1. The Titanic
By: Alex
Note: Words with a * can be defined in the glossary.

2. What is the Titanic?
The Titanic was a large ocean liner released by the White Star Line. It started its maiden voyage* on April 10th, 1912, but hit an iceberg and sank in the early morning of April 15th, It is the most famous shipwreck of all time.

3. Construction
Construction on the Titanic began in It was built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. 3 million rivets were used to hold the steel plates together, altogether weighing 1,200 tons. The rudder* was so big, it was as tall as a house! The double-ended boilers were 20 feet long, but the single-ended boilers were only 11 feet long. The ship’s engine was as powerful as 46,000 horses!

4. Olympic (right) with sister ship Titanic (left).
The Titanic was scheduled to leave for New York in March, but underwent delays because of the borrowing of parts by her sister ship, Olympic. So as the days of the maiden voyage drew closer, everyone excitedly awaited the day to set sail.
Olympic (right) with sister ship Titanic (left).

5. The Ship of Dreams
On April 10th, 1912, passengers in Southampton, England, were boarding the Titanic, a ship made for luxury and safety. It was claimed unsinkable because 4 watertight compartments could take on water without causing the ship to sink. It was said to be the “ship of dreams”, “the last word in luxury”, and “the millionaire's special”.

6. A picture of Titanic’s near collision with New York.
Before the Titanic steamed to Cherbourg, France, New York’s (a different, smaller ship) hawsers* broke, letting the ship drift towards Titanic. Luckily, the collision was avoided by forcing away water from the Titanic, pushing away New York when it was merely 4 yards from Titanic. So after a minor delay, the grandest ship in history was on its way.
A picture of Titanic’s near collision with New York.

7. Titanic’s grand staircase.
Smooth Sailing
The Titanic arrived in Cherbourg, France on April 10th, 1912, right on schedule. Boarding procedures went on smoothly here and in Queenstown, Ireland, and no more accidents had come about. Every passenger was enjoying the 1,001 details that made the Titanic as luxurious as it was. They should have, for $10,ooo,000 were invested in creating it.
Part of a 2nd class cabin.
Titanic’s grand staircase.

8. One of the general 3rd class rooms.
While the 1st and 2nd class consisted of English and American, 3rd class had many different nationalities*, including Polish, English, Irish, French, and Italian. Even 3rd class had decent rooms and areas. But no one would have known that the Titanic would sink beneath their feet.
One of the general 3rd class rooms.
Part of a 3rd class cabin.

9. “Iceberg, Right Ahead!”
On April 14th,1912, passengers were met with cold weather, so they spent the time indoors. The first class passengers were some of the wealthiest people alive. Each had a steward or stewardess assigned to them to be at their service. Second class wasn’t as luxurious as first class was, but it was as good as first class on most other ships. Third class had wooden bunks in their quarters, and even though their class didn’t have everything that other classes had, they still liked the ship.
John Jacob Astor IV, a first class passenger on the Titanic.
Daniel Buckley, a third class passenger on the Titanic.
Ruth Becker, a second class passenger on the Titanic.

10. Fred Fleet, one of the Titanic’s lookouts.
(Later that night, at 11:40 p.m.)
Lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee were standing in the crow’s nest*,
watching out for deadly icebergs in the sea. However, conditions that night made it hard to see icebergs:
1.Binoculars were missing from the crow’s nest*.
2.The moon wasn’t out that night (no moonlight because of the new moon).
3. The sea was calm (so you couldn’t see waves breaking against the icebergs).
Fred Fleet peered into the mist and saw a large, black object ahead of the Titanic’s bow*.
He telephoned the bridge and yelled:
“Iceberg, right ahead!”
Fred Fleet, one of the Titanic’s lookouts.
The binoculars on the Titanic that should have been given to the lookouts.

11. Then Officer Murdoch took charge
Then Officer Murdoch took charge. He ordered the engines to be slowed down and to turn away from the iceberg. Did the Titanic miss the iceberg?

12. The Sinking
Murdoch’s hopes were too high. The Titanic scraped against the iceberg, opening a gash on the starboard* side of the bow. When Captain Smith heard about the collision, he asked carpenters and officers about how bad the damage was. Sadly, the first 6 watertight compartments were already flooding, so the Titanic was doomed. The crewmen were ordered to remove the tarps on the lifeboats and hang them on the davits*, even though the lifeboat drill was canceled on the day of the collision.

