the lifeboats for about half the passengers and crew onboard. Women and children were put into the lifeboats first.

April 15, 1912 (12:45 a.m.): The first lifeboat is lowered into the freezing water.

April 15, 1912 (2:05 a.m.) The last lifeboat is lowered into the Atlantic. More than 1,500 people are still on the Titanic, now sitting at a steep tilt.

April 15, 1912 (2:18 a.m.): The last radio message is sent and the Titanic snaps in half.

April 15, 1912 (2:20 a.m.): The Titanic sinks.

Rescue of Survivors

April 15, 1912 (4:10 a.m.) : The Carpathia, which was about 58 miles southeast of the Titanic at the time it heard the distress call, picks up the first of the survivors.

April 15, 1912 (8:50 a.m.): The Carpathia picks up survivors from the last lifeboat and heads for New York.

April 17, 1912: The Mackay-Bennett is the first of several ships to travel to the area where the Titanic sank to search for bodies.

April 18, 1912: The Carpathia arrives in New York with 705 survivors.

April 19 to May 25, 1912: The United States Senate holds hearings about the disaster; the Senate findings include questions about why there were not more lifeboats on the Titanic.

May 2 to July 3, 1912: The British Board of Trade holds an inquiry into the Titanic disaster. It was discovered during this inquiry that the last ice message was the only one that warned of an iceberg directly in the path of the Titanic, and it was believed that if the captain had gotten the warning that he would have changed course in time for the disaster to be avoided.

Sept. 1, 1985: Robert Ballard's expedition team discovers the wreck of the Titanic .

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Titanic anniversary: A maiden voyage that ended in tragedy

On 10 April 1912 the Titanic set sail from Southampton dock, heading for New York with thousands of passengers and crew on board. No one could predict the disaster about to befall the ‘unsinkable’ ship Guardian Shorts: Titanic - a century of news

RMS Titanic, then the largest ship in the world and widely believed to be unsinkable, left Southampton dock on 10 April 1912, bound for New York with more than two thousand passengers and crew members on board.

Tickets ranged from £7 15s for steerage to £870 for the most impressive suites, which included two bedrooms, sitting room, private bathroom and a room for the servants, as well as a private balcony, the latest thing.

Titanic’s provisions for the journey included 75,000 lbs of fresh meat, 35,000 eggs, 40 tons of potatoes, 1,000 lbs of tea and 15,000 bottles of ale and stout.

The day after the Titanic set off on her maiden voyage, the Guardian’s leader writers marvelled at how far removed such first class travel was from ‘old-fashioned people’s ideas of a sea voyage’. Titanic was fitted out with luxurious lounges, squash courts, top restaurants and concert halls.

It was a maiden journey that was to end in disaster for the Titanic’s passengers and crew. On 14 April 1912, at 11.40 pm, the Titanic struck an iceberg; three hours later, at 2.20 am, she sank, claiming over 1,500 lives. Little more than 700 passengers and crew survived the tragedy.

One survivor, a Mr. Beesley, told the Press Association when he reached New York that ‘there was no panic or rush to the boats, and there were no scenes of women sobbing hysterically, such as one generally pictures happening at such times.’

The British inquiry held in the wake of the disaster found little fault with the Titanic’s Captain, EJ Smith; though the ship was travelling at too high a speed they determined he was merely following an accepted method of navigation that had, until then, resulted in no loss of life.

The inquiry did however criticise Stanley Lord , then master of the Californian, for failing to respond to Titanic’s distress signals, suggesting that his ship may have ‘saved many, if not all, of the lives that were lost’ if he had done so. Lord was dogged by the accusation for the remainder of his life.

Download the Guardian Shorts Titanic ebook now, and immerse yourself in the Titanic’s incredible journey and the tragedy that unfolded, as the Guardian saw it.

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Ice! The Titanic Disaster

AT 11:40 P.P. SHIP'S TIME —9:50 p.m. in New York—on the night of April 14, 1912, Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The ice buckled hull plates and popped rivets along 300 feet of the vessel’s starboard side, breaching six of her watertight compartments. Emotions onboard staggered from disbelief, to resistance, and finally to panic as passengers and crew comprehended their ship’s unimaginable fate. In the radio room, frantic operators sent distress signals. With too few lifeboats, only 712 of the 2,229 people aboard Titanic lived to see sunrise on April 15.

Post Office Department Annual Report

The Post Office Department’s annual report for 1912 recounted the heroics of Titanic ’s postal clerks. The post office, below the ship’s waterline on the forward starboard side, was among the first areas to flood:

“About a quarter of a hour after the collision the opening or lower room in the sea post office was found to be practically filled with water and the sacks in it adrift. The clerks were seen in the sorting room above, closing sacks and preparing to take on deck all the mails available. The last reports concerning their actions show that they were engaged in this work and in carrying the sacks up on deck to the last moment.”

