EXHIBITION GUIDE
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M AY 3 0, 2 0 1 8 , T H R O U G H JANUARY 6, 2019
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N ATG E O MU S E UM .O RG
FA R R AG U T N O RT H & W E S T
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The Titanic, underwater
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STAFF MIKE ULICA, Interim President and CEO KATHRYN KEANE, Vice President, Public Experiences ALAN PARENTE, Creative Director, Exhibitions GREG MCGRUDER, Vice President, Live Events and Experiences TIBOR ACS, Multimedia and AV Manager ERIN BRANIGAN, Exhibition Content Specialist KALLIE BRENNAN, Visitor Experience Supervisor
PHOTO: EMORY KRISTOF
CONTENTS
IVAN (SPANKY) CAMPBELL, Technical Coordinator SETH DE MATTIES, Manager, Traveling Exhibitions BRIANNA DEORSEY, Group Sales Coordinator CYNTHIA DOUMBIA, Manager, International Traveling Exhibitions AARON FRANCO, Senior Graphic Designer KYLE GARBER, Manager, Visitor Experience CHARLETTE HOVE, Exhibitions Designer LAUREN IPPOLITO, Exhibitions Manager LINDSAY MARCUS, Manager, Museum and Ticketing Operations RICH MCWALTERS, Museum Operations Director Emeritus EDWARD MOONEY, Manager, Exhibition Development IVO MORALES, Manager, Museum Operations
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W E LC OM E
E X P LO R E MO R E !
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ABOUT THE MUSEUM
THREE QUESTIONS F O R R O B E RT BALLARD
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T H E DA R I N G RESCUE OF THE T I TA N I C
JOEL PERSELS, Technical Coordinator ALLISON SHELLY, Visitor Experience Supervisor BRIT SHOAF, Lead Exhibition Designer JEFF THOMAS, Print Production Technician ELLEN TOZER, Store Manager JEN WALLACE, Director, Traveling Exhibitions Special thanks to the Marketing and Engagement team, Wesley Della Volla, Sonya Edelman, Vanessa Serrao, Daniella Thompson, Gillian Willman and our Visitor Experience team.
I N N E R S PA C E : THE FUTURE OF OCEAN E X P LO R AT I O N
26 T H E PA S S E N G E R S
O U R PA RT N E R S DESIGN AND EDITORIAL PROVIDED BY E-SQUARED EDITORIAL SERVICES EMILY ESTERSON, Editor GLENNA STOCKS, Art Director ALISSA KINNEY MOE, Managing Editor
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PHOTOS: ABOVE, NGM ART; BELOW, REBECCA HALE
WELCOME F ROM T H E MU S E UM D I R E C TO R Every great story has a timeless quality about it—layers of meaning and mystery that allow us to tell it again and again, learning something new each time. The story of the Titanic is iconic—an epic tragedy, a sudden and senseless loss of life, and a reminder of the limits of technology and human achievement. Yet it is also a story of discovery and exploration, of searching for truth and answers in the deepest and most forbidding part of the ocean. We now have a new chapter to add to that story. It is a chapter that was tucked away as classified information for many years and provides a fascinating window into the Cold War era. Many thanks to our colleagues at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, the National Archives and Records Administration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Naval History and Heritage Command, Lightstorm Entertainment, 21st Century Fox archives, and the many collectors and lenders who are sharing important artifacts and images that have helped bring this exhibition to the National Geographic Museum. K AT H RY N K E A N E VICE PRESIDENT PUBLIC EXPERIENCES N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C
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A V I RT U A L W O N D E R
E X H I B I T I O N O P E N T H R O U G H J A N U A RY 6 , 2 0 1 9 Learn the fascinating history of the iconic Church of the Holy Sepulchre and be transported to Jerusalem for an immersive 3-D experience unlike anything you’ve seen in a museum before.
