RMS Titanic passenger and crew biography, Titanic history, research and discussions

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RMS Titanic

The Titanic was a British registered four funnelled ocean liner built for the transatlantic passenger and mail service between Southampton and New York.

Constructed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland she was, at the time of her maiden voyage, the largest vessel afloat.

On April 10th 1912 the Titanic set sail from Southampton with 2,200 passengers and crew, four days later the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank. 1500 people died and 700 survived. This website attempts to tell their story and that of the great ship with which their fate would be inextricably linked.

It is since Titanic was lost.

Where do I go from here?

Passenger List | Crew List | Survivors | Victims | Articles
Basic Statistics | On this Day | Timeline | Sitemap | A-Z

People

The Titanic carried 2207 people. People all ages, people of great wealth and of bitter poverty. Unsuspecting witnesses to an event they could never have envisaged

If you could walk the decks of the Titanic you would hear a dozen or more languages being spoken with every imaginable dialect. Not surprisingly the Titanic is often described as a microcosm of society.

The route to understanding the Titanic story is to learn about and understand the people that built her, the people that sailed on her, those that died and those that survived when she met her end.

Passenger List : Crew List | Survivors | Victims

History

According to legend the Titanic was conceived at a meeting between Lord Pirrie of Harland & Wolff and Bruce Ismay, Chairman of the White Star Line.

The vessels would forsake speed for increased safety and comfort. While millionaire passengers would grab headlines, vastly increased steerage capacity and accommodation for the growing middle class would drive economic success.

After a construction period of nearly three years the Titanic, commanded by veteran Captain Edward John Smith, departed in Southampton on 10th April 1912 never to return.

In a growing archive of articles this site covers the story of the Titanic from her construction, maiden voyage, disaster and aftermath to the discovery of her wreck in 1985.

Design and Engineering

The Titanic designed and constructed at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

She was 882 feet 9 inches in length and 92 feet in breadth. Her gross tonnage was 46,328 tons. Three propellers were driven by two four-cylinder, triple-expansion, inverted reciprocating steam engines and one low-pressure Parsons turbine. Steam was provided by 25 double-ended and 4 single-ended Scotch-type boilers fired by 159 coal burning furnaces that gave her a theoretical top speed of 23 knots.

Deckplans

Technical articles

Technical Discussions

Culture

Movie Archive

The Titanic forms part of our cultural landscape. In Hollywood movies, books, art and music her tragedy is replayed. Titanic has even entered the language: the phrase re-arranging deckchairs on the Titanic exemplifies a futile exercise.

In this site you can learn about how the Titanic has been reflected in contemporary culture; Titanic on film and record, in photographic image and in art. You can also learn about the true stories that inspired the movie makers including The Real Jack Dawson, and you can see the rarest of all film, the Titanic herself.

Other Destinations
Sheet Music | Recorded Music | CGI | Animation

Titanic Research

Have you every wanted to know more about the Titanic, a passenger or crew member. So have we! Research can be as simple as picking up a book or going to your library and searching through the local newspapers from 1912. So why not give it a try and post your findings on Encyclopedia Titanica.

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Movies

Pictures

Basic Statistics

The People

324 1st class passengers, 201 survived.
277 2nd class passengers, 118 survived.
708 3rd class passengers, 181 survived.
885 crew members, 212 survived.
13 postmen/musicians, none survived.
Grand total: 2,207 on board, 712 survived.

The Ship

Length: 882 feet 9 inches
Beam: 92 feet
Gross tonnage: 46,328 tons
Propulsion: Three propellers
Engines: Two triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines
One low-pressure Parsons turbine
25 double-ended and 4 single-ended Scotch-type boilers
159 coal burning furnaces
Top speed : 23 knots.

