The ‘unsinkable’ Titanic was launched at the Belfast shipyards of Harland & Wolff on 31 May 1911. The next ten months were spent in fitting her out. She completed her trials on 2 April 1912, and arrived in Southampton on 3 April. A week later she sailed for New York. Here is a reconstructed log of the main events of her maiden voyage:
10 April 1912
12 noon Leaves Southampton dock; narrowly escapes collision with American liner New York.
7.00 p.m. Stops at Cherbourg for passengers.
9.00 p.m. Leaves Cherbourg for Queenstown.
11 April 1912
12.30 p.m. Stops at Queenstown for passengers and mail. One crewman deserts.
2.00 p.m. Leaves Queenstown for New York, carrying 1,316 passengers and 891 crew.
14 April 1912
9.00 a.m. Caronia reports ice Latitude 42º N from Longitude 49º to 51º W.
1.42 p.m. Baltic reports ice Latitude 41º 51´ N, Longitude 40º 52´ W.
1.45 p.m. Amerika reports ice Latitude 41º 27´ N, Longitude 50º 8´ W.
7.00 p.m. Temperature 43º.
7.30 p.m. Temperature 39º.
7.30 p.m. Californian reports ice Latitude 42º 3´ N, Longitude 49º 9´ W.
9.00 p.m. Temperature 33º.
9.30 p.m. Second Officer Lightoller warns carpenter and engine room to watch fresh water supply – may freeze up; warns crow’s-nest to watch for ice.
9.40 p.m. Mesaba reports ice Latitude 42º N to 41º 25´ N, Longitude 49º to 50º 30´ W.
10.00 p.m. Temperature 32º.
10.30 p.m. Temperature of sea down to 31º.
11.00 p.m. Californian warns of ice, but cut off before she gives location.
11.40 p.m. Collides with iceberg Latitude 41º 46´ N, Longitude 50º 14´ W.
15 April 1912
12.05 a.m. Orders are given to uncover the boats, muster the crew and passengers.
12.15 a.m. First wireless call for help.
12.45 a.m. First rocket fired. First boat, No. 7, lowered.
1.40 a.m. Last rocket fired.
2.05 a.m. Last boat, collapsible D, lowered.
2.10 a.m. Last wireless signals sent.
2.18 a.m. Lights fail.
2.20 a.m. Ship founders.
3.30 a.m. Carpathia’s rockets sighted by boats.
4.10 a.m. First boat, No. 2, picked up by Carpathia.
8.30 a.m. Last boat, No. 12, picked up.
8.50 a.m. Carpathia heads for New York with 705 survivors.
So much for the basic facts. Beyond these, much is a mystery. Probably nothing will ever equal the Titanic for the number of unanswered questions she left behind. For instance:
How many lives were lost? Some sources say 1,635 … the American Inquiry, 1,517 … the British Board of Trade, 1,503 … the British Inquiry, 1,490. The British Board of Trade figure seems most convincing, less fireman J. Coffy, who deserted at Queenstown.
How did various people leave the ship? Nearly every woman survivor who was asked replied firmly, ‘in the last boat’. Obviously, all these women didn’t go in the same boat, yet to question the point is like questioning a lady’s age – one simply doesn’t do it. Careful sifting of the testimony at the British and American hearings shows pretty clearly how the ship was abandoned, but even here there’s conflicting evidence. At the British Inquiry each witness was asked how many people were lowered in his lifeboat. The minimum estimates were then added. The results show a good deal of wishful thinking:
Lowered in the boats according to minimum estimates of survivors Lowered in the boats according to actual figures of those saved
Crew 107 139
Men passengers 43 119
Women and children 704 393
Total 854 651
In short, about seventy per cent more men and forty-five per cent fewer women went in the boats than even the most conservative survivors estimated. Plus the fact that the boats pulled away with twenty-five per cent fewer people than estimated.
