What do you know about the real Titanic? Ninety-five years ago, RMS Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, losing 1,523 passengers and crew.
Stories and myths about the disaster surfaced almost immediately, and it still captures our imaginations today. Now the story is fueled by blockbuster movies and Broadway musicals. How much is true?
1. White Star Line advertised Titanic as “unsinkable.”
- False.
A 1911 nautical magazine called Titanic “practically unsinkable” because of its system of watertight doors and bulkheads. The press picked up the second half of the description and the public embraced it.
2. Bruce Ismay, White Star Line manager, pressured the captain to maintain full speed because he wanted to break the transatlantic crossing record.
- False.
Titanic was not designed to be fast like the Cunard Line’s Lusitania or Mauritania. Ismay knew that even at her top speed she wouldn’t be competitive and the brand new engines needed a gradual break-in period at lower speeds.
3. There was at least one other ship close enough to rescue Titanic’s passengers if its crew had known how bad the situation really was.
- True.
The Californian, a slow cargo ship was only about 15 to 18 miles from Titanic when it sank. The ship was stopped because of the ice and its radio crew had turned off the radio for the night. The captain did not learn about the distress flares soon enough to reach Titanic.
4. Denver’s “Unsinkable” Molly Brown and the women in Lifeboat #6 were prevented from going back to rescue more passengers.
- True.
The crewman in charge of Molly’s lifeboat, quartermaster Robert Hichens, would not allow the women to row back toward the ship, for fear of capsizing the lifeboat. Mrs. Brown described his delirious behavior at great length in her account.
5. Some men disguised themselves as women to sneak onto the lifeboats.
- False.
This exaggeration in the press grew out of at least two separate incidents. In one boat, a woman gave a shawl to a crewmember shivering in his undershirt. In Lifeboat #4, young Daniel Buckley began to cry when ordered out of the boat. He later said, “Mrs. Astor threw a shawl over my head and the boat was lowered.”
6. Crewmen locked third-class passengers below deck so they wouldn’t interfere with evacuation of the first-class passengers.
- False.
Doors were routinely locked to prevent different classes from mixing, but stewards unlocked them during the evacuation. However, in the confusion some could have been missed.
7. Most of Titanic’s 16 lifeboats left only half full.
- True.
Although two lifeboats managed to pick up a few additional survivors out of the water, on average the boats were slightly more than half full. It’s estimated that at least 400 more people could have been saved if all 16 boats had been filled to capacity.