The Titanic


Key Events of the Titanic Disaster
Date Event
31st March 1909 Construction of Titanic's hull starts.
31st May 1911 Titanic's hull is launched.
31st March 1912 Titanic's outfitting is completed (all her insides had been furnished).
9:30am 10th April 1912 Passengers arrive in Southampton and start boarding the Titanic.
Noon 10th April 1912 The Titanic casts off and begins her maiden voyage to New York.
6:30pm 10th April 1912     The Titanic stops at Cherbourg, France to collect passengers.
1:30pm 11th April 1912     The Titanic leaves Queenstown, Ireland after picking up the last group of passengers.
12-13th April 1912    The Titanic sails through calm, clear weather across the Atlantic Ocean.
10pm 14th April 1912  First officer Murdoch takes command on Titanic's bridge. He is given the warning to watch for icebergs.
11:39pm 14th April 1912     The lookouts spot an iceberg up ahead. Although Titanic attempts to stop and turn away, the iceberg strikes the front-right of the ship.
Midnight 15th April 1912     Captain Smith is told by Thomas Andrews (the ship's designer) that it will sink within two hours. He orders the "QCD" distress signal to be sent out.
12:10am 15th April 1912 Distress rockets are sent up but, as they are white and make no sound, are ignored by the Californian, some 10-19 miles away.
12:25am 15th April 1912 The order is given to start loading the lifeboats with women and children first. The Carpathia heads full speed to the rescue.
12:45am 15th April 1912 The first of Titanic's lifeboats is lowered successfully, even if it is only carrying 28 people.
2:05am 15th April 1912 The last lifeboat leaves the Titanic.
2:17am 15th April 1912     The lights go out and the bow (front) of the Titanic plunges under the water.
2:20am 15th April 1912 The broken off stern (back) sinks vertically into the sea.
4:10am 15th April 1912     The first lifeboat is picked up by the Carpathia.
8:50am 15th April 1912 The Carpathia leaves the area bound for New York, carrying 705 survivors.
17th April 1912 Hired by White Star Line, the Mackay-Bennet leaves Halifax on the east coast of the USA to search for bodies at the disaster site.
9pm 18th April 1912 The Carpathia arrives in New York. She first lowers the Titanic's lifeboats before then unloading the passengers.
2nd May 1912 The British Board of Trade begins its inquiry into the disaster.
June 1913 Following public ridicule and rumours, J. Bruce Ismay loses his position as chairman of White Star Line.
22nd April 1914 A memorial to Titanic's engineers is unveiled in Southampton.
1st September 1985 The wreck of the Titanic is found on the seabed at a depth of 4km.