Titanic Strikes Iceberg: 1,500 Lives Lost in the North Atlantic

The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 PM on April 14, 1912, in the North Atlantic approximately 400 miles south of Newfoundland, and within three hours the most celebrated ship ever built was at the bottom of the ocean. First Officer William Murdoch ordered "hard a-starboard" and "full speed astern" when lookout Frederick Fleet spotted the ice, but at 22.5 knots the ship could not turn quickly enough. The iceberg scraped along the starboard side below the waterline, buckling hull plates and popping rivets along a 300-foot stretch across six forward compartments. Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer, inspected the damage within minutes and delivered the verdict to Captain Edward Smith: the ship would sink within two hours. Titanic could stay afloat with four compartments flooded; six made her fate certain. The mathematics were equally grim for the 2,224 people aboard. The ship carried lifeboats for only 1,178, and even those were launched partially filled because officers feared the davits would buckle under full loads. Women and children were given priority, a protocol enforced more strictly on the port side than starboard. The distress calls went out at 12:15 AM. The Carpathia, 58 miles away, immediately changed course at full speed, but would not arrive for four hours. The Californian, believed to be only ten miles away, had switched off its wireless for the night. Rockets fired from Titanic's deck were seen by the Californian's crew but were not interpreted as distress signals. As the bow submerged and the stern rose out of the water, the ship's band continued playing on the boat deck. Titanic broke in two and sank at 2:20 AM on April 15. Of the 2,224 aboard, 1,514 died, most from hypothermia in the 28-degree water rather than drowning. The disaster killed two-thirds of the passengers, with survival rates starkly divided by class: 62 percent of first-class passengers survived compared to 25 percent of third class. The sinking prompted immediate reforms in maritime safety, including requirements for sufficient lifeboats, 24-hour radio watch, and the creation of the International Ice Patrol.