BY JACOB HALES, PERIOD TWO A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TITANIC

IT STARTED BEFORE In 1898, 14 years before the Titanic set sail, an author, Morgan Robertson, wrote a book entitled Futility which had foreshadowed the tragedy of this event. The name of the ship in Futility was Titan, similar to Titanic. The Titan carried the worlds highest class people, as did the Titanic The Titan sank on a cold April night, hit an iceberg, and didn’t have enough lifeboats. Sound familiar?

THE BUILDING OF THE TITANIC The Titanic started being built in1908 and employed over 15,000 workers. The creator was Thomas Andrews, the head designer of the Harland and Wolff shipyard. It took them about three years to build the beautiful ship, before the Titanic was launched. After the ship was launched, they spent 11 months decorating the interior of the ship. The total cost was 7.5 million dollars, and that was in 1912!

INTERIOR The Titanic had new features never seen before, including a pool, Turkish baths, squash courts, and a gym. The Titanic was the first ship to have a gym and squash courts. A first class cabin 

TITANIC’S FIRSTS AND LASTS The Titanic was the biggest ocean liner of its time. What were its other records? The Titanic was the first ship to use the S.O.S call. The Titanic was the last ship to sail without enough lifeboats per person. The Titanic was the last ship to enter lifeboats by class. The Titanic was the last ship to take ice warnings lightly.

THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC On April 14 th the Titanic struck an iceberg. The Unsinkable label was being tested And tested it was, 6 of the Titanic’s 16 water tight compartments were flooded. The Titanic was completely submerged 2 hours and 20 minutes after she struck the iceberg starboard side.

FAMOUS PASSENGERS Unsinkable Mrs. Brown She begged and got the members of Lifeboat 6 to go and look for survivors through the water. John Jacob Astor and Madeline Astor. John Jacob made sure his 18 year old pregnant wife made a lifeboat and calmly accepted his fate of death when denied entrance. J Bruce Ismay Mr. Ismay was the president of the White Star Line and many believe he behaved like a scoundrel the night the ship sank, by going onto a lifeboat while he had duties to tend.

INTERESTING FACTS There were two dogs saved from on board the Titanic The Titanic had four smokestacks but only used three of them to expel gasses and smoke The Titanic had none of the traditional good luck charms often performed. Such being opening a bottle of wine before sailing, and having cats on board A first class ticket cost over $4, dollars.

ENGINE ROOM The engine room was below water level. It contained two main giant engines, each the size of an apartment. The engines were 30 feet tall and weighed 1,000 pounds a piece. They were steam powered and sent power to the propellers. These were not state of the art but worked well for the Titanic

WHY SO MANY WERE LOST Ice warnings were ignored Insufficient number of lifeboats Passengers did not believe that the “unsinkable” was sinking Most lifeboats did not go back Freezing water; many died from hypothermia Lifeboats were not filled to capacity

THE SEARCH FOR RUINS The Titanic was found again September 1 st 1984, about 70 years after that tragic night. Brand new technology in submarines helped them find it. They were nearly 13,000 feet deep, and they had to adapt the submarines for such pressure

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