Tag Archives: Titanic

Titanic

Former Ryerson House For Sale, New Titanic Exhibition in London.

 

RMS Olympic First Class Lounge (1912)
Photo: Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

An Immersive Titanic Exhibition Has Floated Into London (Londonist. 17 Dec 2021)

Want to see how plush the top end cabins were on the Titanic? Well now you can — thanks to a major exhibition that includes recreations of parts of the ship. We get to ‘board’ the experience along a ramp with suitcases either side, see what the third class cabins looked like, and then wander along a corridor styled as the first class section, complete with fancy light fixtures. The exhibition includes some items from the sunken ship itself — no mean feat given where it ended up. It also includes items from the dockyard where it was built, and from less remembered sister ship The Olympic, which thankfully didn’t sink. When it comes to actual items from the ship, a plate or a journal may not look like much but it’s the tragic human stories that go with them that are powerful: among them the wedding ring of a poor woman who tried to cling to the side of a life raft, but succumbed to the freezing waters — though not before the ring slipped off her finger, and was found days later in the bottom of the lifeboat.

Condo In Titanic Survivor’s Mansion Hits Market For Almost $8M (The Real Deal, 15 Dec 2021)

Let’s hope the buyer doesn’t have a sinking feeling. One of two condos in the restored mansion built by a Titanic survivor hit the market for $7.65 million – more than double the price of the then-rundown home in 2017, Crain’s reported. The unit has five bedrooms across 6,400 square feet and still has some of the original finishes from an original 1917 design by David Adler and Henry Dangler. The 16,000-square-foot home was built by Emily Ryerson and her three children after they fled the Titanic in a lifeboat while traveling home for the funeral of another son, a Yale student who had been killed in a car accident. Her husband, Arthur Ryerson, was among about 1,500 people who lost their lives.

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Nice picture of a moonset over the Pigeon Point Lighthouse in California

https://twitter.com/ggweather/status/1472235379801559043

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The Paul R. Tregurtha arrived in Duluth yesterday. It was another cold day-16 degrees F and there was a lot of people watching her arrive. I estimate between 75-100 (possibly more) that lined the park from the cam views shown in the video. She gave a master salute as she came in.

 


Titanic

Titanic News-Conspiracy Theories, Rare Postcard, and Unique Home You Can Have For Free

Owner of NJ Estate Wants to Give Away Historic Home for Free, But It Comes With a Catch (NBC New York, 12 Dec 2021)

The 82-year-old’s hope is to find someone to take care of the home after he dies someday, and is fine with giving it all away at no cost. But there is a catch: Whomever takes over the estate must preserve the blueprint as is.  The expansive property also includes a bamboo forest, and comes with a driveway with gates once owned by a family aboard the Titanic.

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Antiques Roadshow Expert Emotional As He Uncovers Value Of Titanic Postcard: ‘Powerful (Daily Express, 10 Dec 2021)

Antiques Roadshow visited the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth where visitors flooded in to value their most precious possessions. During the programme, expert Adam Schoon examined what looked like an ordinary postcard. Upon closer inspection, the auctioneer discovered it had been written by a passenger onboard the Titanic before it sank in 1912. The TV presenter examined the item before shocking his guest after revealing its enormous value.

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The Titanic Never Sank And Other Conspiracy Theories Surrounding The Tragic Ocean Liner (Laronge Now, 2 Dec 2021)

In recent years, conspiracy theorists started questioning the validity of this tragedy. It may sound wild, but they do have a few interesting points that we can’t ignore. It’s true that a ship sank to the North Atlantic’s floor in 1912 and that about 1,500 passengers died aboard that day. Although on the conspiracy front, some say the Titanic wasn’t exactly what British-owned parent company, the White Star Line, had promised. Some say the White Star Line switched up their ships in an insurance fraud scheme, while others contend that the sinking was plotted in order to kill specific people.

 For those interested in watching Great Lakes freighters arrive and depart from Duluth, check out the webcam. You can view ship schedules here.


