This week marks the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic during its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Shortly after 11:40pm on April 14, 1912, after 4 days at sea, the Titanic struck an iceberg on its starboard (right) side. Two hours and 40 minutes later, at 2:20am on April 15, the Titanic was sunk.
Among the cargo on board were 5 Grand Pianos, 1750 pounds of ice cream, 40,000 fresh eggs, 15,000 bottles of beer and an automobile.
The RMS Titanic was equipped with a heated pool, 2 libraries, a gym, 2 barber shops and a dark room and printing press in order to publish a daily newspaper each day, but there were only enough lifeboats to accommodate half of the ship's passengers.
After the Titanic was struck, many lifeboats were lowered that were only partially filled. Almost 500 more passengers could have survived had the boats been filled to capacity.
Over 1500 passengers and crew members perished during the sinking, including the ship's captain, Edward Smith, 80% of the male passengers, 25% of the female passengers and 9 pet dogs. The youngest victim was 19 months old.
For further reading:
Green, Rod. Building the Titanic: an epic tale of the creation of history's most famous ocean liner. Pleasantville, N.Y.: Reader's Digest, 2005. Print.
Ballard, Robert D., and Michael S. Sweeney. Return to Titanic: a new look at the world's most famous lost ship. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004.
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