Twenty top Titanic facts
Discover the fate of this infamous ship…
Titanic – the iconic vessel that came to a very tragic end. But how much do you know about this world-famous ship? It’s time to find out in our twenty top Titanic facts!
Titanic facts
1) Titanic was built by a company called White Star Line. She was completed and ready for the ocean on 31 March 1912, after three years in construction in Belfast, Ireland.
2) And she was no ordinary ship, Titanic was the most impressive and luxurious ship of her time! She was the biggest, too, measuring 28 metres wide, 53 metres tall and 269 metres long — that’s about the length of three football fields!
3) On 10 April 1912, Titanic set out on her maiden voyage (first big journey), taking people from Southampton, England, to New York, USA. On route, she called by Cherbourg in France and Queenstown in Ireland to pick up more passengers.
DID YOU KNOW?
Boats are traditionally referred to as ‘she’. Historians think this may be the result of links in our language to Ancient English. Or perhaps it dates back to the idea of goddesses protecting ships on dangerous journeys!
4) Titanic’s full title was RMS Titanic. Any idea what RMS means? It stands for ‘Royal Mail Steamer’. As well as passengers, the ship carried nearly 3,500 sacks of letters, packages and documents.
5) There were over 2,200 people on board Titanic, 900 of which were crew members. The passengers included holiday makers, business men and people hoping to start a new life in America.
6) Life on board Titanic depended on who you were and how much money you had…
First class: the wealthiest people travelled in first class, located at the top of the ship, and boy did they travel in style! They slept in private, spacious suites and enjoyed delicious food in an elaborate dining room. They had access to lots of facilities, like cafes, a swimming pool, squash courts, barber shop and a reading and writing room.
Second class: not too shabby, either, second class accommodation consisted of cabins with two or four beds and a sofa, storage facilities, a sink and a mirror. Second class passengers could also enjoy an outdoor promenade, relaxation room, library and dining room.
Third class: the third class facilities were much more basic, but they were still far better than those on other boats at that time. Located at the bottom of the ship, cabins slept up to ten people and each had a sink and mirror. There was also a dining room where food was served three times a day. But the big down side? All 700 third class passengers had to share two bathtubs!
7) For four days, Titanic made good progress across the Atlantic, powered by three coal-burning engines. But it was no easy job to keep her moving. Each day, the ship’s 175 ‘fire men’ shovelled 600 tonnes of coal into the furnaces — that’s the weight of 100 elephants!
8) Titanic was also known as the ‘Ship of Dreams’, and White Star Line claimed she was the safest ship of all time. To make sure she wouldn’t sink, her hull was made up of 16 separate sections. If two, or even three sections were damaged and water got in, the ship would still have time to sail to safety. So all good, right? Wrong…
9) Just before midnight on day five, in the freezing cold North Atlantic Ocean, an iceberg loomed out of the darkness. Too big to quickly change direction, Titanic scraped along the side of the ice, tearing holes in at least four sections of the hull. Uh oh…
10) The Captain of Titanic – Edward John Smith – and his crew knew that the collision meant disaster; Titanic would sink in just a few hours. Distress signals were sent out to nearby ships and passengers were ordered to get to the lifeboats, fast!
11) But there was one very big problem. Titanic only carried twenty lifeboats — only enough to hold around half of the people on board! What’s worse, the first lifeboats were launched half-empty, wasting precious spaces. In panic, many people jumped into the ocean to escape the sinking ship!
12) As Titanic sank, the bow (the front) went down first, causing the stern (the back) to rise out of the water and into the air. At around 2am, this tilt caused the ship to break in two, sending all those still on board into the freezing cold ocean…
13) In the -2°C waters, most passengers who went into the sea would have died from the cold within 15 minutes. Some managed to survive a little longer by treading water or clinging onto bits of floating wreckage.
14) The first ship to respond to Titanic’s distress signals was called the RMS Carpathia. But despite setting out immediately and travelling at top speed, she didn’t arrive until around 3.30am — over an hour after the Titanic had sunk.
15) On arrival at the disaster, the RMS Carpathia rescued those who had made it into the lifeboats. There were around 705 survivors in total, and all were transported safely to New York, USA.
16) But tragically, more than 1,500 people lost their lives on the Titanic, most never to be seen again. In the days following the wreckage, ships headed out to the disaster area and recovered 300 bodies from the water. These were either buried at sea or taken to Halifax in Canada (the nearest major port) to be identified.
17) Despite many attempts to find the wreck, Titanic remained hidden from the world for around 70 years. It wasn’t until 1985 that she was seen again — when oceanographer (a sea scientist) Dr Robert Ballard set out on a deep-sea mission in the Argo, a robot submarine. The team discovered Titanic on the seabed, nearly 600km off the coast of Canada.
18) Since then, there have been many expeditions to Titanic – and over 6,000 interesting items have been salvaged from the wreckage. These can be seen today in museums around the world and include jewellery, perfumes, plates, clothes, furniture and even lunch menus!
