Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912. Public Domain(Wikipedia)
The Daily Mail has an article about a new book by author James Bancroft. This new book, titled ‘Iceberg Ahead,’ contains various survivor accounts to make the tragedy more personal. Some of the accounts are related in the news story. I think what makes this interesting is that it tries to get a good cross section of survivors who each have an interesting story to tell.
Joseph Laroche (seated right), with his family; wife, Juliette (centre), elder daughter, Simonne (left) and younger daughter, Louise (centre, seated).1911 Source:Wikipedia
The wreck killed more than 1,500 people, and the last survivor who was aboard the Titanic passed away in 2009. While there were many victims taken by the Titanic sinking, history has unveiled that there was just one black passenger aboard the ship. That man was Joseph Laroche. The Noble Maritime Collection, located on the grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Livingston, will virtually present the story of Laroche through a lecture titled “Untold Stories of the Titanic: The Only Black Passenger,” by Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson Saturday, March 6.
Research has found that Iowa has ties to the most famous shipwreck in history. Some of the people who were on the Titanic on that fatal day had connections with Iowa. Many of the passengers were immigrants who were coming to the Midwest for opportunity. Some passengers were directly tied to farming while others were looking for job opportunities.Although Iowa story teller Darcy Maulsby knew of a few Iowa families who were on the Titanic, she was surprised to discover that there were even more involved.
The Triton 13000/2 Titanic Explorer will be the deepest diving acrylic bubble sub ever built, by a long way. It’ll be capable of diving to 4,000 m (13,123 ft), making it the only transparent sphere that can take you and a buddy down to the wreck of the Titanic, some 3,800 m (12,500 ft) under the surface. Triton’s dropped in on Jack and Rose’s love nest once before, mind you, back in 2019. But to do so, it needed to use its monstrous 36000/2 sub, which has a titanium sphere hull capable of taking two people to the bottom of the Marianas trench. Indeed, it was the first manned mission to the Titanic wreck in some 14 years, so rather a special achievement.
This is a follow up on SS Keewatin, and in video only format.
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
What is certain is that it must have remained in the same place for a long time: those huge mountains of ice float adrift until over time, they become part of the liquid water of the ocean.
It was reported today that veteran actor Christopher Plummer passed away at age 91. He was a terrific actor who elevated even ordinary movies. He shot to fame playing Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. He did not like how his character was drawn. Nor did the real Trapp family children. Aside from the usual liberties taken with the story (and changing the gender of the two oldest from boys to girls!) they were empathetic that their father was nothing like the stage or the movie presentation. And he certainly did not make them wear sailor’s outfits as well. At any rate, Christopher Plummer will be long remembered for the many roles he played on stage, film, and even on the small screen. RIP Christopher Plummer.
March 6, 1912: Titanic (right) had to be moved out of the drydock so her sister Olympic (left), which had lost a propeller, could have it replaced. Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff Public domain
RMS Titanic Inc has formally notified the federal court overseeing the salvage award that it is postponing retrieval of the Marconi wireless from Titanic. However it does plan to eventually do this at some point once logistics and income from exhibitions makes it feasible. There is no date given when they might try again.
It cited the “increasing difficulty associated with international travel and logistics, and the associated health risks to the expedition team”, as well as a lack of revenue due to visitor numbers to its vast collection of Titanic artifacts plummeting amid the pandemic. RMS Titanic Inc has also had to lay off high-profile experts in the field: Dave Gallo, PH Nargeolet, Bill Sauder and William Lange. The company, however, maintained that it’s financially secure. It said the radio expedition remains a top priority and will “take place as soon as reasonably practicable”. The postponement is likely to increase fears that the priceless artifacts hidden in the wreckage may not survive if left for too long.
An official LEGO recreation of the Titanic may be on the way later in 2021, according to a new rumour. Eurobricks user VanIslandLego told YouTuber Brother From Another Brick that the second half of 2021 will see the release of a LEGO Titanic set. The same user was apparently responsible for the first rumours around 10274 Ghostbusters ECTO-1 and 10276 Colosseum, lending some veracity to the report.
“Awesome” and “fantastic” are just some of the words used to describe a County Durham schoolboy’s snow sculpture after it went viral on social media. During last week’s snow fall, six-year-old Lewis Maddick used his day off from school to create a replica of the Titanic. His recreation of the historical ship was so impressive it immediately attracted attention when his mum Fiona shared a picture of it on Facebook. And fellow Titanic-fanatics were in awe of the snow ship when a Titanic museum in America shared Lewis’ work on their Facebook page, Titanic Museum Attraction.
Titanic II?
There have been some news articles of late about Titanic II sailing in 2022. The Standard recently reported it was back on again. It pointed to a posting on Facebook but the Facebook page most recent posting is 2 Feb 2020 where Palmer says to await further announcements later in the year about Titanic II. A check of the Blue Star Line website shows the latest news was from 2018 on CNN where the article states it will launch in 2022. What this looks like is recycling old news or making old news looking like new. So it looks like there is nothing to report here.
