113 years ago today (April 15, 1912) the Titanic sank in the
Atlantic Ocean going from England to New York.
Of the 2,224 Passengers and Crew on-board 1,503 died (only
333 bodies were ever recovered.)
There were: 12 dogs, four hens, four roosters, 30 cockerels,
one yellow canary and the ship’s rat-catcher cat Jenny were on board when the
ship sank.
Only 3 dogs survived (carried by their Owners on the
lifeboats.)
The 8 Musicians of the Titanic continued to play even while
the ship was sinking so that the passengers would remain as calm as possible.
Their last tune was “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” None of them survived.
After the sinking the US Government passed the Radio Act of
1912 which required all ships to have 24 hour access to communications and a
secondary power supply to send and receive distress signals.
In 1914, an International Convention required that there be
enough life boats for every single passenger and crew on-board as well as
mandatory lifeboat drills during every sailing.
Also in 1914, an International Ice Patrol was established in
the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Today, it is run by the US Coast Guard and
funded by the Governments of: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Spain,
Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
It remains the
deadliest peacetime sinking of a cruise ship or an ocean liner. The wreck was
discovered by Robert Ballard in 1985.
The last living Titanic Survivor, Millvina Dean, who was 2
months old when the ship sank, died in 2009.
The first movie about the sinking was called “Saved From The
Titanic” in 1912. It was a Silent Movie that premiered 31 days after the
sinking and stared Dorothy Gibson who survived the sinking.
The 1997 film “Titanic” was the most expensive film ever made
up to that date with a budget of $200 Million Dollars. Today it ranks 45th most
expensive film ever made. It earned $2.202 Billion Dollars worldwide. It
remained the highest grossing film until 2010.
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