Skip to Main Content

The Titanic Sinking: 1912: History

This libguide overviews the history, the people, and the legacy of the Titanic and provides sources for additional research

A Timeline of Events and Statistics

 

(Survivors alongside the Carpathia- The ship that rescued the survivors)

 

About the Ship

Timeline of the Titanic

Date Time Details
29th July 1908 The design for the Titanic was approved.
31st March 1909 The keel of Titanic was laid
31st May 1911 12 noon The hull of Titanic was successfully launched
January 1912 Sixteen wooden lifeboats were fitted on board the Titanic
31st March 1912 The fitting of Titanic was completed
2nd April 1912 6:00 Titanic began sea trials
3rd April 1912 Titanic arrived in Southampton
10th April 1912 9:30-11:30 a.m. Passengers arrived in Southampton and began boarding the ship.
10th April 1912 Noon The Titanic set sail and began her maiden voyage.
10th April 1912 18:30 Titanic reached Cherbourg, France and picked up more passengers
11th April 1912 11.30 am Titanic reached Queenstown, Ireland
12th, 13th April 1912 The Titanic sailed through calm waters.
14th April 1912 Throughout the day seven iceberg warnings were received
14th April 1912 11:40 p.m. Lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg dead ahead. The iceberg struck the Titanic on the starboard (right) side of her bow.
14th April 1912 11:50 p.m. Water had poured in and risen 14 feet in the front part of the ship
15th April 1912 12:00 a.m. The captain was told the ship can only stay afloat for a couple of hours. He gave the order to call for help over the radio.
15th April 1912 12:05 a.m. The orders was given to uncover the lifeboats and to get passengers and crew ready on deck. There was only room in the lifeboats for half of the estimated 2,227 on board.
15th April 1912 12:25 a.m. The lifeboats began being loaded with women and children first. The Carpathia, southeast of the Titanic by about 58 miles, picked up the distress call and began sailing to rescue passengers.
15th April 1912 12:45 a.m. The first lifeboat was safely lowered away. Although it could carry 65 people, it left with only 28 on board. The first distress rocket was fired. Eight rockets were fired the whole night.
15th April 1912 2:05 a.m. The last lifeboat left the ship. There were now over 1,500 people left on the ship. The tilt of Titanic's deck grew steeper and steeper.
15th April 1912 2.17 am The last radio message was sent. The captain announced 'Every man for himself'
15th April 1912 2:20 a.m. The Titanic's broken off stern settled back into the water, becoming more level for a few moments. Slowly it filled with water and tilted its end high into the air before sinking into the sea. People in the water slowly froze to death.
15th April 1912 3.30 am Carpathia's rockets were spotted by the survivors
15th April 1912 4:10 a.m. The first lifeboat was picked up by the Carpathia.
15th April 1912 8:50 a.m. The Carpathia left the area bound for New York. She had on board 705 survivors of the Titanic disaster
18th April 1912 9:00 p.m. The Carpathia arrived in New York.
19th April to 25th May American enquiry into the disaster was held
22nd April to 15th May Several ships were sent to the disaster site to recover bodies. A total of 328 bodies were found floating in the area.
2nd May to 3rd July British Board of Trade enquiry into the disaster was held

 

Statistics

 

1st Class On Board 1st Class Survived 2nd Class On Board 2nd Class Survived 3rd Class On Board 3rd Class Survived Crew On Board Crew Survived
Men 175 57 168 14 462 75 192
Women 144 140 93 80 165 76 23
Children 6 5 24 24 79 27
Total 325 202 285 118 706 178 913 215
Total Passengers = 1316 Total Crew = 913
Total Survived = 498 Total Survived = 215
Total On Board Titanic = 2229
                                                                                              Total Survivors = 713

 

Nationality FIRST CLASS SECOND CLASS THIRD CLASS Total
Total Survived Died Percent Survived Total Survived Died Percent Survived Total Survived Died Percent Survived Total Survived Died Percent Survived
American 212 141 71 67% 51 24 27 47% 43 12 21 28% 306 177 119 58%
Australian 0 1 0 1 0% 1 1 0 100% 2 1 1 50%
Austro Hungarian 1 0 1 0% 4 1 3 25% 44 7 37 16% 49 8 41 16%
Belgian 1 1 0 100% 1 0 1 0% 22 5 17 23% 24 6 18 25%
British 45 20 25 44% 164 68 96 41% 118 18 100 15% 327 104 223 32%
Bulgarian 0 0 33 0 33 0% 33 0 33 0%
Canadian 27 13 14 48% 2 1 1 50% 5 0 5 0% 34 14 20 41%
Chinese 0 0 8 6 2 75% 8 6 2 75%
Danish 0 3 0 3 0% 7 1 6 14% 10 1 9 10%
Dutch 1 0 1 0% 0 0 1 0 1 0%
Finn 0 4 2 2 50% 55 17 38 31% 59 19 40 32%
French 12 11 1 92% 14 7 7 50% 5 0 5 0% 31 18 13 58%
German 3 3 0 100% 3 0 3 0% 4 1 3 25% 10 4 6 40%
Greek 0 0 4 0 4 0% 4 0 4 0%
Italian 2 1 1 50% 4 2 2 50% 4 1 3 25% 10 4 6 40%
Irish 3 0 3 0% 4 1 3 25% 113 41 72 36% 120 42 78 35%
Japanese 0 1 1 0 100% 0 1 1 0 100%
Mexican 1 0 1 0% 0 0 1 0 1 0%
Norwegian 0 1 0 1 0% 25 8 17 32% 26 8 18 31%
Portugese 0 1 0 1 0% 3 0 3 0% 4 0 4 0%
Russian 0 9 3 6 33% 18 6 12 33% 27 9 18 33%
South African 0 4 2 2 50% 1 0 1 0% 5 2 3 40%
Spanish 3 2 1 67% 4 4 0 100% 0 7 6 1 86%
Swede 3 2 1 67% 6 2 4 33% 104 23 81 22% 113 27 86 24%
Swiss 6 6 0 100% 1 1 0 100% 4 0 4 0% 11 7 4 64%
Syrian 0 2 1 1 50% 79 31 48 39% 81 32 49 40%
Turk 1 1 0 100% 0 8 2 6 25% 9 3 6 33%
Uruguayan 3 0 3 0% 0 0 3 0 3 0%
FIRST CLASS SECOND CLASS THIRD CLASS Total
Total Survived Died Percent Survived Total Survived Died Percent Survived Total Survived Died Percent Survived Total Survived Died Percent Survived
Grand Total 324 201 123 62% 283 120 163 42% 708 180 518 25% 1315 501 804 38%

  (http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/titanic.html)