Defending Ernest Gill
One night in 1994, at the tender age of 14, I sat glued to the TV watching the superb A&E documentary about the Titanic disaster. Having read and heard little of the Lordite claims about the SS Californian, however, save
Mrs. Petersen James Corrigan Wed in Torrance
In a quiet ceremony attended by only the immediate members of the two families, Mrs. Edwina C. Petersen, 1021 Sixth St., Hermosa Beach, and James Corrigan, 323 Ave. C, Redondo Beach, were united in marriage Saturday, July 23. Rev. P
Edwina Troutt and James Corrigan 1955
The marriage between Edwina Troutt Petersen and James Corrigan took place on July 23, 1955. It was the second marriage for both the bride and groom.
Why A Low Angle Break?
In the James Cameron film "Titanic," we all saw the stern of the ship rise up in the air and take on a relatively steep angle as the bow of the ship sank deeper and deeper into the water. Suddenly, the hull split and the stern came
The Titanic : Our Story
SUNDAY morning, April 14, 1912, was a beautiful clear day, high wind and cold. Elizabeth and I wrote letters before service, remarking at the service that they did not sing the hymn "For Those in Peril On the Sea." Then read the chart an
Rheims, Lightoller, and the Officer's Suicide Enigma
  If the enigma of the "officer’s suicide" had been a work of fiction created by Rex Stout, creator of the legendary fictional sleuth Nero Wolfe, chances are Stout would have called it "Too Many Questions". For the q
Titanic Victims Starved
That several Titanic victims probably starved to death in lifeboats seemed probable when the White Star Liner Oceanic docked today. The Oceanic picked up, last Monday, a lifeboat containing three bodies terribly decomposed. Each vi
Dr Alfred Pain - In Memoriam
IN AFFECTION AND REMEMBRANCE OF A KIND AND A DUTIFUL SON AND NOBLE YOUNG MAN AND IN APPRECIATIVE RECOGNITION OF THE SYMPATHY OF MANY TRUE FRIENDS, THIS LITTLE BOOK IS LOVELY DEDICATED. Alfred Pain was born at Ham
My Maiden Voyage
When I say that I am a survivor of the Titanic you will know at once that my story is to be one of great tragedy, for even after fourteen years, the name of that ill-fated vessel brings a shudder of horror to those who remember it's wr
The saddest of many sad stories
One of the saddest of the many sad stories which has to be told concerns the fate of Mr. Daniel W. Marvin, a young American who was returning with his wife from the honeymoon trip spent in Europe. Mr Marvin is missing, but M
Thelma Thomas, 78, Survivor of Titanic
WILKES-BARRE, Pa., Jan. 8 (AP)—Thelma Thomas, a survivor of the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, died Monday at a nursing home where she had been a patient for three weeks. She was 78. A native of Le
Owner Who Fled Stricken Titanic Dies as Recluse
London, Oct. 18 (Monday).—Joseph Bruce Ismay, 74 years old, former owner of the White Star Line and former president of the International Mercantile Marine Co., who survived the Titanic disaster, d
MORGAN'S WILD AUTO DASH
The Financier Catches an Express Train in the Berkshires --- Special to The New York Times --- PITTSFIELD, Mass., Sept. 8---J. Pierpont Morgan to-day pursued an express train in an automobile and caught it.
McGough the Killer
TWO killers roamed the RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage… Not the stuff of lurid pulp adventure, instead actual fact. The two wrongdoers were a fireman and an able bodied seaman. Stoker William Mintra
McGough the Key?
THERE’S a Titanic seaman named McGough who is claimed to be a human key to understanding the sequence of lifeboat departures. He’s said to have helped lower lifeboat No. 14 – but to have departed in lifeboat No.
Albert Stewart - In Memoriam
STEWART—In constant and lasting memory of Albert A. Stewart, lost on the Titanic. April 12 [sic] 1912.   A. S. K.
Giant Ships Soon to Join the Atlantic Fleet
Olympic and Titanic, Carrying 5,000 People---12,000 Tons Heavier, 50 Feet Longer Than Any Ship Afloat VISITORS to the commercial capital of Ireland by way of the Victoria Channel through Belfast Lough for the first time ca
Building of Giant Liners
Work on the White Star's Olympic and Titanic Proceeds Rapidly The rise and progress of the leviathan liners now building is an absorbing topic of conversation at Belfast, where the rapid advance in their constructio
The Floating Islands
Today, a floating city; tomorrow, a floating island. No other word is spacious enough for the gigantic ships now coming into existence. Next midsummer the largest ship in the World will be ploughing the Atlantic under the flag of th
The Perils of Passengers
ANOTHER very terrible wreck of an iron steamship has been reported and a loss of human lives has been the consequence, which must cause a shudder to the intending passengers to Europe this season. The unfortunate ship was the "Vicksburg"
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Titanic links sought for exhibition
Wednesday 26th November 2008 6:34 PM
The Cornishman
THE most famous ill-fated ship in history, the Titanic, is to be the subject of a major new exhibition at the Maritime Museum in Falmouth next year and the search is on to find local people with a personal connection. Although the exhibition won't be unveiled until next March, the museum is appealing now for people with their own stories to tell to come forward.
Submitted by Jason D. Tiller

Get outta town: Titanic set to dock soon in Pigeon Forge
Monday 24th November 2008 1:17 PM
Memphis Commercial Appeal
A new attraction has set sail for Pigeon Forge and will become the world's second largest museum attraction solely about the Titanic. The 30,000-square-foot ship-shaped Titanic Tennessee will be located near the Black Bear Jamboree, just off the Parkway in Pigeon Forge.
Submitted by Jason D. Tiller

