Titanic, in full Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic, British luxury
Ismay approved the design and signed three "letters of agreement" two days later, authorising the start of construction. At this point the first ship—which was later to become Olympic—had no name, but was referred to simply as "Number 400", as it was Harland and Wolff's four-hundredth hull.
Today, 21st November, marks the anniversary of the sinking of the youngest and lesser known ship, Britannic.
All of these exciting features gave the Titanic nicknames like the “Unsinkable Ship” and the “Wonder Ship.” Over 900 people worked on the Titanic, including crew members, cooks and servers in the dining room, and the Captain himself, Captain Edward John Smith.
Not many people know that RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship – at the time though it stood for 'Royal Mail Steamer' – indicating that the Titanic was contracted to carry mail.
TITANIC was also referred to as an SS ship which stands for 'steamship', indicating that the propulsion was steam powered, but 'SS' had less prestige than 'RMS', so it was used less.
The average lifespan of an iceberg in the North Atlantic typically is two to three years from calving to melting. This means the iceberg that sank the Titanic "likely broke off from Greenland in 1910 or 1911, and was gone forever by the end of 1912 or sometime in 1913."
John Jacob Astor was the wealthiest passenger aboard Titanic. He was the head of the Astor family, with a personal fortune of approximately $150,000,000. Born on 13 July 1864 to William Astor, he was educated at St. Paul's School, Concord and later went to Harvard.
Thus, these are the six nicknames directly used to name the R. M. S. Titanic. Each had an origin, and each was sufficiently noteworthy in that they had a definite appeal to the reader in characterizing the greatest ship in the annals of maritime history.
It was her sister, Edna Kearney Murray who survived the sinking of the Titanic but it wasn't in an overloaded lifeboat. “My great aunt Edna was in England at the time and had purchased a ticket for return passage to America on the Titanic,” Chris said.
While the Titanic is remembered as being one of the largest ships of its time, the Britannic was actually somewhat larger. The Britannic was 882 feet (269 meters) in length, while the Titanic was 882 feet and 9 inches (269.1 meters) in length and with a gross tonnage of 48,158 compared to the Titanic's 46,328.
She was operated as a hospital ship from 1915 until her sinking near the Greek island of Kea, in the Aegean Sea, in November 1916.
If the Titanic hadn't sunk, it would likely have taken another similar disaster to put that lifesaving policy into effect. Besides: even if the Titanic's maiden voyage had been successful, its life as a passenger ship would likely have been interrupted in about two more years.
There are no survivors of the Titanic alive today
The very longest-living person to have survived the Titanic died on the 31st of May 2009. Her name was Elizabeth Gladys 'Millvina' Dean, and she was just two months old when she boarded the Titanic with her family.
Eliza Gladys Dean (2 February 1912 – 31 May 2009), known as Millvina Dean, was a British civil servant, cartographer, and the last living survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912. At two months old, she was also the youngest passenger aboard.
Oceanographers have pointed out that the hostile sea environment has wreaked havoc on the ship's remains after more than a century beneath the surface. Saltwater acidity has been dissolving the vessel, compromising its integrity to the point where much of it would crumble if tampered with.
Titanic's lifeboats were situated on the top deck. The boat was designed to carry 32 lifeboats but this number was reduced to 20 because it was felt that the deck would be too cluttered.
Almost all of those who jumped or fell into the sea drowned or died within minutes due to the effects of cold shock and incapacitation. RMS Carpathia arrived about an hour and a half after the sinking and rescued all of the 710 survivors by 09:15 on 15 April, some nine and a half hours after the collision.
Titanic was celebrated as the biggest, safest, most advanced ship of its age, but it was a lowly stoker in its boiler room who truly deserved the name 'unsinkable'. John Priest survived no fewer than four ships that went to the bottom, including Titanic and its sister ship Britannic.
First-class berths would cost $4,591, second-class would be $1,834, and third-class accommodations $1,071. A calculated estimation of the Titanic concludes that the total number of first-class travelers was 324. It isn't known how many booked standard first-class berths or upgraded to suites.
On today's date in 1912, the body of James McGrady, a saloon steward aboard the RMS Titanic, was interred in Halifax, N.S., where he's buried at Fairview Lawn Cemetery. Recovered in the preceding weeks, McGrady's body was the last body recovered from the tragic sinking that took place about two months prior.
Delgado said such physical items should be treated with respect as if they themselves are the human parts. In the 111 years that have followed the disaster, expeditions to the Titanic have not found any human remains, according to RMS Titanic Inc, the company that owns rights to the wreckage.
A water temperature of a seemingly warm 79 degrees (F) can lead to death after prolonged exposure, a water temperature of 50 degrees can lead to death in around an hour, and a water temperature of 32 degrees – like the ocean water on the night the Titanic sank – can lead to death in as few as 15 minutes.