Titanic's Facts

The Titanic was one of the modern marvels in vessel construction for her time. A masterpiece in size and craftsmanship, the Titanic remains one of the most famous ships known throughout the world. Most individuals know the story of the Titanic and her tragic end at the hands of an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

Titanic Facts: The Construction

-March 31, 1909 in Belfast (Ireland)
-The Titanic was constructed by the Harland & Wolff company
- Titanic construction took about 3 years and $7.5 million to complete
- It took around 3000 laborers to construct the Titanic
- The vessel featured 16 watertight compartments with steel doors designed to close within 25 seconds, keep any flooding out of the ship’s interior
- Nearly 3 million rivets were used in the Titanic construction

Titanic Facts: Lifeboats

-The Titanic was supplied with only enough life boats to accommodate about half of its maximum number of passengers
-Some of the Titanic lifeboats lowered into the water were only half full
-A few Titanic lifeboats drifted off to sea before they could even be properly deployed

Titanic Passengers Facts

- Of the 2, 227 people aboard the Titanic, only 705 survived
- Many Titanic survivor diaries were discovered and illustrated the despair involved with the Titanic
- The death of Captain Edward Smith is a topic of debate; many think the Titanic could have been saved if he acted differently, some think not
- Molly Brown was one of the most famous figures on the Titanic, the wife of a Colorado silver mine entrepreneur was the only woman to row a Titanic lifeboat to safety
- One of the most famous stories was about a wealthy elderly couple name the Straus’. When Mrs. Straus learned men could not board the Titanic lifeboats, she opted to stay with her husband although she knew it meant certain death

Titanic Facts: The Sinking

- The Titanic struck an iceberg in the Atlant ocean near the cost of Newfoundland shortly before Midnight, April 14, 1912
- Impact with the berg caused the hull to buckle and the vessel began taking on water
- Carpathia picked up the Titanic’s S.O.S. signal and eventually rescued the Titanic survivors, but they were too far away to save most of them
- Neighboring ships in the area had reported ice floes, but the Titanic continued to travel at top speed
- The band really did keep playing as the ship sank

Titanic Movie Facts

- The Titanic movie was nominated for 14 Oscars and won 11 of them making it the first film to win that many
- In 1997 it became the highest grossing film of all time, it now ranks 6th in North America
- No individuals with the same name as Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson) and Kate Winslett (Rose DeWitt Bukater) were on the ship
- There were characters modeled after individuals aboard the Titanic including builder of the Titanic Thomas Andrews, Molly Brown, woman who took control of her lifeboat and rescued survivors, Edward Smith, captain of the Titanic, John Jacob Astor, first class passenger of the Titanic, and Titanic band leader Wallace Hartley.