RMS Titanic
The RMS Titanic, a sister ship to the RMS Olympic, was a luxury passenger liner owned by the White Star Line and was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ulster. At the time of her construction, she was the largest passenger steamship in the world.
Four days into the Titanic's maiden voyage, on April 14, 1912 shortly before midnight, the ship struck an iceberg, sinking early on April 15, 1912, two hours and forty minutes later. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board, making it one of the worst civilian maritime disasters in history. The high casualty rate was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard. The ship had a total lifeboat capacity of 1,178 people, although her maximum capacity was 3,547. A disproportionate number of men died due to the then standard 'women and children first' protocol that was followed.
The Titanic was designed by some of the most experienced engineers, and used some of the most advanced technologies available at the time. It was a great shock to many that, despite the extensive safety features, the Titanic sank. The frenzy on the part of the press and media about the Titanic's famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes to maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck have contributed to the interest in the Titanic.
