April 14: The Titanic Strikes an Iceberg (1912)
Prayer Idea
Pray for people who work and travel on ships.
History Note
The Titanic ocean liner left Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. After stops in France and Ireland, it headed across the Atlantic Ocean toward New York City. About 2,200 people were on board.
The ship struck an iceberg on the evening of April 14 about 700 miles southeast of Newfoundland. The ship began to sink, and the crew began to put passengers on lifeboats. At maximum capacity, the available lifeboats could only hold about half of the passengers and crew, and some lifeboats were launched with room for more people.
The Titanic sent distress signals to other ships in the area, but those ships were not able to arrive for several hours. Only 705 people were able to escape the shipwreck. Approximately 1,500 died in the cold waters of the Atlantic.
The Titanic was one of three similar ships built around the same time for the White Star Line. The other two ships were the Olympic and the Britannic. The Olympic was involved in a collision in 1911 in the English Channel but was able to return to port. In 1916, during World War I, the Britannic struck a mine in the Aegean Sea. The ship sank, but most of the passengers and crew survived. The Britannic had more than enough lifeboats.
Violet Jessop (1887-1971) was born in Argentina to Irish immigrant parents. She worked as a stewardess on the Olympic and the Titanic and then as a nurse on the Britannic and was involved in all three of the incidents mentioned above. She survived them all!
Learn More
Watch this video about the construction and the sinking of the Titanic.
Explore more resources at Homeschool History.
