In 1907, Bruce Ismay, managing director of the White Star Line, and a partner in the Harland and Wolff firm, and Lord James Pirrie, builder of many White Star Line vessels, were contemplating how to respond to their competition for the control over the Atlantic route, Cunard. They devised a plan to create three ships fifty percent larger than the Lustania, Cunard’s liner ("From Dream to Reality" 1-2). They went to work at once on their newest dream ship. Ismay and Pirrie planned many rooms and an elaborate dining room three decks high ("Construction" 1-2)..
Work on Titanic began in 1908 with the laying of the first keelplate on March thirty-first ("Titanic Takes Shape" 1). Titanic was a lavish and beautiful ship. Titanic consisted of twenty-nine boilers, each weighing one hundred pounds. The three anchors weighed thirty-one tons total. Her length was 8,829 inches. Titanic’s hull weighed 46,328 tons. She was as high as an eleven story building. Each funnel on board was large enough to drive two trains through. The entire ship cost 7.5 million in 1912 ("Beginning of the Journey" 1-2)..
Despite the great amount of money needed to fund Titanic’s construction, on May thirty-first, nineteen-eleven, crowds of people came to see Titanic launch from the Harland and Wolff shipyard to Belfast, where she would be dry-docked and her propellers fitted. At last, Titanic left Belfast and into her rightful place in history ("Welcome Aboard!" 1-2).
Titanic was the most lavish ship of its era. She was considered to be a hotel. Titanic had four elevators, three in first class and one in second class. She was the first ship to put an elevator in second class. Even the poor people on Titanic had large rooms; they were a lot larger than the third class rooms on other ships. She was the first to have a swimming pool and a first class gymnasium. Titanic even had a French café with waiters and gourmet French cooks ("Parts of Titanic" 1-2). She also featured tennis courts, a Turkish bath, a dark room for photographers, kennels, and private enclosed promenades ("A Floating Palace" 5)..
John Jacob Astor, a New Yorker, was the wealthiest man onboard. Astor had approximately $17 million. He came about his wealth through real-estate and the family’s fur-trading empire. He was also an inventor. He and his wife, Madeline, were married in nineteen-eleven. The people aboard the ship with John Jacob Astor were a nurse, a maid, his two dogs, Madeline, and Kitty (Rogers 49)..
Another important individual aboard was J. Bruce Ismay. J. Bruce Ismay’s father, Thomas Ismay, began the White Star Line in 1867. When he passed away, the company that managed it fell to the hands of his eldest son, Joseph Bruce Ismay. He appointed a long time friend, Harold Sanderson, as a partner in the company. As a result of his decision, the White Star Line flourished. After a few years of the company’s success, Ismay and Sanderson decided that Ismay would retire at the end of 1912 and Sanderson would take control of the company. After his tragic ride on Titanic, Ismay retired in 1913 and left Sanderson in charge. After leaving the White Star Line, Ismay stayed active in various company boards in London ("J.B. Ismay" 1-3). .
Wallace Hartley was known for his great violin playing. Instead of trying to save his life, he and his band continued to play until the last possible minute. Hartley was born in Colne, England. He was born to play the violin. He was immediately labeled a hero. Hartley had little chance of reaching a life boat and surviving, but his courageous and final performance will always be remembered (Rogers 50)..
Molly Brown’s fame began when she entered the lifeboat. She didn’t even want to board the boat at all, but she was pushed in after the boat was already being lowered ("Passengers and Crew" 6). Molly had the misfortune of sharing the boat with a pessimistic sailor. He told them they would all die when the boat was pulled under by the suction created by the sinking vessel. Despite this discouragement, Molly took an oar and began rowing..
Once aboard the Carpathia, Molly helped organize rescue efforts. Since she knew several languages, she could aid immigrant passengers. She listed survivors and arranged for the information to be radioed home to their families. Molly and other wealthy survivors raised money for destitute victims. Molly Brown helped many victims of the disaster and truly was "unsinkable" ("About Molly: The Titanic 3-4)..
