Stephen J. Spignesi

On the night of April 14–15, 1912, the unthinkable happened: On its maiden voyage, the Titanic, the largest passenger ship ever built at that time, hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank. More than 1,500 of the 2,200-plus people on board were killed, including some of the wealthiest and most well-known people in the world.

From the very beginning, even before she was launched, the Titanic was an object of fascination. At the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast where she was built, workers marveled at the size of the ship. In Southampton, England, the first stop on her maiden voyage, thousands of people came to the docks to see the largest moving object ever constructed by man.

Dining as a first-class passenger on the Titanic was a lavish affair. First-class passengers on the Titanic willing to pay extra could dine in the elegant À la Carte restaurant or the Café Parisien, even though breakfast, lunch, and dinner were included in the price of a first-class ticket. Titanic's first-class dining saloon The enormous first-class dining saloon was located on the Saloon (D) deck next to the Reception Room (where diners sometimes paused for an aperitif before dinner).

Second- and third-class passengers on the Titanic had their own dining saloons, where they were served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Titanic passengers received different food options based on this ticket’s class, and the second- and third-class passengers had no restaurant options, as first-class passengers did.

If you were aboard the Titanic when the ship sank, what would be your chances of surviving? The exact number of survivors and passengers who died when the Titanic sank is difficult to reckon. Thus, the numbers in this table should be looked at as illustrative — not definitive. If you were a passenger, your chances of surviving depended greatly on the type of ticket you bought — a first-class, second-class, or third-class ticket.

One of the most important features of the White Star Line’s three steamships, including the Titanic, would be unimaginable luxury offered to wealthy passengers. The world was, after all, in the Gilded Age, and the wealthy were more than willing to live in the lap of luxury, no matter the cost. For first-class passengers, the Titanic was as much a luxury hotel as a steamship.

Were shots fired on the Titanic as she sank? In a word, yes. The question of whether shots were fired on the Titanic is a relatively big deal because, except for military honors and burials at sea, guns are rarely fired aboard ship. Steamships always carried weapons, though, and certain crew members had access to guns.

For some passengers who survived, the traumatic memories of the Titanic disaster may have been too much to bear. Several Titanic survivors eventually committed suicide. Did they kill themselves because of the Titanic disaster? Some almost certainly did, but others ended their lives after seemingly less significant events.

Passengers on the Titanic paid significantly different prices for different accommodations. The suites and cabins on the Titanic cost the passengers no small sum for the time. At approximately $100,000 a pop in today’s dollars, you can see why the world’s richest and most elite sailed on the Titanic — only they could afford the parlor suites.