116: Titanic

 

116 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, 4 Hens, 4 Roosters, 30 Cockerels, 1 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 lifeboats 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.

The sinking of the Titanic 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 ($389 Million Dollars today.) Today it ranks 45th most expensive film ever made.

It earned $2.202 Billion Dollars worldwide ($3.8 Billion Dollars today.)

It remained the highest grossing film until 2010.