The 'unsinkable' Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, struck an iceberg just before midnight on April 14 and slipped beneath the waves at 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912. Lifeboats launched at half capacity, and the ship carried lifebelts but not enough boats for everyone aboard. The disaster reshaped maritime law, mandating adequate lifeboats and 24-hour radio watch on passenger ships.
The band, according to survivor testimony, kept playing as the ship tilted—though the myth that they played 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' as a final hymn remains disputed. What is certain is that Titanic's wireless operators, Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, sent distress calls until the last possible minute, and that the nearby ship California could likely have reached the scene in time had its wireless operator not gone to bed.
Of roughly 2,224 people aboard, more than 1,500 died, mostly from hypothermia in water measured at 28°F. Third-class passengers, penned behind locked gates meant to satisfy U.S. immigration inspection rules, died at far higher rates than first-class passengers. The disaster's investigation, held in both the U.S. Senate and British Board of Trade, led directly to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), still the foundational maritime safety treaty today.
Key people: Edward Smith, Bruce Ismay