What time did various incidents happen? Everyone agrees that the Titanic hit the iceberg at 11.40 p.m. and sank at 2.20 a.m. – but there’s disagreement on nearly everything that happened in between. The times given in this book are the honest estimates of people intimately involved, but they are far from foolproof. There was simply too much pressure. Mrs Louis M. Ogden, passenger on the Carpathia, offers a good example. At one point, while helping some survivors get settled, she paused long enough to ask her husband the time. Mr Ogden’s watch had stopped, but he guessed it was 4.30 p.m. Actually, it was only 9.30 in the morning. They were both so engrossed, they had lost all track of time.
What did different people say? There are no reconstructed conversations in this book. The words quoted are given exactly as people remembered them being spoken. Yet there is margin for error. The same conversations are often reported with slight variations. For instance, there are at least four versions of the exchange between Captain Rostron and Fourth Officer Boxhall as boat 2 edged alongside the Carpathia. The gist is always the same, but the words vary slightly.
What did the band play? The legend is, of course, that the band went down playing ‘Nearer My God to Thee’. Many survivors still insist this was so, and there’s no reason to doubt their sincerity. Others maintain the band played only ragtime. One man says he clearly remembers the band in its last moments, and they were not playing at all. In this maze of conflicting evidence, junior wireless operator Harold Bride’s story somehow stands out. He was a trained observer, meticulously accurate, and on board to the last. He clearly recalled that, as the boat deck dipped under, the band was playing the Episcopal hymn ‘Autumn’.
Did a man get off dressed as a woman? While material was being gathered for this book, four first-class passengers were specifically named as the famous man who escaped in woman’s clothes. There is not one shred of evidence that any of these men were guilty, and considerable evidence to the contrary. For instance, investigation suggests that one was the target of a vindictive reporter shoved aside while trying for an interview. Another, prominent in local politics, was the victim of opposition mudslinging. Another was the victim of society gossip; he did happen to leave the Titanic before his wife. In the search for bigger game, no one bothered about third-class passenger Daniel Buckley, who freely acknowledged that he wore a woman’s shawl over his head. He was only a poor, frightened Irish lad, and nobody was interested.
The answer to all these Titanic riddles will never be known for certain. The best that can be done is to weigh the evidence carefully and give an honest opinion. Some will still disagree, and they may be right. It is a rash man indeed who would set himself up as final arbiter on all that happened the incredible night the Titanic went down.
Passenger List
Here is the White Star Line’s final list of lost and saved, dated 9 May 1912. Those saved are in italics.
FIRST-CLASS PASSENGERS
Allen, Miss Elizabeth Walton
Allison, Mr H. J.
Allison, Mrs H. J. and Maid
Allison, Miss L.
Allison, Master T. and Nurse
Anderson, Mr Harry
Andrews, Miss Cornelia I.
Andrews, Mr Thomas
Appleton, Mrs E. D.
Artagaveytia, Mr Ramon
Astor, Colonel J. J. and Manservant
Astor, Mrs J. J. and Maid
Aubert, Mr
s N. and Maid
Barkworth, Mr A. H.
Baumann, Mr J.
Baxter, Mrs James
Baxter, Mr Quigg
Beattie, Mr T.
Beckwith, Mr R. L.
Beckwith, Mrs R. L.
Behr, Mr K. H.
Bishop, Mr D. H.
Bishop, Mrs D. H.
Bjornstrom, Mr H.
Blackwell, Mr Stephen Weart
Blank, Mr Henry
Bonnell, Miss Caroline
Bonnell, Miss Lily
Borebank, Mr J. J.
Bowen, Miss
Bowerman, Miss Elsie
Brady, Mr John B.
Brandeis, Mr E.
Brayton, Mr George
Brewe, Dr Arthur Jackson
Brown, Mrs J. J.
Brown, Mrs J. M.
Bucknell, Mrs W. and Maid
Butt, Major Archibald W.
Calderhead, Mr E. P.
Candee, Mrs Churchill
Cardoza, Mrs J. W. M. and Maid
Cardoza, Mr T. D. M. and Manservant
Carran, Mr F. M.
Carran, Mr J. P.
Carter, Mr William E.
Carter, Mrs William E. and Maid
Carter, Miss Lucile
Carter, Master William T. and Manservant
Case, Mr Howard B.
