They fatefully called it "Unsinkable". She had been commissioned in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she would then make her way to Southern England to her awaiting passengers, many of whom where just hoping for a better life in America. The RMS Titanic set off on this day, April 10, 1912, with an eclectic mix of passengers, bound for Pier 59 in New York City. One third of the passengers were from the same part of England, the bulk of the rest were from the same area of Ireland that boarded on April 11th.

Titanic Artifacts Go On Display In San Francisco
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Not only was Titanic called Unsinkable, it was also called "The Ship of Dreams". At the time it was built, it was the grandest, and supposedly the safest ship ever built. Most people know the fact that the ship was built with not enough lifeboats aboard, and that many of those lifeboats were lowered only half-full.

Some other little known facts are: A first class passenger paid $4,350 for a parlor suite ticket (today's equivalent, $50,000). The ship contained a heated swimming pool, a first of it's kind for any passenger ship. The ship was so new there was still wet paint in some areas. Every stateroom had electric lighting and heat. And sadly, of the 1,514 people that perished, only 306 bodies were recovered.

The lucky ones that did survive, were taken aboard the Carpathia, where they finally made port in New York City on Wednesday, April 18th. A total of 710 survived the sinking.

Crowded Lifeboat
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For more info on the Titanic click on this link:

 

 

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