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The project aims to recreate the legendary liner to demonstrate that even today the Titanic bears its name. Titanic 3D project: the Experience is a tool, a window in time that will always be open and free to all.

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From the news of its construction to the launch of its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912, the great ship was a marvel of its age. Its opulent first-class amenities were the stuff dreams were made of, and its sheer size amazed every passenger who boarded her. Titanic's sinking and the deaths of over 1,500 passengers and crew in the early morning hours of April 15 th shocked the world; however, unlike other tragedies of the time, Titanic has never faded from the collective consciousness of the world. It continues to endure, and the reasons why are as compelling as they are surprising. [click to continue...]

When Titanic struck an iceberg late in the evening of April 14 th, 1912 and sank into the icy North Atlantic waters just a few short hours later, it became one of the most sensationalized maritime tragedies in history. However, while much is known about the sinking and the tragic deaths of over 1,500 passengers and crew who lost their lives that night, what is less often discussed are the events that took place after the sinking. One such event, the American Titanic inquest, shed light on the events that happened that evening out at sea, who might have been responsible, and eventually paved the way for new maritime practices that strove to prevent another tragedy like Titanic from ever happening again. [click to continue...]

Many famous legends and stories of bravery have risen from the sinking of Titanic, but some have stood the test of time because they capture the imaginations of those who read about them. From fearless Molly Brown to wireless operator Harold Bride, who relayed the ship's S.O.S. message until he could do nothing else but give his life for the passengers, the sinking turned a few everyday people into heroes. However, there are few tales as heartbreaking and memorable as that of Wallace Hartley, the ship's violinist, and how his final moments of bravery gave the ship's passengers comfort as they fought for survival or faced certain death. [click to continue...]

When Titanic sank in the early morning hours of April 15 th, 1912, it birthed many mysteries and theories that still survive to this day. From the question of how Captain Smith spent his final moments on board to the identity of Titanic's Unknown Child, (solved 99 years later,) many fascinating stories abound. However, one of the most compelling is that of Helen Kramer, a woman who came forward 28 years after the sinking to claim that she was really Helen Loraine Allison, the only first-class child to die when Titanic sank out from under her family. [click to continue...]

When the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on the night of April 14 th, 1912 and sank into the freezing waters of the North Atlantic less than three hours later, just over 800 of the 1300 passengers on board would never again see the light of day. While this was a tragedy in itself, what struck home for many at the time was that 56 of the dead were children under the age of fourteen. While most of the children were forever lost, there was one little lad that captured the hearts of those who recovered his remains, and the Unknown Child, as he was named, would create a captivating mystery that endured long after the sinking. [click to continue...]

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Titanic Universe - Extensive Information about RMS Titanic of 1912

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From the news of its construction to the launch of its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912, the great ship was a marvel of its age. Its opulent first-class amenities were the stuff dreams were made of, and its sheer size amazed every passenger who boarded her.

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Ice! The Titanic Disaster - Fire and Ice

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Fire & Ice, an innovative exhibit bringing together two marvels of transportation, Hindenburg and Titanic.

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On its first trip across the Atlantic Ocean, a passenger ship called the Titanic struck a huge iceberg. The ship sank on April 15, 1912, killing more than 1,500 people. It was one of the most famous disasters of the 20th century.

Before there were airplanes, people crossed oceans on ships called ocean liners. The Titanic was one of the largest ocean liners of its time. It was more than 880 feet (270 meters) long...

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On its first trip across the Atlantic Ocean, a passenger ship called the Titanic struck a huge iceberg. The ship sank on April 15, 1912, killing more than 1,500 people. It was one of the most famous disasters of the 20th century.Before there were airplanes, people crossed oceans on ships called ocean liners.

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When the Titanic first sank, more than two thirds of its passengers met a watery end. Would you have been one of the lucky survivors...?
When the Titanic was launched, she was the biggest ship in the world. A vast ocean liner, she was built to carry passengers and cargo to and fro across the Atlantic. Other ships may have been faster, but the Titanic's owners, White Star, claimed she was the biggest, the best, the most luxurious - and the safest ship of all time...

To make sure the Titanic didn't sink, her hull was made up of 16 separate sections. If two, or even three, sections got holes, the ship would still have time to sail to safety. White Star were so sure the Titanic was unsinkable, they didn't put enough lifeboats on board. This would prove to be a BIG mistake...

On 10 April, 1912, the Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage, from Southampton, UK, to New York, USA. At first, she made good progress, but just before midnight of day five, in the freezing-cold North Atlantic Ocean, an iceberg loomed out of the darkness. The Titanic was so big, she couldn't change direction quickly enough. She scraped along the iceberg's side, tearing holes in at least four sections of the hull!