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More than $150,000 in postal money orders sank along with Titanic ’s mail. Officials had kept detailed records at issuance, and so many money orders were eventually reimbursed.

Titanic Cover

First-class passenger George E. Graham, a Canadian returning from a European buying trip for Eaton’s department store, addressed this folded letter on Titanic stationery. Destined for Berlin, the envelope was postmarked on the ship and sent ashore with the mail, probably at Cherbourg, France. The morgue ship Mackay-Bennett recovered Graham’s body.

Titanic Postcard

Signed “Love, Ugly” by an unknown passenger, this card addressed to “Miss Gwen” was postmarked aboard Titanic and sent ashore with the mail, probably at Queenstown, Ireland, the ship’s last port of call before heading westbound across the Atlantic.

Titanic Facing Slip

Found on Oscar Scott Woody’s body nine days after Titanic ’s sinking, this facing slip bears one of the clearest surviving strikes of the ship’s onboard postmark (Transatlantic Post Office 7). Clerks placed facing slips on bundles of mail to indicate their destination.

Francis D. Millet Condolence Letters Noted American artist Francis (“Frank”) D. Millet died on Titanic . The Millet Family Papers at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art contain three folders of letters addressed to Lily Millet (his widow) and Laurence Millet (his son) in the days after the sinking.

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Iceberg Near Titanic ’s Wreck Site

Lifeboat 14, towing Lifeboat D

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Titanic Survivors on the Rescue Ship Carpathia

Crowd Awaits the Rescue Ship Carpathia

Carpathia laden with Titanic ’s survivors and lifeboats

Harold Bride, Titanic ’s Surviving Wireless Operator

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Funeral Procession for Titanic Victim John Jacob Astor IV

Oscar Scott Woody

Learn more About Francis D. Millet Condolence Letters

This text on this page is archived from the National Postal Museum exhibition Posted Aboard RMS Titanic , which ran from April 14 to October 30, 2001. It did not appear in Fire & Ice .

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The Sinking of the Titanic: On This Day, April 15

Posted by kristin miller on friday, 04/15/2016.

On the night of April 14–15, 1912, the world’s largest passenger steamship, the RMS Titanic , sank in the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg during its maiden voyage, with approximately 1,500 people still on board. This letter, written on Carpathia stationery by first-class passenger Doctor Washington Dodge, is a vivid account of the sinking that describes the Titanic ’s final hours. It is one of the earliest, most immediate, and compelling accounts of the disaster. In addition, the carelessness of Dodge’s handwriting offers a glimpse into his state of mind as he penned his testimony.

  Read the full letter and find out more about Dr. Dodge      

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Apr 15, 1912 ce: titanic sinks.

On April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic Ocean.

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On April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic Ocean. The largest and most luxurious ship in the world, the Titanic was also one of the most technologically advanced. The ship had 16 watertight compartments designed to keep it afloat if damaged. This led to the belief that the ship was unsinkable. However, only four days into its maiden voyage , the Titanic struck an iceberg near Newfoundland, Canada. The collision damaged the ship and its watertight compartments. With a limited number of lifeboats, many passengers could not escape the ship. Only hours after the collision , the Titanic sunk, taking about 1,500 passengers with her. The fate of the Titanic led to new international agreements to prevent future disasters , such as the creation of an International Ice Patrol that would alert ships of icebergs . In addition, the first International Convention of Safety of Life at Sea created new lifeboat regulations to protect the safety of passengers.

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Titanic chronology: april 14, 1912.

Titanic struck the iceberg at 11:40 pm ship time on 14 April 1912. The night was moonless and the sea calm with temperatures at or below freezing. Titanic was moving quickly but did not see the iceberg until it was nearly upon them. An attempt to steer around it resulted in a collision on Titanic’s starboard side. The iceberg would puncture Titanic enough so that the first five compartments would flood. Since the compartments were not totally sealed all the way up, water would go from one compartment to the other making her sink at the bow.

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Flashback in maritime history: Sinking of RMS TITANIC, on 14 April 1912

( www.MaritimeCyprus.com )  RMS Titanic  – A passenger ocean liner and, at the time, the world’s largest ship. On 14 April 1912, on her maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg, buckling part of her hull and causing her to sink in the early hours of 15 April. 706 of her 2,224 passengers and crew survived. Her loss was the catalyst for major reforms in shipping safety and is arguably the most famous maritime disaster, being the subject of countless media portrayals.

The sinking of the RMS Titanic occurred on the night of 14 April through to the morning of 15 April 1912 in the north Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The largest passenger liner in service at the time, Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at 23:40 (ship’s time)[a] on Sunday, 14 April 1912. Her sinking two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20 (05:18 GMT) on Monday, 15 April resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, which made it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.

