Timeline Article: The First Lifeboat Reaches Carpathia. Boxhall Informs Rostron of What Has Happened.

4th Officer Boxhall (left) and Captain Rostron (right)

Monday, April 15, 1912
4:10am
After arriving at the scene, the Carpathia drifts toward Lifeboat 2 with 4th Officer Boxhall in command. The passengers of this boat are brought aboard.
Boxhall informs Captain Rostron that Titanic went down early that morning and that hundreds, maybe even a thousand, went down with her. All of Titanic's remaining passengers and crew make their way toward the Carpathia.

By 8:30am all of the survivors have been brought aboard. Thirteen of Titanic's lifeboats are recovered and stored on Carpathia's deck.

Timeline Article: Titanic Survivors Wait To Be Rescued

Monday, April 15, 1912
2:20am - 3:30am

After Titanic disappeared, and the cries from the people in the water had silenced, the remaining people in the lifeboats had to endure the long wait to be rescued. Consisting of mostly women, the passengers of Titanic's lifeboats were encouraged to do whatever they could to stay warm.

Timeline Article: 5th Officer Lowe Prepares to Go Back

5th Officer Lowe

Twenty minutes after Titanic went down, 5th Officer Lowe prepares to go back to help the people struggling in the water...

"We tied all our boats together so as to form a large object on the water, which would be seen quicker than a single boat by a passing vessel. We divided the passengers of our boat amongst the other four, and then taking one man from each boat so as to make a crew, we rowed away amongst the wreckage, as we heard cries for help in that direction."

-Seaman Joseph Scarrott

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: Titanic Goes Under

After the bow section broke away, leaving the stern section at the surface in a near upright position, the people still on board had no choice but to hang on and wait for what was going to happen next. Then after about a minute or so, the stern section begins to sink.

Some passengers found places that used to be vertical, but were now horizontal, to rest on as the ship went down. However, there were some that were having to hang on to anything they could in an effort to keep from falling the long distance to the water. It is easy to imagine people hanging on then losing their grip and falling, with no guarantee that they wouldn't collide with something on the way down.

As Titanic makes her final decent, water flooding the inside of the stern starts to force it's way into areas that are still filled with air, violently bursting through the weaker structures of the ship.

Third Officer Pitman is watching nearby in lifeboat number 5 as the last of Titanic slowly slips beneath the surface.

"2:20 exactly, ship's time. I took my watch out at the time she disappeared, and said, "It is 2:20," and the passengers around me heard it. 2:20am, the 15th of April."

-Third Officer Herbert Pitman

Monday, April 15th at 2:20am,

2 hours and 40 minutes after the collision,

Titanic sank beneath the surface of the

North Atlantic.

Timeline Article: Titanic's Stern Stands Nearly Vertical

Monday, April 15, 1912
2:18am

Titanic's broken stern section is resting flat on the surface of the Atlantic. Passengers in the lifeboats watch on as the events unfold. Even after seeing the ship break in two, some consider that the stern section may stay afloat. After all, it is an unsinkable ship!

Then Titanic's rudder and propellers began to rise out from the water. What is unseen beneath the surface is that Titanic's bow is still attached to the stern by only the ship's double bottom keel. The weight of the bow pulls the stern's broken end downward into the sea. Titanic's stern rapidly rises higher and higher into the air to a near vertical position. The bow section finally breaks away, leaving the stern section alone on the surface, all while holding it's position assisted by the weight of the engines and continued flooding.

The people still aboard would have been in a state of fear and confusion to what was happening around them.

"Her deck was turned slightly toward us. We could see groups of nearly fifteen hundred people still aboard. Clinging in clusters on bunches. Like swarming bees. Only to fall in masses, pairs, or singly. As the great after part of the ship, two hundred fifty feet of it, rose into the sky."

First Class Passenger
Jack Thayer

The stern floats for about a minute, a minute that would seem like an eternal nightmare for those still aboard. Then as the flooding continues, Titanic's stern begins to sink.