Captain Edward John Smith and his crew knew that the Titanic would sink in just a few hours, and so they quickly tried to make ready the few lifeboats they had. However, many of the passengers were asleep, and most didn't believe that anything bad was happening. The ship was still afloat, and not tilting. And, after all, the Titanic was unsinkable - wasn't it?

Into the icy ocean

The first lifeboats were launched half-empty, wasting precious spaces. When the ship did start to go down, everyone rushed for the last lifeboats. But it's thought that only about 705 of the 2,200-plus people on board made it to safety. Many jumped into the ocean to try to escape. But the water was a body-numbing 2°C, so most of those who went into the sea died from the cold, not from drowning!

Last survivor

The longest living survivor from the Titanic was Millvina Dean, who lived to be 97 years old. She was just a baby when she, her mother and brother made it into one of the lifeboats. Millvina lived to tell the tragic tale until 2009, when she passed away.

Finding the wreck?

In 1985, oceanographer (a sea scientist) Dr Robert Ballard used the Argo, a robot submarine, to find the wreck of the Titanic lying on the seabed. Since then, lots of interesting items have been salvaged from the sunken ship, such as tickets, letters and priceless jewellery.

So, if you had been on board would you have survived? It all depends on who you were...

- YOU were a woman or child: Women and children were allowed to board the lifeboats first. However, some men did get a place when the first few lifeboats didn't fill up.

- YOU were rich: First-class passengers were lucky - they had cabins on the upper decks, closest to the lifeboats. Many poorer passengers, in 'steerage' class on the lower decks, didn't reach the lifeboat deck in time.

- YOU obeyed orders: If you had got into a lifeboat as soon as the crew told you to, you would probably have survived. Remember that, next time you're on a ship!

- YOU were brave: Many people were too scared to leave the big ship for the tiny lifeboats. Others stayed on board because they didn't want to lose sight of their friends or family. To survive, you needed the courage to go for it.

- YOU were willing to push: In the final struggle for lifeboat places, those who pushed, won!

- YOU had stamina: Some survivors were plucked from the icy water after hanging onto bits of floating wreckage for more than half an hour. They had hung on to life!

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable Titanic primary resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

Photos and Illustrations: Getty Images UK

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Would YOU have survived the Titanic? | National Geographic Kids

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When the Titanic first sank, more than two thirds of its passengers met a watery end. Would you have been one of the lucky survivors...? When the Titanic was launched, she was the biggest ship in the world. A vast ocean liner, she was built to carry passengers and cargo to and fro across the Atlantic.

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scholastic news

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Nat Geo Kids

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On the night of April 14, 1912, the R.M.S. Titanic chugged through the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, its over 2,200 riders unaware of the looming danger.

Less than a week earlier, the luxury steamship-at the time the largest man-made moving object in the world-left Southampton, England, for New York City. Travelers had expected a posh and comfortable ride. After all, the Titanic's lavishly decorated first-class section featured gourmet meals, a heated pool, and squash courts. The ship even had its own onboard newspaper.

But the Titanic' s design also had major flaws. For instance, some believe that many of the bolts that held the ship together were weak. The bottom of the boat was also not built to withstand major flooding. And the steamship carried just 20 lifeboats-only enough to hold about half of the passengers.

Four days after setting sail, the Titanic struck an iceberg that tore a 300-foot gash into the ship's hull. As it flooded, riders began a frenzied evacuation into the lifeboats. Only about 700 would survive. And the ship, which took three years to build, would sink in less than three hours. Though scientists and historians believe that the design flaws were the major factors that led to the disaster, they continue to study the famous steamship for answers. So more than a hundred years after the Titanic tragedy, its story remains afloat.

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On the night of April 14, 1912, the R.M.S. Titanic chugged through the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, its over 2,200 riders unaware of the looming danger. Less than a week earlier, the luxury steamship-at the time the largest man-made moving object in the world-left Southampton, England, for New York City.

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History Channel

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Everyone knows the Titanic was big, and we have the hard numbers to prove it. Discover what made it a supersized ship.

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Eyewitness History

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"Suddenly a queer quivering ran under me, apparently the whole length of the ship. Startled by the very strangeness of the shivering motion, I sprang to the floor. With too perfect a trust in that mighty vessel I again lay down. Some one knocked at my door, and the voice of a friend said: 'Come quickly to my cabin; an iceberg has just passed our window; I know we have just struck one.'