For everyone aboard, the ship of dreams became a nightmare at 11:40 p.m. on April fourteenth, 1912. The minutes after Titanic struck the iceberg will remain frozen in history forever. Officer Murdoch was on duty at the time of the collision. He ordered the engines to be reversed and planned to turn the ship away from the iceberg. His efforts were too little, too late..
Bruce Ismay, upon feeling the steady rhythm of the engines stop, sought Captain Smith. By then, the ship was wounded and the captain confirmed her fatal status. Ismay was shocked to learn that his massive 7.5 million dollar ocean liner would sink to the ocean floor in little more than an hour ("That Fateful Night 1,3)..
The first class passengers aboard Titanic got first chance to board the lifeboats. The question was asked many times, "Why were so many boats left half full?" No one really knows the answer to that question. Maybe it was that the first class passengers didn’t want to sit with the third class passengers. Also, the guards called "women and children only." But first class men jumped aboard some life boats. The first class passengers aboard lived up to the snob status ("That Fateful Night 1-2)..
Most people aboard third class died because the guards wouldn’t let them out of their deck. The crew was supposed to let the women and children out first. But the crew wouldn’t listen. A lot of third class men were shot by guards. Some third class people jumped out windows, and most of the got crushed by them sinking ship. Most people aboard third class in Titanic died because of the selfish guards and the snobs aboard first class that didn’t want to be in a lifeboat with third class people ("The Maiden Voyage" 3)..
One reason Titanic is such a tragedy is how many people died. Actually, Titanic had more than enough lifeboats than British law required. Titanic had enough lifeboats for twenty-seven percent (962) of the passengers. Titanic and the White Star Line added four more boats, having enough capacity for thirty-four percent of its passengers ("That Fateful Night" 1)..
The veritable cause of Titanic’s death is not known to many. Most people believe Titanic’s fatal wound was a single enormous gash ripped in the side. In reality, that was only part of the problem. A metal sample from Titanic’s hull proves what really caused the sinking. A test was conducted comparing the ductility of a sample of high quality steel to that of a sample piece from Titanic’s hull. The steel was placed in almost freezing water and hit with a hammer. The high-quality steel only bent. When the hull sample was hit with the hammer, it broke in two. This evidence confirms that Titanic’s hull’s steel was far too brittle to handle any impact. If the steel had been tested for ductility and not only for strength, Titanic’s hull would only have dented, causing no harm ("Why She Really Sunk" 1-5)..
Titanic’s encounter with the iceberg could have been avoided completely if certain decisions had not been made. Poor hull steel was not the only cause of Titanic’s sinking. The first mistake was made by Bruce Ismay. He convinced Captain Smith to light the last four boilers. Ismay was not satisfied with his "ship of dreams". He wanted more headlines. The second mistake, made by Officer Murdoch, cost 1,523 people their lives. If he had not reversed the engines, and only slowed them down, the iceberg would not have punctured the hull as seriously as it did. Mother Nature was also working against the great ship. There was not much wind, so the waves would not break at the base of the iceberg, making them harder to spot in the darkness. Also, the lookouts had lost the binoculars in Southampton. It was this human error combined with the brittle hull that killed Titanic ("The Unsinkable Ship" 1-3)..
Dr. Washington Dodge was one of approximately 700 survivors from the Titanic disaster. That fateful night, Dr. Dodge did not realize anything was wrong. He even stopped his wife from dressing herself and their five year old son. When Dr. Dodge’s steward ordered him to don hid lifevest, he immediately obeyed and brought his wife and son to the deck. No one wanted to enter the boats and leave the safety of the ship. Titanic was still unsinkable in their minds ("Assessor Tells Story of Wreck" 1-3). Although no more women or children wanted on the boat, Dr. Dodge was denied entrance. He was then informed that the ship was not seriously damaged and four other boats would be on hand within the hour. He put his wife and son on a boat and returned to the starboard side. Before one boat was lowered, there was a call for more women and children. When no one responded, the officers told the men they could "tumble in" to the boat. They were lowered, nearly colliding with the boat beside it, in which Bruce Ismay was a passenger. Many steerage passengers tried to use weapons to board the boats. Those passengers were shot by officers while others were crushed by falling smokestacks. These horrific scenes were described by numerous other survivors ("Survivors Describe Scene" 2-3)..