Titanic

Titanic News for Thanksgiving Day

Press Release: Titanic Expedition Announced For Summer 2022; Oceangate Expeditions To Return To The Site 110 Years After The Ship’s Sinking (WFMZ, 23 Nov 2021)

OceanGate Expeditions announces its second annual expedition to the wreck of the Titanic, the 2022 Titanic Expedition. OceanGate Expeditions will charter the Cyclops-class carbon fiber and titanium submersible, Titan, to carry crewmembers to the historic maritime heritage site which sits at 3,800 meters on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean. Citizen explorers, trained as Mission Specialists, will join a cadre of archaeologists, marine biologists, and Titanic experts on the second annual expedition to study and document the Titanic in more detail than ever before. The Titan submersible is outfitted with the latest camera technologies to capture ultra-high-resolution imagery that will help determine the wreck’s rate of decay and assess the marine life that dwell on the wreck.

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Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912.
Public Domain(Wikipedia)

Mortician Reveals What Actually Happened To Titanic’s Dead Passengers (Mirror, 22 Nov 2021)

Firstly, she looked at CS Mackay-Bennett, a recovery boat that ended up finding the majority of the victims of the tragedy. She continued: “The recovery boat didn’t leave Nova Scotia until three days after the wreckage and didn’t arrive at the site until a full week later. By this time, bodies had scattered and been exposed to the elements like sea life and birds, so the men didn’t find pristine preserved corpses floating on the surface.” According to Caitlin, many of the bodies did cluster together “like a flock of seagulls in their white life jackets”. The first day, they recovered 51 bodies, and in total, the Mackay-Bennett recovered 306 bodies. She continued: “Another boat recovered 17, another boat recovered three, yet another boat recovered three people in a lifeboat a month later over 200 miles away.” Because of this, it would be impossible to figure out how many people sank to the bottom of the ocean or floated away.

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Relative Of Titanic Boss Who Supposedly Abandoned Women And Children To Drown Insists He Was ‘No Coward’ (My London, 21 Nov 2021)

They belong to Bruce’s grandson whom Clifford visited and spoke to at his home in Scotland – and, he says, they tell a very different story about this so-called cowardly man. One thing they redress is the criticism Bruce received for resigning from the White Star Line after the disaster “Documents show Bruce had actually planned to retire before Titanic sailed and had found a successor in Harold Sanderson,” says Clifford. “Also he wanted to give up the presidency of International Mercantile Marine Company – the White Star’s American parent company – but actually continue as chairman of the White Star Line, but the remaining directors didn’t want him to remain as chair in the end.” Clifford explains he hadn’t really wanted to be president of IMM in the first place and only accepted the post reluctantly after his colleagues persuaded him. So it wasn’t as if he had jumped ship after the disaster like a coward.

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Titanic Pump-House To Become Whiskey Distillery And Tourist Attraction (Belfast Live, 17 Nov 21)

The historic Titanic pump-house is set to become a whiskey distillery and new tourist attraction. Titanic Distillers have been given the green light for the redevelopment of the listed building by Belfast City Council planning committee. Based in the heart of the Titanic Quarter, it first opened in 1911 alongside its neighbouring dock and the distillery will also feature a visitors attraction so that people will be able to see the authentic Titanic landmark. Titanic Distillers Director Richard Irwin, said the company was excited that the application had been approved.

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Why The Shipyards That Built The Titanic Still Influence Belfast (National Geographic, 16 Nov 2021)

Now, a hundred years since Northern Ireland was born, this industrial site has been transformed into one of the country’s main tourism draws, home to the Titanic Belfast attraction and several historic maritime sites. The slipways where the Titanic was built are now a top outdoor performance venue in Belfast, which has just been awarded UNESCO City of Music status in recognition of its dynamic live music scene. The yards also grace the big screen in Kenneth Branagh’s new movie, Belfast, inspired by his childhood here during the turbulent 1960s.

And for your Thanksgiving Day. Here is an excerpt from the now infamous Turkey Drop episode of WKRP.