On April 10, 1912, the Titanic, largest ship afloat, left Southampton, England on her maiden voyage to New York City. The White Star Line had spared no expense in assuring her luxury. A legend even before she sailed, her passengers were a mixture of the world's wealthiest basking in the elegance of first class accommodations and immigrants packed into steerage.

She was touted as the safest ship ever built, so safe that she carried only 20 lifeboats - enough to provide accommodation for only half her 2,200 passengers and crew. This discrepancy rested on the belief that since the ship's construction made her "unsinkable," her lifeboats were necessary only to rescue survivors of other sinking ships. Additionally, lifeboats took up valuable deck space.
Four days into her journey, at 11:40 P.M. on the night of April 14, she struck an iceberg. Her fireman compared the sound of the impact to "the tearing of calico, nothing more." However, the collision was fatal and the icy water soon poured through the ship.

It became obvious that many would not find safety in a lifeboat. Each passenger was issued a life jacket but life expectancy would be short when exposed to water four degrees below freezing. As the forward portion of the ship sank deeper, passengers scrambled to the stern. John Thayer witnessed the sinking from a lifeboat. "We could see groups of the almost fifteen hundred people still aboard, clinging in clusters or bunches, like swarming bees; only to fall in masses, pairs or singly, as the great after part of the ship, two hundred and fifty feet of it, rose into the sky, till it reached a sixty-five or seventy degree angle." The great ship slowly slid beneath the waters two hours and forty minutes after the collision

The next morning, the liner Carpathia rescued 705 survivors. One thousand five hundred twenty-two passengers and crew were lost. Subsequent inquiries attributed the high loss of life to an insufficient number of lifeboats and inadequate training in their use.

Elizabeth Shutes, aged 40, was governess to nineteen-year-old Margaret Graham who was traveling with her parents. As Shutes and her charge sit in their First Class cabin they feel a shudder travel through the ship. At first comforted by her belief in the safety of the ship, Elizabeth's composure is soon shattered by the realization of the imminent tragedy:

No confusion, no noise of any kind, one could believe no danger imminent. Our stewardess came and said she could learn nothing. Looking out into the companionway I saw heads appearing asking questions from half-closed doors. All sepulchrally still, no excitement. I sat down again. My friend was by this time dressed; still her daughter and I talked on, Margaret pretending to eat a sandwich. Her hand shook so that the bread kept parting company from the chicken. Then I saw she was frightened, and for the first time I was too, but why get dressed, as no one had given the slightest hint of any possible danger? An officer's cap passed the door. I asked: 'Is there an accident or danger of any kind? 'None, so far as I know', was his courteous answer, spoken quietly and most kindly. This same officer then entered a cabin a little distance down the companionway and, by this time distrustful of everything, I listened intently, and distinctly heard, 'We can keep the water out for a while.' Then, and not until then, did I realize the horror of an accident at sea. Now it was too late to dress; no time for a waist, but a coat and skirt were soon on; slippers were quicker than shoes; the stewardess put on our life-preservers, and we were just ready when Mr Roebling came to tell us he would take us to our friend's mother, who was waiting above ...

No laughing throng, but on either side [of the staircases] stand quietly, bravely, the stewards, all equipped with the white, ghostly life-preservers. Always the thing one tries not to see even crossing a ferry. Now only pale faces, each form strapped about with those white bars. So gruesome a scene. We passed on. The awful good-byes. The quiet look of hope in the brave men's eyes as the wives were put into the lifeboats. Nothing escaped one at this fearful moment. We left from the sun deck, seventy-five feet above the water. Mr Case and Mr Roebling, brave American men, saw us to the lifeboat, made no effort to save themselves, but stepped back on deck. Later they went to an honoured grave.
Our lifeboat, with thirty-six in it, began lowering to the sea. This was done amid the greatest confusion. Rough seamen all giving different orders. No officer aboard. As only one side of the ropes worked, the lifeboat at one time was in such a position that it seemed we must capsize in mid-air. At last the ropes worked together, and we drew nearer and nearer the black, oily water. The first touch of our lifeboat on that black sea came to me as a last good-bye to life, and so we put off - a tiny boat on a great sea - rowed away from what had been a safe home for five days.

The first wish on the part of all was to stay near the Titanic. We all felt so much safer near the ship. Surely such a vessel could not sink. I thought the danger must be exaggerated, and we could all be taken aboard again. But surely the outline of that great, good ship was growing less. The bow of the boat was getting black. Light after light was disappearing, and now those rough seamen put to their oars and we were told to hunt under seats, any place, anywhere, for a lantern, a light of any kind. Every place was empty. There was no water - no stimulant of any kind. Not a biscuit - nothing to keep us alive had we drifted long...

