126 Fun Facts About Titanic

On what date did the RMS Titanic sink?

The RMS Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg. The collision itself occurred late on April 14th.

In what city was the RMS Titanic built?

Titanic was built in Belfast, at the Queen's Island shipyard on the River Lagan, beneath the huge Arrol Gantry erected to build her and her sister ship.

Which Celine Dion song from the 1997 film Titanic won the Oscar for Best Original Song?

"My Heart Will Go On", written by James Horner and Will Jennings and performed by Celine Dion, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the March 1998 ceremony.

How many lifeboats did the RMS Titanic carry?

The Titanic carried 20 lifeboats, which included 14 standard wooden lifeboats, 4 collapsible lifeboats, and 2 emergency cutters. This was fewer than its maximum potential capacity but exceeded the regulations of the time.

Who captained RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage and went down with the ship?

Captain Edward J. Smith, White Star's senior commander, stayed aboard and went down with his ship; his body was never recovered.

What was the approximate length of the RMS Titanic?

The RMS Titanic was approximately 882 feet 9 inches (269.06 meters) long.

From which port did the Titanic depart for its maiden voyage?

The Titanic began its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, on April 10, 1912, before making stops in Cherbourg and Queenstown.

The Titanic belonged to which class of ocean liners?

The Titanic was the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners built for the White Star Line, its sister ships being the Olympic and the Britannic.

How many of Titanic's funnels were functional rather than dummies?

The aftmost funnel was a dummy; all were painted White Star buff with black tops, flanked by two 155-foot masts.

At approximately what time did the Titanic strike the iceberg?

The Titanic struck the iceberg at approximately 23:40 (11:40 PM) ship's time on April 14, 1912.

In what year was the wreck of the Titanic discovered?

The wreck was found on 1 September 1985 by a joint French-American expedition led by Robert Ballard, 73 years after the sinking.

Who was the wealthiest passenger aboard the Titanic?

John Jacob Astor IV, a prominent American businessman and real estate developer, was the richest passenger on the Titanic.

How many watertight compartments was the Titanic designed with?

Titanic had 16 watertight compartments divided by 15 bulkheads; the bulkheads stopped short of the upper decks, so as the bow settled water spilled from one compartment into the next.

Approximately how many people died in the sinking of the Titanic?

About 1,500 died, though estimates range from 1,490 to 1,635 because the passenger list included people who cancelled at the last minute and some who travelled under aliases.

What was the name of the ship that rescued the survivors of the Titanic?

Carpathia was 58 miles away and, even at her maximum 17 knots, took about four hours to arrive, reaching the scene around 4 am after the ship had gone under.

What was the maximum capacity of people (passengers and crew) the Titanic could carry?

The maximum capacity of the RMS Titanic, when fully loaded with passengers and crew, was 3,547 people.

What was the name of the chief naval architect who designed the Titanic and died in the sinking?

Andrews inspected the damage after the collision and told the captain the ship was doomed, accurately predicting she would stay afloat for no more than about two hours.

What was the primary material used for the Titanic's hull?

The RMS Titanic, like other large ocean liners of its era, was constructed primarily with a steel hull.

At what depth does the wreck of the Titanic lie?

The wreck of the RMS Titanic lies at a depth of about 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Which deck of the ship was reserved for First Class and held their lounge and smoking room?

A Deck, also known as the Promenade Deck, was reserved exclusively for First Class passengers and housed many of their luxurious public rooms.

Which towed camera system was used to discover the Titanic wreck?

Argo was a towed sled carrying sonar and cameras, developed for the US Navy, which let Ballard hunt for the wreck once the Navy's own survey objectives had been met.

Roughly what share of third-class women died, against about 3% of first-class women?

About 54% of third-class women died (89 of 165) against 3% in first class; five of six first-class children and every second-class child survived, while 52 of 79 third-class children perished.

What type of distress signal was primarily used by the Titanic's wireless operators after the collision?

Junior operator Harold Bride suggested switching to SOS as it 'may be your last chance to send it'; despite the popular myth, SOS was not new and had been used many times before.

