What is the true story of the Titanic?
The luxury ocean liner Titanic (the Greek word for “great power”) was a joint effort of British technology and American financing. William James Pirrie was head of Harland & Wolff, a British shipbuilding firm known for its sturdy ships, and J. Bruce Ismay was chairman of the White Star Cruise Line, owned by American financier J. Pierpont Morgan. Together they planned and built the Titanic, which measured 882 feet (269 meters) long and 92 feet (28 meters) wide, weighing 46,328 gross tons. The ship’s nine steel decks rose as high as an eleven-story building. It featured luxury accommodations for first-class passengers (including a gymnasium, swimming pool, and squash court) and modest accommodations for steerage passengers (those staying in the lower part of the ship) who were emigrating (permanently settling) from Europe to the United States during the early twentieth…
