In 1898, an author named Morgan Robertson wrote a novel about a fabulous
ocean liner, much larger than any that had ever been built. He loaded his ship with rich
people and then wrecked it on a cold April night on an iceberg. The name of his book was
Futility.
Fourteen years later, a British shipping company named the White Star Line built a
steamer very much like the one in Robertson’s novel. The new liner was 66,000 tons
displacement; Robertson’s was 70,000 tons. The real ship was 882.5 feet long; the
fictional one was 800 ft. Both ships were triple screw, and could make 24-27 knots. Both
could carry about 3,000 people, and neither one had enough lifeboats. But this didn’t
seem to matter, because both were labeled “unsinkable”
On April 10, 1912, the real ship left Southampton on her maiden voyage to New
York. She carried priceless cargo and a list of very wealthy passengers. Four days into
her voyage, she too struck an iceberg and went down on a cold April night.
Robertson called his ship “Titan”; the White Star Line called its ship the Titanic.
This is the story of a magnificent ship called the R.M.S. Titanic.
Go ToThe birth of the Titanic
Go ToR.M.S. Titanic Pictures
Go ToR.M.S. Titanic Webrings
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