The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, killing over 1,500 people. For the 107th anniversary of one of the worst shipwrecks, here are 32 facts you might not have known about what happened!
1. The Titanic’s Newspaper
The Titanic seemed to have everything on board, including its newspaper.
The Atlantic Daily Bulletin was printed every day onboard the Titanic. The newspaper included news, advertisements, stock prices, horse-racing results, society gossip, and the day’s menu.
2. Only Two Bathtubs
Most passengers had to share bathrooms, but the third class featured only two bathtubs for almost 700.
3. Two Dogs Rescued
With the order for women and children first into the lifeboats, plus the knowledge that there were not enough lifeboats for everyone on board the Titanic to be saved, it is a bit surprising that two dogs made it into the lifeboats.
Of the nine dogs on the Titanic, two rescued were a Pomeranian and a Pekinese.
4. Coal on board
The ship burned around 600 tonnes of coal a day; Hand shovelled into its furnaces by a team of 176 men. Almost 100 tonnes of ash were ejected into the sea each day.
5. Wine and beer
There were 20,000 bottles of beer on board, 1,500 bottles of wine, and 8,000 cigars for first-class passengers.
6. The building of the Titanic
There were 246 injuries and two deaths during the ship’s 26-month construction in Belfast.
7. The Size of Titanic
It was 882 feet (269 metres) in length and 175 feet (53 metres) in height.
8. Smoking for men only
The first-class smoking lounge was for men only.
9. The Docter on board
William Edward Minahan, a doctor from Fond du Lac, Wis., had his fortune read shortly before the voyage. The fortune teller predicted his death aboard the ship. She was right.
10. Survival Rate
About 60% of the first-class passengers survived.
11. Survival Rate
About 42% of the second-class passengers aboard survived.
12. About 25% of the third-class passengers survived.
13. The final SOS position the Titanic sent out was incorrect.
14. Twenty horses were required to carry the main anchor.
15. The Titanic’s wake was so huge that, at its launch, it sucked in another ship and almost caused a collision. 16. Over 1500 people died because of the sinking.
17. Most third-class cabins contained four to six bunks.
18. Pope joined the Titanic at four. Her mother, Luise, and she were put in a lifeboat, but her father was left on deck. He jumped into the lifeboat as it dropped. Pope lived to 84 in Milwaukee.
19. The Titanic featured an onboard swimming pool, a gymnasium, a squash court, a Turkish bath, and two separate libraries – one for first-class passengers and one for second-class.
20. The last supper served to first-class passengers consisted of 11 courses.
21. The rescue ship Carpathia began taking in Titanic survivors at 4:10 a.m.
22. First-class passengers were given a music book containing 352 songs. Musicians on board were required to know them all in case requests were made.
23. Numerous people held tickets for the journey. Still, they did not sail, including Milton S. Hershey, founder of the chocolate firm, Guglielmo Marconi, and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who died on the RMS Lusitania three years later.
24. The last remaining survivor of the disaster, Millvina Dean, died on May 31, 2009, aged 97. She was two months old at the time.
25. The Titanic cost $7.5 million to build.
26. The body of a 2-year-old passenger was not identified until 2007. DNA evidence finally showed that the body was that of Sidney Leslie Goodwin of England.
27. The body of the wealthiest man on board, John Jacob Astor, was found with his gold pocket watch dangling from its chain. Investigators believed Astor had checked his eye right before leaping from the Titanic.
28. 26 of those on board were honeymooning couples.
29. Only 306 bodies were found. The dead were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its Maritime Museum has a dedicated section that includes a deckchair recovered from the wreck, mortuary bags, and the shoes of an unknown victim
30. Lady Duff Gordon, one of the most prominent fashion designers of her time, and her husband, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, both were saved but were later accused of bribing the crew to row off with only 12 people in their lifeboat.
31. All eight members of the Titanic band died in the sinking.
32. One of the lifeboats was found in the ocean almost a month after the sinking with three bodies.
[…] 1,500 passengers and crew members perished as a result of the grounding of the Titanic in 1912. There were numerous families on board, each with its own unique tale of hope, love, and […]
[…] are there no skeletons on the Titanic? Theories abound. Some speculate a violent storm during the sinking scattered the passengers far […]