Timeline Article: Titanic Breaks In Two

The main purpose of a ship is to float. That is what they are designed and built to do. Titanic was not designed to sink. As the bow was pulled under, the stern was lifted causing extreme stresses to form on the hull. Fourteen survivors would later testify to Titanic's stern rising high out of the water and then the ship breaking in two before she sank...

Painting By: Ken Marschall

Monday, April 15, 1912
2:17am

The 700 passengers in the lifeboats floating nearby, are watching helplessly as Titanic's final moments take place. Then suddenly Titanic's lights go out, come back on, and then disappear permanently.

At this point, Titanic is being observed by starlight only. 1/4 mile away in lifeboat 1, Lookout George Symons is watching Titanic as she sinks. This is what he had to say before the British Wreck Commission that took place after the sinking:

"I stood and watched it till I heard two sharp explosions in the ship. What they were I could not say. Then she suddenly took a top cant, her stern came well out of the water then... She took a heavy cant and her bow went down clear... Head down, and that is the time when I saw her lights go out, all her lights. The next thing I saw was her poop. As she went down like that so her poop righted itself and I thought to myself, 'The poop is going to float.' "

Asked to explain this further, Symons went on to say:

"Her head was going well down... Her stern was well out of the water... It righted itself without the bow; in my estimation she must have broken in half."

Lookout
George Symons

After Titanic breaks and the stern rights itself upon the surface of the water, the keel is all that is holding the two sections of the ship together. As the bow section sinks it pulls the stern section back up to a near vertical position. Then the bow section breaks loose leaving the stern section alone on the surface.

Still shot from "Titanic" (1997)
The first film to depict Titanic breaking in two.

Timeline Article: The Thunderous Noise

Monday, April 15, 1912
2:16am

As Titanic's stern rises higher out of the water, the ship begins to reach an angle that is steep enough for any loose object, no matter how big or small, to slide forward. The sounds from these objects falling, breaking, and crashing throughout the interior of the ship, is something that the passengers in the lifeboats will never forget.

"It was a noise no one had heard before, and no one wishes to hear again. It was stupefying, stupendous, as it came to us along the water. It was if all the heavy things one could think of had been thrown down stairs from the top of a house, smashing each other, and the stairs, and everything in the way."

Second Class Passenger
Lawrence Beesley

Painting By: Ken Marschall

Featured Article: "Nearer My God To Thee"

One of the many legends that surround the Titanic disaster, is that of the band playing until the very end. None of the musicians survived, but yet they became known as heroes because of their bravery.

Although, the passengers and crew give conflicting testimonies regarding which song was played last as Titanic went down, most of them state that the last song was "Nearer My God To Thee". Therefore, the song has become synonymous with Titanic's sinking.

"Nearer My God To Thee" is a 19th century christian hymn that has three different versions.

In the United Kingdom, the hymn is usually associated with the 1861 hymn tune "Horbury" by John Bacchus Dykes.

British Methodists prefer the tune "Propior Deo", which means "Nearer to God", written by Arthur Sullivan.

In the rest of the world, the hymn is usually sung to the 1856 tune "Bethany" by Lowell Mason.

Band leader Wallace Hartley may have chose "Nearer My God To Thee" because it was a hymn that he had already selected for his own funeral. However, it is not certain which version of the song he and the other musicians may have played.

Hartley was of a Methodist family. His father was a Methodist choirmaster and used the "Propior Deo" version of the song at his church. It is most likely that this version may have been played in Titanic's final moments.

The song was intended to be a final prayer for everyone left on board.

Click Play to listen to the "Propior Deo" version.

Click Play to listen to the "Bethany" version.

Click Play to listen to the "Horbury" version.

Featured Article: What Happened to Captain Smith?

What happened to Captain E.J. Smith? In short. Nobody knows for sure...

All that we do know is that the most favored captain of the White Star Line went down with Titanic.

There are testimonies from the passengers and crew regarding captain Smith's last moments on Titanic. Some of the testimonies from the crew state that they remember Smith telling them to "Be British", or once the last of the lifeboats had left, "It's every man for himself". Some said that Smith didn't say anything at all and appeared to be in a state of shock.

