100 Years Ago Today

It's hard to believe that 1oo years ago today (and as of this writing, about two hours to the hour) that the once thought-of "unsinkable"RMS steam liner Titanic hit an iceberg in the still, freezing waters of the North Atlantic and within two hours, slipped beneath the waves after tearing in two, taking with her 1,514 souls. Only 710 survivors that either were lowered onto the collapsible lifeboats from the ship's deck, or picked up from the water after the sinking.

I, like a lot of people, have been pretty avidly interested in the Titanic and all her stories all my life, whether they be myths or not. Everything from the unimaginable horror, to the bravery, chivalry, myths and human arrogance of the tragedy. It wasn't really until Robert Ballard's discovery of the wreck in 1985 that made it real for everyone. Although documented history let us know the the "greatest" marine disaster ever did happen, it had that romanticized myth about it that almost put it in mind of Greek mythology. I think the discovery of the wreck at the bottom of the Atlantic 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland finally made it real for everyone that had heard about it throughout their lives, other than the survivors and those like Ballard that made it their life work to find the famed, doomed vessel.
"The first reaction was celebration, we all jumped up shouting because we were near the end of the expedition and we thought we were going to fail," Ballard said when he and his crew saw the image of a boiler in the sand 12,000 feet beneath the surface signaled the discovery of the Titanic. "But that was followed quickly by a realization of where we were, that we were on a gravesite. We started seeing where the bodies had landed, that this was a cemetery, and it changed our emotional wall. It went from pure joy to thoughtful reflection."

There have been a plethora of books written on the subject and there will continue to be hundreds more written in the coming years. But I think, because of this milestone anniversary, the fascination of the tragedy will never be as high as it is right now. Mine started when I read one of the first written in the modern age, A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. I couldn't put it down and have been engrossed by the subject ever since. The tales of bravery and sadness as well as the the mysteries of exactly how and why the ship was destined to flounder has always kept me on the lookout for almost anything to do with the ship and her stories. I have read almost anything I can get my hands on and have seen countless documentaries. Last summer I went to the Titanic artifact exhibit, complete with mock passenger ticket and short biography of an actual passenger. At the end of the exhibit you wen to a big list and checked to see if the person you had the name of survived or not. Mine didn't. He was third-class male and like most steerage passengers, he didn't have much of a chance.
Most people tend to forget that this horrific event actually happened and happened to real people that suffered the greatest horror that even the best Hollywood writers couldn't imagine. But one story of the Titanic wasn't about the Titanic at all. It was called Wreck of the Titan (aka Futility) by Morgan Robertson and it was a work of fiction about an unsinkable ship that didn't have enough lifeboats for everyone on board, hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage in the North Atlantic in the month of April. It was published in 1898. That means it predated even the designing of the Titanic by about 12 years. Creepy. The similarities are down right eerie. I mean this has to be the preeminent tale of
coincidence in the history of history.
As mentioned, there are countless books and documentaries about the Titanic. Here is a short one found on YouTube with footage and survivor interviews.





There are many more videos on YouTube about the Titanic, its survivors and their tales. You can just go the the YouTube website and check them out.

Director James Cameron who gave us probably the best description of what happened to the Titanic both in how the ship hit the iceberg and what detailed damage it did to cause it to sink with an animation that was seen in his 1997 feature film, Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But even though it shows the best re-enactment anybody has given the general public to date, a recent documentary he hosted with Titanic experts of the last 20 or so years shows, as Cameron readily admits on air, that there were mistakes made in that animation and he would correct them. However, Cameron stated he would not "fix" the film with the updated information since he is still quite happy with the final product.



The disaster reached far and wide and touched people in seemingly every country and language. This is a memorial plaque in my hometown of Winnipeg that is dedicated to those form here that were lost.



For a sample of the numerous stories permeating the internet this week, I have linked a few of them for your viewing.

Titanic Sinking Remembered

Robert Ballard

Futurama

Archives Contain New Fragments of Tale of Ship’s Fateful Voyage

Tragic Tale Endures Test of Time

Human Remains Embedded at Titanic Site?