Titanic received six warnings of sea ice on 14 April but was travelling near her maximum speed when her crew sighted the iceberg. Unable to turn quickly enough, the ship suffered a glancing blow that buckled her starboard (right) side and opened five of her sixteen compartments to the sea. Titanic had been designed to stay afloat with four of her forward compartments flooded but not more, and the crew soon realised that the ship would sink. They used rocket flares and radio (wireless) messages to attract help as the passengers were put into lifeboats. However, in accordance with existing maritime practice, the ship was carrying far too few lifeboats for everyone (though slightly more than the law required), and many boats were not filled to their capacity due to a poorly managed evacuation.

The ship sank with over a thousand passengers and crew members still on board. Almost all those who jumped or fell into the water died from hypothermia within minutes. RMS Carpathia arrived on the scene about an hour and a half after the sinking and had rescued the last of the survivors in the lifeboats by 09:15 on 15 April, little more than 24 hours after Titanic ’s crew had received their first warnings of drifting ice. The disaster caused widespread public outrage over the lack of lifeboats, lax shipping regulations, and the unequal treatment of the different passenger classes aboard the ship.

Inquiries set up in the wake of the disaster recommended sweeping changes to maritime regulations. This led to the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. It stipulated the minimum number of lifeboats, emergency equipment and radiobroadcast watches for ships to operate. Further versions were adopted over the next 50 years.

The most important version was adopted in 1974. This heralded a new era at the International Maritime Organization - of 'tacit acceptance.' Previous conventions took years or decades to come into force, mainly due to countries bickering about acceptance. 'Tacit acceptance' meant that an amendment would automatically come into force on a particular date, unless objections were received from a large number of nations.

SOLAS 1974 is updated frequently via tacit acceptance and now sets minimum standards for safety, equipment, construction, maintenance, communications, and cargoes.

Click here to download the investigation report.

For more interesting maritime history click HERE

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Dining with disaster: reviving the last meal on the titanic.

Maria Godoy

Before the iceberg, before the lifeboats, before the sinking, there was the dinner.

On the evening of April 14, 1912, the first-class passengers aboard the Titanic sat down for a sumptuous 10-course meal. The menu included oysters, filet mignon, poached salmon, chicken Lyonnaise, foie gras, roasted pigeon, lamb with mint sauce and Punch Romaine, a palate-cleansing ice flavored with oranges and drenched in champagne.

Now, as the 100 th anniversary of the disaster that ensued approaches, Titanic enthusiasts around the world are marking the occasion by signing up for dinners that recreate that lavish last meal aboard the ill-fated ship.

In London, diners can get a three-course version for a little under $40 at HIX, a restaurant at the department store Selfridge's. In Houston, $12,000 will get you the full, 10-course menu for 12 people at Cullen's Upscale American Grille . The price tag at Hong Kong's luxury Hullett House hotel is even heftier – $1,930 per person — but it reportedly comes with added authenticity: a vintage 1907 bottle of wine rescued from the wreck of the Titanic.

A waiter pours wine at a recreation of the Titanic's last meal at the Hullett House hotel in Hong Kong. AARON TAM/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

For those looking for a more intimate setting, websites and books offer advice on hosting Titanic-themed dinners at home.

The idea strikes some as morbid, but when approached with reverence, such a meal can be a way to connect with the roughly 1,500 people who lost their lives that night, says Dana McCauley, co-author of the book Last Dinner On The Titanic .

"It humanizes the tragedy to look at the food, and I think that is where the fascination comes from," says McCauley. "It's the only way we have to have a sense of what it might have been like to be them."

Popular culture has a longstanding fascination with the Edwardian era, a time of lavish lifestyles made possible by servants. Food and class were intertwined — dining was a form of entertainment and a statement of status.

Witness the current popularity of Downton Abbey , the BBC period drama whose first season opened with news of the Titanic tragedy. (Food plays a big role in that series.) McCauley's book came out in 1997, when James Cameron's blockbuster film of doomed love aboard the ship was fueling the last wave of Titanic mania.

Food provides a window into that past, says McCauley. Her book blends recipes from Titanic's kitchens with historical anecdotes to paint a picture of life aboard the ship. Her co-author, Rick Archbold, also wrote a book about the Titanic with Robert Ballard, the explorer who identified the site of the shipwreck in 1985.

A second class breakfast menu from Titanic seen on display at the SeaCity Museum in London. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

A second class breakfast menu from Titanic seen on display at the SeaCity Museum in London.

"What interested me was the fact that the cuisines was so stratified," sys McCauley. "You rally have a microcosm of three levels of Edwardian society represented in those menus."