Which Belfast shipbuilder built Titanic?

Harland and Wolff built Titanic at its Queen's Island yard in Belfast; the firm's chairman also sat on the board of the ship's owner, so White Star had its liners built there.

What was the approximate number of people on board the Titanic during its maiden voyage?

About 2,208 people were aboard, well short of the ship's full carrying capacity of roughly 3,500.

The Titanic was designed to stay afloat with how many forward watertight compartments flooded?

Titanic could float with any two compartments flooded, or with the first four; with five opened by the iceberg, water spilled over the bulkheads, which stopped short of the deck above.

What did the 'RMS' prefix before Titanic's name stand for?

RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship: Titanic carried mail under contract, with five postal clerks from the Royal Mail and the US Post Office sorting letters aboard so they were ready on docking.

The bridge and the officers' quarters sat at the forward end of which level of the ship?

The Boat Deck, where the lifeboats were housed, also contained the bridge and the captain's and officers' quarters at its forward end.

What was the estimated top speed of the RMS Titanic?

The Titanic's service speed was 21 knots, but its estimated top speed was around 23 knots (approximately 26 mph or 43 km/h).

On average, how full were Titanic's lifeboats when they were lowered?

On average the boats left about 60% full; many passengers refused to leave the warm, seemingly safe ship for a small boat on a freezing night, John Jacob Astor reportedly saying, 'We are safer here than in that little boat.'

Which nearby ship saw Titanic's distress rockets but did not come to help?

Californian had stopped for the night in the ice field, and her only radio operator had shut his set down ten minutes before Titanic struck the iceberg.

Which of the following was NOT a port of call for the Titanic's maiden voyage?

Dublin was never on the route: after leaving her departure port Titanic called only at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading across the Atlantic.

What powered the Titanic's three propellers?

Two four-cylinder triple-expansion engines drove the wing propellers and a low-pressure Parsons turbine, fed by their exhaust steam, drove the centre one.

Which maritime treaty, first adopted in 1914, was a direct response to the Titanic disaster?

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) was first adopted in 1914 in direct response to the sinking; it has been amended repeatedly, with a completely new version adopted in 1974.

How many decks did Titanic have, not counting the roof of the officers' quarters?

Titanic had ten decks: the Boat Deck, A to G, the Orlop Deck and the Tank Top; eight of them carried passengers.

Which 1955 book by Walter Lord became the classic account of the sinking?

Walter Lord's A Night to Remember (1955), built from interviews with dozens of survivors, was filmed in 1958 and revived popular interest in the disaster.

What was the name of the White Star Line chairman who survived the sinking of the Titanic?

J. Bruce Ismay, the chairman and managing director of the White Star Line, survived the sinking by taking a place in a lifeboat.

What was the name of the bandleader who famously continued to play music as the ship sank?

Wallace Hartley was the bandleader of the Titanic's orchestra, which famously continued to play to calm passengers as the ship sank. He did not survive.

Which of these decks was the highest deck to run uninterrupted from stem to stern?

C Deck, also known as the Shelter Deck, was the highest deck to run uninterrupted from the bow to the stern of the ship.

How many boilers powered the Titanic's engines?

The Titanic was powered by 24 double-ended and 5 single-ended boilers, totaling 29 boilers, which fed its steam engines and turbine.

What was the approximate number of survivors from the Titanic disaster?

About 700 people survived; reported figures run from 705 to 712, all of them taken from the lifeboats by the rescue ship on the morning of 15 April.

Which financier's International Mercantile Marine Co. was the parent company of the White Star Line?

Morgan was booked on the maiden voyage himself but cancelled at the last minute.

The Titanic was designed to have sufficient lifeboats for what percentage of its total capacity?

Lifeboat places covered about 33% of the ship's full capacity and roughly half of those actually aboard, yet that exceeded the Board of Trade's requirement, which was based on tonnage rather than headcount.

What was the approximate temperature of the ocean water when the Titanic sank?