TICKETS AT NATGEOMUSEUM.ORG WA S H I N G T O N , D C
ABOUT THE MUSEUM Exhibitions at the National Geographic Museum showcase bold people and transformative ideas in the fields of exploration, scientific research, storytelling, and education. With a wide range of changing exhibitions, the National Geographic Museum is a perfect destination for all ages. Visitors get to know the work of National Geographic Explorers, photographers, and scientists through engaging, dynamic exhibitions featuring everything from iconic photography and world-famous artifacts to interactive learning stations and behind-the-scenes stories.
Centrally located in downtown D.C., just a few blocks from the White House, the museum is Metro accessible via the Red, Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines. Tickets for the exhibition can be purchased online or in person.
Visit N ATG E O M U S E U M .O RG for more information.
PHOTO: REBECCA HALE
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THE UNTOLD S TO RY
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Robert Ballard, left, and crew studying a diagram of the Titanic; below, the remotely operated vehicle Alvin
THE TITANIC AND THE COLD WAR—two seemingly unrelated
PHOTOS: EMORY KRISTOF
subjects that have more to do with one another than it first appears. In 1985, the world was stunned by the announcement that Robert Ballard, Ph.D., and his colleagues had discovered the wreck of the R.M.S. Titanic, 73 years after its sinking. But the circumstances surrounding the landmark find were kept top secret until 2008, when the full story was revealed. Ballard’s search for the Titanic was actually the cover story for a classified Navy mission to investigate the remains of two nuclear submarines that sank in the 1960s. T I TA N I C
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PHOTOS: ABOVE, COURTESY LIEUTENANT JOHN R. HOLLAND, U.S. NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND; RIGHT, U.S. NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND; OPPOSITE TOP, EMORY KRISTOF
The United States commissioned several classes of advanced nuclear submarines during the Cold War. The U.S.S. Scorpion was an example of a Skipjack-class submarine, the fastest, quietest, and deepesttraveling submarine class at the time. The Thresher-class submarine, named after the U.S.S. Thresher, was developed shortly thereafter and proved to be a significant improvement over the Skipjack class, with better sonar, diving depth, and silencing capability. The complex mission of these subs was to deter nuclear attack, mount antisubmarine warfare, and covertly gather intelligence about Soviet activities, but disaster befell both the Scorpion and the Thresher.
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The tow sled, Argo; left, the U.S.S. Scorpion; below, the U.S.S. Thresher
On April 10, 1963, the Thresher sank during a deep-diving test 220 miles off the coast of Boston. The Navy determined that a power failure caused an electrical short aboard the Thresher, sparking an implosion that sank the submarine. Five years later, the Scorpion was lost under more mysterious circumstances. The sub was returning from naval exercises in the Mediterranean when it was sent on a top secret mission to investigate a Soviet flotilla of warships and submarines off the coast of Portugal. The Scorpion communicated that it had completed its mission and was headed home. It never arrived. Some speculated that the Scorpion had been destroyed by the Soviets in retaliation for spying. In 1982, Ballard, an oceanographer and Navy Reserve commanding officer, met with Admiral N. Ronald Thunman about funding a new unmanned deepwater exploration sled, the Argo. Thunman said the Navy would fund the project on one condition: He wanted Ballard to use it to explore the Thresher and Scorpion wreck sites. The mission was threefold: determine if the nuclear reactors had leaked radiation; collect forensic evidence to determine the cause of the Scorpion wreck; and reclaim any nuclear weapons to keep them from falling into the wrong hands. T I TA N I C
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The Knorr research ship; below, the Alvin; below right, Ballard and crew, circa 1986
