A newspaper published in the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic has been unearthed in a wardrobe. The edition of The Daily Mirror from 20 April 1912, which shows a photo of two women waiting for the list of survivors to be posted on a wall in Southampton, was found in a house in Lichfield, Staffordshire, after 112 years.
[The newspaper was auctioned off for £34 ($44)]
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HMS Hawke 1914 Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
A group of divers working off the coast of Scotland found the wreck of what’s believed to be a World War I ship that sank with more than 500 sailors on board. The HMS Hawke was torpedoed by a German U-boat on Oct. 15, 1914, according to Lost in Waters Deep, a U.K. agency that memorializes naval losses from World War I. The Royal Navy warship caught fire and sank in fewer than eight minutes, according to CBS News partner the BBC, with just 70 sailors surviving. In total, 524 sailors died when the ship sank near northern Scotland.
A new museum on the Seattle waterfront is bringing a historical event back to the surface like never been before. “Titanic: The Exhibition” opened this summer on Alaskan Way and offers an immersive experience into the heart of the fateful ship. There is a model of the ship with cut-outs that give a glimpse of how the ship looked inside and how everything was laid out, but the best parts of the exhibition are the life-sized recreations of the various spaces onboard. You get a chance to see the huge differences between the first-class and third-class rooms (even the tableware was significantly different). Walking down the ornate first-class hallway gives you a real “you were there” moment. There is also a recreation of the wireless cabin known as Marconi Room, where Morse Code was used to help save the lives of those who fled the ship.
Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)
Lord, Walter, THE NIGHT LIVES ON, Willian Morrow and Company, New York, New York, 1986 (First Edition)
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Happy Friday everyone! We are now steaming full speed towards March. Winter is still making itself felt where I live (lots of rain recently) to places where snow is still falling. The Spring Equinox is not that far off either, but winter has been known to go on after that astronomical end to winter.
Here is some Titanic and related news you might find interesting.
It is not often one sees a negative review of a Titanic exhibition (mostly complaints about cost and crowds), but this is one of them about a Titanic exhibition near Chicago.
The Grand Staircase of the RMS Olympic Photo:Public Domain (Wikipedia)
There is plenty to see here, but this exhibition is more of a cabin berth than a stateroom. It will refresh your memory of who’s who in the drama, and it should excite the imagination of younger visitors with an interest in the subject. Hardcore history buffs would do better at their local library. One small but significant complaint — I noticed a grammatical error on an information card inside a case in the first gallery. Then I found another mistake. And others. Apostrophes were misused, “then” was used for “than” — that sort of thing. Apparently, the proofreader went down with the ship.
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Over in Bristol (UK), there is a Titanic exhibition going on though not as big as its predecessors.
A limited exhibition showcasing “never seen before” items salvaged from the Titanic’s wreckage is underway in Bristol. The Titanic Exhibition at Paintworks in Brislington invites visitors to explore Bristol’s connection to the renowned passenger liner, learn about the people that travelled on board and come face to face with items from the wreck site. The display is curated by White Star Heritage, experts in collecting and preserving Titanic and White Star Line ship artefacts, aiming to breathe life into the ship’s story more than 100 years after its sinking in the north Atlantic.
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RMS Titanic pictured in Queenstown, Ireland 11 April 1912 Source:Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh Ireland/Wikimedia Commons
I have not seen this yet, but judging from all the digital ink being written about it, the creator has certainly gotten a lot of attention. There are actually quite a few Titanic simulations out there (YouTube has a lot of them). From the witness statements, the sinking was more dramatic than has ever been depicted on screen.
The story of the Titanic is known all over the world. The 1996 James Cameron blockbuster movie was hugely successful at the box office, but does it show what really happened when the ship sank? Science Girl’s simulation suggests that the real sinking was much more frightening than we could ever imagine. Cameron, who made the film, said he only got “half right” how the ship sank, even though he had lots of experts to help him.
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Harland & Wolff David and Goliath crane in Belfast, 2006 Plastic Jesus (Dave) via Wikimedia Commons
This is certainly good news for Harland & Wolff. It has had some very lean years that made it look like it might even be shuttered at one point. They have managed to bounce back and this one famous shipbuilder is getting a contract to refurbish a cruise ship.