19) The longest living survivor from Titanic was Millvina Dean, who lived to be 97 years old. She was just a baby when she, her mother and brother made it into one of the lifeboats. Millvina lived to tell the tragic tale until 2009, when she passed away.
20) There have been lots of documentaries and movies made about Titanic. The first was a silent movie called Saved from the Titanic, made just one month after the disaster. The most popular today is the 1997 Hollywood blockbuster Titanic, which became one of the highest-earning movies of all time!
Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable Titanic primary resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!
Would you have survived Titanic?
So, now you know all about this incredible ship and its tragic tale. But here’s the big question: if you had been on board, would you have survived? It all depends on who you were…
– YOU were a woman or child: Women and children were allowed to board the lifeboats first. However, some men did get a place when the first few lifeboats didn’t fill up.
– YOU were rich: First-class passengers were lucky — they had cabins on the upper decks, closest to the lifeboats. Many poorer passengers, in ‘steerage’ class on the lower decks, didn’t reach the lifeboat deck in time.
– YOU obeyed orders: If you had got into a lifeboat as soon as the crew told you to, you would probably have survived. Remember that, next time you’re on a ship!
– YOU were brave: Many people were too scared to leave the big ship for the tiny lifeboats. Others stayed on board because they didn’t want to lose sight of their friends or family. To survive, you needed the courage to go for it.
– YOU were willing to push: In the final struggle for lifeboat places, those who pushed, won!
– YOU had stamina: Some survivors were plucked from the icy water after hanging onto bits of floating wreckage for more than half an hour. They had clung on to life!
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COMMENTS
Awesome
wow
I've learned a lot.
It told me a lot of things I didn't know.
that was sooooo cool!
Wow! this painting of the titanic is amazing! I wonder how the illistatour is now!
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LOVE
can you do more cool titanic facts! plz
I love the rms titanic!!
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Epic!!!
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itv was sad
like the pinchers and games and videos
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I washed this last night this ray help me I bet this will even help me in school
the titanic is so cool
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cool facts guys it really makes me remember about those people who cared about there familys .you are all awesome thank you guys bye
this was really interesting to read about i cant believe so many people died it must of been devestating!
This really cool info and it helped with my homework
I hope some people did not die.
I love the titanic
its so sad that so many lives were lost I hope I would have survived it.
Creepy And Sad ;(
Coool
amazing it really helped on my report
AWSOME
WOW
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OMG
GOOD INFO
so sad:(:(:(:(:(
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I love the TITANIC . Thank you for the facts.
bvc
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great
Awesome
if i was on the titanic i would absolutely follow these rules straight away
yeah JACK 8, you like the titanic because it was an achent shipwreck
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awesome facts
Awesome
Hehe would have survived! :-)
hehe i would have survived lol
COOL AWESOME!!!!! I Love the Titanic and I find it very wonderful. But ever since I heard about it I was afraid of ships.
thanks for the advice
Wow!!!
I LOVE THE TITANIC
IT WAS INTERESTING
COOL
AWSOME
Amazing.
WIERD!
Astonoshing facts!
I think it is cool to learn about history! One of my ancestors could have been on the Titanic, and maybe survived!
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cool
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lol
ha ha
whats next
they dont really know thats true
I like how you told a few reason how you may survived
lol lol lol lol did you know that on the titanic there was a hot tub?
AMAZING
nice and good
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very good information cool but sad;(
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Interesting
Interesting !
idk and id care
i would survive me just dont care jme
titanic is my favourite movie
coooooooooooooooooooooool
cool but would I have survived if I was a chambermaid
good cool well done!!!!
WOW BRAVE!!!!!!!
Lol It is cool
ha
hi
a
Cool this is really good info thx
cool
thank you for dis
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Sad.....
YES
G O M
that was scary!!
I was going to cry by reading this. SO SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:(
I think I would be scared because I would have fallen in to the sea and you never know what creature is below the thick ice
LOL
My 103 year old great grandmother was born the year the Titanic set sail! Coolness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pls put titanic in mag
Cool
Thx for info
this is a clever thing which not only does it tell you about the titanic but provides fun things that were saying would you survive and that kind of thing which is good for intertainment and a little bit of fun cause you must have some intertainment and some fun alot of the time
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Good
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Ong mifa I LUV AJ
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good website x
LOLOLOLOL! (LOL)
If i was in titanic i would get a raft and sail out.But if there wasnt a raft i would jump for it and swim away! GOOD FACTS AND GAMES LOL PEOPLE
wow unfair
OMG
Really interesting and awesome!!!!!
yeah, I would have probably have survived!
hj
Pretty cold over all but bad article
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
scary ng kids! plz can u make it a little less scaryeerr? LOLLLLZY!!!!!
