Timeline Article: The Cries of the 1500

When Titanic sank, she left 1500 people at the surface. Some were lifeless bodies, and some were struggling in the freezing water, waiting for a lifeboat to return and help them. It was the sound of the screams from these poor souls that would haunt the Titanic survivors forever.

"The agonizing cries of death from over a thousand throats, the wails and groans from the suffering, the shrieks of the terror-stricken, and the awful gasping for breath of those in the last throes of drowning, none of us will ever forget to our dying day."

First Class Passenger
Colonel Archibald Gracie


"The sounds of people drowning are something that I cannot describe to you, and neither can anyone else. It's the most dreadful sound and there is a terrible silence that follows it." 

Second Class Passenger
Eva Hart

Third class passenger, Frankie Goldsmith was nine years old when Titanic sank. He was traveling with his mother and father. His father perished in the sinking. After the disaster, Frankie and his mother settled in Detroit, where he grew up near Tiger Stadium. When the Tigers played, the roar of the crowds reminded him of the sound of the Titanic victims screaming as they struggled in the water. Consequently, Frankie never took his children to baseball games.

Even though the people in the nearby lifeboats could hear these horrible sounds, only one lifeboat will go back to help.

Timeline Article: Collapsible Lifeboat D is the Eighteenth and the Last to be Successfully Launched from Titanic

Monday, April 15th, 1912
2:05am

Collapsible D is the eighteenth to be launched.
Lowered by: Chief Officer Wilde, 2nd Officer Lightoller
Crew member in charge: Quartermaster Arthur Bright

At this point during the night the panic among the passengers had become severe. Water was starting to pour over the sides and onto the promenade deck just below the bridge. Testimonies later state that warning shots had been fired in the vicinity of collapsible D, and that the crew had to link their arms together to keep groups of men from rushing into the lifeboat. The "women and children first" order was becoming irrelevant. Counting collapsible D, only 3 of the 20 lifeboats were left, and Titanic was sinking faster and faster.

Water spills over the side and onto the promenade deck just below the bridge,
as depicted in James Cameron's film "Titanic".

Just like the case with lifeboat 4 earlier, Titanic's slight list to port was making the loading of collapsible D difficult due to a gap that formed between the ship's deck and the lifeboat. Passengers would have to jump across the gap and into the lifeboat. This was a daunting task for some people.
While loading, Chief Officer Wilde ordered 2nd Officer Lightoller to man the lifeboat, but Lightoller refused, and stayed aboard the ship. Quartermaster Arthur Bright was put in charge, and the lowering of the lifeboat commenced. The descent was short, due to the fact that the sea was only about 10 feet from the deck where collapsible D was located.

First Class passengers, Hugh Woolner and Mauritz Bjornstrom-Steffansson were standing on the promenade deck beneath collapsible D. When the water started to flood the deck, the two jumped aboard the lifeboat just as it was being lowered past them and about to make contact with the water. Once on the surface, another first class passenger, Frederick Hoyt was pulled from the water and into the lifeboat. The people aboard collapsible D immediately began to row away to avoid any possible suction.

Collapsible Lifeboat D is the last to be successfully launched,

and leaves Titanic with 23 out of 47 seats occupied.

Timeline Article: Andrews is Amazed at Passengers' Indifference

Titanic's Designer, Thomas Andrews

Monday, April 15, 1912

12:22am

As Titanic floods down below, the passengers on the upper decks do not seem to notice. The cold weather has driven people from the boat deck back into the public areas of the ship. Thomas Andrews is amazed to find that there are no passengers on deck and ready to board the lifeboats. He has already informed the Captain and the officers of Titanic's dire situation and that the ship doesn't have much time. However, to the passengers and the rest of the crew, the ship still feels level and solid. The fact that Titanic is actually sinking has not yet become apparent.

Video Provided By: James Cameron's Titanic Explorer

Timeline Article: TITANIC- "Too Good To Last."

The First class passengers describe the maiden voyage of Titanic to be absolutely remarkable. Their new surroundings are exquisite and the service is excellent. Old and new friends appear in their finest clothing for Sunday dinner... The best meal yet!

"The pleasure and comfort which all of us enjoyed upon this floating palace, with its extraordinary provisions for such purposes. Seemed an ominous feature to many of us, including myself, who felt it almost too good to last."

