The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. Many people are eager to learn about this ship. Below are 43 facts about the Titanic and its tragic fate.
The Titanic and Interesting Facts
1. RMS Titanic was the largest passenger ship in the world at that time, measuring 269 meters in length. The largest passenger ship currently is the MS Allure of the Seas, which is 362 meters long.
2. The ship consumed 600 tons of coal each day, with a crew of 176 men shoveling coal into the furnaces. Nearly 100 tons of coal ash were dumped into the sea every day.
3. The ship’s interior was inspired by the Ritz Hotel in London. Amenities on board included a gym, swimming pool, Turkish bath, pet cages, and a tennis court. There was even a dedicated newspaper office on board, the Atlantic Daily Bulletin.
4. There were 20,000 bottles of beer, 1,500 bottles of wine, and 8,000 cigars on the ship—all to serve the first-class passengers.
5. The ship’s Grand Staircase extended through 7 of the 10 decks and was made from distinctive oak panels, adorned with cherubs and bronze paintings. A replica of this grand staircase can be found at the Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri.
6. The staircase of the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick features railings similar to the Grand Staircase of the Olympic, Titanic’s sister ship. These staircases are nearly identical.
7. Only 16 wooden lifeboats and 4 collapsible boats were launched, enough to hold 1,178 people—only 1/3 of Titanic’s total capacity, though it met legal requirements at the time.
8. There were 246 injuries and 2 fatalities during the 26 months of construction at Belfast.
9. 20 horses were used to serve as the main anchors for the ship.
10. 100,000 people attended the ship’s launch ceremony on May 31, 1911.
11. 22 tons of soap and animal fat (from cattle or sheep) were applied to the launch slip to assist the ship as it moved down the River Lagan.
12. The ship made stops at 2 locations after leaving Southampton: Cherbourg in southern France and Cobh (later renamed Queenstown) in Ireland.
13. Of the 885 crew members on board, only 23 were female. 699 people boarded in Southampton, and 4 of the 10 were locals from the town.
14. The last dinner served to first-class passengers consisted of 11 courses.
15. First-class passengers could choose from a list of 352 songs for entertainment, and the musicians on board were familiar with all of them.
16. John Jacob Astor IV was the wealthiest passenger on board. He had an estimated fortune of about $85 million (approximately $2 billion today) and went down with the ship. A legend states that after the ship struck the iceberg, he sarcastically remarked to a steward: “I asked for ice, but this is ridiculous.“
17. A notable victim was Benjamin Guggenheim, an American businessman. Realizing the ship was sinking, he and his valet, Victor Giglio, became famous for changing into formal attire and stating, “We are dressed in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen.” They were later found sitting in a lounge, drinking and smoking cigars.
18. Noel Leslie, the Countess of Rothes, was also on the ship but survived. She was mentioned in an episode of Downton Abbey. “How dreadful, you think Lucy Rothes would be pleased to see this scene.” was the remark of the Earl of Grantham (a character in the show) when she heard about the disaster.
19. 2 of the 9 dogs on the ship were rescued: a Pomeranian and a Pekinese.
20. Many ticket holders bought tickets for the journey but did not board. Among them were Milton S. Hershey, the founder of the chocolate company, Guglielmo Marconi, and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who died on the RMS Lusitania three years later.
21. The last survivor of the sinking was Millvina Dean. She passed away on May 31, 2009, having been just 2 months old at the time of the accident.
22. The iceberg was spotted at 11:40 PM on April 14, 1912. Frederick Fleet, the lookout who spotted it, shouted, “Iceberg! Right ahead!” Fleet survived the disaster and was a lookout on the RMS Oceanic in his early twenties before serving in World War II. In 2012, pranksters placed a pair of binoculars on his grave with the inscription “Sorry for being late 100 years.“
23. The iceberg that sank the Titanic had existed for about 3,000 years: At the time the iceberg collided with the ship, it stood about 30 meters tall and was part of a glacier in Greenland. However, few realize that this iceberg had existed for about 3,000 years. While many icebergs drift around the oceans, Titanic was indeed the only ship ever sunk by an iceberg.
24. It took only 37 seconds from the time the iceberg was sighted to the moment of impact.
25. First Officer William McMaster Murdoch ordered the ship to turn, but it was too large to do so. It is believed that the ship might not have sunk if it had struck the iceberg head-on. Murdoch went down with the ship, and a memorial was built for him in his hometown of Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland.
26. Edward Smith, the captain, also went down with the ship. His last words were: “Boys, you’ve done your duty and done it well. I ask no more of you.” A statue of him was also erected in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
27. The ship received 6 warnings about icebergs throughout the journey.
28. A lifeboat drill was scheduled for April 14 but was later canceled for unknown reasons.
29. The ship broke in two at 2:20 AM on April 15 and sank, taking all remaining passengers into the ocean. At that time, the temperature was -20°C, and very few people could survive more than 15 minutes in the water; about 1% died within 2 minutes due to shock from the cold.
30. Charles Joughin, the ship’s baker, fell into the water for 2 hours but survived. He reported that he did not feel cold due to drinking a lot of whisky.
31. There were 26 couples on board who were newlyweds on their honeymoon.
32. The musicians played for 2 hours and 5 minutes as the ship sank.
33. The SS California was criticized for ignoring Titanic’s distress signals. Later, it sunk with a German submarine.
34. The RMS Carpathia arrived on the scene at 4 AM to take survivors to New York. About 40,000 people greeted them at Pier 54.
35. Only 306 bodies were recovered. The deceased were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Maritime Museum dedicated a separate section to display items retrieved from the wreck.
36. The wreck of the Titanic was discovered in 1985 and lies about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, at a depth of 12,500 feet.
37. The bow of the ship had plunged 18 meters into the seabed.
38. Dozens of documentaries about this disaster have been made. The most controversial was the film commissioned by Joseph Goebbels in 1943.
39. In 1997, James Cameron produced the most successful film about this disaster, grossing over $2 billion and winning 11 Academy Awards.
40. The main song from the movie – My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion was the best-selling single of 1998 and has been covered by many other artists.
41. 2 people died during the construction of the Titanic: It is known that around 3,000 workers labored for more than two years to build the Titanic. During the construction process, 2 people died, and 246 were injured. Given the massive scale of the ship, this is considered an incredibly low death toll, as large construction projects usually have a very high risk rate.
42. A first-class ticket would cost around $70,000 today: As one of the most luxurious ships in the early 1910s, Titanic’s first-class cabin was highly favored by the elite. As such, a first-class ticket at that time cost $4,350, equivalent to nearly $70,000 (1.6 billion VND) today. It may sound incredible, but this was not a significant concern for most passengers on the Titanic, as its wealthiest passenger, John Jacob Astor IV, a businessman, investor, and real estate mogul, had a fortune of up to $85 million when he perished on the Titanic.
43. First-class and third-class passengers would never have the chance to meet: In James Cameron’s film adaptation of Titanic, the romance between Jack and Rose has become an iconic symbol of the movie. They are two individuals from vastly different social classes who meet by chance aboard the Titanic and part ways in heart-wrenching fashion. However, the truth is quite different. In reality, it would have been impossible for Jack and Rose to encounter each other on the Titanic since Rose was a first-class passenger, and all activities for first-class passengers were completely segregated from the rest. The only scenario in which Jack and Rose could have met would be during the evacuation, but it seems that would have never happened.
