RMS Titanic...April 14, 1912

It is so hard to believe that it is almost a century since the Titanic, on her maiden voyage, struck an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic, taking many lives with her.


It was a chilly and clear evening on April 14th, 1912.  There were iceberg warnings.  For whatever reason known to Captain Edward John Smith, he decided to proceed full speed ahead at 22 knots in spite of the iceberg warnings.  The Titanic struck the iceberg late at night on April 14th, 1912, and sank a few hours later on April 15th, 1912.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this, in my opinion, was sadly an accident waiting to happen.  There were not enough lifeboats for everyone on board, the ship was traveling at top speed, the icebergs...well, all these factors contributed to the ship's sinking.  

Then there was the chairman and managing director of the White Star Line...J. Bruce Ismay.  He was one of the few men on the Titanic that fatal night who survived.  He chose to get into a lifeboat and save himself.  Many called him a coward for doing this, but I disagree.  See, he realized that the Titanic was in serious trouble and that the Carpathia, which was on its way to the Titanic, might not make it in time to save all those on board, and that the Titanic would most likely sink before the Carpathia arrived.  He was right.  Another thing about J. Bruce Ismay is that he did not push his way onto a lifeboat ahead of, or in place of, any other passenger.  Many people didn't get into the lifeboats because they thought that the Carpathia would make it in time before the ship sank. J. Bruce Ismay was the last one (as far as I know) to get into the lifeboat he boarded after the last call came if anyone else was going to board.  It is so easy to judge someone and call him or her a coward, but if we really think of ourselves being in the situation, most of us would have done the same.  

It's hard to believe that the Titanic began like this...

And ended up like this...

Unsurprisingly, the Titanic lives on in the hearts of many of us.  As we approach the 100th year of the Titanic's sinking, let us all realize how precious life really is and how, at any moment, we can lose it.  

Thank you so much for visiting me here, and please feel free to share your thoughts and memories by clicking on the "comments" button at the end of my post.