The startup recently acquired the 924-passenger MS Braemar from Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. Renamed Villa Vie Odyssey, Villa Vie has secured a dry dock slot for a multimillion-dollar refurbishment. The Harland & Wolff shipyard has over a century of history and famously built the Titanic eighty years earlier. It undergoes a 10-week refurbishment program. The company announced deals with various contractors for transforming and managing shipboard functions. The ship was last refurbished in 2019.
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Here is an interesting video detailing the sinking of the Lusitania.
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Finally to close out this Friday, retro is becoming cool again. Some creative individuals are going back and making updated opening scenes of television shows done back in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. Using updated special effects and other things, you can make an opening like it would be shown today. Here is one for one of my favorites, the classic Battlestar Galactica.
The sell-out Titanic Exhibition, which runs until November 4, drew in large crowds at Worcester Guildhall on the city’s High Street where they had a chance to get close to unusual objects from survivors and from the wreck itself. Crowds have been left spellbound by the haunting photographs and artefacts at the exhibition, which opened on Wednesday, telling her story from her beginning to her tragic end.
One of the world’s largest remaining Edwardian steamships, the S.S. Keewatin, has arrived at its new home at a museum in Kingston, Ont., after sailing through the Great Lakes from Georgian Bay near Barrie. The vessel is older than the Titanic. It had been docked at Port McNicoll in Georgian Bay, which was once a vital stop along a Canadian Pacific Railway shipping route. The museum secured a heritage designation for the Keewatin and will fund about $2 million in major repairs. Later on, Keewatin will open as a museum exhibit in a dry dock.
Titanic Related Ghost Story
Michael Imperioli relates in Celebrity Ghost Stories of encountering a ghost in an old New York hotel. The ghost was of a woman who lost her fiancé on the Titanic. You can watch it and other ghost stories on on YouTube below.
October is the 10th month on the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Under the old Roman calendar this was the eighth month and retained its name. October in the Northern Hemisphere begins the full transition to Autumn while in the Southern Hemisphere it is Spring.
Autumn harvests are underway this month with apples, artichokes, cranberries, pears, and pumpkins becoming widely available in many areas. Pumpkins are important this time of year as decorations and the source for pumpkin pie and delicious roasted pumpkin seeds. Octoberfest is a major event in Munich, Germany but has spread into Europe, the United States and South America. It began in 1810 to honor a Bavarian royal wedding and now is in many places like a carnival with rides, lots of German themed food and of course beer. Beer of all kinds, especially craft beers find their ways to such events to be judged. Oktoberfest usually goes from mid-September to October (it used to end on the first Sunday in October) but it usually goes on later these days. One figure estimates the consumption of beer to be around 1.85 million gallons (7 million liters) of beer. Now that is a lot of beer!
Daylight Savings Time comes to an end in Australia and Europe this month. In the United States, that will on the first Sunday in November. Though legislation was passed in the U.S. Senate to change to Daylight Savings Time for the entire year, the House of Representatives did not pass it due to multiple objections. So the United States will remain on using both Standard and Daylight Savings Time.
Of course, the big event in October is Halloween or more properly All Hallows Eve on October 31. What used to be a day to prepare for the feast of All Saints Day now has morphed into an event primarily for children to put on masks and ask neighbors for a treat. Haunted House exhibits are open, hayrides through a haunted landscape, and of course scary movies to watch. We get the obligatory Halloween themed commercials and lots of scary themed promos. Many parents opt to have simpler old fashioned celebration with friends and children assembling for food, entertainment, and of course hearing very spooky stories.
A film about the Titan incident is already in the works. It is currently titled ‘Salvaged’ and is set to be produced by E. Brian Dobbins and MindRiot Entertainment – a company also making a docuseries about Kyle Bingham, the former mission director of OceanGate. MindRiot’s Justin MacGregor and Jonathan Keasey will co-write the film. “The Titan tragedy is reminiscent of the space shuttle Challenger disaster of 1986: it’s a tragedy I’ll never forget,” said MacGregor. According to Deadline, the film will cover periods before, during, and after the five-day tragedy.