The water temperature in the North Atlantic at the time of the sinking was extremely cold, estimated to be around 28°F (-2°C), leading to rapid hypothermia for those in the water.

Per a persistent claim the owners denied, what was Titanic's sister Britannic originally to be called?

The name Gigantic appears on a poster and in November 1911 American newspaper reports, though White Star and the shipyard always denied any change of name was made.

Which section of the wreck was found largely intact when it was discovered?

The bow section was found largely intact, with many interiors preserved, while the stern, which broke away and imploded on the way down, lies heavily damaged.

What was the approximate gross tonnage of the RMS Titanic?

Titanic measured 46,328 gross register tons (GRT) on entering service, about 1,000 tons more than her sister Olympic.

What was the nickname given to the Titanic due to its advanced safety features?

Due to its advanced safety features like watertight compartments, the Titanic earned a reputation as the 'unsinkable' ship.

Roughly how far south-southeast of Newfoundland does the Titanic wreck lie?

Titanic's wreck lies about 370 nautical miles (690 km) south-southeast of Newfoundland, on the floor of the North Atlantic where a French-American expedition located it.

Which actor played Jack Dawson in James Cameron's 1997 film Titanic?

Leonardo DiCaprio played the penniless artist Jack Dawson opposite Kate Winslet's Rose DeWitt Bukater in James Cameron's 1997 film Titanic.

Which rival line's fast twins Lusitania and Mauretania pushed White Star to build bigger?

Cunard's Lusitania and Mauretania, launched in 1906, held the Blue Riband; White Star's Ismay chose to answer with size and luxury rather than speed.

What was Titanic's yard number at her Belfast builder?

Titanic was yard number 401; her sister Olympic was number 400, and the two hulls were built side by side under the same gantry.

Which Belfast shipyard chairman oversaw the design of Titanic and her sisters?

Lord Pirrie, chairman of the Belfast yard and a director of the line that owned Titanic, settled the basic design with Ismay over dinner in 1907.

Which Liverpool street gave its nickname to Titanic's long E Deck crew passageway?

The E Deck working alley was nicknamed Scotland Road after the busy Liverpool thoroughfare; it ran most of the ship's length and was used by Third Class passengers and crew.

Roughly how many tonnes of coal did Titanic's furnaces burn per day?

Titanic burned over 600 tonnes of coal a day, shovelled into 159 furnaces by 176 firemen working around the clock in shifts.

What was Titanic's wireless call sign?

Titanic's call sign was MGY; her 5-kilowatt transmitter, among the most powerful afloat, could reach shore stations hundreds of miles away.

Which company leased Titanic's radio equipment and supplied its two operators?

Jack Phillips and Harold Bride were Marconi employees, not White Star crew.

Which London hotel was the reference point for Titanic's interior style?

The Ritz in London, opened in 1906, was the model for Titanic's interiors; the designers wanted passengers to feel they were in a floating hotel rather than on a ship.

Which royal residence inspired the style of Titanic's First Class lounge?

The First Class lounge was done in Louis XV style inspired by the Palace of Versailles; other public rooms ranged from Jacobean to Georgian.

Which two figures flanked the clock at the top of the Grand Staircase?

The carved panel 'Honour and Glory Crowning Time' framed the clock on the landing at the top of the Grand Staircase, beneath its wrought-iron and glass dome.

Which passenger's new Renault car was carried in Titanic's hold?

William Carter, a Philadelphia millionaire, was shipping his new Renault Coupe de Ville home in Titanic's hold; the car was lost, but Carter, his wife and their two children survived.

Which jewelled book was among the most famous items lost in the sinking?

The jewelled 'Great Omar' copy of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe with more than a thousand gems, had just sold at auction for £405 and went down with the ship.

How many people could Titanic's lifeboats hold in total?

Titanic's lifeboats could hold 1,178 people in all, about half of those aboard that night, yet that exceeded the Board of Trade's outdated requirement of 962 places for ships over 10,000 tons.

On what date was Titanic's keel laid?