First Class Passenger
-Col. Archibald Gracie

Col. Archibald Gracie

Timeline Article: Titanic Arrives at Queenstown, Ireland

Titanic arriving at Queenstown, Ireland

Thursday, April 11, 1912
12pm

Titanic makes her last stop at Queenstown, Ireland. She drops anchor at Cove Harbor, the deep water port at Queenstown. The tenders the Ireland and the America bring aboard 120 passengers, their luggage, and 15 hundred mail bags. Port officials and journalists board as well to take a look at the new ship. Some local vendors selected by Chief Officer Henry Wilde, are allowed to temporarily board the ship. These vendors sell lace and souvenirs to the First class passengers on the promenade deck during the stop. This arrangement provides wealthy customers for the vendors. As the vendors disembark the ship, Wilde receives a tip for allowing the vendors to board.

A vendor aboard a ship around the same time as Titanic.

Featured Article: History's Most Glamorous Cross Channel Commute

The trip from Southampton to Cherbourg was the most glamorous cross channel commute in history. Titanic was the finest ship in the world and was literally a floating palace. Seeing her from a distance with her black and white hull with a yellow stripe from bow to stern, and her four tan and black colored funnels towering above the deck, must have been an impressive sight.

Titanic's interiors and the first-class accommodations would match any 5-star hotel on land. Some of the passengers that boarded at Southampton were not making the trip all the way to America, but just to Cherbourg. During this short trip, these passengers were feed a fantastic lunch and were able to tour different parts of the ship. Titanic arrived at Cherbourg by sunset and 24 passengers and 1 canary left the ship.

Most of the people that boarded the ship at Cherbourg via Nomadic were wealthy travelers that were on vacation. Some of these passengers included...

Col. John Jacob Astor IV and his new 18-year-old wife Madeleine- The Astors were on an extended honeymoon waiting for the gossip to calm down but braced for scandal upon their return to New York. Madeleine was a year younger than J.J. Astor's son Vincent. J.J Astor was the wealthiest man to board the ship.

Margaret "Molly" Brown- She had been called back to the U.S. because her son had become ill, while she was touring Egypt and France with the Astors. She would be know to history as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown".

Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon and Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon.

Major Archibald Willingham Butt- President Taft's military advisor.

Benjamin Guggenheim- American businessman and mining tycoon. He was considered a playboy and was traveling along with his mistress, a French singer named Madame Léontine Aubart. His wife and children were waiting for him in America.

The list goes on...

This was the royalty of the Guilded Age, the who's who of society. Captain Smith will great them all personally. No expense was spared for their comfort and pleasure.

Timeline Article: Titanic Arrives at Cherbourg, France

Wednesday, April 10, 1912
Sunset
After leaving Southampton, and traveling 77 miles to the south across the English Channel, Titanic arrives at Cherbourg, France. Titanic was so large that she had to ride at anchor in the deep water because the docks were too shallow.

So the White Star Line ordered 2 tenders to be designed and built by Harland and Wolff to serve the Olympic Class ships. These tenders were named, Nomadic and Traffic. They were assigned to ferry passengers, luggage, and mail bags from the Cherbourg docks to the much larger ships. Nomadic, served the First and Second Class passengers, while Traffic served the Third Class. 

Nomadic still exists today. She is the only surviving White Star vessel.

By 8:30pm, Titanic departs Cherbourg. She rises anchor and turns to the north. Her lights sparkle against the night sky as she sails back into the English Channel. Her next stop is Queenstown, Ireland.

Still shot from the 1997 movie "Titanic".
Nomadic is shown along side Titanic.

Map showing Titanic's route from
Southampton, England to Cherbourg, France.

Featured Article: The Turkish Baths

One of the many amenities aboard Olympic and Titanic was a spa complex for the First-Class passengers known as the Turkish Baths. Only one other White Star liner had this feature and that was the RMS Adriatic of 1907. The Turkish Baths were decorated in a mix of Arabic styles to evoke a Turkish hammam. There was a Hot Room, Temperate Room, Cooling Room, Steam Room, Electric Bath, and two Shampoo Rooms where massages were performed.

 

The Cooling Room

Titanic's Cooling Room of the Turkish Baths,
taken the day before the ship's departure
from Southampton

The Cooling Room was the central feature of the complex. The walls were adorned with glossy blue-green tiles, carved teak woodwork, and bronze lamps. Against one wall was a marble drinking fountain. The ceiling was deeply recessed and painted a deep crimson, with gilded beams and hanging lanterns, supported by pillars encased in teak. Unlike the Olympic, the Titanic's cooling room did not have an exterior wall but still included artificial portholes concealed by a carved Cairo style curtain. The doorways were adorned with gilded semi-domes to give an exotic effect. Throughout the room were teak folding chairs, Damascus tables and cushioned chaise lounges for relaxation. There were also small, curtained cubicles for changing. The Turkish Baths were segregated by sex, available to women between 9am and 12pm, and to men between 2pm and 6pm. There was a charge of 4 shillings or $1, per person for admission. That would be the equivalent of £21 or $30 today.