In his own words – man who survived Titanic and sinking of her sister ship
Sunday 23rd November 2008 10:04 PM
Scotsman
LETTERS written by a seaman who survived the sinking of the Titanic and its sister ship the Britannic four years later – only to die in a German torpedo attack – are expected to raise up to £20,000 at auction. Archie Jewell was on board the Titanic on the night of 14 April, 1912, and his writings describe the horror of watching the great ship sink and hearing the cries of passengers drowning in the icy seas.
Submitted by Jason D. Tiller

New Titanic exhibit coming to Science Museum
Thursday 20th November 2008 2:22 PM
MinnPost.com
Nearly 10 years ago, Minnesotans streamed into St. Paul's Union Depot to see some long-lost pieces of history — artifacts from the Titanic. More than 400,000 people lined up to see clothing and personal items that went down with the ship, along with a 20-ton chunk of the ocean liner's hull. Not to mention the ship's whistle. Well, it's coming back.
Submitted by Jason D. Tiller

Titanic sets sail
Monday 17th November 2008 4:25 PM
The Gazette (Montreal)
The sinking of the allegedly unsinkable Titanic has fascinated few more than it has Paul-Henry Nargeolet. He was among the very first to see the sunken ocean liner in its final resting place, 12,600 feet at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, about 645 kilometres southeast of Newfoundland. That was over 20 years ago.
Submitted by Jason D. Tiller

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition Invited to Madrid
Wednesday 12th November 2008 3:07 PM
Market Watch
RMS Titanic, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (PRXI:PRXI News, chart, profile, more Last: Delayed quote dataAdd to portfolio Analyst Create alertInsider Discuss Financials Sponsored by: PRXI, , ) announced today that it will present Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in Madrid, Spain. Titanic will open November 22nd at Teatro Carlos III in the recently redesigned exhibition facility where Premier's highly successful, BODIES.The Exhibition appeared this past year.
Submitted by Jason D. Tiller

Dives to the Fitzgerald should be banned altogether
Tuesday 11th November 2008 12:55 AM
Duluth (MN) News Tribune
The Titanic, Empress Of Ireland, Lusitania and Andrea Doria are ships that all share an unfortunate bond: Their wrecks have been picked over mercilessly for artifacts. That’s especially true of the wreck site of the Titanic, which has become a tasteless carnival for tourist dives. (Note: Registration at site may be needed to read entire article.)
Submitted by Richard Krebes

Titanic Survivor’s Treasured Suitcase Arrives in Branson
Monday 10th November 2008 2:54 PM
KY3
In a moving ceremony members of the news media and many of their children were invited to watch the arrival of a rare Titanic Treasure in Branson Saturday. A small wicker suitcase that once belonged to the only living survivor of the Titanic disaster arrived at the Titanic Museum Attraction for a two month showing. The suitcase filled with donated clothing was given to Millvina Dean as she arrived in New York City after being rescued with her mother and brother in 1912.
Submitted by Jason D. Tiller

HAODS to stage a Titanic musical
Tuesday 4th November 2008 3:30 PM
Henley Standard
HISTORY’S most famous shipwreck comes to the stage of the Kenton Theatre next month, when HAODS stages Titanic — The Musical. It tells the story of the hopes, loves and dreams of the real-life passengers and crew as the gigantic liner embarked on her maiden voyage in April 1912.
Submitted by Jason D. Tiller

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition to Open in Montreal, November 11th
Friday 31st October 2008 1:33 PM
Trading Markets
RMS Titanic, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (Nasdaq:PRXI) announced today that Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will open November 11th at The Eaton Centre located in the heart of downtown Montreal. Appearing for the first time in the historic city, this blockbuster exhibition includes a vast collection of more than 250 artifacts recovered from Titanic's debris field.
Submitted by Jason D. Tiller

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The Wreck of the Titanic
A Descriptive Composition for Piano Solo By William Baltzell Published 1912 by Aubrey Stauffer & Co., Chicago, USA Listen to this Piece [Midi]
STORY TOLD OF SINKING Of The Titanic
By A Nephew Of A Mt. Vernon Man Who Was Rescued In One Of The Life Boats Charles Burgess Arrives At Home In England
The Mystery of Rhoda Abbott Revealed
Rhoda Abbott was a survivor of one of the most tragic maritime disasters in history, the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic

1st Class Passengers
Still Alive Today
Children on the Titanic
Survivors of the Titanic disaster
How many people died in the Titanic disaster
Titanic Passenger List
Jack Dawson
Titanic Pictures
Iceberg
Captain Smith

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