RMS Titanic Life Vest

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

Related Event: The Emergence of Modern America

Subject:

See more items in: Work and Industry: Maritime, Industry & Manufacturing, Transportation, On the Water exhibit, Titanic

Exhibition: On the Water

Exhibition Location: National Museum of American History

Related Web Publication: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater

Related Publication: On the Water online exhibition

Credit Line: Gift of Chicago Historical Society (through Teresa Krutz) and Dr. Frank H. Blackmarr

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1982.0319.01Catalog Number: 82.0319.01Accession Number: 1982.0319

Object Name: life jacketOther Terms: life jacket; Maritime

Physical Description: textile (outside material)Measurements: overall: 23 in x 12 in; 58.42 cm x 30.48 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-9a85-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_844465

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