Titanic facts, like the iconic ship itself, are fascinating. The Titanic is infamous for hitting an iceberg and sinking on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York on April 14, 1912. The ship and its story have been the subject of many books and movies, and chances are students know something about it. These Titanic facts help round out the story.
Titanic Facts About the Ship
1. The Titanic was never described as “unsinkable.”
It was called “practically unsinkable” by its builders, and it did have some extra built-in safety features.
2. At the time, the Titanic was the largest object ever to move on water.
It was not supposed to be the fastest though. The Lusitania and Mauretania were faster.
3. The Titanic had a swimming pool.
This was the height of luxury and was one of many amenities in first class, which included squash courts, a Turkish bath, a gymnasium, and a barber ship.
4. The Titanic had two sister ships.
The Olympic, which launched October 20, 1910, and the Britannic, which launched February 26, 1914.
5. The Titanic was a mail ship.
It was the RMS Titanic because it carried post. RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship. The Titanic had 3,500 sacks of mail on board.
6. The Titanic had four elevators.
The ship was luxury all around—with second- and third-class cabins that were nicer than first class on other ships.
7. Titanic was called the “Ship of Dreams.”
And it was billed as one of the safest ships at that time.
8. The Titanic was so big they had to construct a special building to accommodate it.
The Titanic was built next to its sister ship, the Olympic, in a building that was built just to house the two ships.
9. The Titanic had safeguards against flooding.
There were 16 compartments that could be closed to contain water if water came over the hull. Of the 16 compartments, they planned for four to flood without endangering the ship’s buoyancy.
10. The Titanic was one of the largest ships at the time it was built.
It had a tonnage (carrying capacity) of 46,328 tons and weighed more than 52,000 tons. It was 882.5 feet long and 92.5 feet wide.
11. The Titanic had its own newspaper.
The Atlantic Daily Bulletin was published on board.
12. Dogs in first class had their own kennel aboard the Titanic.
Did we mention that first-class life was posh on the Titanic, even for pets?
13. The Grand Staircase of the Titanic descended 7 of the 10 decks.
It was made with oak paneling and bronze cherubs and paintings.
14. Two people died while building the Titanic.
That’s in addition to 246 injuries in the 26 months it took to build the ship.
15. It took 20 horses to carry the Titanic’s anchor.
That was just to carry the main anchor.
16. The Titanic cost more than $215 million to build.
That’s in today’s dollars. At the time, it cost $1.9 million British pounds to build.
17. It took three years to build the Titanic.
The ship was built in Belfast, Ireland.
Titanic Facts About the Voyage
18. The Titanic burned over 600 tons of coal a day.
One hundred seventy-six men shoveled coal into furnaces each day, and the ship produced over 100 tons of ash each day.
19. The Titanic’s maiden voyage was nicknamed the “Millionaire’s Special.”
On board were many prominent people including businessmen, journalists, and other wealthy patrons.
20. The Titanic was captained by the “Millionaire Captain.”
Edward J. Smith, the captain, was nicknamed the “Millionaire’s Captain” because he was so popular with wealthy passengers.
21. The Titanic almost got into a collision in the harbor.
Before it departed from England, the Titanic almost crashed into the New York, another ship.
22. The Titanic operators received iceberg warnings for much of the trip.
The warnings came through the wireless radio and were passed to the bridge.
23. A huge crowd turned out to see the Titanic launch.
One hundred thousand people came to see the ship leave on May 31, 1911.
24. Soap and fat were used to help the Titanic get into the River Lagan.
Twenty-two tons of soap and tallow (rendered fat) were smeared on the slipway to help it get through the more narrow part of the journey.
25. The Titanic made two stops in Europe.
It stopped in Cherbourg in France and Cobh in Ireland to pick up more passengers.
26. Only 23 Titanic crew members were female.
It’s a small percentage, as there were 885 crew on board.
27. The last supper in first class on the Titanic was an 11-course meal.
The meal included oysters, filet mignon, poached salmon, foie gras, roasted pigeon, lamb, and palate cleansers.
28. The richest person on the Titanic was worth $85 million.
John Jacob Astor IV was worth what would be $2 billion today. He went down with the ship. There is a legend that says that after the ship hit the iceberg, he joked, “I asked for ice, but this is ridiculous.” But that’s never been proven.
29. Milton S. Hershey, of Hershey chocolate fame, had a ticket for the Titanic.
He didn’t board the boat, along with other people who had tickets but decided not to ride. The last remaining Titanic survivor died in 2009.
30. Some passengers honeymooned on the Titanic.
Thirteen of the couples on board the Titanic were honeymooners.
31. Tickets for the Titanic were expensive.
A first-class ticket was $2,500, the equivalent of $57,000 today. A third-class ticket was $40, equivalent to $900 today.
Titanic Facts About Its Sinking
32. There weren’t enough lifeboats for everyone on board the Titanic.
There were only 20 lifeboats on board, enough for 1,178 out of the 3,320 people the ship could hold.
33. The Titanic was traveling at 20.5 knots when it hit the iceberg.
That’s about 23.6 miles per hour, an average speed for a ship.
