Titanic Strikes Iceberg: 1,500 Lives Lost in the North Atlantic
The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 PM on April 14, 1912, in the North Atlantic approximately 400 miles south of Newfoundland. The collision opened a 300-foot gash along the starboard side below the waterline, flooding five of the sixteen watertight compartments. The ship was designed to float with four flooded; five was fatal. Captain Edward Smith ordered women and children to the lifeboats, but the ship carried only 20 boats with capacity for 1,178 people, roughly half the 2,224 aboard. Many boats launched partially empty because passengers initially refused to believe the ship was sinking. The water temperature was 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the 1,517 who died succumbed to hypothermia rather than drowning.
April 14, 1912
114 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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