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But the Cold War continued. To divert suspicion about Ballard’s activities, the top secret mission needed a cover. The Titanic was somewhere between the two subs; if anyone asked, Ballard could say he was looking for the famous shipwreck. And after he completed his work for the Navy, he was welcome to explore what he wanted with the remaining time and money. By July 1984, Argo was ready for its first sea test, exploring the wreck site of the Thresher. Argo’s advanced digital mapping and imaging systems allowed Ballard to see even the smallest pieces of debris from the Thresher strewn over a mile-long trail. From this, he learned how ocean currents affect sinking debris. Using information about that debris field, Ballard set sail again the following summer to explore Scorpion’s final resting site. Ballard and his crew, along with French researchers and a National Geographic photography and film crew, boarded the research vessel Knorr in the Azores, an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic. But only Ballard and just a few other naval intelligence officers on the ship knew their true mission. Somehow, Ballard and the other Navy intelligence officers were able to keep the real mission secret. Once they’d fully mapped the site, Ballard had just 12 days left to explore. Relying on the information he’d learned from locating the
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PHOTOS: OPPOSITE TOP, EMORY KRISTOF; OPPOSITE BOTTOM, JAMES P. BLAIR; BELOW, EMORY KRISTOF
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Left, telemotor from the Titanic; right, a piece of the hull; below, a map of the debris field
PHOTOS: ABOVE LEFT AND RIGHT, EMORY KRISTOF; BELOW, RICHARD SCHLECHT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
two subs—sea currents create a debris field when a ship sinks, carrying lighter material farther away—Ballard turned his ship toward the last known location of the Titanic. Using Argo, he began to search for the Titanic’s debris field. After only nine days, he located it, just as he had with the two submarines. On September 1, 1985, Ballard called Thunman on the Navy telephone, saying simply, “We found it.” National Geographic magazine featured the landmark discovery on the cover of its December 1985 issue. Ballard returned to the wreck site in 1986 with National Geographic photographer Emory Kristof. They deployed Jason Jr., a remotely operated vehicle tethered to Alvin, one of the world’s first deep-ocean manned submersibles. This expedition provided some of the first underwater photographs of the interior of the ship.
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728 King Street Alexandria VA
Opening Summer 2018 at The Wharf Washington DC
TO OLS FOR THE TASK | DEEP-SEA EXPLORATION Technology that can withstand the pressure of the ocean depths to allow researchers to collect clear images and sounds and map the ocean’s many geological formations is relatively new. These vessels have played a key role in ocean exploration over the past 50 years.
ARGO
I S A 1 5 - F O O T- L O N G UNMANNED TOW SLED with an array of cameras, lights, and sonar.
A RG O c a n o p e r a t e 2 4 H O U R S A DAY a t d e p t h s o f u p t o 2 0,0 0 0 F E E T.
A RG O
A LV I N
is a DEEP-SEA SUBMERSIBLE capable of carrying three pass engers to a depth of
A LV I N
1 4 , 0 0 0 F E E T. JASON JR.
JA S O N J R .
Alvin has made
12 DIVE S TO THE TITANIC to take photos
and to test Jason Jr.
Jason Jr. was deployed from Alvin and
is a small remotely operated vehicle that pioneered using fiber optics in the deep ocean.
USED TO EXPLORE THE INTERIOR OF THE TITANIC IN 1986. It was a prototype for Jason.
J A S O N /M E D E A I S A R E M O T E LY O P E R AT E D T W O - B O DY S Y S T E M . M E D E A i s a te t h e r t h a t buffers JASON from the ocean’s surface motion.
JA S O N / MEDEA
JASON
i s e q u i p p e d w i t h s o n a r, v i d e o, a n d s t i l l c a m e ra s a n d l i g h t i n g .
THE ACOUSTICALLY NAVIGATED GEOLOGICAL UNDERWATER SURVEY (ANGUS) was the first unmanned search and survey system developed by
ANGUS
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Designed to go
20,000 FEET below the ocean’s surface, it can survey
98 P E RC E N T
of the ocean floor.
