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| pass=1,317 (maiden voyage)<br>First-class: 324<br>Second-class: 285<br>Third-class: 708

| pass=1,317 (maiden voyage)<br>First-class: 324<br>Second-class: 285<br>Third-class: 708

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}}'''R.M.S.''Titanic''''' was a luxury passenger liner which sank after striking an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, while on its maiden voyage from [[Southampton]], England, to New York City, killing 1,517 passengers and crew.  The men allowed women and children to go first in filling the lifeboats.  This disaster has been the subject of films, plays, literature, and scientific scrutiny.

}}'''R.M.S.''Titanic''''' was a luxury passenger liner which sank after striking an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, while on its maiden voyage from [[Southampton]], [[England]], to [[New York City]], dieing 1,517 from passengers and crew.  The men allowed women and children to go first in filling the lifeboats.  This disaster has been the subject of films, plays, literature, and scientific scrutiny.

==Description==

==Description==

==Flag==

==Flag==

British merchant vessels normally fly the Red Ensign. However, as the captain and at least 12 crew were members of the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR), a special warrant was issued to fly the Blue Ensign<ref>http://www.nava.org/Flag%20Information/articles/Titantic/titanic.htm</ref>.

 

[[British]] merchant vessels normally fly the Red Ensign. However, as the captain and at least 12 crew were members of the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR), a special warrant was issued to fly the Blue Ensign<ref>http://www.nava.org/Flag%20Information/articles/Titantic/titanic.htm</ref>.

==Maiden voyage==

==Maiden voyage==

''Titanic'' left Southampton on April 10, 1912, picking up additional passengers at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland, before heading out into the Atlantic.  At 11:40 pm on April 14, the ship was about 400 miles south of Newfoundland when it collided with an iceberg, rupturing six watertight compartments on the starboard side, resulting in flooding of the bow, and eventually flooding each watertight compartment aft until the ship broke apart at the surface and sank at 2:20 am on April 15.  The 706 survivors were rescued by the Cunard liner ''Carpathia'', which was more than 50 miles away when it first heard the distress calls; she arrived some eighty minutes after the ''Titanic'' went down.

 

''Titanic'' left Southampton on April 10, 1912, picking up additional passengers at Cherbourg, [[France]], and Queenstown (now Cobh), [[Ireland]], before heading out into the [[Atlantic]].  At 11:40 pm on April 14, the ship was about 400 miles south of Newfoundland when it collided with an iceberg, rupturing six watertight compartments on the starboard side, resulting in flooding of the bow, and eventually flooding each watertight compartment aft until the ship broke apart at the surface and sank at 2:20 am on April 15.  The 706 survivors were rescued by the Cunard liner ''Carpathia'', which was more than 50 miles away when it first heard the distress calls; she arrived some eighty minutes after the ''Titanic'' went down.

==Passengers==

==Passengers==

Several of the wealthiest and most prominent persons in the world were passengers on the Titanic for its prestigious maiden voyage. To their credit, they voluntarily went down with the ship and died rather than take a spot on a lifeboat from others.

Several of the wealthiest and most prominent persons in the world were passengers on the Titanic for its prestigious maiden voyage. To their credit, they voluntarily went down with the ship and died rather than take a spot on a lifeboat from others.

A full passenger list is available that highlights who survived and who did not<ref>http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whoweare/exhibits/titanic/p2.htm</ref>.

A full passenger list is available that highlights who survived and who did not<ref>http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whoweare/exhibits/titanic/p2.htm</ref>.

Prominent Americans who went down with the ship included Mr. Benjamin Guggenheim, of the family that donated the Guggenheim Museum of modern art in New York City, Major Archibald Butt, a military aide to President Taft, and Colonel J.J. Astor, whose great grandfather was the wealthiest American prior to the Civil War.  Colonel J.J. Astor was an inventor and science fiction writer who helped build three great hotels in New York City: the Astoria (now the Waldorf-Astoria), the Knickerbocker, and the St. Regis.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/titanic/astor.html</ref>

Prominent Americans who went down with the ship included Mr. Benjamin Guggenheim, of the family that donated the Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Major Archibald Butt, a military aide to President Taft, and Colonel J. J. Astor, whose great grandfather was the wealthiest American prior to the Civil War.  Colonel J. J. Astor was an inventor and science fiction writer who helped build three great hotels in New York City: the Astoria (now the Waldorf-Astoria), the Knickerbocker, and the St. Regis. <ref> [http://www.britannica.com/titanic/astor.html] </ref>

==Inquiries==

==Inquiries==

Inquiries conducted in both Great Britain and the United States determined a number of factors which contributed to the loss of the ship and passengers.

 

Inquiries conducted in both Great Britain and the [[United States]] determined a number of factors which contributed to the loss of the ship and passengers.

The watertight compartments were designed without capping at the top; water filling the six ruptured compartments pulled the bow of the ship down far enough that water spilled over the top of the next compartment in line.  ''Titanic'' also had 16 standard lifeboats and 4 collapsibles, with enough combined space to carry 1,178 passengers, far short of the 2,224 persons aboard; many of the lifeboats were lowered down the side only partialy filled with passengers (many of those remaining onboard initially believed the ship to be "unsinkable").  Although the number of lifeboats was determined to be inadequate, <ref>http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTReport/BOTRepRec.php#a2</ref> the Titanic had in actuality exceeded the British Board of Trade's lifeboat regulations, which had been written down for much smaller ships.