Eerie pictures have been captured inside the abandoned TSS Duke of Lancaster described as a “ghost ship frozen in time.” Only echoes remain of the vessel’s past when the 1950s cruise ship treated passengers to silver service as they sailed from Ireland, Scotland and Europe. The first-class quarters were called “the best around” during its first decade on the sea.
Maritime search-and-rescue teams should receive more psychological support for stress and mental exhaustion after shortcomings were highlighted by the deaths of five people on a submersible diving down to the wreck of the Titanic, according to documents lodged at the International Maritime Organization. The international hunt for the Titan submersible exposed limitations in search-and-rescue planning, and have prompted efforts to improve the response to potential disasters beneath the sea, according to a paper submitted by Chile.
A remarkable, historic artifact with a strong Halifax connection sold at auction over the weekend for nearly $180,000. The final price on a special key(opens in a new tab) assigned to a first class steward on the Titanic was USD $151,250. Buried in Fairview Lawn Cemetery(opens in a new tab) in Halifax, Alfred Deeble was entrusted with the key to the saloon liquor cabinet — a “Pantryman” key as it was known then. Recovered with his body after the sinking, the key was carefully catalogued in Halifax with his other possessions, and sent to his grieving sister at her request.
A unique event is being held at one of Edinburgh’s city centre hotels, with an “immersive dining experience”. The evening, which will include a three course meal and performance, is all based on the final hours onboard the Titanic. Guests can expect an “elegant and opulent” evening, with a “heartfelt tribute” to the 1503 people who lost their lives. The event is being held on September 29 and 30, and again on October 1.
Carnegie Science Center will host Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition from Oct. 21 through April 15. Visitors will experience the grandeur of the RMS Titanic through full-scale room re-creations and 154 authentic artifacts on display within the Science Center’s PPG Science Pavilion. This must-see exhibition, viewed by more than 30 million people worldwide, takes visitors on a chronological journey through life on the Titanic, with a replica boarding pass featuring a real passenger’s name, from the ship’s construction to life on board, the fated sinking, and modern-day recovery efforts.
Emails obtained by The Canadian Press show officials with Memorial’s Fisheries and Marine Institute signed an agreement with OceanGate in December allowing the company to store equipment with the university and promising that students and faculty would have opportunities “to join OceanGate expeditions to support research endeavours.” The memorandum of understanding also says the marine institute would show off OceanGate’s submersible to visitors, in an effort to promote ocean literacy and the “blue economy.”
The only picture of the Marconi radio room onboard the Titanic. Harold Bride is seated at his station. Photo was taken by Father Francis Browne, SJ, while aboard Titanic. Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
In 1901, you could send important messages by telegraph provided there was line connection going point to point. The telegraph opened up a whole new era of communication getting important messages delivered quickly. Once hooked up, you did not have to wait for a ship or train to arrive bearing a letter. Steam powered ships made shipping much faster (days or weeks instead of years), but the telegraph connected places faster. The only snag was you needed either an underwater cable or a connection of telegraph poles to connect.
Guglielmo Marconi (1909) United States Library of Congress, digital ID cph.3a40043 Public Domain (U.S.) via Wikimedia Commons
Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) was not the first one to come up with the idea of wireless telegraphy but was the first to succeed. He studied physics and became aware of the experiments of the German physicist Heinrich Hertz. Experimenting n 1894, Marconi was able to send a radio signal up 1.5 miles. However, his experiments received little support in Italy, so he went to England in 1896. Forming a wireless telegraph company, he was able to send wireless transmissions further than 10 miles. He successfully sent a transmission across the English Channel in 1899. He also used two ships to report to New York newspapers on the America’s Cup yacht race using his wireless telegraph. That sparked a lot of interest about what he was doing.
