Although these ghostly sightings and happenings can’t be proven scientifically, plenty of people are believers in the spirit world and in phenomena like glowing orbs to show something is present that can’t be explained. In addition to the wreckage of the actual Titanic, the ‘Titan’ submersible that imploded in June 2023 offers a new spin on the old tragedy, which will likely spawn new accounts of hauntings.
Despite sinking 111 years ago the Titanic continues to fascinate, with an exhibition featuring more than 200 artefacts from the doomed ocean liner coming to Melbourne. TITANIC: The Artefact Exhibition will be on display at the Melbourne Museum from December 16 after a sell-out run in Paris. The exhibit includes a section of the Titanic hull that visitors will be able to touch, as well as some of the vast collection of objects salvaged from the sea floor.
There have been many criticisms, some fair or not, about Cameron’s Titanic. So apparently the night sky was not accurate. Fair enough, coming from someone who would seem to know. I assume he set up the appropriate simulation (which can be done these days) and with all the data we have input it and then voila! You get the night sky as it should have been back in 1912. I bet James Cameron will not lose any sleep missing this important detail. Out of audience of how many-millions-and no one except the eminent Neil deGrasse Tyson, eager to sell a new book tells the world the night sky in that movie was all wrong. Well, it got some attention, which I suppose is what he wanted. I am all for being accurate and routinely disappointed when historical movies get characters and even dates wrong. Great movies like Quo Vadis, a great sword and sandal movie, is very wrong about many things (although Peter Ustinov nails Nero) but is a great movie none the less. So, I am not going to worry that the night sky in that movie was not shown as it was in 1912. Nor should anyone for that matter since the movie is historical fiction based on real events. So, pop the popcorn and enjoy the movie.
=
Interesting History: The First Train Robbery in U.S. History (6 Oct 1866)
In the early days of this country, traveling was hazardous. Roads were poor, especially in winter. Near cities it was not too bad but the further out you were, it was more treacherous. Roads, such as they were, were poorly kept. And of course, thieves (tagged highway robbers, blackguards, and other notable names) loved to prey on travelers. Stealing from a train though seemed implausible to many since trains moved pretty swiftly, at least most of the time.
Now train robberies had occurred before this date but these were mainly done in freight yards or when the train was stationary sitting in a depot. So, it was a bit of a shock when the Reno Gang stopped a train in Jackson County, Indiana and made off with $13,000. They boarded the Ohio & Mississippi train at the Seymour depot and once the train was underway made their way wearing masks until entering a car owned by the Adams Express Company. The company delivered bank drafts, documents, and packages for clients. He was ordered to open the safes, but he only could access one. He opened it and they took gold coins totaling $10,000 and bank notes worth about $3,000. There was another safe they tried to open but couldn’t and tossed it off the train. They never got it open.
They signaled for the train to stop, hopped off, and disappeared into the night. The Reno Brothers were well known gang before and after the Civil War and caused lots of headaches. The gang frequently robbed post offices, homes, and murdered those who might talk about them. Their audacious robbery of a train would soon be imitated by other gangs and would become part of the lore of the old west. Trains carrying gold, cash, and other precious metal would become targets and became frequent in the 1870’s-1880’s. And they would become more deadly over time. Railroads were anxious to stop this banditry as it caused lots of bad press, angry passengers, and impacted shipping. So, they began adding armed guards to their trains along with horses in some cases so they could give chase. Bounties were made and the famous Pinkerton Agency was used to help track them down as well.
To make it more difficult to offload safes, they were made extra heavy all but making it impossible to toss them off the trains. And the people on the train may not have access to those safes for security reasons either making it useless to try and hold up the train (except to rob the passengers). While in the early days targeting trains was easy, deadly shootouts between the armed guards and gangs made it not worth trying as time went on. The Reno Brothers, an already notorious gang before and after the Civil War, added this to their roster of crimes that included robbing post offices, banks, homes, and murder. It did not end well for them. In 1868 after another successful train robbery that netted them $96,000, they were captured and held in jail pending trial. They had badly beaten an armed guard in the robbery and when he died while they were in jail, a vigilante mob was formed. They broke into the jail and took the Reno Brothers (Frank, William, and Sim) out and hung them from a tree.
Like most gangs, they had their supporters who threatened retaliation. The vigilantes-officially called the Jackson County Vigilance Committee-made it known that any retaliation would be met fiercely, which seems to have worked. While many in law enforcement wanted to bring them to trial and were not happy with this action, none of the vigilantes were identified or brought to trial for their actions. This ended one of the darker periods in southern Indiana history. The Reno Brothers Gang though would fade in memory while other gangs (such as the James Gang) would become more well known.
