April 15th, 1912. It has been one hundred and seven years since the Titanic sank but the stories of those who perished and those who survived still intrigue and mystify us. We still ask, why? It didn’t have to happen. Even after hitting the iceberg, the tremendous loss of life should not have happened. A horrible chain of events led Titanic to its doom.
The first event was the fire in the coal bunker. Some experts think the fire weakened the hull. Testimony provided surviving crew member, J. Dilley, a fireman on board. He stated he and eleven others had fought a fire in a coal bunker from the time the ship took sail. The passengers were not made aware. The fire started in bunker number six, where there were hundreds of tons of coal stored.
From his testimony. “The coal at the bottom of the pile had been permitted to get dry and took fire. The wet coal on top kept the flames from coming through, but down in the bottom of the bunker the flames were raging. Two men from each watch of stokers were tolled off, to fight the fire. Twelve of use were fighting flames from the day we put out of Southampton until we hit the iceberg. The stokers were alarmed over it, but the officers told us to keep our mouths shut – they didn’t want to alarm the passengers.”
The second event was the night wireless operator. He was an employee of Marconi and his job was to keep the wealthy passengers happy, sending and receiving their messages. He received warnings from the Californian regarding the ice. The Californian’s message said they were stopped for the night. The ice field was too dangerous to navigate in the dark. The wireless operator was busy sending and receiving messages for the wealthy aboard and put the message in a pile of other messages. He didn’t realize the importance. It should have been delivered to the bridge immediately, but it wasn’t. An earlier message regarding ice had been delivered to the bridge and the Captain adjusted their course further south. The bridge was unaware of the real danger until it was too late. The Californian’s wireless operated tried several times to alert the Titanic but was ignored. Deciding he had done all he could to warn them he went to bed. No one was listening to the Californian’s wireless when the call for help came through. Had they received the frantic message from the Titanic, they were close enough to rescue the passengers. The Californian was the closest ship and had sent a total of six warnings of icebergs in their location. Once Captain Smith notified the wireless operator of their situation, he worked bravely to contact other ships until the power went out and ship went down. He did not survive.
The third event was insufficient lifeboats. The White Star Line was so confident the Titanic was unsinkable they only had enough life boats for half the passengers.
The tragedy could have been averted.
Captain Smith was cleared by the British tribunal but vilified by the American one. The survivors took a different view, they blamed the White Star Line and the Board of Trade. The White Star Line had violated no laws regarding the number of life-boats. The Board of Trade set the rules for the number of life-boats British ships must carry. Unfortunately, it didn’t take into account the number of passengers. First-hand accounts from the survivors praised the Captain for his stoic bravery, doing everything he could to save as many as he could. Despite his efforts to keep the ship afloat until help arrived, it only took one hundred and sixty minutes from the time they hit the iceberg until the Titanic sunk.
Eight hundred and thirty-two passengers and six hundred and eighty five crew perished that night.
The first-class passenger list read like a who’s who of the rich and famous.
Colonel John Astor and his new bride Madeline, were returning from their honeymoon and were among the first-class passengers. Colonel Astor was one of the world’s richest men. He remained composed and stoic as he helped his wife aboard a life boat and told her he would see her when they were rescued. Colonel Astor did not survive. Four months after the Titanic disaster, Madeline, gave birth to a son, John, named after the father he would never know.
Isidor Straus and his wife, Rosalie, were also among the first-class passengers. Mr. Straus was one of the founders of Macy’s. Mr. Straus was not only known for his wealth but his acts of charity. Rosalie chose to remain with her husband on board the Titanic and they perished together went the ship went down.
Also aboard was J. Bruce Ismay, Chairman and Managing Director of the White Star Line. He pushed the Captain to increase speed because he wanted to set a record for the time getting to New York. It was also his decision to only put twenty life-boats aboard. He was the only high-ranking White Star Line official to survive the disaster. He took a seat in a life-boat that could have been filled by a passenger. When news of his survival arrived, he became the most reviled man on earth. His decisions helped to seal the fate of the Titanic and its passengers, yet he survived.
Many heroic actions took place that night. Regardless of their social class, people came together to support and comfort each other. The accounts of the survivors have been well documented.
If you’re intrigued by the story of the Titanic, I recommend a book my L. T. Myers, published soon after the Titanic sank, is a must read. It has survivor accounts of the events of the tragic night. I am fortunate to have a worn, but intact copy of the original publication of this detailed book. There is a kindle version available on Amazon, complete with the illustrations.
Click on the picture to be taken to Amazon kindle version.
