The largest passenger liner in the world at the time of its construction and launch in 1912, the Titanic, whose length was 883 feet (269.1 meters), was considered a priori “unsinkable” and its design was developed by the world's leading experts. Luxury at sea. The White Star Line built the Titanic, positioning it as a luxury seaside hotel, and did not take into account the costs. And ticket prices were considerable: a one-way first-class ticket cost $3,450, the equivalent of $100,000 today.
1. In the photo: Titanic in dry dock at the Harland and Wolff shipyard (Belfast, Northern Ireland), in February 1912.
2. Raise the anchor! The huge anchor of the Titanic is being transported to the ship in Belfast.
3. Pictured: First Class Library on Deck A.
4. Luxury worthy of a king himself. The Titanic was equipped with a gym and special exercise equipment for first class passengers - an unusual luxury for those times.
5. Captain of millionaires. Captain E.J. Smith commanded the ship on that ill-fated voyage. He was called the "Captain of Millionaires" due to the fact that he was considered very competent and experienced. First class passengers very often asked that he command the ships.
6. Millionaire industrialist John Jacob Astor IV and other first-class passengers board a train at Waterloo Station in London to travel to Southampton, where they will board the Titanic on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. Many celebrities of that time took part in the first voyage of the liner.
7. The Titanic sets sail. Photo: Titanic leaving Southampton, England, April 10, 1912.
8. Lack of lifeboats. Passengers walk near the lifeboats on the deck of the Titanic. During construction, the White Star Line equipped the Titanic with only twenty lifeboats, which barely exceeded the required minimum. They could evacuate 1,178 people if necessary. There were 2,223 people on board the Titanic.
9. Ice in the sea. April 4, 1912. The Titanic is being tested in the ice at latitude 41'46 north and longitude 50'14 east. Ten days later, the Titanic will collide with an iceberg in the same latitudes.
10. Collision with an iceberg. The arrows indicate the place where the Titanic supposedly hit the iceberg. Despite the watertight bulkheads, under the weight of the water that got inside, the ship tilted forward so much that water began to flood more and more compartments.
11. The Titanic is sinking. The Titanic sank at 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912. Because of a misinterpreted order that women and children should be evacuated first, the first lifeboats left only half full.
12. The captain dies with his ship. A 1912 illustration depicts Captain Smith, miraculously retaining his cap, refusing to evacuate. There is no clear evidence about the circumstances of Captain Smith's death; according to one version, he jumped into the sea even before the ship sank; according to another version, he drowned while transferring a child to a lifeboat.
13. Survivors. At 4:10, the ship Carpathia, which approached the scene of the tragedy after receiving an SOS signal, picked up the first lifeboat from the Titanic. Of the 2,223 passengers and crew of the Titanic, only 706 were saved.
14. Return to land. The survivors of the Titanic disaster set foot on land on April 18 in the Manhattan area.
15. The manager of the White Star Line, which owned the huge ship, Joseph Bruce Ismay (second from bottom on the gangway) goes ashore on May 11 in Liverpool. He was accused of cowardice because he escaped while most of the passengers died. As a result, he was forced to resign the following year.
16. Survivors. Survivors of the Titanic disaster celebrate their rescue in Southampton. England.
17. Investigation into the causes of the sinking of the Titanic. The Senate Bureau of Investigation forced the survivors of the crash to remain on US soil as witnesses. The investigation was also carried out by the British side, the commission was headed by Lord Mersey (in the photo on the right, captured with his son in May 1912).
18. Prevention of recurrence of the disaster. After the sinking of the Titanic, navigational safety laws were revised. Pictured: Titanic crew members wait their turn to testify in Portsmouth, England, 1912.
19. Celebrities of the Titanic. The survivors of the disaster became celebrities. In the photo, an autograph is taken from a surviving Titanic passenger on April 29, 1912.
20. A night that will not be forgotten. Many films have been made about the Titanic disaster. The film “The Sinking of the Titanic,” filmed in 1958, is considered the most accurate in conveying details.
21. James Cameron, the creator of the film "Avatar", became famous for the film "Titanic", which became the "No. 1 film" in the history of cinema. In the photo: a scene from a film filmed in 1998.
