The Success of the Titanic

In 1908, Thomas Andrews presented the idea and design of a massive ship, The Titanic. It’s first voyage was from Belfast, to Southampton, to Cherbourg, to Queenstown, and finally to New York. Aboard the ship were some of Europe’s most wealthy citizens. Because the ship could only hold 1,300 people total, the cost to board and experience the voyage was very high, allowing only the upper-class people to attend.

The success of Titanic’s voyage brought the shipping company, the White Star Line, an incredible amount of business. This drastically improved Europe’s economy. The ship went on 2 more voyages, both back to New York. Some of the wealthiest people aboard the first voyage included John Jacob Astor IV, Isidor and Ida Straus, and Lady Duff Gordon loved the voyage so much that they gave a donation to the ship, allowing it to reduce the cost to board it. This made it more accessible for the middle- and lower-class citizens. Transatlantic sailing became more popular for a leisure activity. Eventually, the ship was used as a war ship for World War I. It was mainly used as a hospital ship, providing a place to take care of wounded soldiers.

Timeline:

July 29, 1908 – The design of the Titanic was denied because there weren’t enough lifeboats. They were told to increase the number of lifeboats from 16 to 20.

August 1, 1908 – 4 more lifeboats were added to the design and it was approved.

March 31, 1912 – The Titanic was completed.

April 2-3, 1912 – The Titanic began its voyage from Belfast and arrived in Southampton.

April 10, 1912 – Passengers boarded the Titanic and she left Southampton for Cherbourg, France to pick up more passengers.

April 11, 1912 – Titanic arrived in Queenstown, Ireland, cutting off the number of people aboard the ship at 1,300 (including passengers and crew). This ensured that if something were to go wrong, there would be plenty of room for everyone on the lifeboats.

April 12-13, 1912 – The Titanic began its official voyage to New York. Some notable people to be aboard were Molly Brown, John Thayer, Dorothy Gibson, and W.T. Stead, all who lived on to be great contributors to society.

April 14,1912 – Crew members and captains received several warnings about icebergs in their path. Because of this, they changed their route, sailing south to avoid the iceberg. They also slowed their speed to make sure they would have enough time to correct their path if they ended up coming across something to block their path.

April 16, 1912 – The Titanic successfully arrived in New York in the United States.

April 25, 1912 – The Titanic arrived back in Europe.

April 27, 1912 – The ship received a donation from John Jacob Astor IV, Isidor and Ida Straus, and Lady Duff Gordon to give the middle- and lower-class citizens a chance to sail on the ship.

January 6-17, 1913 – The Titanic takes its 2nd voyage to the United States.

November 22-December 5, 1913 – Titanic sails to New York for the 3rd and final time.

July 28, 1914 – World War I begins.

September 17, 1914-November 11, 1918 – After being reconstructed to resemble a hospital, the Titanic is used throughout World War I as a place to take care of wounded soldiers.

November 11, 1918 – World War I ends and The Titanic doesn’t set sail again. It is restored and used as a post-war museum located in Belfast, where it was built.