Thank you that really helped me with my H Work !!!!!!!!!!!!! XOXOXO
Cool facts about one of my favourite subjects in history
thx for helping me with my homework Nat. Geo Kids!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
Billy bop that was quite cool
That was cool and rubbish
AMAZING! Inspiring! I LOVE IT!!! I LOVE NGkids!
amazing
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this amazing. now i know alot a nd i can tell the teacher during literacy becuase where learnig about the titanic!
the titanic is the best thing to learn about ,everyone else gets to learn about except me they are so lucky i wish I can about it
Cool facts
Cool tip on boats. Ill tell my friends.
I dont know what I wouldve done!
cool! LOVED IT!
All I can say is that this is an amazing website and helped me so much! I will tell everyone in my class about this website so as to my parents (of course!). Thank you who ever wrote this and made this site, I have nearly 15 magazines of ngkids however I never knew there was a website! Again thank you and please make more magazines. Thank you for reading. ;)
COOL
wow this is AMAZING! Brilliant for homework thanks ngkidz! I also play animaljam great game!
Cool
cool
Ive wondered why the titanic was (almost) unsikable
Thanks NG KIds for posting this fantastic article and for the valuable life saving lessons.
That is so cool because my topic was once all about the Titanic!
Thanks for the facts
Cool
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COOL article
I think i would of lived so … YAY!!!!!!!! And also very interesting!
It was very intresting
i might of survived
WOW! I dont think I wouldve survived that. The millions of lives that were on that boat mustve been terrified.But if I was on that ship I wouldve defiantly jumped into a lifeboat.
I feel so sad that all those people died. You know, another reason that some people did not make it is because the Captain of the ship jumped in the lifeboats and the captain of a sinking ship is supposed to get of last, as goes the saying " The captain goes down with his ship".
Great
TITANIC IS AMAZING!!!
It was sad that so many people died
thats such a sad story
Cool
this is so awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wouldnt have survived, but very interesting!
WOW
really help with my homework thanks : ]
I loved this!!!
interesting
This was amazing, just a few words made me want to read on!
amazing!!!!!!
so amazing and so effective
I probably wouldnt have survived.
Cool!!!!!!!
I really enjoyed reading about the Titanic and its story. Its so tradgic, I hope I can watch the film - hopefully this will help me understand the story more! Thanks for choosing thes story NG KIDS. MB1
I would grow wings and fly away
I would survive lol
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love it got a book about it
awesome!!!
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brrrriliant
i am a good pusher i would of shoved alottaking my mum and dad with me but still for the people who died i think like 255 people died which is a very sad moment
i have been on HMS St Albans and HMS Somerset and have sat in both the captains chairs in the bridge- the control room- and have seen the guns, and ect.
I am a sea cadet and i have just been on an naval acquaintance course at HMS Raleigh and i have learnt so many skills to actually be in the navy like damage control which is plugging holes and saving the ship from sinking- i actually did this in a training room- and i have also learnt sea survival like putting on life jackets, the correct way to jump in the sea if in emergency, and all about life boats from the past to the present. and so much more that doesnt have anything to do with this! :)
Awesome
I feel pity for the people who died
I might have survived and I love learning about it
this was sooooo helpful!
I fort it was very good to learn
I wouldnt have survived.NO WAY!!!!
LOL!!!
Hopefully I would have survived!
I would have survived- JUMP!
cool
Awesome facts! were really useful, thank you!
i would have survived
We would have survived because were kids and we would have listened to the commands. :)
Wow... Even though Ive already done my gold swimming award, I dont think I couldve survived!
this is interesting!
i wouldnt have survived
We are learning about this in school, love it!
We are learning about this, and we love it. Xxx
I am really interested in this text because it has facts and all sorts of stuff about what happened to the titanic.
I think I would have survived
I think that I may have survived but I dont think I would be able to hold on to bits of wreckage for half an hour.
I read a book based on these events called My Story: Titanic. It was really good but a bit sad near the end.
Why didnt they have life vests
wow
this is really cool, check it out!
i call first boat off!
awesome
Cool
Interesting :)
Awesome but I probably wouldnt survive
Wow
Amazing! I love the pictures!
helped me with my project
cool facts
i think anything found of the titanic should be left were it lies and not to be touched because its a great peace of history so it should stay at the bottom of the ocean
this is cool
SUPER DUPER DUPER INTERESTING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish I could experience the Titanic. It was so tragic that almost half the people on board died....... Of course Id like to be one of the lucky ones to survive!
I think the Titanic would of polluted the North Atlantic Ocean. Right? I am learning about the ocean. i have just read it all about the Titanic.
amazing although it was not as good as your on-line game animal jam
YES! Well, I hope so.
I just LOVE Titanic! Thanks for some new facts!!xx
I thought any ship could sink ???
I am on ship using a computer reading about this and now I a freaked out ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you
In English, we are studying Titanic so we can write poems about them! Thanks to N.G.K, I can educate my classmates about it.Thank you N.G.K.!
VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY INTERESTING
so intresting!!!!
thank you have been a big help towards my homework and if it was not for you it would not be finished .I really appreciate this can you send me some pictures of the titanic and the rich people on board.:):):):):):):)
CUSTOMIZE YOUR AVATAR