Picture of the Day: April 15

The ‘Unsinkable’ Titanic
The White Star Line’s Titanic–shown here departing Southhampton, England, on her maiden voyage to New York on April 10, 1912–struck an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912. The collision opened five forward compartments along the starboard side. At 2:20 a.m., two hours and 40 minutes after impact, the magnificent ship once thought to be unsinkable disappeared beneath the sea with the loss of about 1,522 lives. Because there were lifeboats for only half those on board, only 705 passengers and crew survived the disaster. Among the survivors was J. Bruce Ismay, president of the White Star Line, who telegraphed his New York office, ‘Deeply regret advise you Titanic sank this morning after collision with iceberg, resulting in serious loss of life. Full particulars later.’