PHOTOS: TOP BY EMORY KRISTOF; ARGO PHOTO BY EMORY KRISTOF; ALVIN PHOTO BY EMORY KRISTOF; JASON JR., JASON/MEDEA, AND ANGUS COPYRIGHT WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION
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TRUMMER’S ON MAIN in charming
Clifton, Virginia
TrummersOnMain.com
I N N E R S PAC E THE FUTURE O F O C E A N E X P L O R AT I O N IF IT HADN’T BEEN FOR
or even home offices and
OCEANOGRAPHER Robert
schools. Although telepresence
Ballard’s desire to stop “commut-
technology isn’t new, its use in
ing” to the ocean floor—traveling
oceanographic exploration is
five hours, round trip—we may
relatively recent.
never have found the Titanic, been able to piece together the
DEEP DIVES
Scorpion’s final hours, or learned
Filmmaker James Cameron has
so much about underwater geol-
long been obsessed with ocean
ogy, history, and archaeology.
exploration. Best known for his films The Abyss, Titanic, and
PHOTO COURTESY MICHAEL LOMBARDI
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Like space, the world below the
Avatar, Cameron made multiple
surface of the ocean isn’t hospi-
underwater dives to visit and
table to humankind. But thanks
film the sunken Titanic in the
to satellite-connected deep-sea
1990s. By 2012, he had his sights
unmanned submersibles, we can
set on a new underwater goal:
now tele-transport to the ocean
to reach the ocean’s deepest
depths in real time. Robots,
point, the bottom of the
driven by land-based researchers,
Mariana Trench, some 6.6 miles
are capable of traveling as deep
below the surface. On March 26,
as 20,000 feet under the sea
2012, the filmmaker—also a
to scan the ocean floor. Using
National Geographic Explorer-
satellite transmissions and
at-Large—piloted his one-of-
super-bandwidth internet,
a-kind submersible, Deepsea
they transmit data in real time
Challenger, to set a world record
to shore-based research centers
for the deepest solo dive, cap-
N ATG E O M U S E U M .O R G
Exploring the deep-sea warm water reefs
“ T H E R E ’ S P R O B A B LY M O R E H I S TO RY N OW P R E S E RV E D U N D E R WAT E R T H A N IN ALL THE MUSEUMS O F T H E WO R L D C O M B I N E D.” — RO B E RT B A L L A R D, P H . D. turing the imagination of a new
make it safer for humans to
generation of explorers.
explore the ocean from land, others prefer to see the ecology
UNDERSEA DRONE S
undersea firsthand, at depths
These days, you don’t have to
that are unfriendly to the human
be a famous explorer to visit
body. National Geographic Ex-
the ocean floor: A new class of
plorer Michael Lombardi, who
personal underwater devices
specializes in the study of deep-
can be operated with nothing
sea warm-water reefs, created
more than a gaming console.
an underwater habitat that
The Trident, developed by
lets divers stay down longer.
National Geographic Emerging
It works by allowing divers to
Explorer David Lang, travels at
decompress inside their habitat,
four knots per hour underwa-
and then return to the ocean for
ter and comes equipped with
more study.
a high-resolution camera. This class of personal drone opens
We’ve entered a new age of
the ocean floor to all of us.
ocean exploration. Ballard said, “We can move the spirit and
S TAY D O W N L O N G E R
leave the body safely behind.”
While machines and technology T I TA N I C
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EXPLORE MORE! Taste of the Titanic J U LY 2 5
from pioneering ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau’s expeditions—during this
Presented in Partnership With On Tap
special event led by National Geographic
Experience the golden age of transatlantic
Senior Photo Archivist Sara Manco and
steamship travel through a one-of-a-
Archive Director Renee Braden.
kind culinary journey provided by top D.C. restaurants and bars. Sample food from the haute cocktails served in the
Insider Tour and Reception: Titanic
first-class dining room to the rustic fare
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in the third-class saloon.