The world is still in shock over what happened with the submersible Titan. What started out as a routine dive to see the wreck of the famous ship ended in tragedy when above the wreck explosive decompression happened. The result was quick as it was explosive. The submersible and everyone aboard died. Above no one in the support craft above knew what happened. All contact was lost and realizing something bad had happened, called for immediate assistance. Remarkably in a very short period of time governments of Britain, Canada, and United States sent resources (planes, ships, and sonar buoys). Private ships came as well with remote operated vehicles and decompression chambers. Sadly, the worst fears of many were confirmed when its debris field was found. For the families, many of which were aboard the support vessel, it became a moment of grief and sadness.
Newspapers all over the world reported the news as did the broadcast and social media. Hope was raised when banging was heard leading some to speculate that perhaps the submersible was trapped and soon it would be found. What that really was is unknown. It might have been with so many ships in the area the sounds were echoes of screws turning in the water or an anomaly of some kind. The U.S. Navy reportedly picked up the implosion on Sunday but whether they reported it to the US and Canadian Coast Guard’s is unknown at this time. If they were informed, then what unfolded later was a waste of time and resources. Certainly, some are suggesting that such as James Cameron, who made the famous movie Titanic that is still a hit to this day. Also, now we are hearing from people who thought the submersible was not as safe as OceanGate said it was. Some have noted power issues on a dive requiring it to be brought back up. And it appears that the implication in literature provided by the company that it been declared safe by various institutions (such as Boeing and NASA) was not wholly accurate. They were consulted but nothing else.
Probably the most obnoxious comments have come from people who think that rich people paying for such a luxury ride deserved more or less what they got. And to add more insult that since they could afford such a trip meant they were not being taxed enough. This is typical of commentators these days to latch onto a tragedy to push their own policies and get some attention in the news media. And attention is got as postings on social media indicate that most people did not share their views at all. In fact, most said what they did with their money was their own business. They choose to pay for a ride to the wreck which many have done in the past. And it bears remembering that this company is the second one to do this. The first one ran it for several years but ended the excursions over the rising costs and other issues. Many who took it under that company had mostly good things to say about it (and it cost considerably less).
Now it turns to a recovery and investigation. The bodies are likely never to be found (due to the pressure at that depth, the implosion liquified their bodies) so it is the remains of the submersible that will be brought up and examined by both the Canadians and Americans. They know it was an implosion but how it happened will have to be found out. Lots of interviews and documents will have to be done and it will be a while before we get a clear picture of what happened. The most likely theories are metal fatigue and or a micro-fracture that led to it. A lot of scrutiny will be focused on how the submersible was built, materials used, ongoing maintenance and inspections. And as surely as night turns today, there will be a lawsuit (perhaps several) about how the company was negligent in handling the submersible.
For the moment we first offer our condolences to the families that lost loved ones in this tragedy. Nothing we say can truly take away the loss but we can help through our prayers that they will be comforted.
As of this morning, the search continues for the missing submersible to Titanic containing 5 people. At this point, the air may have run out but efforts to locate are ongoing. Underwater noises, possibly banging, were heard by Canadian aircraft and so the search is continuing in the area where the noises were detected. The U.S. Coast Guard is reporting that a debris field has been found in the search area.
The search expanded Wednesday focusing on the area where Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises. Remote operated vehicles were used but the U.S. Coast Guard said that so far it has not yielded any results. The New York Post is reporting that in 2022 that an excursion was cut short after four hours due to the vessel’s battery suddenly draining down to 40% causing it to return to the surface. Also the same paper is reporting that the wife of Stockton Rush is a descendant of Isador and Ida Strauss.
It is being reported that “underwater noises” have been detected by Canadian aircraft prompting U.S. Coast Guard to deploy remotely operated vehicles in the areas where the noise or banging sounds were heard. So far nothing has been reported on the results of the search. Meanwhile Deep Energy has arrived on the scene and is deploying remote operated subs to locate Titan. Other equipment is now arriving in Newfoundland to be used to assist in finding the missing submersible. Various experts note the banging noises being reported are a hopeful sign the crew aboard Titan is alive. Other ships that will aid in the recovery of Titan are en route. CEO Stockton Rush had said previously Titan had been deemed safe by NASA, Boeing and The University of Washington but news reports today indicate NASA and University of Washington were only consulted and not involved in its construction.