The British passenger liner, under the captaincy of Edward Smith, had roughly 2,400 passengers on board when it struck an iceberg shortly before midnight on April 14, 1912. The devastating event saw more than 1,500 people lose their lives on the “unsinkable” vessel in one of modern history’s deadliest commercial marine disasters. An official inquiry into the incident by the British Wreck Commissioner found the owners – White Star – were not to blame, but in the years since numerous myths have developed over the story.
According to expert Tim Maltin, one of these surrounds how the vessel went down. Famous sketches over the years have depicted the front of the ship raised, as the back appears to slowly disappear below the waves. But Mr Maltin told historian Dan Snow that “sadly, this is a myth” during his appearance on History Hit’s documentary ‘Debunking the Myths of the Titanic’.
The Independent is reporting that items from Titanic rescue ship Carpathia have been auctioned off by a U.S. auction house. Single lumps of coal were purchased for $600, binoculars went for $1,600, and a intact Pepsi bottle sold for $2,000 were among the items auctioned off. The online auction was done by Ahlers & Ogletree of Atlanta, Georgia.
Photo: Public Domain (Library and Archives Canada / PA-122236)
It appears plans to retrieve the Marconi wireless radio from Titanic are in jeopardy. Due to Covid-19 closing many of their exhibitions (and only a few open with limited availability), income for Premier Exhibitions has dropped significantly. Premier has already missed a required court deadline about submitting costs for the proposed salvage.
The company, RMS Titanic Inc., said Monday that its revenues plummeted after coronavirus restrictions closed its exhibits of Titanic artifacts, causing the firm to seek funding through its parent company. Some of the exhibitions, which are scattered across the country, are still closed, while others that have reopened are seeing limited attendance. RMS Titanic Inc. recently missed a deadline with a federal admiralty court in Virginia to submit a funding plan for the radio expedition. The company left open the possibility that it may no longer seek the court’s approval for the undertaking if a plan isn’t submitted in the coming weeks.
Mrs. J.J. “Molly” Brown presenting trophy cup award to Capt. Arthur Henry Rostron, for his service in the rescue of the Titanic. Photo:Public Domain (US Library of Congress, digital id# cph 3c21013)
James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film Titanic was noted at the time for its historical accuracy. The filmmaker for example included many of the real-life passengers in the telling of his story. Probably the most famous first-class passenger of the real Titanic that was featured in the movie was Margaret “Molly” Brown.
The objects from the RMS Carpathia are historically significant and Ahlers & Ogletree is honored to be selling them. All items come with a conservation/condition report and a certificate of authenticity. Collectors of ocean liner memorabilia will be drawn to these:
Pair of binoculars with glass lenses, unmarked, 3 ¾ inches wide (est. $500-$700).
Brass ship’s bridge engine order telegraph on a base, likely made by A. Robinson & Co., Ltd. (Liverpool England, founded 1760), 48 inches tall (est. $500-$700).
First class Mintons ‘Ormond’ pattern blue and white floral partial pottery saucer with Cunard Line logo, stamped to bottom, 6 ½ inches diameter (est. $300-$500).
Pepsi-Cola bottle, molded colorless glass with swirled body, the front having raised letters reading “Pepsi-Cola”, a little over 6 ½ inches tall (est. $200-$400).
Contrary to TikTok shenanigans, the boat is neither the RMS Titanic nor the Ottoman frigate Ertu?rul that is sometimes referred to as “the Titanic of Turkey.”
And here is some music for your Friday. Dean Martin sings Luna Mezzo Mare. If you watched The Godfather, this was sung in the wedding scene. It is a fun song to listen to (there are many places on the Internet to get the lyrics). When I first heard, I had no idea why everyone around me was laughing. Then I was told the lyrics and laughed as well.
Although Titanic is based on the real-life sinking of the ship and even added some real-life characters, not everything in the movie actually happened, and Cameron had to either change, add, or embellish some details to fit the story he wanted to tell. Here’s how much of James Cameron’s Titanic is real.
“Sultana” at Helena, Arkansas, just prior to its explosion on April 27, 1865. Photo: Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress, digital id#cph.3a48909)
The Sultana, with a legal capacity of 376, was overloaded with Union soldiers recently freed from Confederate prisons in Alabama and Georgia. They were trying to get home to the Midwest after a long march to Vicksburg to board the ship. About 1,400 people died in the disaster, said Louis Intres, a retired history professor from Arkansas State University. “We know over 2,200 were aboard the steamboat,” Intres said. By comparison, about 1,500 people died on the Titanic, a British ocean liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912. Intres said the Sultana was about 1/14th the size of the Titanic.
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