The Titanic

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The TitanicThe Death of an

Era

The Titanic

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TheEarly 1900’s

• The early 1900’s was a period of tremendous technological advancement in the world.

• In 1900 there had been fewer than 8,000 cars in the US; by 1910 there were close to 500,000 cars in the US.

• In 1903 the first heavier-than-air craft lasted 12 seconds and covered 852 feet; by 1909 a man had flown across the English Channel, a distance of 26 miles.

• The years between 1900 and 1910 saw the first Kodak camera, phonograph, aircraft, electric light, and motion picture!

The Titanic

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TheEarly 1900’s

• This was a time of class distinction. There were upper, middle, and lower classes in America and Britain.

• Class was decided by wealth in the US. It was decided by birth in Britain.

• Only one percent of Americans controlled over 60 percent

of our nation’s money! The same was true for Britain.

• Most upper class Americans were nouveau riche (newly rich), and had more money than they could spend. They wanted to be with other rich people, so they traveled to Europe.

The Titanic

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TheEarly 1900’s

• The aristocrats stayed in fashionable hotels in Paris and London, toured the Pyramids in Egypt, and relaxed in luxurious spas in Germany, Switzerland, and the south of France.

• Airline travel was not available yet, so all transatlantic trips had to be made by sea.

• Upper class passengers wanted fast ships with all the luxuries they were used to enjoying.

• Shipping companies competed for their business.

• The industrial revolution had increased the demand for cheap labor in America, so hundreds of thousands of immigrants flocked to our country in search of jobs and better lives. These were the middle and lower class people. In 1907 alone, over 1 million people came to the US!

They competed for transatlantic passengers

The World’s Top Ocean Lines

The Titanic

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The Titanic

• member of the White Star Line

• her sister ship was the Oceanic

• 11 stories high

• 4 city blocks long (a sixth of a mile!)

• weighed over 46,000 tons (over 50% larger than any other ship of the day!)

• 10 decks

• Titanic was the largest ship ever built up to this point

The Titanic

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Eleven stories high and four city blocks wide!The largest ship anyone had ever seen!

It was a proud symbol of human achievement.

RMS Titanic

Total of 10 decks• Boat deck (life boats)

• A (Promenade)

• B (had private promenades)

• C

• D

• E

• F

• G

• Two lowest decks used for machinery

First Class Grand Staircase

Café ParisienLocated on B Deck

French-style sidewalk caféfavored by the younger, hipper passengers

Clarence Moore

First Class Smoking Room

Archie Butt

Harry Widener

Capt. Smith

Third ClassAccommodations

Third Class Dining Room Stateroom

Watertight Doors

Boilers

The Titanic

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The Titanic• Created at Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Ireland

• Launched on May 31, 1911

• Spent ten months getting “fitted out”

• Maiden voyage began April 10, 1912

• She was to sail from Southampton, England, to NYC, across the North Atlantic Ocean

• Struck an iceberg on her starboard side at 11:40 p.m., Sunday, April 14

• Sunk at 2:20 a.m. on Monday, April 15, 1912

The Titanic

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The iceberg was perhaps over 100 feet tall.

The Titanic

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Titanic hits the iceberg at 11:40 p.m.on Sunday night, April 14, 1912

Iceberg tears open a 300-foot gash,ripping open the first six watertight compartments

The first six watertight compartments were damaged

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24 356

The watertight compartments in the front of the shipwere flooding and pulling the bow under the ocean.

Officers put passengers in the lifeboats;some people still didn’t want to leave.

Eleven stories high and four city blocks wide!The largest ship anyone had ever seen!

RMS Titanic

The Titanic

Basic InformationTitanic’s Passengers

Collectively worth $250 million dollars in 1912!

The Titanic

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J. Bruce Ismay• President of the White Star Line

• Came up with the idea for the sister ships to compete with the Cunard Line

• He decided to only go with 20 lifeboats – he knew that was not enough

• Traveled as a First Class passenger, but let everyone know that he was in charge

• He wanted the Titanic to beat the Oceanic’s transatlantic speed record

• Crawled into a lifeboat right before it descended - survived

The Titanic

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Thomas Andrews• Designer of the Titanic

• Worked for Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Ireland

• Traveled as a First Class passenger, but spent time inspecting the details for improvements later

• Well-respected by everyone; he was kind to all the passengers and crew

• He also knew there were not enough lifeboats for everyone

• Went down with the ship; didn’t even attempt to get in a lifeboat

The Titanic

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John Jacob Astor IV• Wealthiest family in America• His family owned entire streets in NYC• Owned some of the most expensive real estate in the world, including the Astoria Hotel• Owned over 1,000 rental properties (“slum lord”)• Divorced his wife and remarried an 18 year old girl – this caused a SCANDAL in high society. They left US for vacation in Europe until the gossip died down. They were returning to America on the Titanic.• He died when a smokestack fell on him in the water. She survived.

The Titanic

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Isador & Ida Strauss

• Co-founder of Macy’s Department Store

• millionaire (of course), former Congressman

• He tried to put her into a lifeboat, but she wouldn’t leave him.

• They died together on the boat.

The ThayersFirst Class Passengers

Lawrence BeesleySecond Class Passenger

Teacher

Col. Archibald Gracie

Jack Thayer

William T. SteadFirst Class Passenger

(uber eccentric!)

Major Peuchen

Charles M. Hays

Captain Smith

First Officer William Murdoch

Murdoch Capt. Smith

Marconi Radio Operators

First OperatorJohn Phillips

Second OperatorHarold Bride