Titanic

Titanic Clearing Southampton, SI Negative #34,460

Since the ocean liner Titanic sank on its maiden or first voyage, there are very few original pictures of the ship in existence. Most of the photographs that do exist were taken in the Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, while the ship was under construction. There is one that shows the new ocean liner entering the port of Southampton, England with the help of tugboats, several weeks before the ship was to take on passengers. There are also a few taken of the huge new ship as it cleared that port on its maiden voyage on 10 April 1912 with a full load of passengers. The Smithsonian owns one of the last of these photographs, showing the starboard or right side of the ship against the wharf. The wave at the bow of the vessel indicates that it is already picking up speed, as it readies for the open ocean.

Carpathia, the ship that rescued the Titanic survivors

Carpathia, the ship that rescued the Titanic survivors

Both the British and the Americans held formal inquiries and hearings on the Titanic loss. The investigations revealed that although several vessels heard Titanic's distress call and one was closer even than Carpathia when the call went out, only Carpathia responded in time to rescue survivors. As a result, Carpathia saved more than 700 Titanic passengers. The ships that returned to the area of the wreck site later only found bodies and debris from the Titanic that had floated up from the depths.

Founded in 1904 by wealthy financier Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission (CHFC) exists to honor acts of individual civilian heroism in the United States and Canada.
Description
Founded in 1904 by wealthy financier Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission (CHFC) exists to honor acts of individual civilian heroism in the United States and Canada. It is still active today; recipients include both the living, the dead, and persons directly affected by the loss of a heroic relative.
The emotional impact on the general public of the April 1912 loss of the ocean liner Titanic was astonishing, and the continually updated story lasted for months in the contemporary newspapers. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Commission felt inspired to honor all the heroes who had risked their lives in the rescue of the 700 passengers, so at their April 26, 1912 meeting they authorized a nine-oz. 22-k gold medal to be struck, mounted in an elaborate bronze base, inscribed and presented to the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian accepted the gift and displayed it before adding it to the National Numismatic Collection in the National Museum of American History.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1912
maker
Flanagan, John
ID Number
NU.13650
accession number
54893
catalog number
13650
Chicago physician Dr. Frank Blackmarr, a passenger aboard Titanic's rescue ship RMS Carpathia, helped the survivors suffering from hypothermia, exposure, and shock. He collected a Titanic life vest during the voyage as a souvenir.
Description
Chicago physician Dr. Frank Blackmarr, a passenger aboard Titanic's rescue ship RMS Carpathia, helped the survivors suffering from hypothermia, exposure, and shock. He collected a Titanic life vest during the voyage as a souvenir. Five days into its maiden voyage in 1912, the White Star ocean liner Titanic struck an iceberg at full speed in the North Atlantic, en route from England to the United States. For the next few hours, the giant ship took on water and began to nose down into the sea. At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, the gigantic ship sank in 12,500 feet of water 350 miles off the coast of Canada. Within about two hours, Carpathia arrived and rescued the Titanic's 705 surviving crew and passengers. Around 1,500 people aboard were lost.
date made
1912
ID Number
1982.0319.01
catalog number
82.0319.01
accession number
1982.0319
Titanic struck a North Atlantic iceberg at 11:40 PM in the evening of 14 April 1912 at a speed of 20.5 knots (23.6 MPH).
Description (Brief)
Titanic struck a North Atlantic iceberg at 11:40 PM in the evening of 14 April 1912 at a speed of 20.5 knots (23.6 MPH). The berg scraped along the starboard or right side of the hull below the waterline, slicing open the hull between five of the adjacent watertight compartments. If only one or two of the compartments had been opened, Titanic might have stayed afloat, but when so many were sliced open, the watertight integrity of the entire forward section of the hull was fatally breached. Titanic slipped below the waves at 2:20 AM on 15 April. The Cunard Liner RMS Carpathia arrived at the scene around two hours after Titanic sank, finding only a few lifeboats and no survivors in the 28F degree water. Bernice Palmer took this picture of the iceberg identified as the one which sank Titanic, almost certainly identified by the survivors who climbed aboard Carpathia. The large iceberg is surrounded by smaller ice floes, indicating how far north in the Atlantic Ocean the tragedy struck.
date made
1912
ID Number
1986.0173.33
catalog number
1986.0173.33
accession number
1986.0173
Bernie Palmer sold rights to her Titanic iceberg and survivor pictures to Underwood & Underwood of New York for only $10.00, not knowing any better. This picture identifies the young facing couple as honeymooners Mr. & Mrs. George A. Harder of Brooklyn, NY.
Description
