On This Day In History, April 15th, 1912: The HMS Titanic Sinks

When the HMS Titanic made it's way to England in preparation for its maiden voyage, it was heralded as "the unsinkable ship." Boasting of luxury accomodations for its first and second classes, the Titanic had a (now infamous) grand staircase, gorgeous dining room, a Turkish bath, and gymnasium. It was the cream de la creme, and its maiden voyage was highly anticipated. As thousands boarded the ship on 10th of April, 1912, hope hung in the air: this was to be an historic launch. Unfortunately, they weren't wrong, but for the wrong reasons. Sometime around midnight on April 15th, Titanic scraped an iceberg somewhere in the North Atlantic. As the ice dragged across her iron hull, it pocked holes in her side, and the boat began to take on water. Attempts were made to evacuate, with emphasis on women and children, but it soon became clear that Titanic was not equipped with enough life boats, and so emphasis was made on getting the richer passengers to safety, leaving the third class to fend for themselves. To make matters worse, Titanic's crew had not been trained to evacuate in the event of a sinking, so protoccol was not clear. It is believed by most historians that lifeboats were only filled to 60%, proving the ineptitude of the crew. Distress signals were sent out to all nearby boats, but only the Carpathia responded by sheer luck. Within two hours of the iceberg striking the ship, it sank: the nature of the holes in her side caused the hull to raise up, exposing the propellers, causing gravity to split the ship in half, plunging all who weren't evacuated into the -2 degree celcius water. Those were not lucky found themselves either sucked into the smoke stacks or crushed by them as they fell. Others found themselves smashed between the freezing water and the boat itself. 1,517 people died that night: 63% of passengers, 76% of crew. A scant 39% of the First class died that night- mainly men, while a whopping 58% of Second Class met their demises. 76% of all Third Class passengers perished in the wreck. I have linked a video of a replica of the sinking of the HMS Titanic in real time. Feel free to watch it. Although the survivors of her disasterous maiden voyage are long gone, Titanic lives on in pop culture thanks to the 1997 movie of the same name. Although the movie is innacurate due to the love plot that steals the show, it is quite historically accurate in its depictions of the Titanic herself, as well as costuming and other sets. James Cameron is said to have genuinely poured his heart and soul into the project, even going so far as to study the ship from a submarine. He is one of the leading voices on not only the Titanic, but deep sea exploration. Unfortunately, as of 2023, Titanic gained a handful more victims when the Titan submersible imploded, killing all on board during a tour of the wreck. I have a lot of very stern words and sentiments on the matter, but this is not the place nor the time to talk about them. All I will say is that the submersible was unsafe, and OceanGate should never have been. On the submersible was the leading voice on the Titanic and its history, Paul Henri Nargoleot. He had been a part of 35 trips to see the wreckage, and his death was a blow to the history community. Although she sank long ago, The HMS Titanic left her mark on history with her disasterous maiden voyage and ill prepared crew. If not for the failures of many people during the 1910's, we would not have had Leonardo DiCaprio in suspenders, or that very odd time period in history where empire waist prom dresses were a thing. May all who died rest in peace.