Titanic

Titanic News-Laughter on Titanic, The Man who Had the Key to Titanic Binoculars, Titanic Tour

Titanic Exhibition: The Londoner And The Captain Who Were Seized By Fits Of Giggles After The Ship Hit An Iceberg (MyLondon. 13 Nov 2021)

We’re so used to hearing tales of doom and tragedy about the sinking of the Titanic that’s it’s surprising to find a funny story about it. As a major exhibition prepares to open in London next year at an as-yet-undisclosed location to mark the 110th anniversary of the 1912 tragedy, MyLondon is investigating the lives of the Londoners who were aboard the ill-fated ship. In the process, MyLondon came across the rather incredible yet touching story of the 22-year-old signalman who was cracking up in fits of laughter while sending SOS signals from the freezing ship.

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Seaman Blamed for Sinking Titanic Was A TRUE Hero: Bravery Medals Of Officer Who Unwittingly Pocketed Key For Binoculars Cabinet Before Disembarking Doomed Ship Are Set To Fetch £15,000 At Auction (Daily Mail, 12 Nov 2021)

He’s infamous as the sailor who was blamed by some for the sinking of the Titanic, but the collection of medals which belonged to David Blair reveal his true heroism. In his haste to disembark, however, he forgot to leave a key which was needed in the crow’s nest to access binoculars and a telescope. As such, Blair is known to history for his unwitting part in the sinking – but the officer had in fact won a series of prestigious medals for his bravery and military service. Roughly a year after the Titanic sank, Aldridge was serving as first officer on the SS Majestic – another White Star ocean liner – when he swam to the rescue of a drowning man who had thrown himself overboard. For his bravery, King George V awarded Blair a Sea Gallantry Medal at Buckingham Palace. He earned further medals during the First World War, when he served with distinction in the navy.

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Travel: Titanic Tour Offers a Tale Of Two Irish Ports Linked By Tragic Ship (The Sunday Post, 12 Nov 2021)

The Titanic Centre in Belfast is one of the island’s most popular attractions. Located next to the Titanic slipways and the former shipyard Drawing Offices, the centre is at the heart of where the Titanic was planned, designed, built and launched. It took Belfast a long time to come to terms with the Titanic’s fate. The Titanic Centre was opened to mark the centenary of the sinking. The long gestation was due to a mixture of shame and embarrassment surrounding the ship’s tragic end. For a long time, the city’s tour guides quipped “she was all right when she left here” but ultimately it was realised that other cities around the world such as Halifax, Nova Scotia and Orlando, Florida were telling a story, through exhibitions, that could really only be told properly in Belfast.


Titanic

Titanic News-Baptist Preacher Heroism, Rare Titanic Plaque Up For Auction, Chinese Passengers Documentary

[Updated 11/12/21-The date on this article was incorrect and has been updated. ]

Reverend John Harper
Source: Wikipedia (via Encyclopedia-titanica.org)
Public Domain

Titanic’s Unsung Hero Put Daughter On Lifeboat But Gave His Spot To Another Child (The Mirror, 10 Nov 2021)

The final letter sent by an unsung hero of the Titanic disaster who sacrificed his own life for others has been unearthed almost 110 years later. John Harper placed his six-year-old daughter Nina and niece into lifeboat 11 but gave up the chance to go with her so another woman or child could be saved. He did so knowing the decision would likely make his daughter an orphan as her mother had previously died. As the liner began to sink Mr. Harper, a Baptist minister, ran along the flooded decks, preaching the gospel to anyone who would listen. He also gave away his own lifejacket to another men, telling him ‘you need this more than I do’, before going down with the ship.

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Titanic: Rare Plaque Salvaged From Lifeboat Unearthed After A Century Could Sell For £50k (Belfast Live, 9 Nov 2021)

An extremely rare plaque salvaged from a Titanic lifeboat has been unearthed almost 110 years on and could sell for £50,000. The cast bronze signage came from one of the 18 lifeboats deployed on the night of the disaster in 1912 in which more than 1,500 people died. They were recovered by the rescue ship RMS Carpathia and 13 of them were taken to New York with the other five set adrift. The surviving wooden lifeboat were later broken up and stripped for scrap metal. Most of these parts vanished into obscurity, with only a few items turning up at museums and in private collections. The plaques are therefore one of the “rarest types of Titanic memorabilia”.