Titanic's keel was laid on 31 March 1909 on the slipway beside her sister Olympic, whose keel had gone down on 16 December 1908.

Roughly how many rivets held Titanic's hull together?

More than three million iron and steel rivets held the hull together, weighing over 1,200 tonnes; some were driven by hydraulic machine and others hammered in by hand.

On what date was Titanic launched?

Titanic was launched on 31 May 1911, sliding into the River Lagan in 62 seconds before a crowd of some 100,000 people.

How was Titanic named at her launch?

White Star's policy was never to formally name or christen ships.

Which feature did Titanic have in 1912 that Olympic did not yet have?

The Café Parisien, a sunlit B Deck café with wicker chairs and trellised walls, was added to Titanic during fitting out; Olympic only gained one in a later refit.

How long did Titanic's sea trials last?

Titanic's sea trials on 2 April 1912 lasted about 12 hours, beginning around 6 am in Belfast Lough and taking her into the Irish Sea for speed and handling tests.

Which officer was dropped from Titanic's crew when Henry Wilde came aboard?

Blair took the key to the binocular locker with him, according to legend.

Which wireless operator aboard the rescue ship picked up Titanic's distress call?

Harold Cottam, the rescue ship's sole wireless operator, had not yet turned in when he caught Titanic's CQD; he woke his captain, who turned the ship around at once.

What was the name of the newspaper printed aboard Titanic each day?

The Atlantic Daily Bulletin was printed aboard each day, mixing news received by the wireless operators with stock prices, racing results and society gossip.

What was Titanic's captain paid per month?

Titanic's captain earned £105 a month, about £1,250 a year, while a stewardess was paid £3 10s a month.

Which UK labour dispute left Titanic under-booked for her maiden voyage?

A national coal strike had cancelled many crossings; coal had to be transferred from other IMM ships laid up in port to get Titanic away.

Which department store did Titanic victims Isidor and Ida Straus own?

Isidor Straus was co-owner of Macy's department store in New York; his wife Ida refused to leave him for a lifeboat, and both died.

Which two US presidents had Archibald Butt served as aide before he died on Titanic?

Major Archibald Butt served as military aide to Theodore Roosevelt and then to William Howard Taft; Taft, a close friend, was devastated by his loss.

Which survivor published the 1912 account The Loss of the SS Titanic?

Lawrence Beesley, a science teacher travelling Second Class, wrote The Loss of the SS Titanic within weeks of the sinking; published in 1912, it is one of the earliest survivor accounts.

Roughly what did the cheapest First Class fare on Titanic cost?

The cheapest First Class berth cost about £23, while the top parlour suites went for up to £870 in high season.

Which moored liner nearly collided with Titanic minutes after her departure?

Titanic's suction snapped New York's mooring cables; the ships missed by about 4 feet.

Which is the only surviving White Star Line vessel?

SS Nomadic, a tender built in 1911 to ferry passengers out to Titanic and her sister at Cherbourg, is preserved in Belfast's Hamilton Dock as the last surviving White Star vessel.

Which Jesuit trainee took many of the last photographs aboard Titanic?

Francis Browne, a Jesuit trainee, sailed only the first leg and left at Queenstown; his photographs are the best surviving record of life aboard.

Which crew member deserted at Queenstown by hiding under mail bags?

Coffey was a stoker and Queenstown native.

At which New York berth was Titanic due to arrive on 17 April 1912?

Titanic was booked into White Star's Pier 59 on the Hudson; the rescue ship delivered her empty lifeboats there before docking with the survivors at Pier 54 on 18 April.

Where was a fire burning aboard Titanic from before departure until 14 April?

A fire smouldered in a forward coal bunker, next to the bulkhead between boiler rooms 5 and 6, from before departure until 14 April; such spontaneous-combustion fires were common on steamships.

Which liner sent one of the ice warnings Titanic received on 14 April?

The Mesaba's warning, sent at 9:40 pm on 14 April, described heavy pack ice and icebergs directly ahead but never reached the bridge; such warnings were treated as routine advisories.