It is now confirmed that the fifth passenger aboard Titan is Paul-Henri Nargeole. OceanGate has confirmed that its CEO Stockton Rush is aboard and the pilot for Titan. Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman are also aboard. According to NBC news: “Canadian Coast Guard, Navy, and private research and commercial vessels with remotely operated vehicles have responded or were en route to help Tuesday, officials said. The U.S. and Canada also have planes searching.”
6/20 9:50 a.m. PDT
Both the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard are searching for the missing submersible using sonar buoys and other means. As of Tuesday morning, the AP is reporting that 10,000 miles had been searched. The submersible named Titan pulled out at 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning and all the required safety pings were heard until 45 minutes into the descent. Nothing has been heard since. They have approximately 96 hours of air, so they will run out of it by Thursday unless rescued. Experts consulted are not hopeful if Titan experienced a hull breach or lost all power. The best case scenario is that they are bobbling out there near the surface. If they are on the seabed, the chances of rescue are very difficult. As of now, only one person has been confirmed as being aboard: Hamish Harding, the chairman of global sales company Action Aviation. Experienced diver and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet is believed to be aboard but unconfirmed at this time.
A search and rescue mission was underway Monday for a submarine that went missing in the North Atlantic on an expedition to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. Lt. Jordan Hart of the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston first confirmed to CBS News that personnel were “currently undergoing a search and rescue operation” when asked about the rescue efforts off the coast of Newfoundland. At a news conference Monday afternoon, Rear Admiral John Mauger confirmed that five people were aboard. A Coast Guard official identified them as an operator and four mission specialists — a term the company uses for its passengers.
It is amazing what the new images of Titanic are showing. Once of them is a of a gold chain that featured the tooth of a Megalodon, a pre-historic shark. According to the Daily Mirror, this is one of the finds made possible with the technology used to examine the shipwreck giving us such deep details as this. Despite it being found, there is little chance it will ever be brought up. Its original owner is long dead and likely got a settlement from White State over its loss. No doubt it was stunning to wear.
Titanic Wreck Bow Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)
Brittle Steel Contributed to Titanic’s Demise
For most, there is little doubt what sank Titanic but what contributed to is sinking. The Daily Mirror reports that a new book by Jennifer Hooper McCarty and Timothy Foecke that provides more detail on their theory about how brittle steel contributed to making it easier for the ship to sink. McCarty made this claim in the National Geographic special Titanic: How It Really Sank. This was backed up when Timothy Foecke’s own study with the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) which confirmed her findings. Examining steel and rivet samples from the Titanic debris field showed it had three times the amount of slag normally in iron. This allowed it to become brittle at cold temperatures and made it easier for the iceberg to pierce the hull. Sonar images and other things have been used to substantiate the claim.
Needless to say, this is controversial in the Titanic community. Harland & Wolff deny the claim and many Titanic researchers do as well. Nevertheless, this is not as outlandish as theory. Many ships built for the Great Lakes in the early part of the 20th century had too much sulphur or phosphorus in the steel. This made them highly susceptible to being damaged in powerful storms and contributed to ships breaking apart. So it is recognized that it can happen. The allegation in the documentary is that Harland & Wolff, in order to save costs, decided to go for less expensive rivets at the very front (a common practice). Now whether they knew this would make the ship more susceptible to damage and becoming brittle at cold temperatures is unknown.
Treasures of Titanic & Liability Law
Front Page, New York Herald, 15 April 1912 Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress,www.loc.gov)
It goes without saying that Titanic, thanks to all the wealthy people aboard, had lots of valuables that ended up at the bottom of the sea. The Daily Mail has a list of them for you to gaze at. When you consider the value of what was lost, it is amazing how White Star Line managed to use the then very limited liability laws to keep from shelling out millions of British pounds. In the U.S. and most maritime countries, liability is limited to the value of the ship. And the U.S. law that the owner of the vessel cannot be held financially responsible for loss of life since the ship has no value once it sank.
A terrible boat fire in 2019 aboard the dive boat Conception brought the issue to a head. 34 died in that fire but when it became known that the boat owners not only had no liability but sued under that law to limit liability, it sparked outage. So the old 1851 law was amended in 2022 and signed by President Joe Biden in 2023.. The new law allows that owner of a boat to be held legally responsible for their actions and allows claimants up to two years to file claims. No longer is the value of the ship or boat a factor. The owner of the Conception had been found at fault by the National Traffic Safety Board (it also found fault with the Coast Guard as well) with numerous safety violations and inadequate fire watch on the boat while anchored. The old law precluded much in the way of damages owing to limitations. That has now changed and other laws to add more safety laws to small vessels are being done.
