The RMS Titanic was a British passenger cruise liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of April 15, 1912. It collided with an iceberg during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. It is remembered as one of the deadliest commercial peacetime maritime disasters in modern history with over 1,500 casualties out of about 2,224 passengers and crew aboard the ship. At the time of its accident, the Titanic was the largest ship afloat.
The Titanic carried some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of European emigrants seeking better lives in the United States.
The first-class accommodations included a gymnasium, squash court, a Turkish bath, steam room, massage room, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants, a men’s Smoking Room, and lavish cabins. The Titanic, despite having advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, there were not enough lifeboats to accommodate all those on board. There were lifeboats for only 1,178 people: a little more than half of the number of passengers on board, and one-third of the total capacity.
On April 14, around 11:40 ship’s time about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, the Titanic collided with an iceberg and caused the ship’s hull to buckle inwards along the starboard side. The collision opened five of the sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. She was only capable of surviving four compartments flooding.
At 2:20 in the morning, the Titanic broke apart and sank. In less than two hours after the Titanic sank, the RMS Carpathia arrived at the scene and was able to rescue about 700 survivors.