Which lookout first spotted the iceberg and rang the warning bell?

Fleet later insisted binoculars would have let him see it sooner.

Who ordered Titanic steered around the iceberg?

Murdoch also ordered the engines stopped, but too late.

At approximately what time did Titanic finally sink beneath the surface?

Titanic sank at about 2:20 am ship's time on 15 April 1912, her stern rising steeply before slipping under; the lights failed moments before.

Roughly what percentage of men aboard survived the sinking?

Women survived at 75% and children at 50%.

Which officer took lifeboat No. 14 back to search for swimmers after the sinking?

Fifth Officer Harold Lowe transferred his passengers to other boats and rowed No. 14 back, but waited until the cries died down; he pulled only four men from the water, one of whom died.

Which ship did early US press reports wrongly claim was towing Titanic to port?

Early US newspaper reports said the Allan liner Virginian was towing Titanic to Halifax with everyone safe; confirmation that she had sunk came only late on 15 April.

In the 1997 film Titanic, what is the name of the blue diamond necklace?

The Heart of the Ocean, the fictional blue diamond Cal gives Rose, drives the film's framing story, with Brock Lovett's salvage team hunting it in the wreck.

Roughly how many people met the rescue ship at New York's Pier 54?

An estimated 40,000 people waited at Pier 54 when the rescue ship docked at about 9:30 pm on 18 April in pouring rain.

Which insurance market paid White Star the full hull cover within 30 days?

Lloyd's of London paid White Star the full £1 million hull cover within 30 days; the annual premium had been just £7,500.

Which opera star gave a benefit concert for Titanic victims on 29 April 1912?

Enrico Caruso sang at the Metropolitan Opera's benefit for Titanic victims on 29 April 1912, which, with Mary Garden also performing, raised about $12,000.

Roughly how much did White Star finally pay to settle survivors' lawsuits in 1915?

White Star eventually settled the claims for $664,000; they had originally totalled $16.8 million in a US limited-liability action.

Which US senator chaired the American inquiry into the sinking?

Senator William Alden Smith of Michigan opened the Senate inquiry in New York the day after the survivors landed; the British press branded him an ignorant opportunist.

Who headed the British Board of Trade inquiry into the disaster?

Lord Mersey, the Wreck Commissioner, presided over the British Board of Trade inquiry, which sat from May to July 1912 and was the longest such inquiry in British history to that point.

Which body was set up after the disaster to monitor North Atlantic icebergs?

The International Ice Patrol was established in 1914 to track icebergs on the North Atlantic shipping lanes, run by the US Coast Guard and funded by the maritime nations.

Who captained the SS Californian, which failed to respond to Titanic's rockets?

Both inquiries found he had acted improperly.

Who captained the ship that rescued Titanic's survivors?

Captain Arthur Rostron drove his ship through the ice at full speed to reach the lifeboats; he was later knighted and awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal.

Which stewardess survived Titanic, Britannic's sinking and Olympic's 1911 collision?

Violet Jessop was aboard Olympic when HMS Hawke struck her in September 1911, left Titanic in a lifeboat, and survived Britannic's 1916 sinking as a nurse; stoker Arthur Priest matched the feat.

Who was the last living Titanic survivor, dying in 2009 aged 97?

Millvina Dean, nine weeks old and the youngest passenger aboard, died on 31 May 2009 aged 97 as the last living survivor.

Which sport did survivor Richard N. Williams play on after nearly losing his legs?

R. Norris Williams refused amputation after hours in freezing water on swamped Collapsible A and went on to win the US tennis championship twice and Olympic gold in 1924.

Which Halifax cable ship was chartered to recover bodies?

The cable ship Mackay-Bennett, chartered by White Star, recovered 306 bodies, so many that her embalming supplies ran out and 116 were buried at sea.

How many Titanic victims' bodies were recovered in total?

That is one in five of the roughly 1,500 dead.

Which Halifax burial ground holds the most Titanic victims, with 121 graves?