On 12 December 1901, Marconi successfully transmitted the first transcontinental transmission from England to St. John’s Newfoundland. Many doubted this could be done due to the curvature of the earth, but Marconi believed otherwise. What scientists later determined was that the radio signal headed up to space and reflected off the ionosphere back down to Canada. Much would still have to be learned, but Marconi’s development of the wireless telegraph led to more radio discoveries down the road. It also meant ships at sea could receive messages sent to them via the wireless telegraph. Marconi’s company would soon market that to shipping companies as well (rivals would also as well). The radio would follow from this as well by the 1920’s with companies set up to deliver news, music and other information to the public who purchased radios in the home. Before the advent of television, people would gather around the radio for news and entertainment. And to listen to great play-by-play action of their favorite baseball team.
Marconi jointly received the Nobel Prize in physics with Ferdinnd Braun, the German radio innovator. Marconi would continue to work on experimenting with shorter and more powerful radio waves. He died in 1937 and the BBC observed a two minute moment of science for the man that was responsible for making what they do over the air possible.
His stunning stately home was once regarded as one of the finest pieces of real estate in Pennsylvania, before it was left to rot. The uber-wealthy art collector and public transport pioneer began building the home in 1897, before wrapping up the project in 1900. Acclaimed architect Horace Trumbauer designed every aspect of the $250 million pad that was dubbed the “American Versailles” – thanks to its 55 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms, art gallery and gigantic ballroom. Widener’s beloved son George and grandson Harry perished at sea, while Eleanor miraculously survived the deadly voyage. The tragedy left an enormous void inside the mansion of the financier, who was then one of the world’s richest men. The emptiness somewhat foretold the future of Lynnewood Hall, which later ended up abandoned.
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Titanic: The Exhibition In Los Angeles
Titanic: The Exhibition opened up in November and now, pardon the pun, going full steam ahead. Open every day except Tuesdays, the exhibition is being held at the Beverly Event Venue at 4327 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles. The exhibition runs till 14 Jan 2023.
Tickets to Titanic: Honour and Glory cost £4.95 for adults, £3.95 for senior citizens and £2.95 for those aged 18 to 25 and are available to book online in advance.
This review of the horror movie on Tubi (a free Internet streaming channel) says what most think of it. Did we really need a Titanic-themed horror movie? Worse setting it aboard a Titanic replica? You really have to wonder who the audience is knowing it would likely get trashed in reviews like this. Certainly not true enthusiasts of the original ship nor those who love the movie made by James Cameron. Perhaps this was an ego driven production by someone who had enough connections to make it happen. They had to know this would not get much in rave reviews. Instead of direct-to-dvd which many low rent productions head to, now it is direct to streaming online! There are only two actors I recognize on the cast: Jamie Bamber and AnnaLynne McCord. Michael Cain was once asked why did take some acting jobs in stinkers. He replied he needed the money. I would guess with those two actors that was the case or they owed someone a favor.
The following researchers will be on the video call to answer your questions and offer an eye-opening look at what mysteries the 110-year-old shipwreck still has to reveal:
• Titanic Expedition Chief Scientist and Marine Science Research Professor, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Dr. Steve W. Ross
• Lead Ecologist at the Centre for Environmental Genomics Applications (CEGA) eDNAtec, Beverly McClenaghan
• Benthic Marine Ecologist and Postdoctoral Researcher at Changing Oceans research group, University of Edinburgh, Dr. Anna Gebruk
• OceanGate Expeditions President and Chief Submersible Pilot, Stockton Rush
RMS Titanic pictured in Queenstown, Ireland 11 April 1912 Source:Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh Ireland/Wikimedia Commons
James Cameron’s Titanic was a wonderful presentation and got the atmosphere right but had some inaccuracies says Claes-Göran Wetterholm, the Swedish historian and curator of the London Titanic exhibit. He gave an interview recently where he debunks many of the myths. There is nothing new here, but it is interesting to read.
Swedish historian Claes-Göran Wetterholm, the curator behind a new immersive Titanic exhibition in London, tells The Sun: “The Hollywood movie, ‘Titanic,’ directed by James Cameron is the best movie ever to be made about what never happened. “There are so many things I cannot agree with in it and when I met Cameron at the premiere I told him this. But the film’s theme is fantastic and perfectly captures the atmosphere on the ship. “I have spent many years researching what really happened that night and have spoken to survivors and family members of survivors to help uncover the real story.”
