Claim The ship was certified unsinkable.
Timeline beat 31 May 1911 — Launch at Belfast
No such certificate existed. Publicity and press used the word; the inquiry treated subdivision as a design claim that failed in a side-grazing flood.
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Notoriety98
Mystery30
Scale90
Evidence82
Legal impact85
Culture98
LessMore
Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
When and where did Titanic sink?
The ship struck an iceberg at about 23:40 on 14 April 1912 and sank at about 02:20 on 15 April in the North Atlantic. The British Wreck Commissioner’s report placed the loss at 41°46′N, 50°14′W.
How many people died?
Lord Mersey’s court recorded 1,490 lives lost. Other 1912 tallies ran higher; modern compilers often cite about 1,500 of roughly 2,200 aboard. About 710 people reached Carpathia. Figures still differ because crew and steerage lists were incomplete.
What did the official inquiries conclude?
Both the United States Senate inquiry and the British Wreck Commissioner found that the ship was driven too fast in an ice region, that lookout and wireless practice were inadequate, and that lifeboat capacity and loading failed the people on board. The British report dated 30 July 1912 blamed the collision on excessive speed.
Why were there too few lifeboats?
Board of Trade rules then scaled boatage to gross tonnage, not to the number of souls. Titanic’s twenty boats were legal. After 1912 the rule of boats for all became the political and then the treaty standard under SOLAS.
Was the ship officially called unsinkable?
No classification society certified Titanic as unsinkable. Trade-press and White Star publicity stressed watertight subdivision. The word stuck in English headlines after the wreck and became a lesson about marketing, not a hidden design stamp.
When was the wreck found?
On 1 September 1985 a joint expedition of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and IFREMER located the wreck in two main pieces at about 3,800 metres. The United States later passed the RMS Titanic Memorial Act 1986 to treat the site as a memorial.
The operational story lasts five days; the legal story still frames merchant shipping.
Dates below follow the 1912 inquiry record and later wreck archaeology, not film time.
Timeline
JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
- Launch at Belfast
Harland & Wolff launches Titanic. Fitting-out continues into 1912. Sister Olympic is already in service.
- Southampton departure
The maiden voyage begins, with calls at Cherbourg and Queenstown on 10–11 April before the westbound Atlantic leg.
- Iceberg at 23:40
After a day of ice warnings the ship strikes a berg. Flooding begins in the forward starboard compartments.
- Sinking and Carpathia
Titanic goes down about 02:20. Carpathia takes survivors from the boats after 04:00 and heads for New York.
- US Senate inquiry opens
Senator William Alden Smith begins hearings in New York, then Washington, while witnesses are still ashore.
- British wreck court sits
Lord Mersey opens the formal investigation in London. Ninety-seven witnesses and 26 Board of Trade questions follow.
- Mersey report
The court finds the loss due to collision with an iceberg caused by excessive speed and records 1,490 dead.
- SOLAS and Ice Patrol
The first SOLAS convention is signed in London. The International Ice Patrol begins tracking North Atlantic ice.
- Wreck located
Ballard and IFREMER find the broken hull. The United States enacts the RMS Titanic Memorial Act the next year.
- Centenary and heritage law
Centenary voyages and exhibitions revive debate over salvage, UNESCO protection and the wreck as a grave.
Claim versus timeline
Each public-record claim on this dossier sits beside the timeline chapter already on the page.
Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice, not a how-to, not a private file.
Claim A fire in a coal bunker sank the ship.
Timeline beat 10 Apr 1912 — Southampton departure
A bunker fire was discussed then and later. It is not the 1912 official cause. The courts named ice and speed.
Claim Third class was locked below as policy.
Timeline beat 14 Apr 1912 — Iceberg at 23:40
Physical barriers and confusion delayed many steerage passengers. The inquiries did not find a standing order to trap them.
Claim The wreck is one intact ship on the bottom.
Timeline beat 15 Apr 1912 — Sinking and Carpathia
The 1985 find showed two main pieces and a wide debris field, matching a break-up as the hull sank.
Beat weight marks
Mark each timeline beat already on this dossier as supported, contested or unknown, using the public-record claims already filed here. Not a verdict.
Editorial marks on this device only. Public-record encyclopedia — not legal advice, not a how-to, not a private file.
| Timeline beat | Supported / Contested / Unknown |
|---|---|
| 31 May 1911 — Launch at Belfast Claim already on file: The ship was certified unsinkable. | |
| 10 Apr 1912 — Southampton departure Claim already on file: A fire in a coal bunker sank the ship. | |
| 14 Apr 1912 — Iceberg at 23:40 Claim already on file: Third class was locked below as policy. | |
| 15 Apr 1912 — Sinking and Carpathia Claim already on file: The wreck is one intact ship on the bottom. | |
| 19 Apr 1912 — US Senate inquiry opens Claim already on file: The wreck is one intact ship on the bottom. | |
| 2 May 1912 — British wreck court sits Claim already on file: The wreck is one intact ship on the bottom. | |
| 30 Jul 1912 — Mersey report Claim already on file: The wreck is one intact ship on the bottom. | |
| 1914 — SOLAS and Ice Patrol Claim already on file: The wreck is one intact ship on the bottom. | |
| 1 Sep 1985 — Wreck located Claim already on file: The wreck is one intact ship on the bottom. | |
| 2012 — Centenary and heritage law Claim already on file: The wreck is one intact ship on the bottom. |
After 1914 the case lives in treaty text and in a wreck that later cameras could finally show.
Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice. Not a how-to. Graphic detail is withheld. Wars belong in a separate atlas.