34. A warning about icebergs never reached the captain of the Titanic.
At 9:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, another ship, the Mesaba, sent a warning about an ice field, but the message never got from the wireless radio operators to the bridge. Another warning about icebergs from the Californian wasn’t passed along either.
35. The ocean was calm when the Titanic crashed.
The calm water made it even harder to see the iceberg because there was no water crashing against it.
36. There were no binoculars in the crow’s nest of the Titanic.
The binoculars were missing from the crow’s nest, making it even more difficult to see the iceberg. They were locked in a cabinet and no one had the key.
37. The lookouts on the Titanic saw the iceberg at 11:40 p.m.
That’s an hour after the last warning about icebergs had come in through the radio.
38. The starboard side of the Titanic hit the iceberg.
The iceberg scraped the side and broke the forward compartments.
39. The Titanic might not have sunk if it had hit the iceberg head on.
Many experts agree that if the captain had not turned the ship, it would not have broken the compartments and would not have sunk.
40. A lifeboat drill on the Titanic was canceled earlier in the day.
Because of this, the boats were not loaded to full capacity and even fewer passengers were saved.
41. Only 705 of the 2,240 Titanic passengers were rescued in lifeboats.
The ship had enough space for more than 1,100 people in lifeboats.
42. Lifeboat number 7 was the first to leave the Titanic.
It held 27 people out of its 65-person max capacity.
43. The ship’s musicians played until the Titanic sank.
They played a full set in the first-class lounge and then moved to the deck.
44. Socialite Molly Brown earned the nickname “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” for the bravery she showed while the Titanic sank.
Brown survived the disaster and reportedly helped other survivors get into lifeboats.
45. At 2 a.m., the Titanic captain released the crew.
The stern was rising out of the water and the propellers were visible when the captain told the crew that it was “every man for himself.”
46. The Titanic captain’s body was never found.
The last time he was seen he was on the bridge.
47. The lights on the Titanic went out at 2:18 a.m.
That’s when the ship broke in two. The bow went underwater.
48. The bow of the Titanic took 6 minutes to get to the ocean floor.
It’s estimated to have been traveling about 30 miles per hour.
49. By 2:20 a.m., the Titanic was completely sunk.
The stern sank after the bow and reportedly imploded as it sank due to water pressure.
50. Some passengers sat on the deck while the Titanic sank.
Benjamin Guggenheim, a famous American businessman, is reported to have dressed up and sat with his valet on the deck while the ship went down.
51. Two dogs survived the Titanic sinking.
A Pomeranian and Pekinese were on their owners’ laps in lifeboats. They were two of nine dogs on board.
52. The iceberg that the Titanic struck was 100 feet tall.
It had broken off of a glacier in Greenland.
53. Only 37 seconds passed between noticing the iceberg and the Titanic hitting it.
That’s less than a minute to turn the biggest moving object in the world.
54. The water was 28 degrees Fahrenheit on the night the Titanic sank.
That’s -2 degrees Celsius. Suffice it to say, that’s very cold.
55. A greater percentage of women passengers on the Titanic survived.
Ninety-seven percent of first-class women passengers survived, compared to 33% of first-class men. And 46% of third-class women survived compared to 16% of third-class men.
Titanic Facts About After the Ship Sank
56. The Carpathia was the first ship to arrive after the Titanic sank.
It got to the site at 3:30 a.m., more than an hour after the Titanic sank. Carpathia picked up all the survivors.
57. The bow of the Titanic is 12,500 feet under the sea.
It was photographed by the Hercules in 2004.
58. The last survivor of the Titanic died in 2009.
Millvina Dean was 2 months old when she was on the Titanic. She died May 31, 2009, at age 97.
59. One Titanic passenger trod water for two hours before being rescued.
Charles Joughin, the ship’s baker, was in the water for two hours but didn’t become sick or succumb to hypothermia.
60. Forty thousand people greeted the survivors of the Titanic.
When they arrived at Pier 54 in New York on the RMS Carpathia, people were already aware and interested in this story.
61. About 5,500 Titanic artifacts have been saved from the wreck.
They’re displayed in museums around the world and 25 million people have viewed them.
62. The first film about the Titanic was released one month after it sank.
“Saved From the Titanic” was a silent movie and starred one of the survivors.
Titanic Facts for Today
63. The Titanic wreck is a UNESCO heritage site.
In 2012, the wreck became a cultural heritage site.
64. The Titanic wreck was not found until 1985.
Dr. Robert Ballard found the wreck during an expedition in a robot submarine.
65. Scientists estimate that the Titanic wreck will be gone soon.
Scientists estimated that the wreck will fully deteriorate in the next 30 years due to iron-eating bacteria and general decay. It may be gone as soon as 2030.
66. The Titanic movie grossed $2 billion.
James Cameron’s film version, Titanic, was the most successful Titanic movie. It won 11 Oscars and made $2 billion.
67. You may be able to tour a life-size Titanic re-creation soon.
Another Titanic is being constructed in China. It will be an amusement park.
If you liked these Titanic facts, check out more history facts to amaze your students.
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