The race to the lifeboats was much different for women. After coming to deck, most women went to the port side of the ship. Mrs. Dodge, Dr. Dodge’s wife, was saved in a boat with only women, but their husbands jumped in as the boat was being lowered. Dr. Dodge would not join his wife upon seeing there were more women on deck. Mrs. Dodge’s boat was lowered safely and they rowed away from the ship. Even when her boat was a mile away, they could hear the cries of those in the water. Mrs. Dodge wanted to go back, but the others refused even when the captain called them back. The women began to become hysterical, so Mrs. Dodge changed boats to escape them ("Rescue Described by Mrs.Dodge" 1-2). When the Carpathia finally picked up the lifeboats, so many passengers on the ship sacrificed their clothes, food, and rooms for the survivors. Mrs. Dodge wished she knew the names of all the people who helped her, her husband, and her son, but she never knew them ("Titanic Rescue Mrs. Dodge" 1-4)..
Titanic was discovered in August 1985 by Robert Ballard. With the help of Sonar and Argo, Ballard and his ream found the wreck. Without the use of Argo, Titanic would not have been found for a long time. One year after the discovery, Ballard and his research team traveled back to the site. They used a small submarine named Alvin to get a look at the wreck. To explore more in depth, a crew member used Jason, a robotic mini sub. Jason was the first to "see" Titanic with its cameras since 1912 ("Rediscovery of the Titanic" 1-2). Despite its 80 years on the ocean floor, Titanic is well preserved. The planking on the decks is still visible. Metal platters, coal, bed springs and pots have been seen. There are even some stained glass windows intact. There are many shoes preserved in the wreckage. The tanned leather resisted deterioration ("Recoveries" 1-3). There was a deck of playing cards, a steward’s jacket, a silver razor, and a White Star Line mug recovered. Also, the bronze cherub from the staircase was found ("Artifacts" 1-6). .
Should we leave Titanic alone as a grave and a monument to those who perished that fateful night? There were 2200 people on board, 700 were saved on the boats, and 300 were saved from the sea. That leaves 1200 people unaccounted for. What happened to them? It is not a mystery that there were people on every deck of the ship when she went down. That makes Titanic a tomb for almost 1200 people. Whether their remains are still there or not, Titanic remains a final resting place for all those innocent soles (Seright-Payne 2). What is the point in bringing up artifacts from Titanic? We have pictures of what passengers wore and what they owned. Why can we not leave it alone? What is out ultimate goal? No one really knows the answer. It is just a fascination with the entire Titanic concept, and the feeling of actually looking at the ship. This unexplained infatuation with the ship shows the beauty Titanic really possessed. No one could ever explain their love for Titanic. Whether it is the tragic sinking or the taking of 1,523 innocent lives will never be known. As long at that bond exists between man and Titanic, we will continue to take objects from the wreckage so we can better understand the era that sunk the great ocean liner (Geissel 1-2)..
Titanic’s fate shocked the world in 1912 and, 86 years later, inspires millions. Man thought he had conquered the sea by building the "unsinkable" ship. Instead, we learn that man cannot ever control nature. Although Titanic was a wonder, the "ship of dreams" was doomed from the start with its brittle metal and the ambitious Bruce Ismay. From the brainstorm in 1907, to her tragic accident, to the discovery of the wreckage in 1985, Titanic has been, and always will be, the most famous ocean liner to ever set sail.