Photograph of iceberg taken by chief steward of Prinz Adalbert on morning of 15 April 1912 near where Titanic sank. At the time he had not learned of the Titanic disaster. Smears of red paint along the base caught his attention. The photo and accompanying statement were sent to Titanic’s lawyers, which hung in their boardroom until the firm dissolved in 2002. Public Domain
A program founded over 100 years ago, spawned by the sinking of one the most famous vessels in history — the RMS Titanic — is quietly winding down. Over the next couple of years, staffed flight missions of the International Ice Patrol will become a thing of the past as satellites and drones become more advanced. “I think we’re towards the end of the era of the aviation mission and soon the satellites will be doing all of the work,” tactical commander Lt. Alex Hamel told CBC News during a recent flight.
Titanic researcher Parks Stephenson told The Mirror: “I’ve got a growing amount of evidence that Titanic didn’t hit the iceberg along its side, as is shown in all the movies.,” he said. “She may actually have grounded on the submerged shelf of the ice. That was the first scenario put out by a London magazine in 1912. Maybe we haven’t heard the real story of Titanic yet,” he added.
=
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
When the Titanic hit an iceberg while crossing the Atlantic in 1912, its telegraphers desperately sent out distress calls hoping somebody, somewhere might hear them. But among the first to respond was an amateur radio operator some 3,000 miles (4,800km) away in south Wales. Self-taught Arthur Moore received the signal at his homemade station in Blackwood, Caerphilly county. He rushed to the local police station, but was met with incredulity. And while the radio enthusiast could do nothing to help those on board the Titanic, he went on to pioneer an early form of sonar technology which helped discover its resting place decades later.
They are the everyday objects that reveal the extent of the human tragedy when the Titanic sank in 1912 with the loss of 1,500 lives.The body of violinist Wallace Hartley, who continued to perform with his fellow band members as the ship slipped beneath the waves of the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg, was found days after the tragedy with his violin strapped to his chest.
More than a century after it sank, the first ever full-sized scans of the Titanic show the historic shipwreck in astonishing detail. Experts have taken thousands of digital images to create an incredible 3D reconstruction of the wreck, which now lies 350 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The images, published by the BBC, reveal the wreckage in greater detail than ever before, including stalactites of rust on the ship’s bow, the serial number on a propeller, and a hole over where the grand staircase once stood. They present Titanic almost as if it’s been retrieved from the water, although this will likely never happen as the wreck is so fragile that it would disintegrate under any movement. Experts hope studies of the scans could reveal more about the mysteries surrounding what happened on the fateful night in April 1912, such as the exact mechanics of how it struck the seafloor.
Two west Belfast primary schools from separate communities have completed a Titanic shared education project. The film about the doomed liner, made by pupils from St Joseph’s Primary School, Slate Street, and Blackmountain Primary, is to be shown at Belfast City Hall on Wednesday. The film called Who Sank the Titanic? looks at why the ship perished on its maiden voyage in April 1912. Rare footage of the shipwreck filmed in 1986 has recently been released.
[I was distracted and did not post a lot of news stories for a while. I truly apologize for this and now post the list of news articles for people to check out. I did not include any stories about James Cameron’s Titanic as that has been covered ad nauseam.]
[I think Tik Tok has become the National Enquirer of the internet. For those who are outside the US, it publishes all kinds of sensational stories about celebrities and everything else. Commonly found near check out in grocery stores, its motto is anything sensational, even untrue, is worth printing. Probably its equivalent (and probably inspired by it) was the UK News of the World tabloid that did more or less the same thing. It was shuttered in 2011 after allegations of phone hacking surfaced which resulted in several arrests. Advertisers pulled away and it folded as a result. The Sunday edition of The Sun now has replaced it.]
[There are a few caveats to the argument in the article. Assuming someone were to go out and actually pull up artifacts and try to sell them, there are some treaties that might get in the way of anyone trying to do this. The wreck is now preserved as a historical site, so anyone doing this would violate a UN declaration. Britain, Canada, France, and the US have a treaty protecting the wreck as well, so you would have a problem selling artifacts outside of the US in those countries. Even if you did try, RMST would sue in that nation’s admiralty court to have such a sale stopped. In short, lots of litigation and fees to lawyers.]
