White Star Line

The White Star Line was originally founded back in the 1850's. At that time, it consisted of sailing vessels travelling trade routes centred on Australian goldfields. Then, in 1867, White Star was purchased by Thomas Henry Ismay who was Bruce Ismay's father. At this time, White Star began to focus its efforts on the ever growing Atlantic Passenger routes. The Cunard Lines, until now, had been virtually unchallenged in the Atlantic routes. However, with White Star's Baltic, which set the Atlantic speed record in 1873, Cunard finally had a worthy opponent. The two companies were in constant competition as each one released better and faster vessels. White Star was the first to introduce ships without sails, the Teutonic and the Majestic. Bruce Ismay took over from his father after his death in 1899. In 1902, however, the company was sold to an American financier named J. Pierpoint Morgan but Ismay was allowed to retain his Directorship of the company and was also made Chairman and Managing Director. Morgan was very interested in the passenger trade route across the Altantic and saw great opportunity there. Using his vast wealth, he financed the creation of what would be the some of the greatest ships ever created: The Olympic Class liners Olympic, Titanic, and Brittanic. A quick look at the history of the line: 1850: Founded in Liverpool, specialized on trade with australian gold mines. 1867: Thomas Henry Ismay buys the line. 1869: The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company is found to establish the White Star Line in transatlantic service. 1891: The "Tuetonic" wins the Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic. 1899: Maiden voyage of the "Oceanic", the largest ship of the world in 1899. 1901: Maiden voyage of the "Celtic" und "Cedric", who are even larger than the "Oceanic". 1902: The american International Mercantile Marine Company IMM buys the line. 1907: Decision to build three ships of the Olympic-class: "Olympic", "Titanic" und "Gigantic". 1908: July 31st: These ships are ordered at Harland & Wolff in Belfast. 1908: December 16th: Beginning of the construction of the "Olympic". 1909: March 31st: Beginning of the construction of the "Titanic". 1911: May 31st: Launching of the "Titanic", the largest and most luxurious ship of the world in 1912. 1912: April 10th: Maiden voyage of the "Titanic" from Southampton to New York via Cherbourg and Queenstown (Cork). 1912: April 14th: At 11.40pm the "Titanic" collides with an iceberg. 1912: April 15th: At 2.20am the "Titanic" sinks and more than 1500 people die. 1914: Launching of the "Britannic", which should have the name "Gigantic". 1915: The "Britannic" gets a hospital ship. 1916: The "Britannic" collides with a mine. 30 people die, the ship sinks in one hour. 1935: The White Star Line and the Cunard Line combine. Name of the new company: Cunard White Star. http://www.webtitanic.net/framewhite.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK to New York City, US. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,502 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in modern history. The RMS Titanic was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. She was the second of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, and she was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast with Thomas Andrews, who perished with the ship, as her naval architect. On her maiden voyage, she carried 2,224 passengers and crew.
Under the command of Edward Smith, her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere throughout Europe seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Because of outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people—slightly more than half of the number onboard, and one-third her total capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York.^[2] On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles (600 km) south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm ship's time. The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea; the ship gradually filled with water. Meanwhile, passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly loaded. A disproportionate number of men were left aboard because of a "women and children first" protocol followed by some of the officers loading the lifeboats.^[3] By 2:20 AM, she broke apart and foundered, with well over one thousand people still aboard. Just under two hours after the Titanic foundered, the Cunard liner RMS Carpathia arrived on the scene of the sinking, where she brought aboard an estimated 705 survivors.
The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Additionally, several new wireless regulations were passed around the world in an effort to learn from the many missteps in wireless communications—which could have saved many more passengers.^[4] Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board; the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, faced social ostracism for the rest of his life.
The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, split in two and gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its discovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been recovered and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, folk songs, films, exhibits, and memorials.