🚢 The Titanic

What you’ll learn

1. The Age of the Ocean LinerUnderstand the transatlantic liner trade and the rivalry that produced Titanic.In the early 1900s great steamships were the only link between Europe and America, carrying mail, the wealthy, and waves of emigrants. Rival firms competed fiercely on speed and luxury. The White Star Line chose to compete on size and comfort rather than raw speed, a strategy that led directly to the Olympic-class liners.
2. Built in BelfastTrace Titanic's construction at Harland & Wolff in Belfast.Titanic was one of three Olympic-class liners ordered by White Star and built at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. Construction began in 1909 and the hull was launched in 1911 before a year of fitting out. The work employed thousands and pushed the limits of contemporary shipbuilding.
3. Practically UnsinkableExamine Titanic's safety design and the dangerous gap in her lifeboats.Titanic was fitted with a double bottom and watertight compartments that fed her reputation as nearly unsinkable. But the bulkheads did not reach high enough, and she carried lifeboats for only about half those aboard, in line with outdated regulations. Confidence in the design helped justify the shortfall.
4. A Floating PalacePicture life aboard Titanic and the rigid class divisions of the era.Titanic offered first-class passengers extraordinary luxury, from a grand staircase to a swimming pool and Turkish bath, while second and third class enjoyed unusually good but far simpler accommodation. The ship's layout mirrored Edwardian society's strict class hierarchy, a division that would shape who survived.
5. The Maiden Voyage BeginsFollow Titanic's departure and her stops before the open Atlantic.Titanic left Southampton on 10 April 1912 under Captain Edward Smith, narrowly avoiding a collision in the harbour. She called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown in Ireland to take on more passengers and mail before heading out across the North Atlantic toward New York.
6. Ice AheadUnderstand the ice warnings and the collision of 14 April 1912.Through 14 April Titanic received repeated wireless warnings of ice ahead, yet kept up her high speed in calm, moonless conditions. Late that night lookouts spotted an iceberg too late to avoid; a glancing blow along the starboard side opened the hull and doomed the ship.
7. The Long NightTrace the sinking, the lifeboats and the failure of nearby help.As Titanic slowly settled by the bow, the crew loaded lifeboats under a policy of women and children first, but launched many far below capacity. Distress rockets and wireless calls went out; a nearby ship did not respond. After about two and a half hours the ship broke apart and sank.
8. Rescue and ReckoningCover the Carpathia rescue, the death toll, and the official inquiries.The Cunard liner Carpathia steamed at full speed through ice to reach the survivors at dawn, taking aboard about 705 people from the lifeboats. Around 1,500 of the roughly 2,224 aboard died. Inquiries in both Britain and the United States investigated the disaster and exposed its failures.
9. Discovery and LegacyExamine the safety reforms, Ballard's 1985 discovery, and Titanic's enduring memory.The disaster led to lasting reforms, including the SOLAS convention, lifeboats for all aboard, and the International Ice Patrol. The wreck lay undiscovered until 1985, when Robert Ballard's expedition located it on the seabed. Titanic remains one of the most studied and remembered events of the modern age.

Questions this course answers

Grounded in trusted sources

• Encyclopedia Titanica (encyclopedia-titanica.org)
• Report on the Loss of the S.S. Titanic (British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, Lord Mersey, 1912)
• United States Senate Inquiry into the Loss of the SS Titanic (1912)
• Walter Lord, A Night to Remember (1955)
• NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration / Robert Ballard wreck-discovery records (1985)

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

Related Society courses