71. DISCOVERING THE RMS TITANIC WRECK

Robert Ballard discovered the wreck of Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic in August 1985 aboard Knorr, a US Navy research ship, when he led an American-French expedition which also aimed to test the Argo, a newly-invented submersible sled with a camera that was controlled remotely and sent video images back to Knorr from 13,000 feet under the Atlantic Ocean.
So, unlike several prior expeditions which were unsuccessful due to resource limitations, the investment money of Ballard and his team did not go to waste as they discovered the first underwater images of the wreck. Subsequently, bigger and more recognizable parts of the ship were also seen and eventually recovered.

72. HONEYMOONERS AND TITANIC

With its enticing press releases capitalizing on Titanic’s strength, size and glamour, White Star Line’s symbolic ship, dubbed as the “world’s largest liner”, attracted a multitude of passengers for its maiden voyage, including newly-weds Mr. & Mrs. George A. Harder of Brooklyn, New York. The young couple were aboard the ship on their honeymoon and were photographed by Bernie Palmer, who captured several people and activities in the ship before its devastation.
Totally unaware that the potential value of her photographs would have made her rich and was more than enough to pay for any loans that she may have back then, Palmer sold its rights to Underwood & Underwood of New York for a mere $10.

73. CONSTRUCTION OF THE TITANIC

Because of its enormous size, a huge slipway called the Great Gantry was built in order to accommodate the construction of Titanic and its sister ship, the Olympic, which were the largest ships during their time, thus no existing slipway was big enough to take them in. The Great Gantry reportedly cost around $150,000, a very sizeable amount of investment money.
Some historians said that because of the huge investments used in the construction of Titanic, White Star Line scrimped on certain ship parts, eventually causing the ship to be torn easily by an iceberg and allowing water to leak inside.

74. THE STERN AND RUDDER

The stern is the rear part of the ship and lies opposite the bow, which is the ship’s foremost part. The term has also been used to refer to the entire back part of the seacraft and lights up with a white navigation light during nighttime. To steer a moving ship, a vertical blade called a rudder, located at the stern of the ship is used.
Titanic’s rudder measured 78 feet 8 inches (23.98 m) high and 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 m) long. It weighs more than 20,000 pounds and required steering engines to set it in motion. Incidentally, the massive ship’s flooring was sturdy enough to hold such weight.

75. TITANIC AT DOCK: MOMENTS BEFORE THE MAIDEN VOYAGE

At the dock, Titanic simply could not be ignored, is the largest and grandest one among other ships. Expectedly, moving it from land to sea was extraordinarily hard and involved a complex process which took 62 seconds to complete.
A reputable moving company may tell you that 62 seconds sound like a reasonable amount of time but moving the Titanic required 23 tons of different types of lubricant, including soap, grease and even train oil, especially since its passengers were made to feel very comfortable despite the extremely hard work being rendered by the ship’s crew for that initial movement.

76. SAILING OUT OF BELFAST

Five tugboats guided the British luxury passenger ship out of the dock, leaving Belfast from that point. It nearly collided with the ship called New York, which was swayed to RMS Titanic’s path by the latter’s suction. It took an hour to maneuver the Titanic out of the accident and onto the sea, fearing to lose such a huge investment.
But in hindsight, some historians say that if the collision with New York vessel was not avoided, any delay caused by the outcome would have changed the fate of Titanic and its passengers, and history may not be as it is today.

77. RMS TITANIC: THE CREW

White-bearded Captain Edward J. Smith headed the 700 strong crew of Titanic, including a Chief Engineer, staff engineers, and several officers. An unconfirmed rumor circulated that Smith was about to retire after Titanic’s maiden voyage. It was not established if he drowned or killed himself during the accident. Nevertheless, if the great ship did not sink, Smith would have enjoyed an enviable insurance and retirement package.
Among its crew members, approximately 688 were known to be in the list of over 1,500 fatalities. Surviving members included officers Harold Lowe, Charles Lightoller, Joseph Boxhall, and Herbert Pitman. Half of the 29 able seamen also survived, along with seven quartermasters and six lookouts.

78. THE CAPTAIN OF THE TITANIC: EDWARD J. SMITH

Dubbed as the “Millionaire’s Captain” for being very famous among elite passengers, Captain Edward John Smith started working in boats during his teenage years and earned his master’s certificate in 1875. When he became a captain after seven years as a junior officer for White Star Line, he earned credits and admiration from both passengers and crew members and eventually earned the title of senior captain.
Despite these achievements, Smith felt honored when White Star Line chose as captain of their largest and most opulent vessel, the Titanic. And although he was blamed by some people for Titanic’s catastrophic end, accounts by eyewitnesses proved that the captain did everything he could in his power to try and save the ship.

79. BLAMING THE CAPTAIN

A number of survivors blamed Titanic’s Captain Edward John Smith for the tragic fate of the ship and the death of over 1,500 of its passengers. A survivor wrote a letter aboard Carpathia, one of the rescue ships, stating that Smith had been drinking before the ship struck an iceberg that caused its sinking. The letter was put on auction and sold in 2012 at an amount that must have saved the seller from bankruptcy.
But the captain was absolved, though posthumously when several investigations proved that he was not at fault, as he immediately took command of the ship and instructed a maneuver that was common practice back in the days.

80. THE INFAMOUS ICEBERG

The historical sinking of Titanic happened when it struck a North Atlantic iceberg with an approximate size of 50 to 100 feet tall and 200 to 400 feet long as reported by an earlier newspaper. The collision occurred at 11:40 PM in April 14, 1912 with the giant ship moving at a speed of 20.5 knots (23.6 MPH). Photographer Bernice Palmer was able to take a photo of the iceberg and the smaller ice floes surrounding it, which indicates the Northern location of the tragedy.
When the iceberg scraped the ship’s starboard, it sliced through its five watertight compartments, creating an opening that allowed water to leak in, a lot more devastating than a breach in one’s home security system.