[Note this carafe was not aboard Titanic but given to White Star employees in 1912 after the sinking. However, the company that provided this carafe, did supply the same carafe to the ship. The picture of it shows how exquisite such carafes were for formal dining on Titanic.]
RMS Olympic Arrives In New York on Maiden Voyage, 21 June 1911 Source: U.S. Library of Commerce/Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
In the wake of the Titanic sinking, all passenger ships were equipped with lifeboats for everyone aboard. Olympic, like her sister ship, did not have enough lifeboats but they were quickly added for her upcoming departure from Southampton on 24 April 1912. 40 collapsible lifeboats (all second-hand) had come from troopships. However, there was concern amongst the crew that these lifeboats were not seaworthy. A request sent by crewman that they should be replaced by wooden lifeboats was declined by White Star which said that it was impossible to do that and they had passed as seaworthy by the Board of Trade inspector.
New lifeboats being loaded on RMS Olympic, Titanic’s sister-ship Circa 22 April 1912-30 April 1912 Author Unknown Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Not convinced of this, 284 firemen went on strike delaying the departure. Non-union crew were hired from Southampton and from Liverpool to make up the difference. On 25 April 1912, representatives of the strikers witnessed a test of four of the collapsible boats. One was found unseaworthy. The representatives said they would recommend the strikers return to work as a result. A separate objection about the non-union workers who were hired came up as an issue. White Star refused to fire them. This resulted in 54 crewmembers leaving the ship in protest causing the cancellation of the sailing. Later they would be charged and convicted of mutiny, but no punishment was awarded due to the circumstances. White Star Line hired them back in end fearing a public backlash in support of the strikers. Olympic would sail for New York on 15 May 1912.
With Titanic’s sinking, U.S. Senator William Alden Smith saw this as an opportunity to investigate marine safety issues. Smith, a Republican Senator from Michigan, had experience in investigating railroad safety issues. Smith believed due to the sensational nature of this disaster that rapid action was needed. Another concern was that many of the witnesses-surviving passengers and crew-would disperse and return home. On 17 April 1912, Smith proposed that a hearing be done to investigate the sinking. President Taft, who lost his friend and military advisor Archibald Butt in the sinking, concurred. A U.S. naval escort was set up for Carpathia to make sure no one left before it docked.
Senator William Alden Smith of Michigan Unknown date (between 1905 and 1945) Public Domain
Smith, accompanied by Francis G. Newlands and other officials traveled to New York and were there when Carpathia docked in New York. They boarded the ship and served subpoenas on J.Bruce Ismay and on surviving officers and crew. The hearings began on 19 April 1912 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York and later moved to Washington D.C. The hearings, with many recesses in-between, would run for 18 days till May 25, 1912.
Sources:
Books
Behe, George TITANIC: SAFETY, SPEED AND SACRIFICE, Transportation Trails, Polo, IL 1997
Eaton John P. & Haas Charles, TITANIC TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY, SECOND EDITION, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, New York, 1995 First American Edition
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)
Lynch, Don & Marshall Ken, TITANIC AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY, Madison Press Books, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 1992
Crowd Awaiting Survivors of Titanic, 18 April 1912 U.S. Library of Congress,Bain Collection, Control #ggb2004010347 Public Domain
It had been a long three days since Titanic sank when Carpathia arrived bearing Titanic’s survivors. What had been first optimistic news turned grim after the miscommunication had been sorted out. Titanic had sunk and 1500 had perished out in the cold North Atlantic. News as to who exactly had survived was not fully known as Carpathia had kept a media blackout during its journey to New York. There was a reporter on board but had to keep his notes secret in a cigar box lined with champagne corks. He would toss it towards a Hearst editor in a tugboat in New York harbor where it would be raced for a special evening edition of New York World. 50 tugboats full of reporters yelled at the ship through megaphones offering money for eyewitness accounts. Carpathia first stopped at Pier 59, the White Star Line pier and offloaded Titanic‘s lifeboats. They were all that were left of the ship aside from the flotsam and jetsam that would be found later in the Atlantic. Then Carpathia proceeded to Pier 54 and the Titanic survivors disembarked. It was only then it was truly known who did survive and who did not.
Sources:
Books
Behe, George TITANIC: SAFETY, SPEED AND SACRIFICE, Transportation Trails, Polo, IL 1997
Eaton John P. & Haas Charles, TITANIC TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY, SECOND EDITION, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, New York, 1995 First American Edition
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)
Lynch, Don & Marshall Ken, TITANIC AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY, Madison Press Books, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 1992