Bernie Palmer sold rights to her Titanic iceberg and survivor pictures to Underwood & Underwood of New York for only $10.00, not knowing any better. This picture identifies the young facing couple as honeymooners Mr. & Mrs. George A. Harder of Brooklyn, NY. The woman with her back to Bernie's Brownie camera is Mrs. Charles M. Hayes; her husband was President of the Grand Trunk Railway. He died in the shipwreck, but Mrs. Hayes and her two daughters were rescued by Carpathia.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1912
ID Number
1986.0173.27
catalog number
1986.0173.27
accession number
1986.0173
When the ocean liner Carpathia arrived at the spot in the North Atlantic ocean where Titanic sank, all the rescuers saw by the light of the moon was some wreckage and lifeboats with passengers.
Description
When the ocean liner Carpathia arrived at the spot in the North Atlantic ocean where Titanic sank, all the rescuers saw by the light of the moon was some wreckage and lifeboats with passengers. Many of the passengers had come up on deck in their nightclothes from their bunks aboard Titanic, and they were totally unprepared to climb directly into the lifeboats. The survivors were struck by the cold outdoor temperature, and they were suffering from exposure, extreme stress and shock by the time Carpathia arrived on the scene. The rescue ship was able to pick up 705 survivors, and as they boarded, they tossed their life vests into piles on the deck and were handed heavy, warm clothes by Carpathia's sympathetic passengers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1912
ID Number
1986.0173.24
catalog number
1986.0173.24
accession number
1986.0173
Harry Cheetham was one of the pioneers of early radio in the United States.
Description
Harry Cheetham was one of the pioneers of early radio in the United States. His 1911 radio operator's license was issued shortly before Titanic sank, and the Boston Globe newspaper hired him to listen for and intercept radio communications messages from Carpathia while it steamed back to New York with the Titanic survivors aboard. Although Carpathia's captain had imposed a general radio blackout, it did communicate the names of survivors for the benefit of the families ashore who were anxiously awaiting news of their relatives' fates. Cheetham intercepted one of the survivor messages and sold the information to the Globe for $175.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1911-1929
ID Number
EM.310187
catalog number
310187
accession number
112399
Leyden jars were essential for storing electrical charges used by the earliest wireless radios used aboard ocean liners. Shortly after RMS Carpathia's rescue of Titanic survivors, the ship visited Boston, Massachusetts.
Description
Leyden jars were essential for storing electrical charges used by the earliest wireless radios used aboard ocean liners. Shortly after RMS Carpathia's rescue of Titanic survivors, the ship visited Boston, Massachusetts. Marconi Wireless Radio employee Harry Cheetham boarded Carpathia to service the radio, which had been damaged during the Titanic operations. He replaced these two Leyden jars. One is intact and the other is broken, but fortunately the broken one shows how the jars were constructed inside to store and relay an electrical charge. Cheetham kept these artifacts as Titanic souvenirs, and donated them to the Smithsonian in 1930.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
maker
Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd.
ID Number
EM.310242.01
catalog number
310242.01
accession number
113406
This switch lever was part of RMS Carpathia's wireless radio apparatus; most likely it was a manual breaker for the antenna connection to the radio. It would have been opened in storms to prevent lightning from striking the radio itself.
Description
This switch lever was part of RMS Carpathia's wireless radio apparatus; most likely it was a manual breaker for the antenna connection to the radio. It would have been opened in storms to prevent lightning from striking the radio itself. It was damaged during the rescue of Titanic's passengers, and the next time the ship was in Boston, Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company employee Harry Cheetham went aboard Carpathia to service the wireless. At the time, shipboard radios belonged to the radio company, not the shipping lines.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1911
maker
Marconi
Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd.
ID Number
EM.309910
catalog number
309910
accession number
110988
Leyden jars were essential for storing electrical charges used by the earliest wireless radios used aboard ocean liners. Shortly after RMS Carpathia's rescue of Titanic survivors, the ship visited Boston, Massachusetts.
Description
Leyden jars were essential for storing electrical charges used by the earliest wireless radios used aboard ocean liners. Shortly after RMS Carpathia's rescue of Titanic survivors, the ship visited Boston, Massachusetts. Marconi Wireless Radio employee Harry Cheetham boarded Carpathia to service the radio, which had been damaged during the Titanic operations. He replaced these two Leyden jars. One is intact and the other is broken, but fortunately the broken one shows how the jars were constructed inside to store and relay an electrical charge. Cheetham kept these artifacts as Titanic souvenirs, and donated them to the Smithsonian in 1930.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
maker
Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd.
ID Number
EM.310242.02
catalog number
310242.02
accession number
113406

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