Join Titanic discoverer and National
and drinks from the actual Titanic menu,
After-Hours: Titanic SEPTEMBER 21 Presented in Partnership With Brightest Young Things
Geographic Explorer-at-Large Robert Ballard, Ph.D, for an intimate guided tour of our immersive exhibition, and hear his firsthand account of how a top secret Cold War mission led to the sunken ship’s discovery. Then, mingle with National
Your heart will go on during this colossal
Geographic experts who will share exclu-
after-hours campus takeover by Bright-
sive content from our archives.
est Young Things, featuring guest DJs, National Geographic Explorer lightning talks, a photobooth and caricature artist,
Exploring Ocean Worlds
a costume contest, access to the “Titanic:
O C TO B E R 2 5
The Untold Story” exhibition, beer
Discover how groundbreaking research in
from Old Bust Head Brewing Company,
the deepest part of our oceans is giving
era-themed cocktails, and more.
us insights into other ocean worlds— helping to unlock the mysteries of those
From the Archive: Into the Deep O C TO B E R 4
worlds—including whether we are alone in the universe—with oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer-at-Large Robert Ballard, NASA scientist and
We’re combing through our expansive
National Geographic Explorer Kevin
archives to share rarely seen video, imag-
Hand, and Woods Hole Oceanographic
es, and artifacts from 100 years of deep-
Institution scientists Chris German, Tim
sea exploration—like exclusive photos
Shank, and Julie Huber.
ALL EVENTS take place at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C. PURCHASE TICKETS AT NATGEO.ORG/TITANICEVENTS 18
N ATG E O M U S E U M .O R G
PHOTOS: ABOVE, BERT FOX; RIGHT, MARK THIESSEN
THREE QUESTIONS FOR
RO B E RT BA L L A R D ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST
itus research scholar at Woods Hole
ACCOMPLISHED DEEP-SEA EXPLORERS,
Oceanographic Institution, and a Na-
Robert Ballard, Ph.D., is best known for
tional Geographic Explorer-at-Large.
his historic discoveries of hydrothermal vents, the sunken R.M.S. Titanic, and the wreck of the German battleship
H O W D I D YO U G E T
Bismarck. Ballard served in the U.S.
I N V O LV E D I N S E A R C H I N G
Navy as an intelligence officer and
FOR THE THRESHER
was a Navy Reserve commander. He
AND THE SCORPION,
is a pioneer in the development of
A N D T H E N T H E T I TA N I C ?
deep-submergence and telepresence
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technology, and his vessel Nautilus is
I was a naval intelligence officer and an
connected to the University of Rhode
oceanographer. This was not my first ro-
Island’s Inner Space Center by way of a
deo, but it’s the only one I can talk about.
satellite link—and from there to the rest
I wanted to develop Argo, but the Navy
of the world. Ballard hopes to educate,
wanted to know about the status of the
inspire, and mentor the next genera-
nuclear reactors on the two submarines.
tion of ocean explorers. He is director
We found that both submarine reactors
of the Center for Ocean Exploration at
had automatically shut down, so there
the University of Rhode Island’s Gradu-
was no radioactivity. We then went in
ate School of Oceanography, president
the wreckage and captured fish, be-
of the Ocean Exploration Trust, emer-
cause multiple generations of marine
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organisms have come and gone around
W H AT I S I T L I K E
those submarines. Turns out the vessels
O N T H E N AU T I L U S ?
had no impact on the ecology, which was good news. In the case of the Scorpion,
Imagine Lewis and Clark with a flash-
they wanted me to do a forensic analysis
light. That’s the Nautilus: It can go to
so investigators could determine what
great depths. Its vehicles are flying
killed the Scorpion. I was in a very dicey
along the bottom, and it comes across
situation because I had French research-
something, like a crazy creature no
ers and National Geographic camera-
one’s ever seen—that’s very common.
men on board who weren’t supposed
We might get on the phone and call an
to know what I was doing. We headed
expert at home. That expert can boot
to the Scorpion, which was south of the
up their laptop computer and see what
Azores. The Titanic was west. Would
we’re seeing on nautiluslive.org. They
they notice? No, they didn’t!
can even drive the vehicle (although it’s easier to navigate from the back seat).
