More than a century after the Titanic sunk we are still fascinated by the fate of this iconic ship. Here are some of the most amazing facts about the sinking of the Titanic.
How Well Do You Know the Titanic?
The Passengers Who Didn’t Sail
While around 1,500 people died when the Titanic sunk, there were quite a few people who had a lucky escape. Among those who bought tickets for the maiden voyage but never travelled was Milton S. Hershey. He was the founder of the famous chocolate company and urgent business caused him to cancel his trip on the boat. Guglielmo Marconi was actually offered a free trip on the doomed liner, as the two radio operators on board were employed by his company. He wisely declined. Alfred Gywnne Vanderbilt was actually listed in some reports as a casualty of the sinking, as he cancelled his ticket at the very last minute. Ironically, he died 3 years later when the RMS Lusitania was sunk. Survivors reported that the millionaire gallantly gave his lifejacket to a young mother despite being unable to swim.
The Japanese Survivor Labelled a Coward
An interesting fact about the sinking of the Titanic is that the only Japanese passenger at the time the Titanic hit the iceberg was called Masabumi Hosono. He worked for the Japanese Ministry of Transport and was sleeping when the iceberg hit. Luckily, he managed to clamber into one of the last lifeboats and was 200 feet away when the liner went under. He was called the Lucky Japanese Boy in the US but the Japanese press then called him a coward after it was claimed that he disguised himself as a woman to get on the lifeboat. He lost his job and lived the rest of his life in shame because he hadn’t shown the honour and bravery to go down with the ship.
The Band Really Did Play On
You might not have believed it when you saw it in the film but the band really did keep on playing while the Titanic was going down. One of the weirdest facts about the Titanic is that they played for over 2 hours in an attempt to keep the passengers calm while boarding the lifeboats. The 8 musicians on board all went down with the ship.
The Last Survivor
The last remaining survivor of the sinking of the Titanic was a lady called Elizabeth Gladys Millvina Dean. At just 2 months old she was the youngest passenger on the ship, with her family emigrating to the USA from the UK to start a new life. Her father died in the sinking but Dean survived with her mother and brother. She died in 2009, at the age of 97.
The Titanic Film More Expensive Than the Actual Titanic
At the time it was made, Titanic was the most expensive movie ever. In fact, at $200 it was more expensive that the cost of building the Titanic liner itself. The ship cost around $7.5 million to build, which is about $150 million in today’s terms.
The Nazi Titanic Film
I’m no great fan of the Titanic film featuring Leo and Kate but there’s an even worse movie been made about it. A strange Titanic fact is that Joseph Goebbels commissioned a Nazi propaganda film in 1943. It showed brave German travelers and told how the deaths were due to Britain’s “endless quest for profit”.
