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RMS Titanic was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.

Of the 2,208 passengers and crew aboard, approximately 1,500 died (estimates vary), making the incident one of the deadliest peacetime sinkings of a single ship. Titanic, operated by White Star Line, carried some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from the British Isles, Scandinavia, and elsewhere in Europe who were seeking a new life in the United States and Canada. It was the second time White Star Line had lost a ship on her maiden voyage, the first being RMS Tayleur in 1854. Titanic was the largest ship afloat upon entering service and the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners built for White Star Line. The ship was built by the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding company in Belfast. Titanic was under the command of Captain Edward John Smith, who went down with the ship. Titanic had advanced safety features, such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, which contributed to the ship's reputation as "unsinkable". Titanic was equipped with sixteen lifeboat davits, each capable of lowering three lifeboats, for a total capacity of 48 boats. Fourteen of these were regular lifeboats, two were cutter lifeboats, and four were collapsible boats that proved difficult to prepare for launch while the ship was sinking. Together, these lifeboats could have held 1,178 people – roughly half the number of passengers on board, and a third of the number that the ship could have carried at full capacity (a number consistent with the maritime safety regulations of the era). The British Board of Trade's regulations required fourteen lifeboats for a ship of 10,000 tonnes. Titanic carried six more than that, room for 338 more people than the standard. When the ship sank, the lifeboats that had been lowered were carrying an average of 60% of their rated capacity.

Built in Belfast, Ireland, RMS Titanic was the second of the three Olympic-class ocean liners—the lead vessel was RMS Olympic and the final ship in the class was HMHS Britannic.

The entrance to the First Class Grand Staircase and gymnasium was located midships along with the raised roof of the First Class lounge, while at the rear of the deck were the roof of the First Class smoke room and the Second Class entrance.

As seen aboard Titanic, all White Star Line passenger ships divided their Third Class accommodations into two sections, always at opposite ends of the vessel from one another.

Titanic was able to sail on the scheduled date only because coal was transferred from other vessels which were tied up at Southampton, such as New York and RMS Oceanic, as well as coal that Olympic had brought back from a previous voyage to New York, which had been stored at the White Star Dock.

In all, 920 passengers boarded Titanic at Southampton – 179 First Class, 247 Second Class, and 494 Third Class. Four hours after leaving Southampton, Titanic arrived at Cherbourg and was met by the tenders where 274 additional passengers were taken aboard (142 First Class, 30 Second Class, and 102 Third Class). In all, 123 passengers boarded Titanic at Queenstown – three First Class, seven Second Class and 113 Third Class.

RMS Titanic Inc., which is authorised to salvage the wreck site, has a permanent Titanic exhibition at the Luxor Las Vegas hotel and casino in Nevada which features a 22-tonne slab of the ship's hull.

Eventually, Titanic Belfast, Titanic Foundation Limited and the National Museums Northern Ireland joined with the National Maritime Museum as a consortium that was raising money to purchase the 5,500 artefacts.

Quick Facts

• Titanic was the largest ship afloat upon entering service and the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners built for White Star Line.
• Titanic, operated by White Star Line, carried some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from the British Isles, Scandinavia, and elsewhere in Europe who were seeking a new life in the United States and Canada.
• Titanic was under the command of Captain Edward John Smith, who went down with the ship.
• Built in Belfast, Ireland, RMS Titanic was the second of the three Olympic-class ocean liners—the lead vessel was RMS Olympic and the final ship in the class was HMHS Britannic.
• It was the second time White Star Line had lost a ship on her maiden voyage, the first being RMS Tayleur in 1854.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Titanic". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.