We look back now and wonder if it is possible that Smith may have had some kind of mental collapse. Once he realized that his brand new ship that was designed to be unsinkable, was going to sink with only enough lifeboats for half of the souls on board, that rescue would not arrive in time, and that 1,500 people were going to die under his command... It may have too much for him.

Not only that, Titanic only had an hour or two stay afloat, and he had to make sure that his crew had all of the 20 lifeboats uncovered and swung out. That all the passengers were organized and loaded into the lifeboats, and that the lifeboats be lowered safely to the uncertain North Atlantic waters. All while maintaining order while the largest and most advanced ship in the world sank beneath their feet.

It was simply too much for one man to handle.

There are other testimonies that state Smith's final moments as Titanic went down. 

Some state that Smith wandered off to the wheelhouse, while others say he was actively present in the wireless room. Wireless Officer Harold Bride reported seeing Smith dive into the sea from the open bridge minutes before the final plunge began. 

A drawing depicting Captain Smith handing over a baby to the passengers
of the overturned Collapsible B before swimming away.

One story states the he carried an infant child to the overturned collapsible B after Titanic's sinking and then swam away, but that story is generally considered as romantic fiction. 

Whatever happened, Smith's last moments are mostly remembered with him standing close to the bridge as the ship went down.

Smith was going to retire in a blaze of glory once returning the largest ship in the world back to England.

A statue honoring Captain E.J. Smith of the Titanic.
Beacon Park, Lichfield, Staffordshire, England

Timeline Article: Lifeboat 12 is the Ninth to be Launched. Titanic's Situation Becomes Desperate.

Monday, April 15, 1912

1:30am

Lifeboat 12 is the ninth to launched.

Lowered by: Chief Officer Wilde, 2nd Officer Lightoller

Crew member in charge: Seaman John Poingdestre

As lifeboat 12 is being filled with passengers, the situation on Titanic is growing desperate. The night is cold and dark aboard this tilting ship of light. Nearly half of the lifeboats have been launched and no rescue ship is in sight. With families not wanting to be separated, and other passengers trying to swarm the lifeboats, Titanic's officers are having difficulties with upholding the "women and children first" order and controlling the growing panic on the boat deck.

Lifeboat 12 is launched with about 42 out of 65 seats occupied.

Timeline Article: Lifeboat 3 is the Third to be Launched

Monday, April 15, 1912
12:55am

Lifeboat 3 is the third to be launched.
Lowered By: 1st Officer Murdoch, 5th Officer Lowe
Crew Member in Charge: Seaman George Moore


The passengers and crew believe that a rescue ship will arrive soon. As lifeboat 3 rows away, Titanic towers above them solid and bright. Number 3 is launched with only 32 out of 65 seats occupied.

Timeline Article: Smith Orders Titanic's Band to the Boat Deck

Monday, April 15, 1912
12:55am

Captain Smith orders Titanic's band to move from the First Class lounge to the boat deck. The reason for this was to try to keep the atmosphere calm and pleasant. The last thing Captain Smith needed was a panic among the passengers. The leader of the band was Wallace Hartley and he performed with seven other musicians aboard Titanic. The band played light and cheery music throughout the night and never left their station.

Timeline Article: The Loud Roar / The Captain Gives His Orders

Monday, April 15, 1912
12:10am

Titanic had been traveling at nearly full speed at the time of the collision. The excess steam from the boilers was vented from the funnels creating a loud and thundering roar. Captain Smith gives the order for the lifeboats to be uncovered and life jackets to be distributed to all. The crew members are unfamiliar with the new Welin davits that hold Titanic's lifeboats. The venting steam is so loud that they have to shout or use hand signals to communicate.

Titanic's stewards and stewardesses begin the process of waking and informing the passengers to dress warmly, to put on their lifejackets, and to report to the boat deck. The passengers are told that the situation was just a precautionary measure and that the order was from the captain. Once on the boat deck the cold weather and loud noise is too much for the passengers and most go back inside.