The Swimming Bath

Concept Drawing for the Swimming Bath for

Titanic and Olympic

Across the corridor from the Turkish Baths was a heated swimming pool, or what was called the Swimming Bath, measuring 30 feet by 14 feet with a depth of 7 feet. The water depth was 5 feet 4 inches at the deep end and 4 feet 6 inches at the shallow end. Heated salt water from a tank and cold sea water were pumped into the pool once the ship was out to sea. The room offered 13 changing cubicles and 2 shower stalls for convenience. The floors were tiled in blue and white linoleum, and a marble stair with teak footholds descended into the pool. The pool cost 1 shilling or $0.25 (£5 or $7.50 today) to use but was open to men free of charge between 6am and 8am for early morning exercise. Olympic featured two diving boards which proved to be a safety hazard for divers, so they were not installed on Titanic. When the ship was moving the amount of water which sloshed back and forth could make the diving end deceptively shallow.

Photograph of Titanic's Swimming Bath

Plan of F Deck showing the Turkish Baths and Swimming Bath.

Rendering of Titanic's Cooling Room of the Turkish Baths
(Provided By Titanic Honor & Glory)

Rendering of Titanic's Hot Room of the Turkish Baths
(Provided By Titanic Honor & Glory)

Rendering of Titanic's Steam Room of the Turkish Baths
(Provided By Titanic Honor & Glory)

Rendering of Titanic's Temperate Room of the Turkish Baths
(Provided By Titanic Honor & Glory)

Photograph of Olympic's Cooling Room of the Turkish Baths

The Shampooing Rooms

The "Blade Douche"

The Shampooing Rooms were another area of the Turkish Baths where passengers could enjoy a relaxing message. In addition, there was a device known as the "Blade Douche” in which the bather lies on a slab of marble, and from the ends of the slab and over the bather runs a pipe that bears a number of faucets that are adjustable to any angle. The faucets spray a thin jet of water of a bladelike shape, the strength of the jet being dependable on the will of the bather. The spray could be adjusted to give a needle, spray, or bulb effect. The sprays could be directed on any portion of the body desired, and it was said to be stimulating as well as pleasant. There were slight corrugations on the slab that allowed the descending water to readily flow off and away as to not causing any discomfort to the bather.

Style of Electric Bath
that was used on
Olympic and Titanic.

The Electric Bath

The Electric Bath was by far one of the strangest amenities aboard Olympic and Titanic. With electricity still in its infancy, this idea of using the heat from electric light bulbs combined with steam to make you sweat inside of a metal containment was intended to help you revitalize your entire body. Olympic had two Electric Baths. However, due to its unpopularity only one was installed on Titanic.

At the Wreck of Titanic

Titanic's Cooling Room of the Turkish Baths
Rediscovered in 2005.

The Turkish Baths are the most preserved areas within the wreck of Titanic. In 2005 while filming the documentary called “The Last Mysteries of the Titanic”, the Cooling Room was rediscovered in a remarkable state of preservation. The room would have flooded early in the sinking and its location deep within the ship insulated it from damage when the bow section hit the seabed. Because of this the woodwork is in good condition, even the delicate recliners and framework for the dressing rooms survive in recognizable condition. The ceramic tiles on the walls and bronze ceiling fixtures were also found in very good condition. This is due the fact that these materials do not deteriorate in sea water.

Featured Article: Passengers Explore Their Floating Palace

A la Carte Restaurant

The near collision with the SS New York was an exciting send off from Southampton, but many of the passengers are too busy with their first lunch to watch the maneuvers outside. On a ship, meals are the perfect social event. Most First class passengers knew each other due to the frequent crossings they had to make per year.

It was also a good time to make new friends as well. First and Second class passengers had many lounges, reception rooms, smoking rooms, and libraries to congregate. The Third class passengers had fewer options, but all the classes had access to a designated deck space. As Titanic leaves Southampton and begins to cross the English Channel, the passengers are eager to explore their new floating palace.

First Class Elevators