The TITANIC: A tragic story

100 years after the Titanic tragedy, the world's most famous ship still fascinates us. This April, discover the legend in the new 3D version of James Cameron's film Titanic. 

What was the Titanic?

The Titanic was the largest passenger ship in the world when it was built in 1912 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was like a floating town with passengers from all social classes. Third-class passengers paid 3£ to 8£ for a one-way ticket to America. First-class passengers paid 30£.

Inside the Titanic

The Titanic was a luxury ship. Rich passengers paid 865£ for a suite decorated in elegant styles. There was also the famous Grand Staircase which is in the film Titanic too.

The Titanic's destination

The Titanic's first voyage was from Southampton, in England, to New York City, USA. The ship left on 10 April 1912... but never arrived at her destination.

 

The Tragedy

On 14 April, four days after leaving Southampton, the titanic was in the North Atlantic. The sea was calm but visibility was low. At 11:40 pm, a lookout saw a large iceberg near the ship. 37 seconds later, the Titanic hit the iceberg and water entered the ship. At first the passengers didn't panic... two hours and 40 minutes later, at 2:20 am, the Titanic sank...

 

Who died?

Of the 2224 people on board, only 710 survived: there were not enough lifeboats. Most survivors were women, children and the rich: 60% of first-class passengers survived. But only 42% of second-class and less than 25% of third-class passengers survived.

Titanic on film

The wreck of Titanic was found in 1985, about 4km under the sea. James Cameron made his 1997 film, Titanic, using real images of the wreck. It was the highest-grossing film of all time until Avatar (2009).