W H AT I S YO U R F AV O R I T E
*This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
D I S C O V E RY A N D W H Y ? Our discovery of hydrothermal vents in 1977 was a massive game changer in science. Prior to that discovery, the scientific community believed all life was dependent upon the sun and that for a planet to support life it had to be located around a friendly star where the temperature is just right. That all changed when we discovered a complex ecosystem with large animals in large numbers and with great diversity that were not living off the sun, but off the energy of Earth itself. We always knew that life on Earth began in the sea, but we did not know where and how it got a foothold. This discovery answered that question. T I TA N I C
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The “unsinkable� Titanic at port; below right, lifeboats on their way to the Carpathia; Captain Rostron of the Carpathia
Right: Dr. Moropoulou and her team share the images with church leaders.
T H E DA R I N G RESCUE OF T H E T I TA N I C Conservators used groundpenetrating radar to scan for voids in the structure.
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PHOTOS: LEFT, COURTESY OF JOSEPH H. BAILEY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE; BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT, GEORGE GRANTHAM BAIN COLLECTION, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION
THE MAGNIFICENT SHIP HAD BEEN DEEMED “UNSINKABLE.” Despite this claim by the White Star Line—the company that designed and built the ill-fated Titanic—the liner was still outfitted with more lifeboats than were required by law. And though the number of seats on the Titanic’s lifeboats totaled fewer than the number of people aboard, these small vessels were meant only to ferry passengers and crew to larger ships that would take them to safety, should the unthinkable occur. And it did: On the night of April 14, 1912, as the Titanic was making its maiden voyage across the Atlantic towards New York, the now famous cry rang out: “Iceberg, dead ahead!” The ship’s wireless operators sent out distress signals to any and all ships in the vicinity that could help. One of the ships that raced to the Titanic’s aid was the Carpathia, which made its way through the icy waters and saved hundreds of the Titanic’s passengers. In fact, the distress signal reached the Carpathia’s wireless operator, Harold Cottam, just as he was preparing to turn in for the night, a fateful 10 minutes later than usual. Upon hearing the Titanic’s signal, Cottam alerted the Carpathia’s captain, Arthur Henry Rostron, who immediately instructed the crew to set off in the direction of the Titanic and make rescue preparations, bringing blankets and medical supplies up to the deck. As the Carpathia came into view, the Titanic’s surviving passengers and crew members burned papers and other objects in an effort to capture the ship’s attention through the dark night.
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TOP LEFT, COURTESY JOSEPH P. BAILEY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE; RIGHT TOP AND BOTTOM, GEORGE GRANTHAM BAIN COLLECTION, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION; RIGHT MIDDLE, COURTESY JOSEPH P. BAILEY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE; FAR RIGHT, RAYMOND WONG/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
Captain Rostron later said that he feared his ship had arrived too late, but that when he finally saw a lifeboat from the Titanic floating eerily through the waves, he was relieved to realize that his crew could save at least some of the sunken ship’s passengers. The Carpathia transported just over 700 survivors to New York, where many reached land with nothing to their names but the nightmare they had just endured. Funds were set up for the victims, the U.S. government launched a formal inquiry, and ships were sent to recover bodies and personal effects from the frigid North Atlantic waters. The crew of the Carpathia was honored with medallions for their heroism that night. Just six years later, the Carpathia itself would sink during World War I, after being hit by a German submarine torpedo.
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T I TA N I C LO R E AND LEGEND The story of the Titanic has continuously captured imaginations and been commemorated in countless books, plays, movies, and songs. Below are a few well-known works dedicated to or inspired by the tragic sinking. SAVED FROM THE TITANIC (silent movie – 1912) THE TITANIC (song by Ernest Stoneman – 1924) CAVALCADE (play – 1931) THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (book – 1949) TITANIC (movie – 1953) A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (book – 1955; movie – 1958) Top, the Titanic in the Belfast shipyard; middle, aboard the Carpathia; below, waiting for survivors.
THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (Broadway musical – 1960) TITANIC (miniseries – 1996) TITANIC: A NEW MUSICAL (Broadway musical – 1997) TITANIC (movie – 1997) T I TA N I C
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John Astor and the future Madeleine Force Astor in 1911; right, Molly Brown.
