The Unsinkable Ship That Sank
1912 · event
April 15, 1912 - The RMS Titanic, deemed "unsinkable," struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Over 1,500 people lost their lives in one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history. The ship was a marvel of engineering, the largest and most luxurious vessel of its time. Yet nature proved more powerful. Stories of heroism emerged - the band playing as the ship went down, men giving up their lifeboat seats for women and children. The Titanic remains a powerful reminder of human hubris and the unpredictability of fate.
She carried lifeboats for barely half the people aboard, the regulations were written for smaller ships, and she exceeded them. The band famously played on deck to calm the passengers; all eight musicians went down with her.
The wreck was found in 1985, four kilometres down, in two pieces. The last living survivor, Millvina Dean, was two months old on the night; she died in 2009, and with her the memory passed from witnesses to the rest of us.