The watertight compartments were designed without capping at the top; water filling the six ruptured compartments pulled the bow of the ship down far enough that water spilled over the top of the next compartment in line.  ''Titanic'' also had 16 standard lifeboats and 4 collapsibles, with enough combined space to carry 1,178 passengers, far short of the 2,224 persons aboard; many of the lifeboats were lowered down the side only partialy filled with passengers (many of those remaining onboard initially believed the ship to be "unsinkable").  Although the number of lifeboats was determined to be inadequate, <ref>http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTReport/BOTRepRec.php#a2</ref> the Titanic had in actuality exceeded the British Board of Trade's lifeboat regulations, which had been written down for much smaller ships.

Both inquiries also determined that part of the blame for the high loss of passengers rested with Captain Stanley Lord of the liner ''Californian'', which was stopped for the night by an ice field some twenty miles from ''Titanic''.  The board members alleged that ''Californian'' could have aided ''Titanic'' had its radio operator been on duty after 11:00 pm, and able to hear its distress signals. Indeed, it was determined that officers on the bridge of the ''Californian'' had seen distress lights from what they considered to be a "large passenger steamer", keeping under observation until the lights vanished after 2:00 am, but doing nothing further than that <ref>http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTReport/BOTRepCalifornian.php</ref>.

Both inquiries also determined that part of the blame for the high loss of passengers rested with Captain Stanley Lord of the liner ''Californian'', which was stopped for the night by an ice field some twenty miles from ''Titanic''.  The board members alleged that ''Californian'' could have aided ''Titanic'' had its radio operator been on duty after 11:00 pm, and able to hear its distress signals. Indeed, it was determined that officers on the bridge of the ''Californian'' had seen distress lights from what they considered to be a "large passenger steamer", keeping under observation until the lights vanished after 2:00 am, but doing nothing further than that. <ref>http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTReport/BOTRepCalifornian.php</ref>.

Of the passengers who went into the water, only six were pulled out alive, and only by efforts of surviving officers in several boats going through a sea of bodies.  Hypothermia killed the remainder, as the water was about 29 degrees farenheit.  Many of those who perished came from wealthy, prominent families in Europe and America, among them the heirs to the Straus fortune and the owners of Macy's department store in New York City.  The disaster also had its heroes, such as the ship's band assembled on the stern in order to keep remaining passengers calm; and the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, who forcibly took the tiller away from a rowboat crewman and forced everyone in her lifeboat to go back for people in the water. <ref>http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic_victims/</ref><ref>http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/manifest.php?q=5</ref>

Of the passengers who went into the water, only six were pulled out alive, and only by efforts of surviving officers in several boats going through a sea of bodies.  Hypothermia killed the remainder, as the water was about 29 degrees farenheit.  Many of those who perished came from wealthy, prominent families in Europe and America, among them the heirs to the Straus fortune and the owners of Macy's department store in New York City.  The disaster also had its heroes, such as the ship's band assembled on the stern in order to keep remaining passengers calm; and the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, who forcibly took the tiller away from a rowboat crewman and forced everyone in her lifeboat to go back for people in the water. <ref>http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic_victims/</ref><ref>http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/manifest.php?q=5</ref>

==''Titanic'' found==

==''Titanic'' found==

[[Image:5462536r.jpg|right|thumb|Titanic's bow as seen from the Russian MIR I submersible.]]

[[Image:5462536r.jpg|right|thumb|Titanic's bow as seen from the Russian MIR I submersible.]]

The wreck was found on September 1, 1985 at 41°46′ N 50°14′ W, under 13,000 feet of water, by an American/French team led by Dr. [[Robert Ballard]] of Woods Hole Institute and Jean-Louis Michel of Ifremer.  Remote submersibles photographed the wreckage, which was in two pieces lying upright, confirming some witness accounts of the ship breaking in two at the surface.  Further explorations by Ballard and Ifremer could not find evidence of a long gash caused by the iceberg and cited on the original reports; instead it was postulated that a series of rivet popping combined with separation of seams and brittle fracturing in the hull plating allowed the water to rush in.

The wreck was found on September 1, 1985 at 41°46′ N 50°14′ W, under 13,000 feet of water, by an American/French team led by Dr. [[Robert Ballard]] of Woods Hole Institute and Jean-Louis Michel of Ifremer.  Remote submersibles photographed the wreckage, which was in two pieces lying upright, confirming some witness accounts of the ship breaking in two at the surface.  Further explorations by Ballard and Ifremer could not find evidence of a long gash caused by the iceberg and cited on the original reports; instead it was postulated that a series of rivet popping combined with separation of seams and brittle fracturing in the hull plating allowed the water to rush in.

==Links==

==Links==

*[http://www.titanicinquiry.org/USInq/USReport/AmInqRep03.php United States inquiry]

*[http://www.titanicinquiry.org/USInq/USReport/AmInqRep03.php United States inquiry]

*[http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOT01.php Great Britain inquiry]

*[http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOT01.php Great Britain inquiry]