The RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank on April 15, 1912, in the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1912, the Titanic was the largest ship ever built. Its first class accommodations were supposed to be the pinnacle of luxury and comfort.
Claimed by its makers to be practically unsinkable, the Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, for its maiden voyage to New York City, United States, on April 10, 1912.
The ocean liner was carrying some of the world’s wealthiest people on board when it sank after striking an iceberg.
It took 2 hours and 40 minutes for the Titanic to sink. The liner sent out multiple distress signals but most ships were too far away to respond.
More than 1,500 people lost their lives in the tragedy. The Titanic was carrying only 20 lifeboats, capable of holding around 1,178 people – half the number of passengers on board.
Titanic’s shipwreck was found only in 1985 – 73 years after it sank -- off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada.
The sinking of the Titanic has fascinated generations of people.
Several explorers, scientists, tourists and filmmakers have visited the wreck after it was discovered.
They have recovered thousands of items from Titanic’s debris field, including shoes, cups, furniture, dinnerware, a violin that later sold for $1.7 million, jewellery and even paper currency, among other things.
The sinking of the Titanic was immortalised by filmmaker James Cameron in the 1997 film Titanic.
Cameron has explored the historic shipwreck more than 33 times.
However, a recent OceanGate Expeditions tour to view the wreck ended in tragedy – five people on board the Titan submersible were killed in a catastrophic implosion that destroyed the sub.