This Day in History: 15 April 2020
15 April 1912
108 years ago, today, the British ocean liner Titanic sunk into the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean. The huge ship, able to carry 2,200 passengers and crew, had struck an iceberg two and half hours prior. It had departed Southampton 5 days earlier, on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was designed by the Irish shipbuilder William Pirrie and was thought to be the world's fastest ship. Its hull was divided into 16 compartments that were presumed to be watertight, and 4 of these could be flooded without causing a critical impact, causing the world to think that the Titanic was unsinkable.
Just before midnight on April 14, the ship failed to divert its course from an iceberg, and at least 5 of its hull compartments were seriously damaged. They began to fill with water, which then filled its succeeding compartments, causing the bow to sink. The ship then broke in half, and the stern and bow quickly sank to the ocean floor. Unfortunately, there was a shortage of lifeboats, so more than 1,500 people went down in the wreckage or froze to death in the icy waters. The survivors were later brought onboard the Cunard liner Carpathia, but announcements of the events' details led to outrage across the world. Rules were adopted that required every ship to now have lifeboat space for each person on board, and that lifeboat drills were mandatory. As well as this, an International Ice Patrol was created to monitor icebergs in the North Atlantic area, and it was also required that ships keep a constant 24-hour radio watch. This was because it was later discovered that the Leyland liner Californian was close to the incident but failed to hear the distress signals of the Titanic as its radio operator was off duty.
Want to find out more about the history of the Titanic and the moment it sunk? Click here for more information.
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