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| RMS Olympic |
Monday, April 15, 1912
6:15pm New York Time
Throughout the day, the people of New York City have heard nothing but rumors.
With no real news on what has happened, all the conflicting and confusing stories begin to seem true.
Finally, at 6:15pm Olympic sends New York a simple message,
"Titanic has gone down".
White Star Line's Phillip Franklin announces it to the American public. The news crosses the Atlantic by cable. The first numbers appear listing that only 675 passengers and crew were rescued. For a ship that had a crew of 900, this could mean the worst for Southampton, England where nearly all of Titanic's crew were employed.
New rumors start to circulate when London's Daily Sketch makes an unsupported claim that the Carpathia with Titanic's survivors on board had also begun to sink. Lists showing the names of Titanic's survivors are posted. Some of the names posted are misspelled, then corrected, or even omitted as vague new reports come in.
There will be no relief to the confusion until Carpathia arrives.
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| People gather outside The Sun Building in New York awaiting news about Titanic. |