This famous ship was not unsinkable

The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, and on that date we can honor the people who lost their lives in the famous tragedy. Titanic Remembrance Day remembers that event.

Long before Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed Jack Dawson in the 1997 movie, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic Ocean, on its way from Southampton, England to New York City. The ship, which was about 882 feet long and about 92 feet wide, had been marketed by the designer Thomas Andrews as being “unsinkable” but that nickname proved to be ironic.

This luxury steamship had 840 rooms and was holding 2,240 passengers. The ticket price varied largely between classes it could be as little as $170 or as much as $50,000 for a suite.

More than 1,500 of the passengers died during the accident that started on the night of April 14. The high class passengers were first priority for the limited life boats, with a 61% surviving. As to be expected the lower class passenger suffered the most casualties with only 24% surviving, just 172 of 706 of them lived. The last survivor was Millvina Dean, the youngest survivor at the time who was a third class passenger who was only two months old. Ms. Dean died at 97 back home in Southampton, England in 2009 of pneumonia (Titanic Facts).

To celebrate Titanic Remembrance Day, you can educate yourself on the Titanic by researching information or reading a Titanic-related book. You can also watch DiCaprio’s classic performance in Titanic.