Sitting by me in the lifeboat were a mother and daughter. The mother had left a husband on the Titanic, and the daughter a father

and husband, and while we were near the other boats those two stricken women would call out a name and ask, 'Are you there?' 'No,'would come back the awful answer, but these brave women never lost courage, forgot their own sorrow, telling me to sit close to them to keep warm... The life-preservers helped to keep us warm, but the night was bitter cold, and it grew colder and colder, and just before dawn, the coldest, darkest hour of all, no help seemed possible...
...The stars slowly disappeared, and in their place came the faint pink glow of another day. Then I heard, 'A light, a ship.' I could not, would not, look while there was a bit of doubt, but kept my eyes away. All night long I had heard, 'A light!' Each time it proved to be one of our other lifeboats, someone lighting a piece of paper, anything they could find to burn, and now I could not believe. Someone found a newspaper; it was lighted and held up. Then I looked and saw a ship. A ship bright with lights; strong and steady she waited, and we were to be saved. A straw hat was offered it would burn longer. That same ship that had come to save us might run us down. But no; she is still. The two, the ship and the dawn, came together, a living painting."

References:
Elizabeth Shutes' account first appeared in: Gracie, Archibold, The Truth About the Titanic (1913), reprinted in: Foster, John Wilson (editor), The Titanic Reader (1999); Lord, Walter, A Night to Remember (1955); Davie, Michael, Titanic: The Death and Life of a Legend (1986).

How To Cite This Article:
"The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912," EyeWitness to History www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2000).

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wonderopolis

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Icebergs are large pieces of freshwater ice floating in open water. Icebergs are "born" when they break off from glaciers or ice shelves in a process called "."

Most of the glaciers that calve icebergs can be found along the shores of Greenland. Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 new icebergs break off from these glaciers each year.

Icebergs come in all shapes and sizes. Icebergs the size of a house are considered small.

Icebergs can be much, much bigger. Some icebergs can be as big as an airplane, a building or even an aircraft carrier! The tallest iceberg on record was about 550 feet tall.

So how big does a chunk of ice have to be to be called an iceberg? By definition, icebergs must extend out of the water at least 17 feet and be at least 50 feet long.

As they melt and become smaller, they are sometimes called "growlers" because of the animal-like sounds they make when trapped air escapes as they melt.

While ice cubes floating in your soda seem safe enough, icebergs floating in the ocean can actually be quite dangerous to ships. In fact, an iceberg was responsible for one of the worst maritime disasters of all time.

On the night of April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic was crossing the North Atlantic when it collided with an iceberg. Although the ship's lookouts had seen the iceberg with enough advance warning to avoid a head-on collision, the ship still struck the portion of the iceberg that was underwater.

The iceberg the ship's in several places, allowing water to fill several compartments and compromise the ship's ability to remain afloat. The Titanic sunk early the next morning, resulting in the loss of 1,517 passengers.

The Titanic had been considered "unsinkable" by some because of its advanced design, many safety features and immense size. Despite its impressive construction, it turned out to be no match for the iceberg it encountered that night.

The sinking of the Titanic led to the establishment of the International Ice Patrol, which still patrols the North Atlantic today to keep a lookout for icebergs that might endanger ships at sea.

The iceberg that sank the Titanic was probably extremely big. However, big icebergs are not necessarily more dangerous than smaller ones.

While big icebergs are usually easier for ships to see, smaller icebergs can hide in the ocean's waves, making them harder to spot and thus much more dangerous.

If you've ever heard the phrase, "just the tip of the iceberg," you might be surprised to learn there's a lot of truth to it. People use the phrase to mean that what you can see is not all there is.

That's true for icebergs. The higher they extend above the water, the deeper their bases extend below the water. For most icebergs, the part below the water is three to nine times the height above the water.

Despite the danger they pose to ships, icebergs play a key role in nature's water cycle. As icebergs melt, their water evaporates into the air and forms clouds.

The wind carries some of those clouds over Greenland, where the cold air causes moisture in the clouds to and fall as precipitation in the form of snow. Snow builds up on Greenland for thousands of years, forming glaciers.

Gravity forces these massive glaciers toward the sea. As they reach the ocean, the glaciers begin to break off into pieces and fall into the ocean, creating icebergs. As the icebergs travel and begin to melt, the process starts all over again!

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Icebergs are large pieces of freshwater ice floating in open water. Icebergs are "born" when they break off from glaciers or ice shelves in a process called "." Most of the glaciers that calve icebergs can be found along the shores of Greenland. Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 new icebergs break off from these glaciers each year.

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wonderopolis