T H E PA S S E N G E R S O F T H E T I TA N I C THE R.M.S. TITANIC was trans-
were passengers of all classes and
porting roughly 2,220 people to
crew members of all ranks.
New York on the night of April
PHOTOS: ABOVE AND OPPOSITE, GEORGE GRANTHAM BAIN COLLECTION, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION
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14, 1912, when the unthinkable
The Titanic accommodated three
happened. The “unsinkable” ship
passenger classes. Those trans-
hit an iceberg and, less than three
ported in first class enjoyed an
hours later, sank beneath the
opulent dining room, a lounge,
waves, taking with her more than
reading rooms, a gym, a Turkish
1,500 souls. Among those saved
bath, and a smoking room—but
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they paid dearly for such amenities. The most expensive suite aboard the ship cost £660 (about $81,000 today). Among the firstclass passengers were politicians, businessmen, entertainers, and other wealthy individuals. Second-class passengers—mostly middle class, such as professors and tourists—had similar accommodations, but fewer amenities.
T H E S U RV I VO R S
Many of the third-class passengers were emigrating, hoping
FIRST- CLAS S PAS SENGERS:
to start new lives in the United
MADELEINE ASTOR: John Jacob Astor, one of
States or Canada, including many
the richest men in the world at the time, was
women traveling alone with
traveling home with Madeleine, his new wife,
children. They enjoyed modest
after their extended honeymoon. She made it
luxuries, including a dining room,
to the lifeboat, but he was unable to join her
which other ocean liners of the
due to a rule dictating women and children
day did not offer their third-class
should be rescued first.
passengers. MARGARET BROWN: Perhaps the most faIn its time, the Titanic was the
mous of the surviving Titanic passengers, “the
world’s largest ship—it was more
Unsinkable Molly Brown” was widely renowned
like a floating city than a boat.
for her courage on the night of the tragedy, for
Just over 900 crew members
later helping to organize a relief fund for sur-
were required to sail and manage
vivors, and for recognizing the Carpathia crew
the ship on its maiden voyage.
who valiantly saved hundreds of lives.
The crew’s roles varied from keeping the engines running
CHARLOTTE CARDEZA: Cardeza famously
to serving champagne to the
stayed in the most expensive suite on the
guests. These are the stories of a
Titanic, along with her son, Thomas, and two
few passengers and crew mem-
servants. Hers was the most extensive list of
bers highlighted in “Titanic: The
lost property, at a total of 20 pages, with items
Untold Story.”
including a seven-carat pink diamond ring. T I TA N I C
|
T H E U N TO L D S TO RY
27
SECOND- AND THIRD-CLASS PASSENGERS: HILDA MARIA HELLSTRÖM: Originally booked on another ship, Hellström was transferred to the Titanic after a coal strike kept the first ship in port. She was en route from Sweden to live with an aunt in Illinois. After arriving in New York on the Carpathia, Hellström remained terrified of water and never saw her family in Sweden again. MARION WRIGHT: The 26-year-old Wright was traveling to America to marry Arthur Woolcott. After they were reunited in New York, strangers
Marion Wright and Arthur Woolcott
provided gifts for their wedding and a fellow survivor served as bridesmaid. CREW: JACK PHILLIPS AND HAROLD BRIDE: Phillips was the senior wireless officer aboard the Titanic, and Bride was his junior officer. They were employees of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company and not the White Star Line, although they wore the same uniforms as the rest of the crew. On the night the ship sank, Phillips was furiously submitting a backlog of personal messages from
Jack George Phillips
passengers, as the wireless system had been down for hours. After the ship struck the iceberg, both Phillips and Bride worked tirelessly to send messages to nearby ships in hopes of rescue. Both were rescued, but only Bride survived. WALLACE HARTLEY: The bandleader aboard the Titanic, Hartley had his musicians continue playing as the ship sank to keep the passengers calm and provide comfort. Their last song was reportedly the hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee.”
Wallace Henry Hartley
About 30,000 people attended his funeral. PHOTOS: SOURCE UNKNOWN
28
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