13. Passengers wouldn’t believe that the Titanic was sinking
Passengers wouldn’t believe that the Titanic was sinking. Besides, it looked a lot safer than the frail, wooden lifeboats. Even though that 65 people could fit in the lifeboats while hanging from the davits. The band even came and played lively tunes to lift peoples’ spirits. Then, from the bridge*, Captain Smith could see the lights of a distant ship. Fourth Officer Boxhall told Quartermaster Rowe to fire the distress rockets to signal the ship that they needed help. But the ship went away without even helping them. From the lifeboats, people could see that the portholes were not parallel to the water. Why? The Titanic was sinking headfirst.

14. Women and Children First
On one side of the Titanic, women and children were being loaded into the lifeboats first, which most of the time were less than half full. On the other side, anyone that was in first class would be loaded into the lifeboats first. One man had snuck into a lifeboat, hidden under another woman’s shawl. Tension was getting high, but Captain Smith was worried most of all. The total lifeboat capacity was 1,178 people, but there were over 2,000 people on board.
Captain Edward J. Smith of the Titanic.

15. The Titanic’s wireless communication room.
As the lifeboats were being launched, in the wireless communication room, Harold Bride and Jack Philips were working tirelessly, sending SOS and CQD signals so other ships knew they were in trouble. SOS stood for “save our ship” or “save our souls”. CQD stood for “come quick, distress”. As more lifeboats were being launched, passengers were getting frantic. 3rd class was not to be let into the lifeboats until all people in the other classes were in the lifeboats. But once they were let out, all the lifeboats were launched. So everyone scrambled aft*, for they had to stay on the Titanic as long as possible.
Jack Philips (left) and Harold Bride (right), the Titanic’s two wireless officers.
The Titanic’s wireless communication room.

16. The Final Plunge
As everyone scrambled aft, there was a lot of pressure in the middle of the Titanic as the ship rose steeper and steeper. Suddenly, there was a cracking noise as the Titanic almost split, nearly separating the bow from the stern*. But the bow kept on sinking, pulling the stern up to a 90° degree angle before finally breaking away from it. All objects that weren’t secured fell to the sea. And at a moderate speed, the Titanic made her final plunge into the water. Everything was over. The Titanic was gone.

17. The Carpathia, the ship that rescued the Titanic’s passengers.
Aftermath
After the Titanic had sank, the Carpathia had come and picked up the remaining survivors that were in the lifeboats. Most of the survivors that were picked up from the water had severe frostbite because of the water being 29° Fahrenheit. The entire world was very shocked to find that the Titanic had sank. In fact, some newspapers reported that the Titanic had not sank and everyone had survived.
The Carpathia, the ship that rescued the Titanic’s passengers.

18. Titanic’s bow underwater.
On September 1, 1985, the Titanic’s remains were discovered. They’re 2.5 miles below the ocean surface and 13 miles away from where people thought the Titanic had sank. Also, many artifacts from the ship have been found: plates, lightbulbs, bottles, even a dollbaby have been found. And many movies had been made that feature the Titanic as their setting. Today, 100 years from the day the Titanic sank, its name still brings memories to the world.
Titanic’s bow underwater.

19. Women Men Children Total First Class: 141 total 4 died, 113 survived
97% saved
171 total
104 died, 55 survived, 34% saved
7 total
1 died, 6 survived
86% saved
319 total
119 died, 200 survived
63% saved
Second Class:
92 total
13 died, 78 survived, 86% saved
152 total
139 died, 13 survived, 8% saved
25 total
0 died, 25 survived
100% saved
269 total
152 died, 117 survived, 25% saved
Third Class:
179 total
91 died, 88 survived
49% saved
440 total
381 died, 59 survived
13% saved
80 total
55 died, 25 survived
31% saved
699 total
527 died, 172 survived
25% saved
Crew:
22 total
2 died, 20 survived
91% saved
896 total
701 died, 195 survived
21% saved
None of the crew members were children (though some were in their teens).
918 total
703 died, 215 survived
23% saved

20. All in all, 2,214 people were aboard. 1,509 had died. 705 had survived
All in all, 2,214 people were aboard. 1,509 had died. 705 had survived. 31% of everyone on board were saved.

21. Glossary
Aft- In the direction of or towards the stern. Bow- The front of the ship. Bridge- An area where navigating devices, the steering wheel, and the engine room signals are located. Crow’s nest- The area where lookouts stand to watch for objects in a ship’s path. Davits- Small cranes that are used for lowering the lifeboats.

22. Hawsers- Steel cables that are used to keep a ship at the dock.
Maiden voyage- The first voyage of a new ship.
Nationalities- What a citizen from a certain country is called.
Starboard- The right side of a ship.
Stern- The back side of a ship.
Rudder- The mechanism that is used to turn the ship.