Cassebeer, Mrs H. A.
Cavendish, Mr T. W.
Cavendish, Mrs T. W. and Maid
Chaffee, Mr Herbert F.
Chaffee, Mrs Herbert F.
Chambers, Mr N. C.
Chambers, Mrs N. C.
Cherry, Miss Gladys
Chevré, Mr Paul
Chibnall, Mrs E. M. Bowerman
Chisholm, Mr Robert
Clark, Mr Walter M.
Clark, Mrs Walter M.
Clifford, Mr George Quincy
Colley, Mr E. P.
Compton, Mrs A. T.
Compton, Miss S. P.
Compton, Mr A. T., Jr
Cornell, Mrs R. G.
Crafton, Mr John B.
Crosby, Mr Edward G.
Crosby, Mrs Edward G.
Crosby, Miss Harriet
Cummings, Mr John Bradley
Cummings, Mrs John Bradley
Daly, Mr P. D.
Daniel, Mr Robert W.
Davidson, Mr Thornton
Davidson, Mrs Thornton
De Villiers, Mrs B.
Dick, Mr A. A.
Dick, Mrs A. A.
Dodge, Dr Washington
Dodge, Mrs Washington
Dodge, Master Washington
Douglas, Mrs F. C.
Douglas, Mr W. D.
Douglas, Mrs W. D. and Maid
Dulles, Mr William C.
Earnshew, Mrs Boulton
Endres, Miss Caroline
Eustis, Miss E. M.
Evans, Miss E.
Flegenheim, Mrs A.
Flynn, Mr J. I.
Foreman, Mr B. L.
Fortune, Mr Mark
Fortune, Mrs Mark
Fortune, Miss Ethel
Fortune, Miss Alice
Fortune, Miss Mabel
Fortune, Mr Charles
Franklin, Mr T. P.
Frauenthal, Mr T. G.
Frauenthal, Dr Henry W.
Frauenthal, Mrs Henry W.
Frolicher, Miss Marguerite
Futrelle, Mr J.
Futrelle, Mrs J.
Gee, Mr Arthur
Gibson, Mrs L.
Gibson, Miss D.
Giglio, Mr Victor
Goldenberg, Mr S. L.
Goldenberg, Mrs S. L.
Goldschmidt, Mrs George B.
Gordon, Sir Cosmo Duff
Gordon, Lady Duff and Maid
Gracie, Colonel Archibald
Graham, Mr William G.
Graham, Mrs William G.
Graham, Miss Margaret
Greenfield, Mrs L. D.
Greenfield, Mr W. B.
Guggenheim, Mr Benjamin
Harder, Mr George A.
Harder, Mrs George A.
Harper, Mr Henry Sleeper and Manservant
Harper, Mrs Henry Sleeper
Harris, Mr Henry B.
Harris, Mrs Henry B.
Harrison, Mr W. H.
Haven, Mr H.
Hawksford, Mr W. J.
Hays, Mr Charles M.
Hays, Mrs Charles M. and Maid
Hays, Miss Margaret
Head, Mr Christopher
Hilliard, Mr Herbert Henry
Hipkins, Mr W. E.
Hippach, Mrs Ida S.
Hippach, Miss Jean
Hogeboom, Mrs John C.
Holverson, Mr A. O.
Holverson, Mrs A. O.
Hoyt, Mr Frederick M.
Hoyt, Mrs Frederick M.
Hoyt, Mr W. F.
Isham, Miss A. E.
Ismay, Mr J. Bruce and Manservant
Jakob, Mr Birnbaum
Jones, Mr C. C.
Julian, Mr H. F.
Kent, Mr Edward A.
Kenyon, Mr F. R.
Kenyon, Mrs F. R.
Kimball, Mr E. N.
Kimball, Mrs E. N.
Klaber, Mr Herman
Lambert-Williams, Mr Fletcher Fellows
Leader, Mrs F. A.
Lewy, Mr E. G.
Lindstroem, Mrs J.
Lines, Mrs Ernest H.