Timeline Article: People React. Ismay Heads to the Bridge

Sunday, April 14, 1912

11:41pm

Captain Smith gave the order for Titanic to be stopped and for the ship to be examined for damage. To everyone on board feeling the constant heartbeat of the engines beneath their feet and then suddenly nothing, was enough to stir up curiosity among the passengers. People were getting dressed and moving out into the halls and corridors to find out what was going on. Even most of the crew were unsure and gave people their own analysis of why they were stopped. Rumors of an iceberg began to circulate and some people went out on deck to see if the rumors were true. The few that saw the iceberg pass by were certain of what had happened.

"Being young I didn't realize we might be drowned. Nobody worried about it. Some of the people came up playing with the ice on deck, and they wouldn't believe it they said, No. She's unsinkable! They went back to bed. I thought it was wonderful to see this ice like that."

Second Class Passenger

-Edith Brown

In First class, White Star director Bruce Ismay hurries to the bridge to see what is happening.

White Star Line director Bruce Ismay

Timeline Article: All Ahead Full!

About an hour after leaving Queenstown, Captain Smith Arrives on the bridge. He gives the order "All ahead full" to First Officer Murdoch. After passing the order on to the officers on the bridge, they signal the engine room. With 26 of the 29 boilers lit, Titanic speeds up to 21 knots and will maintain that speed for the next couple of days. As Titanic cuts her way through the Atlantic, the passengers are impressed at how solid the ship feels and how they couldn't even notice that the ship was moving. A feeling of contentment spread throughout the passengers as Titanic made her way to America.

Timeline Article: Titanic Sets Sail!

Wednesday, April 10, 1912
12pm

At the blast of Titanic's steam whistles, it was time for family and friends to go ashore and the gangways were withdrawn.

"Just before the last gangway was withdrawn, a knot of stokers ran along the quay, with their kit slung over their shoulders in bundles, and made for the gangway with the evident intention of joining the ship. But a petty officer guarding the shore end of the gangway firmly refused to allow them on board; they argued, gesticulated, apparently attempting to explain the reasons why they were late, but he remained obdurate and waved them back with a determined hand, the gangway was dragged back amid their protests, putting a summary ending to their determined efforts to join the Titanic."

-Lawrence Beesley
Second Class Passenger

The lines were cast off and Titanic begins to move away from her berth. The passengers crowd the decks of the ship waving their goodbyes to those on the dock. Churning up the mud from the sea floor, the three huge propellers begin to move the ship along the side the dock with the aid of 5 tug boats. Photographers and news reporters begin to record the accounts of this moment.

One news reporter quotes:

"The vision of the great liner as she moved away from Southampton quay forms an imperishable memory. She looked so colossal and so queen."

The people from the dock wave good bye as Titanic passes by. Titanic's maiden voyage has begun.

History has been made!

Timeline Article: Lifeboat Drill is Conducted

Wednesday, April 10, 1912

Mid Morning

Titanic's crew conducts a lifeboat drill as the passengers board the ship. Under the watch of the Board of Trade inspectors, Titanic's junior officers and other sailors perform a simulated escape in a lifeboat. Satisfied with the simulation, the inspectors declare Titanic's lifeboats to be safe and adequate. The ship is officially free to sail.

Timeline Article: The Train from Waterloo Station Arrives

Wednesday, April 10, 1912
10am

White Star's chartered train from Waterloo Station in London, pulls up next to Titanic. The train is carrying passengers from London and also from Liverpool whose passengers' ships had been docked because of the coal strike. These are rich people to humble people boarding Titanic through special gangways that attach directly to the train cars. All these people are excited to be joining Titanic for the next week.

Timeline Article: Sailing Day!

Wednesday, April 10, 1912
10am

It has been a week since Titanic arrived in Southampton. As she waits at the dock, her four giant funnels tower over the buildings. Titanic's maiden voyage begins at noon. News reporters and photographers are everywhere.
After years of advanced publicity, and with the elegance and size of its liners, White Star has finally achieved the spectacle it desires.

The maiden voyage of Titanic has been highly anticipated bringing hundreds of Southampton residents to the dock. As the ship begins to receive her first passengers, sightseers begin to crowd the dock to catch a close up glimpse of the largest ship in the world.