2. Titanic Themed Airbnb
I have read of many things done to redecorate a home with a Titanic theme. It seems someone over in Belfast, who rents out space he decked out in such a theme, through Airbnb. Judging from the pictures though, it may be a bit much for some.
But if exceptionally bright colours, a lot of images of couples kissing and dozens of paintings of weird-looking crowds is your kind of thing, who are we to judge? The rest of the rental leans heavily into the romantic image of Titanic (rather than, y’know, the mass death bit), featuring a nautical-themed breakfast bar, ambient sea sounds and even a ‘kissing room’ hot tub. So, what about the other amenities? Well, Rose has three bedrooms and can fit up to five guests. It’s got Wi-Fi, a flatscreen TV and all your usual kitchen and bathroom stuff. The host, David, has a pretty impressive 4.88 star rating, with guests generally praising his rental as ‘unique’, ‘comfortable’ and ‘hospitable’.
“As one of the most talked-about moments in history, the sinking of the White Star Liner RMS Titanic continues to pique people’s interest over 100 years later. The Oshkosh Public Museum is thrilled to announce their Titanic: The Wisconsin Connection exhibit set to be unveiled Wednesday, July 21. Over two years in the making, this exhibit is based on in-depth, research of Wisconsin passengers conducted by Museum researchers from the Experiential Media Group, salvager, and owner of the Titanic artifacts.”
The exhibit runs from 21 July- 13 October 2021. For hours of operation, purchasing tickets and other information, please click here: Oshkosh Public Museum.
“Racing against the inevitable, an undersea exploration company’s expedition to the site of the wreckage could start this week, beginning what’s expected to be an annual chronicling of the ship’s deterioration. With the help of wealthy tourists, experts hope to learn more about the vessel as well as the underwater ecosystem that shipwrecks spawn. “The ocean is taking this thing, and we need to document it before it all disappears or becomes unrecognizable,” Stockton Rush, president of OceanGate Expeditions, said Friday from a ship headed to the North Atlantic wreck site.”
Titanic is one of those stories that’s timeless but also ageless,” said Emily Mahone, Education Director at the Discovery Center. “So we have children here that have already been obsessed with it since first or second grade to those elderly and middle-aged people who have been obsessed with Titanic since it came out in 1997.” You are asked to reserve your admission up to seven days in advance by visiting the Discovery Center of Idaho’s website. Masks are required for your entire visit. Discovery Center: https://www.dcidaho.org/
Was he going to wait for the cousin or was he going to get back on the ship and go to America? The mother of the cousin pleaded with my grandfather, ‘please you have to take my son to America.’ So my grandfather acquiesced. The ship that my mother, grandmother, and grandfather were supposed to be on was the Titanic. It went from Southampton to Marseille and then Marseille supposedly on to New York,” Farr explained.
More than 50 years later, an oil leak has been traced back to the wreck (MV Schiedyk). National Museums NI is helping the Canadian coastguard’s operation by supplying plans and images from the building of the 483ft cargo ship in Belfast in 1949. Originally a steamship, it was rebuilt in the 1960s to its oil-fuelled form. These plans will help to build a clear picture of the type of oil used and the location and capacity of its fuel tanks.
Charles H. Lightoller, second officer of the RMS Titanic. Circa 1920-1930 Public Domain (from Wikimedia)
Those who do endure and come out as hardier men are often forever marred to some degree- but just as a diamond must be cut and a block of ore must be hammered and shaped into a usable tool, so must a man make many sacrifices to reach his destiny. Charles Lightoller was such a man
According to Richmond News, Titanic:The Artifact Exhibition will be at the Lipont Centre in Richmond, Canada from 23 June 2018-11 Jan 2019. The newspaper reports that that Lipont was selected because of its spaciousness and convenient location. Toni McAfee, executive director of Lipont Centre, told the newspaper: “At Lipont Place the Titanic exhibition will find a natural home allowing both the venue and the exhibition to make their debut in Metro Vancouver,” says McAfee. “We look forward to welcoming all visitors, local and international, to the magnificent space and this world-class exhibition.”
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