Ward's Book of Days.
Pages of interesting anniversaries.
What happened on this day in history.
On this day in history in 1912, The Titanic sank.
The Titanic surnamed Unsinkable, the most opulent luxury liner of The White Star line, sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. She was cruising at a steady pace off Newfoundland when she suddenly struck an iceberg. The hold gradually filled with seawater and within three hours the vessel sank. Of the 2,224 passengers on board, 1,513 were drowned as the vessel only had lifeboats for half the passengers.
The event caused a scandal and prompted key upgrading of nautical safety measures chief amongst which were that vessels were obliged to provide a lifeboat place for every person on board. Since the sinking of the Titanic, no shipping line has ever dared to designate any of its ships unsinkable.
In 1985, the wreck of the Titanic was discovered and filmed but little of the once lavish liner remained.
Thistlethwaite, Diane and Noon, Steve. Story of the Titanic.
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