******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* COVER FRONTISPIECE TITLE PAGE DEDICATION FOREWORD DIAGRAM OF THE SHIP CHAPTER ONE — Setting Sail CHAPTER TWO — A Floating Palace CHAPTER THREE — A Peaceful Sunday CHAPTER FOUR — “Iceberg Right Ahead.” CHAPTER FIVE — Impact! CHAPTER SIX — In the Radio Room: “It’s a CQD OM.” CHAPTER SEVEN — A Light in the Distance CHAPTER EIGHT — Women and Children First CHAPTER NINE — The Last Boats CHAPTER TEN — In the Water CHAPTER ELEVEN — “She’s Gone.” CHAPTER TWELVE — A Long, Cold Night CHAPTER THIRTEEN — Rescue at Dawn ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* CHAPTER FOURTEEN — Aftermath: The End of All Hope EPILOGUE — Discovering the Titanic GLOSSARY PEOPLE IN THIS BOOK OTHER FAMOUS TITANIC FIGURES SURVIVOR LETTERS FROM THE CARPATHIA TITANIC TIMELINE BE A TITANIC RESEARCHER: FIND OUT MORE TITANIC FACTS AND FIGURES FROM THE BRITISH WRECK COMMISSIONER’S FINAL REPORT, 1912 TITANIC: THE LIFEBOAT LAUNCHING SEQUENCE REEXAMINED TITANIC Statistics: Who Lived and Who Died SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY SOURCE NOTES PHOTO CREDITS INDEX ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR ALSO BY THIS AUTHOR COPYRIGHT ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* (Preceding image) The wreck of the Titanic. At 2:20 a.m. on Monday, April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic, on her glorious maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, sank after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic, killing 1,496 men, women, and children. A total of 712 survivors escaped with their lives on twenty lifeboats that had room for 1,178 people. There were 2,208 on board. The loss of life was heartbreaking. It seems unbelievable even today. How did this magnificent ship, the largest and most luxurious in the world, simply disappear in a matter of hours? ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* Now, in the twenty-first century, the Titanic — the ship itself, as well as her passengers and crew, the wreck, and every last detail of the sinking — continues to fascinate us. Perhaps no other disaster in history has been so closely examined, studied by scientists, mariners, and those who research social behavior. It is the subject of websites, articles, discussion boards, films, scientific expeditions, and yes, books like this. Maybe the Titanic makes us all historians. We can’t help being curious: What happened? Why? Who said what and when? What did it mean? And, of course, what if? This book is an introduction to the disaster and to just a few of the people who survived — a stewardess, a nine-year-old boy, a science teacher, a wealthy gentleman, a brave seaman, an American high school senior, a young mother on her way to start a new life, and more. I hope their stories and voices remind you, as they do me, that our lives are fragile and precious. And I hope they make you wonder, as I do, what it would have been like to be on the Titanic that night so long ago. ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* (Preceding image) Crew members carry luggage onto the RMS Titanic as passengers board at Queenstown, Ireland, on April 11, 1912. ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* “Mummy! At last we are on the ’lantic.” — Frankie Goldsmith, age 9 When an Irish lad named Frank Browne was seventeen, his uncle Robert gave him a camera. Frank fell in love with photography and before long he was snapping that shutter everywhere he went. Fifteen years later, Frank was a teacher, preparing to become a priest just like his uncle. One day he received a wonderful surprise in the mail — another gift from Uncle Robert. This time it was a once-in-a-lifetime treat — a ticket for a two-day cruise on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. First class! Frank traveled from his home in Dublin, Ireland, to London’s Waterloo Station to board the “Titanic Special.” He rode the first class passenger train, which left at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, April 10, 1912, heading for the port of Southampton, about 78 miles away. (An earlier train, for second and third class passengers, had departed bright and early, at 7:30 a.m.) Frank reached the White Star Dock at 11:30 a.m., just in time for the ship’s noon departure. Like so many people that day, Frank could barely contain his excitement. Before him was a breathtaking sight — the largest and most luxurious ship the world had ever seen, a masterpiece of human engineering, class, and comfort. Not only that, she was safe. The Titanic, as everyone knew, was practically unsinkable. The Titanic was built in Belfast, Ireland, by the shipbuilding firm of Harland and Wolff especially for the White Star Line steamship company. ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* Although the airplane had been invented in 1903, it wasn’t until the 1950s that regular transatlantic jet service became available. So in 1912, when the Titanic sailed, people were still relying on ships to cross the seas, just as they had for centuries. As the twentieth century dawned, travelers wanted luxurious accommodations on board ships — and reliability. The White Star Line aimed to give its customers the best, and beat out its rival company, the Cunard Line, which had built its own new luxury liner, the Lusitania. The Lusitania was faster, while White Star’s new Olympic class of ships would be designed for comfort first. White Star had been in the passenger ocean liner business since 1867, when Thomas Henry Ismay bought the firm. His son, J. Bruce Ismay, became managing director in 1904 at the age of forty-one. By 1912, White Star was part of a large American holding company controlled by the American financier J. P. Morgan. When the Titanic sailed, J. Bruce Ismay was on board. Along with being managing director of the White Star Line, he served as president of the parent company, International Mercantile Maritime Company (IMM). Ismay essentially worked for J. P. Morgan, one of the richest men in the world. Morgan had planned to go on the maiden voyage but canceled at the last minute. In the end, Ismay may have wished he never went either. ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* (Preceding image) J. Bruce Ismay, chairman and director of the White Star Line, (right) inspects the hull of the Titanic with William James Pirrie, the chairman of the shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff. On July 31, 1909, White Star signed an agreement with Harland and Wolff to construct three sister ships: the Olympic, the Titanic, and a third to follow later. Originally to be called the Gigantic, this third ship was eventually named the Britannic. The Britannic sank in 1916, in even less time than the Titanic, after hitting a mine during World War I. White Star took enormous pride in its new Olympic class of ships. Not only were the ships spacious, they were designed to take advantage of all the modern technology of the early twentieth century, combining luxury with stability. To meet the needs of travelers who wanted speed and reliability as well as comfort, the powerful engines ensured that people arrived at their destinations on time. ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* The Olympic was launched first, making her maiden voyage on June 14, 1911. Construction on the Titanic began March 31, 1909. Quality was important — the Titanic cost $7.5 million to build. This new ship would look very much like the Olympic but would be slightly larger and have several new features, including specially decorated first class staterooms and even a “sidewalk café,” the Café Parisien, with real French waiters. When the Titanic was registered on March 25, 1912, her weight was listed at 46,328.57 tons — just over a thousand more than the Olympic. She was officially the largest ship in the world. The Titanic was scheduled to leave Belfast for her brief sea trials on Monday, April 1, 1912. High winds postponed the departure until the next morning. That meant one less day in Southampton to get everything ready — and there was a lot to do. ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* (Preceding image) Titanic in dry dock in Belfast as she is being built. Much of the boat had been fitted out in Belfast. During the years the Titanic was built, Harland and Wolff employed as many as 15,000 workers. The men started work at 7:50 a.m. and finished at 5:30 p.m., with one ten- minute break and a half hour for lunch. Just to install the ship’s machinery and complete the interior had taken ten months and millions of hours of work. When the 15½-ton anchor arrived, it was pulled by a team of twenty horses. ******ebook converter DEMO Watermarks******* (Preceding image) As preparations were made to launch the Titanic in May 1911, the ship’s giant propellers could be seen. By the time the Titanic had left Belfast, the machinery and furniture were in place, and 3,560 life belts were on board. But the ship still needed to be loaded with coal, food, cargo, tableware — and, of course, passengers and their baggage — before setting out for New York on a week-long voyage with more than 2,200 people on board. The RMS Titanic also carried mail. RMS stood for “Royal Mail Ship,” which meant a ship under contract to carry mail for speedy delivery. The Titanic sailed with five Sea Post Office clerks, and more than three thousand mailbags bulging with mail — over seven million pieces.