While the dining in second class was less decadent than in first, those passengers also ate surprisingly well, says McCauley. Second class included many Americans, a fact that head chef Charles Proctor took into account when designing the menu, which included "classic French bistro dishes and classic north American dishes like turkey," says McCauley. "In postcards home, they wrote about how fantastic food was."

The pre-dinner cocktail offering was also a concession to Americans on board, she says. Cocktails were all the rage stateside, but many Europeans thought they ruined your palate for dinner.

Third-class service was modeled on the habits of the British working classes: The big meal of the day was served at lunch time, while the evening fare was a lighter repast of soup or stew.

Feeding the more than 2,220 passengers aboard Titanic was a massive effort. McCauley says Titanic's crew included 113 cooks, 15 first cooks (who supervised things), 12 pastry chefs, 6 bakers, 5 butchers and 5 sous chefs. And that's not counting the dozens of crew members whose job it was to wait on diners or clean up after them.

Braised chicken and asparagus salad are part of one menu inspired by meals served on the Titanic. Kathleen Galligan/MCT /Landov hide caption

Braised chicken and asparagus salad are part of one menu inspired by meals served on the Titanic.

"They did about 6,000 meals out of that kitchen," McCauley says.

Most of these crew members, including chef Proctor, went down with the ship. One notable exception: Chief baker Charles Joughin.

When Titanic hit the iceberg, Joughin famously steeled himself with alcohol while organizing provisions for the lifeboats. History tells us he threw reluctant women and children into the rafts and chucked dozens of deck chairs into the ocean so they could be used as flotation devices.

He was still on Titanic when it broke apart, and reportedly rode the ship down as the liner sank – "I do not believe my head went under at all," he later told an inquiry .

Joughin survived in the water for hours, floating in his lifebelt until rescue arrived.

He died in Paterson, NJ, decades later.

100 years after the Titanic

It was a tragedy of immense proportions with more than 1500 lives lost, but out of this disaster came countless changes to maritime safety—changes that 100 years later continue to shape the maritime industry.

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) was created as a direct result of the sinking of the Titanic . SOLAS is described by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as being “generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships”.

One of the key advancements in maritime safety brought about following the sinking of the Titanic was in relation to the number and use of lifeboats. The Titanic did not have sufficient lifeboats for all passengers, a lifeboat drill was not conducted, nor did the crew have adequate training in loading and lowering the lifeboats. These issues are all addressed in SOLAS, with minimum requirements specified.

Australia is a signatory to SOLAS and numerous other maritime conventions. Furthermore, we play a key role in enhancing international maritime safety standards, as a member of the IMO Council.

On 15 April Australia will join with countries all over the world to remember the tragedy of the Titanic . In September, the IMO’s World Maritime Day will also focus on this anniversary and the developments in maritime safety since this time.

The Titanic will never be forgotten, nor will the international maritime safety arrangements that started as a result of this disaster cease. It is a continual process and one which is a priority for Australia and all IMO Member States.

Note to media: Detailed information on the safety of life at sea and Australia’s role in the IMO are available on the AMSA website. Photos are also available to download from this site.

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The Titanic – The Californian

So near but yet so far away….

The Titanic was not the only ship in the North Atlantic ice field on the night of 14th April 1912.

At around 10.30pm the liner Californian had stopped at the edge of the ice field for the night. They had turned off their radio and the operator had gone to bed.

The night crew of the Californian noticed a big passenger liner stop some six miles to the south at 11.40pm.

Shortly after midnight the Captain of the Californian was told by his crew that the big passenger liner was firing rockets into the sky. They concluded that the ship had stopped for the night and was having a party.

At 2.20am it was noticed that the big ship had disappeared and the crew believed that it had steamed away.

At 3.20am more rockets were seen and by 4.00am another ship, the Carpathia, could be clearly seen in the last noted position of the big liner.

The Californian’s wireless operator was awoken at around 5am and the crew learned of the fate of the Titanic.

In the British and American inquiries into the disaster, Captain Stanley Lord of the Californian maintained that his ship was positioned nineteen miles north of the Titanic not six and could not have reached the Titanic in time to rescue passengers.

However, many of Titanic’s survivors testified that there was indeed another ship about six miles north of Titanic.

The inquiries concluded that the Californian had indeed been just six miles to the north of Titanic and could have reached the Titanic before it sank.

But was it the Californian?

Could there have been another ship in the area?

This article is part of our larger selection of posts about the Titanic. To learn more,  click here for our comprehensive guide to the Titanic.

Additional Resources About The Titanic

Was titanic unsinkable: why did people think it was, titanic construction: building the “unsinkable” ship, the titanic: passengers, crew, sinking, and survivors, why did the titanic sink five theories that may explain it, cite this article.

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