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New Film Tells the Stories Of Six Chinese Titanic Survivors, One Of Whom Lived In Chicago  (WBEZ Chicago, 8 Nov 2021)

When survivors of the Titanic arrived in New York on a rescue ship, six Chinese survivors were sent away. A new documentary called The Six digs into these stories. Reset talks with the lead researcher of the documentary and a family member of the survivor who learned the winding story of his father’s journey to Chicago.


Titanic

Happy Monday and Titanic News

Halloween is firmly behind us and November is in front of us. Standard time has returned so its gets darker early and we have longer nights. A traditional time for warm slippers, sweaters, and if you have it, a log fire with hot cider. Not a lot of Titanic news but there are a few items you might find of interest.

Titanic: The Exhibition will be coming to London in February 2022. The exhibition has toured Europe and America  is different from the one down by Premier Exhibitions. “The Exhibition promises a fresh take on the ever-magnetic story of the world’s most famous (and infamous) ocean liner, which sunk in April 1912 on its maiden voyage, en route to New York. Alongside recreations of the ship’s cabins, radio room, and iconic staircase, 200 original objects — including personal letters and keepsakes — combine with an audio guide, for an altogether immersive-looking show (hopefully not quite as immersive as the Titanic episode of Rick and Morty, though).”

Source:

A Titanic Exhibition Is Coming To London – With Replica Interiors Of The Doomed Ship (Londonist, 27 Oct 2021)

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According to AOL News, it appears construction on the Chinese Titanic replica has restarted. Several weeks ago I posted news that construction had apparently stopped some years ago. The reasons were not clear but possibly due to money drying up. The replica would be docked at a theme park and would double as a hotel and a historic attraction. The AOL news notes this:

Drone footage filmed in the county of Daying in Sichuan Province on October 21 shows a 269.06-metre-long and 28.19-metre-wide life-size replica of the RMS Titanic ship replica temporarily dormant on the dock gathering rust. 

Now perhaps they have heard construction is about to begin again, but at the time the footage was made was still dormant. China is suffering through an economic crisis of its own right now, so it is possible that has thrown a monkey-wrench into it. So far I have not found any news articles that indicate or confirm this report. It would not be surprising if the company behind it send out something to news agencies hoping to keep interest alive. Until we see construction, there is not any news to report.


Titanic

Titanic News: Decaying Titanic, Lifeboats, and a Titanic party that went wrong

Titanic Wreck Bow
Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)

The Titanic wreck has been resting in the same spot since 1912. And until it was discovered in 1985, it was assumed to be in one piece (reports of a breakup were not believed). Various dives have shown it is really a wreck with a debris field between the bow and the stern area. Now people are alarmed at the rapid decay that seems to occurring. Some blame dives to the wreck to be the cause but it could also be nature doing what it is doing.  The truth is that Titanic was going to decay at some point leaving only the pictures, artifacts’ and stories of this historic liner.

The Geekwire story on MSN continues this trend of showing-aghast-that the decay has gotten much worse with Captain Smith’s bathtub no longer where it should be. It is still there but what had supported it has rotted away and it fell through. From what OceanGate observed, it appears Titanic is heading into the final stages of collapse. Which means down the road those expensive dives to see the wreck will come to an end.

Source:

The Disappearing Bathtub And Oceangate’s Other Tales Of The Titanic’s Rapid Decay (MSN, 18 Oct 2021)

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Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912.
Public Domain(Wikipedia)

It is always interesting when you buy a new home or land to find out what is on it. Sometimes the past owners or even more distant ones leave something behind of interest. Finding an old lifeboat from the 1930’s made by the same company that made Titanic’s lifeboats make it worth noting. The old lifeboat they found was in bad shape but perhaps with some good restoration can be made to look what it was like back then.

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Not Quite A Titanic Find: Decrepit Lifeboat In Woods From Same Company Whose Lifeboats Were In 1912 Disaster (Amherst Bulletin, 18 Oct 2021)

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“Number 1: Warp 8 Now!”

