Lost In Time

Scroll>>>>>

scroll>>>>>>

scroll>>>

The infamous ship set sail on April 10, 1912 under the command of Captain John Smith. Facts about Captain John Smith, his life and his tragic death aboard the ship are often the subject of much debate and study. Many historians feel that the tragedy could have been avoided in it's entirely had Captain Smith acted differently. Others aren't so sure. Certainly a number of other factors contributed to the heavy loss of life, including the lack of life boats.

How many people survived the Titanic is one of the most frequently asked questions regarding the history of this legendary ship. Of the 2,227 passengers and crew members who set sail, only 705 Titanic passengers survived.

Famous passengers on the Titanic included Molly Brown, wife of a Colorado silver mine entrepreneur, and John Jacob Astor. Molly Brown became famous in her own right for being the only woman to have rowed a lifeboat to safety.

Even though crew members were desperately trying to turn the ship in the other direction, when the ship collided with the berg a massive rip was torn parallel across the ship's bulk. The Titanic sinking began almost immediately, as the ship began to take on water. Surprisingly, many of the passengers remained unaware of this fact. Some passengers reported hearing and feeling a strange quivering in the ship; however, they did not attribute this to any potential problem and went on about their business. Others had seen the iceberg has it passed their window and hurriedly donned dressing gowns and robes, anxious to discover whether or not they had truly hit the berg. At first, passengers were assured that there would only be a slight delay and were given no indication of the true severity of the situation. Passengers located at strategic points in the ship already knew the devastating truth however: the Titanic was sinking and sinking fast. An SOS was sent out to neighboring ships. The Carpathia picked up the ship's distress call and radioed back to let the ship's crew know they were on their way. It would be too late, however. By the time the Carpathia arrived, all that remained of the Titanic was a handful of lifeboats filled with shocked survivors.

One of the most touching stories regarding the passengers on the Titanic is the tale of an elderly wealthy couple, the Straus'. When it became apparent that no male passengers on the Titanic could be allowed to board the limited lifeboats, Mrs. Straus chose to stay by the side of her husband; even though it meant certain death. The couple perished with the ship.

In 1912 the sinking of the Titanic began late on the night of April 14th. Information on the sinking Titanic indicates that the ship approached a massive iceberg, and although efforts were made to steer clear of the large frozen mass, all efforts were to no avail. Sadly, further records of the Titanic accident history indicate that the Titanic disaster may very well have been able to have been completely avoided had officers on ship paid heed to reports received earlier regarding the frozen waters they were approaching.

Since the ship sank to her watery grave, almost one hundred years ago, a number of theories have been put forth to explain how in the year of 1912 the sinking of the Titanic could have occurred. Some theories suggest that had the ship's crew not attempted to turn the ship in the opposite direction of the iceberg and instead took the blow head-on, the collision would not have resulted in such catastrophic disaster. Consequently, neighboring ships in the area had reported earlier in the evening that the waters ahead contained numerous masses of solid ice and that approaching ships should proceed with caution. The Titanic, however, thought to be unsinkable, plowed full speed ahead. This proved to be a fatal mistake and is certainly one of the factors that led to the disaster.