Titanic5

The History of the Titanic

  • Period: to

    Building an Unsinkable Ship

    The RMS Titanic was commissioned to be built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, North Ireland for White Star Line. Deemed “unsinkable,” the Titanic was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. Due to her size, Harland & Wolff had to build custom slipways to accommodate the ship’s construction.
  • Setting out on her maiden voyage

    The Titanic departed from South Hampton docks in England headed across the Atlantic to New York City. 2,224 people were on board at the time of her departure.
  • Sinking the "unsinkable"

    At 11:40pm, the ship's captain spotted an iceberg and ordered the crew to steer around the object. This proved impossible and by 2:20am, the ship sank.
  • The less famous Titanic film

    With a viewer-appropriate duration of 98 minutes, Titanic (1953) focuses on a love story between Julia and Richard and the reconciliation of their marriage after the ship begins to sink. The film won an academy award for Writing Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Art Direction and made $2.2-million in revenue.
  • Hollywood's success with shipwrecks

    A #1 box office success in 1973, The Poseidon Adventure focuses on the final voyage of the SS Poseidon and the passengers who fight for survival after the ship capsizes. Winning awards for best song, best supporting actress and male actor, the film was a critical and box office success.
  • Finding the ship

    Many people attempted to find the Titanic but all were unsuccesful until 1985 when a Franco-American team found the ship. The expedition was not an easily accomplished one. The ship was located 12,000 feet below the water's surface with a water pressure of 6,500 per square inch.
  • Titanic: Seen through James Cameron's eyes

    Costing approximately $200-million, James Cameron's Titanic took 160 days to be filmed and grossed over $1.8-billion in box office revenue. The three-hour romantic epic won best picture and direction for the 1997 Academy Awards as well as numerous other awards.
  • Marking 100 years with a shining light

    At 12:13pm, exactly 100 years after the ship left her slipway, a single flare was fired over Belfast's dockland to commemorate the event.
  • Titanic... in 3D

    Marking the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic's sinking, James Cameron decided to re-release his film, Titanic, in 3D. The film took 60 weeks to produce and cost $18-million to convert the images.