One hundred years ago today the Titanic sank to the bottom of the ocean where portions of it rest now, 12,000 feet below the surface.
In the century that has passed since it disappeared into the cold, inky-black water, taking the lives of an estimated 1,514 people with it, the Titanic has become an enduring symbol of hubris and a monument to poor planning, sheer arrogance, and bad luck.
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When it set out for America from Great Britain on April 12, 1912, the White Star Line vessel embodied the optimism of an industrial age in full swing. Its first class suites were opulent, and some of the richest people on the planet — folks with names such as Astor and Guggenheim — were on board. But there were also a thousand emigrants, mostly from Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia, on the ship as well, occupying the lower decks and no doubt filled with hope for a new life in the growing United States.
Instead, three days later at 11:40 p.m. in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the supposedly indestructible ship collided with an iceberg and begin filling up with the frigid North Atlantic Ocean water. Three harrowing hours later it was all over, and a look at the numbers indicates the scope of the tragedy’s senselessness:
Total number of passengers, including crew, the ship could carry: 3,339.
Estimated number of passengers on board when it sank on its maiden voyage: 2,224.
Total number of lifeboats the Titanic could have carried: 64, which would have handled 4,000 people.
Total number of lifeboats actually on board before it sank: 20, or enough to carry about 1,700 people.
The math doesn’t make sense, of course, and if the unsinkable ship was going to sink, then lots of people were doomed. Add to this the fact that the crew was not trained on how to load the boats — so many of them were only half full when they were lowered into the water — and the picture of a disaster is complete.
There’s something eerie about looking at the photos on this page and seeing the opulence of the Titanic contrasted with the blanketed survivors huddled on the RMS Carpathia, which fished about 700 survivors out of the lifeboats. Because of what we know now, the pictures carry a sense of doom and a warning to beware of hubris, which can sink all of our ships, even those of the most rich and powerful.
Contact Rod Lockwood at: rlockwood@theblade.com at 419-724-6159.
First Published April 15, 2012, 6:42 a.m.