Okay I get Titanic themed parties. A lot of people did them after that famous Cameron movie. A lot of people dress up in period costumes, drink some expensive alcohol, and enjoy foods they served aboard the ship. It is a popular annual tradition around the anniversary of Titanic sinking. You can go a bit far though when you have a party that seems to make fun  or seem to mock the tragedy that happened. Apparently that is what happened when a Titanic themed party was filmed and shown on the Internet. The reaction from many was not only how tacky it was they were making fun of a tragedy. Naturally this is denied by those behind it and the video has been taken down. Still the memory lingers and I bet it is out there somewhere being watched and mocked still.

Source:

Video of Titanic-Themed Pool Party Sparks Outrage: ‘Pretty Disrespectful’ (MSN, 8 Oct 2021)

 


Titanic

LEGO Titanic is Announced

LEGO Titanic Replica
Credit: Lego

The stories around the Internet turned out to be true. LEGO is going to be selling a replica of Titanic for people to assemble at home.  It has 9, 090 pieces and is 53 inches long. So plan to have a big table to assemble and display when done. The replica includes a recreation of the ship’s bridge, promenade deck and swimming pool. It comes with a price tag of $629.99 and will be available on 8 Nov 2021.

Source:

LEGO To Release A 9,090-Piece Scale Model Of The Titanic — Its Biggest Set Ever (CNN, 8 Oct 2021)

 


Titanic

Monday Titanic News

Titanic Link With Worcester Marked With Blue Plaque After Long Campaign
Worcester News, 1 Oct 2021

Henry went down with the ship, but Kate, who was 19, escaped on the last lifeboat and nine months later gave birth to a little girl. The campaign to recognise that baby as the “youngest survivor of The Titanic” has been a long one, but in December last year Ellen Mary Walker’s granddaughter Beverley Roberts and Duncan Morley, a relative of Henry Morley, achieved a DNA match which proved the indelible link between the two families.“


Titanic

Titanic News: Ballard on Secret Mission;Titanic Movie Stars Helped Titanic Survivor; Changes to Maritime Law Coming

The US Navy Backed The Hunt For Titanic In Part Because The Explorer Who Found It Argued It Would ‘Drive The Soviets Crazy,’ Book Reveals Business Insider (India), 23 Sep 2021

The man who found the Titanic did so with help from the US Navy, and he got that much needed support in part by convincing the Navy that finding the shipwreck would “drive the Soviets crazy,” renowned explorer Robert Ballard reveals in the new book “Into The Deep,” which was co-written with investigative reporter Christopher Drew. Over the course of his celebrated career, Ballard has discovered the wrecks of the Nazi battleship Bismarck, the US aircraft carrier Yorktown, and US patrol torpedo boat PT-109 (commanded by then Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy). But his most recognizable discovery was the British passenger ship Titanic that sank in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912, ending more than 1,500 lives.

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When the Stars of Titanic Helped Pay the Bills for the Last Titanic Survivor MSN (via Mental_Floss), 24 Sep 2021

So in early May of that year, Irish author Don Mullan, a longtime friend of Dean’s, led the charge to raise money for her. He himself sold copies of a photo he’d taken of Dean and turned his earnings over to what was dubbed the “Millvina Fund.” And then he called upon the major players in the making of 1997’s Titanic—namely, James Cameron, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, 20th Century Fox, and Celine Dion—to match his contribution. “There were people out there who could, and I felt, morally should, help her. To fail Millvina Dean, the last tangible living link to the Titanic, would make a mockery of the world’s expressed concern for the tragedy,” Mullan explained to Independent.ie. His public plea actually worked. According to Reuters, Cameron, Winslet, and DiCaprio gave a combined $30,000 to the fund. Dean, for her part, was mainly just bothered by the influx of phone calls brought on by the attention.

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Bill Would Change Maritime Liability Rules After Boat Fire MSN (via AP), 22 Sept 2021

Federal lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday that would change 19th century maritime liability rules in response to the 2019 boat fire off the coast of Southern California that killed 34 people. The bill would update the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, under which boat owners can limit their liability to the value of the remains of the vessel. The legislation would be retroactively applied to the families of Conception victims if it passes, officials said. The tragedy was one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent U.S. history.