Lines, Miss Mary C.
Lingrey, Mr Edward
Long, Mr Milton C.
Longley, Miss Gretchen F.
Loring, Mr J. H.
Madill, Miss Georgette Alexandra
Maguire, Mr J. E.
Maréchal, Mr Pierre
Marvin, Mr D. W.
Marvin, Mrs D. W.
McCaffry, Mr T.
McCarthy, Mr Timothy J.
McGough, Mr J. R.
Meyer, Mr Edgar J.
Meyer, Mrs Edgar J.
Millet, Mr Frank D.
Minahan, Dr W. E.
Minahan, Mrs W. E.
Minahan, Miss Daisy
Moch, Mr Philip E.
Molsom, Mr H. Markland
Moore, Mr Clarence and Manservant
Natsch, Mr Charles
Newell, Mr A. W.
Newell, Miss Alice
Newell, Miss Madeline
Newsom, Miss Helen
Nicholson, Mr A. S.
Omont, Mr F.
Ostby, Mr E. C.
Ostby, Miss Helen R.
Ovies, Mr S.
Parr, Mr M. H. W.
Partner, Mr Austin
Payne, Mr V.
Pears, Mr Thomas
Pears, Mrs Thomas
Penasco, Mr Victor
Penasco, Mrs Victor and Maid
Peuchen, Major Arthur
Porter, Mr Walter Chamberlain
Potter, Mrs Thomas, Jr
Reuchlin, Jonkheer J. G.
Rheims, Mr George
Robert, Mrs Edward S. and Maid
Roebling, Mr Washington A., 2nd
Rolmane, Mr C.
Rood, Mr Hugh R.
Rosenbaum, Miss
Ross, Mr J. Hugo
Rothes, the Countess of and Maid
Rothschild, Mr M.
Rothschild, M
rs M.
Rowe, Mr Alfred
Ryerson, Mr Arthur
Ryerson, Mrs Arthur
Ryerson, Miss Emily
Ryerson, Miss Susan
Ryerson, Master Jack
Saalfeld, Mr Adolphe
Schabert, Mrs Paul
Seward, Mr Frederick K.
Shutes, Miss E. W.
Silverthorne, Mr S. V.
Silvey, Mr William B.
Silvey, Mrs William B.
Simonius, Oberst Alfons
Sloper, Mr William T.
Smart, Mr John M.
Smith, Mr J. Clinch
Smith, Mr R. W.
Smith, Mr L. P.
Smith, Mrs L. P.
Snyder, Mr John
Snyder, Mrs John
Soloman, Mr A. L.
Spedden, Mr Frederick O.
Spedden, Mrs Frederick O. and Maid
Spedden, Master R. Douglas and Nurse
Spencer, Mr W. A.
Spencer, Mrs W. A. and Maid
Stahelin, Dr Max
Stead, Mr W. T.
Steffanson, H. B.
Stehli, Mr Max Frolicher
Stehli, Mrs Max Frolicher
Stengel, Mr C. E. H.
Stengel, Mrs C. E. H.
Stephenson, Mrs W. B.
Stewart, Mr A. A.
Stone, Mrs George M. and Maid
Straus, Mr Isidor and Manservant
Straus, Mrs Isidor and Maid
Sutton, Mr Frederick
Swift, Mrs Frederick Joel
Taussig, Mr Emil
Taussig, Mrs Emil
Taussig, Miss Ruth
Taylor, Mr E. Z.
Taylor, Mrs E. Z.
Thayer, Mr J. B.
Thayer, Mrs J. B. and Maid
Thayer, Mr J. B., Jr
Thorne, Mr G.
Thorne, Mrs G.
Tucker, Mr G. M., Jr
Uruchurtu, Mr M. R.
Van der Hoef, Mr Wyckoff
Walker, Mr W. Anderson
Warren, Mr F. M.
Warren, Mrs F. M.
Weir, Mr J.
White, Mr Percival W.
White, Mr Richard F. and Manservant
White, Mrs J. Stuart and Maid
Wick, Mr George D.
Wick, Mrs George D.