Fairview Lawn Cemetery holds 121 Titanic graves, against 19 at Mount Olivet and 10 at Baron de Hirsch; the Mayflower Curling Rink served as the temporary morgue.

Which Frenchman co-led the expedition that found the wreck with Robert Ballard?

Jean-Louis Michel of the French institute IFREMER co-led the joint expedition with Robert Ballard of Woods Hole; his team's sonar survey preceded Ballard's camera sweep that found the wreck.

Roughly how far apart do Titanic's bow and stern sections lie?

The bow and stern lie about 600 m (a third of a mile) apart, the stern having spun and fallen separately; the debris field between them holds the ship's scattered contents.

What is chiefly destroying the wreck's hull?

Rusticles formed by iron-eating bacteria, including the species Halomonas titanicae identified in 2010, are consuming the steel; a 2006 estimate gave the hull about 50 years before collapse.

Which Las Vegas hotel became home to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition?

The Luxor on the Strip became home to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, displaying pieces recovered from the debris field by RMS Titanic Inc., the wreck's court-appointed salvor.

Which company operated Titan, the submersible that imploded on a June 2023 expedition to view the Titanic wreck?

OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush was among the five aboard, all of whom died instantly.

Which French Titanic expert died aboard the Titan submersible?

Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a former French Navy diver who had made dozens of dives to the wreck, died in the Titan alongside Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, and Shahzada and Suleman Dawood.

How many Academy Awards did James Cameron's 1997 film Titanic win?

Titanic won 11 Academy Awards from 14 nominations, tying Ben-Hur's 1959 record; The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King later matched the 11.

What was the 1997 film's record-setting production budget?

The $200 million budget was the largest ever at the time, yet Titanic became the first film to gross $1 billion worldwide.

Which research vessel served as Cameron's base for filming the real wreck?

Cameron filmed the real wreck from the Russian research ship Akademik Mstislav Keldysh, using her Mir submersibles; the ship also appears in the film's modern-day scenes.

Which film overtook Titanic in 2010 as the highest-grossing film of all time?

James Cameron beat himself: Avatar came out in 2009 and passed Titanic the following year.

Which actress played 'Unsinkable' Molly Brown in the 1997 film?

Kathy Bates played Margaret 'Molly' Brown in the 1997 film; Debbie Reynolds had played her in the 1964 musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

In which boat did Molly Brown urge the crew to go back for survivors?

Molly Brown was in Lifeboat No. 6, where she argued with the quartermaster in charge about going back for swimmers; lookout Frederick Fleet was in the same boat.

Which Liverpool firm supplied Titanic's eight musicians?

The Liverpool agency C. W. & F. N. Black supplied the eight musicians, who travelled as second-class passengers under contract to the agency rather than to White Star; all eight died.

Which two songs are variously reported as the band's final tune?

Survivors variously recalled the band's last tune as the hymn 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' or the waltz 'Songe d'Automne' (known simply as 'Autumn'); wireless operator Harold Bride reported the latter.

Which yacht did Second Officer Lightoller later sail in the Dunkirk evacuation?

Lightoller, Titanic's most senior surviving officer, took his motor yacht Sundowner across to Dunkirk in 1940 and brought back well over a hundred soldiers.

On which overturned boat did Lightoller survive the night?

Lightoller was washed off the roof of the officers' quarters, described the cold as 'a thousand knives', and spent the night balanced on the upturned Collapsible B with about 30 others.

Which milestone did wireless operator Jack Phillips mark the day after Titanic sailed?

He learned telegraphy at the Godalming post office.

Both Olympic and Titanic were registered to which home port, where their owner, the White Star Line, had its offices?

Liverpool was the registered home port of both ships, painted on their sterns, because White Star had its head office there, even though its express service had moved south in 1907.

How much soap and tallow greased the slipway for Titanic's launch?

Twenty-two tonnes of soap and tallow were spread over the slipway to ease the hull into the River Lagan; the hull was launched without engines, boilers or funnels, which were fitted afterwards.