A Night to Remember

Timeline

Mid-1908
Construction is completed on the gantries that will house the Olympic and Titanic during the pre-launch phases of construction.

March 1st, 1909
The first of Titanic's keel plates is laid in Slip No. 3.

May 31st, 1911
The hull of Titanic is launched. She's towed to the dry-dock facility and her fitting out is begun. Later that day, the completed RMS Olympic is delivered to the White Star Line.

June 14th, 1911
The Olympic departs Southampton bound for New York. It is her maiden voyage.

January 1912
Titanic's interiors are completed.

February 3rd
Titanic is towed to the graving yard, where the final touches are added. She is painted, and her three propellers are installed.

Tuesday, April 2nd
Titanic departs Belfast, for her sea trials. After roughly 30 minutes [according to Fifth Officer Lowe's testimony], her trials are deemed to be finished. From there, she heads for Southampton to be made ready for her maiden voyage.

Friday, April 5, 1912
It is Good Friday and the Titanic, the pride of the White Star Line, is "dressed" overall with flags and pennants for a salute to the people of Southampton. It is the only occasion she is ever "dressed". The Titanic had arrived in the port of Southampton just after midnight to begin provisioning and staffing for her maiden voyage.

Saturday, April 6, 1912
Recruitment day for the majority of the crew. General cargo begins to arrive. The final cargo totals almost 560 tons and includes 11,524 individual pieces.

Easter Sunday, April 7, 1912
The Titanic remains tied up at Berth 44. The waterfront was deserted on this Easter Sunday and all work aboard the Titanic had ceased for the day.

Monday, April 8, 1912
The Titanic still remains tied up at Southampton's Berth 44, getting ready for her scheduled maiden voyage on Wednesday. Monday saw resumption of the activity but at a more frantic pace what with fewer than three days before departure.

Tuesday, April 9, 1912
This will be Titanic's final full day in Southampton...tomorrow she begins her maiden voyage. Food and stores continue to be taken on board. All of the officers, except Smith, spend the night on board, keeping regular watches and supervising the final night in port.

Wednesday, April 10th, 1912
Captain Smith boards the Titanic at 7:30 a.m. and receives the sailing report from Chief Officer Henry Wilde. Between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., the three White Star Line boat-trains arrive carrying 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class passengers from Waterloo Station near London. The Titanic departs Southampton at 12 noon. As she pulled out towards the river Test, the New York's mooring lines snapped, causing her to swing out of her berth, stern first, towards Titanic. The collision was averted, the New York was secured, and Titanic left Southampton at around 1:30 pm. By 5:30 p.m., the Titanic arrives in Cherbourg. Titanic rides at anchor in Cherbourg Harbor, all lights ablaze. Due to her size, she can't pull into port as the piers are too small. Instead, she is anchored offshore. Cherbourg passengers finally board tenders and wait to be ferried out to Titanic. Mail is brought aboard. By 8:30 p.m. the anchor is raised and the Titanic leaves for Queenstown, Ireland.

Thursday, April 11th, 1912
Titanic arrives at Queenstown, Ireland. It is her final stop before heading across the Atlantic. It is from this port that the last photograph of Titanic is taken. At 1:30 p.m. the starboard anchor was raised for the last time and the Titanic departed on her first transatlantic crossing, bound for New York.

Friday, April 12, 1912
By daybreak Titanic was well out in the Atlantic running at 21 knots. Between April 11 and 12, Titanic covers 386 miles in fine, calm, clear weather.

Saturday, April 13, 1912
Between noon Friday and noon Saturday, Titanic covers 519 miles. At 10:30 a.m. Captain Smith begins the daily inspection.

Sunday, April 14, 1912
The fine weather continued with a smooth sea and a moderate southwesterly wind. Everyone was in good spirits. The hardier passengers paced briskly up and down the Boat Deck, even though the breeze was chilly but invigorating. Between Saturday and Sunday, the Titanic covered 546 miles.

Noon Luncheon is served in the First Class Dining Room. The mood is festive.

1:00 p.m. Titanic receives an ice warning from the Caronia It is given to Second Officer Lightoller, and is subsequently posted.

1:40 p.m. Titanic receives another ice warning, this one from the Baltic. It read:

"MSG Captain Smith, Titanic. Have had variable winds and clear fine weather since leaving. Greek steamer Athinai reports passing icebergs and large quantity of field ice today in latitude 41.51N, longititde 49.52W. Last night we spoke to German oil tanker Deutschland, Stettin to Philadelphia, not under control; short of coal, latitude 40.42N longitiude 55.11W. Wishes to be reported to New York and other steamers. Wish you and Titanic success."

It is given to Captain Smith. Shortly thereafter, Smith passes it to J. Bruce Ismay, who places it in his pocket. It is not placed in the chartroom until that night.

6:00 p.m. Second Officer Lightoller came on duty. His watch would last until 10:00 p.m.

7:30 p.m. Lightoller began to notice how the temperature was falling now that the Sun had set. The sea was unusually calm, and the weather was clear.

9:20 p.m. After a quick visit to the bridge, Captain Smith retires for the evening.

9:30 p.m. Lightoller instructed Sixth Officer Moody to telephone the crow's nest and ask the men to keep a sharp lookout for ice and to pass the word to subsequent watches. Shortly after, another ice warning, from the Mesaba, is received. It reads:

"Ice report. In latitude 42N to 41.25N, longitude 49W to 50.3W. Saw much heavy pack ice and great number of large icebergs, also field ice. Weather good, clear."

This message, which indentified a large ice field, and large bergs directly in Titanic's path, was never delivered to the bridge. Phillips, who believed that the ship already was aware of the other warnings simply transmitted:

"Received, thanks."

Bride and Phillips overlooked the message due to their preoccupation with passenger traffic.Altogether the many ice warnings received this day show a huge icefield 78 miles long and directly ahead of Titanic.

10:00 p.m. At the end of his shift, Lightoller turns the watch over to First Officer Murdoch. Elsewhere, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee replace George Symons and Archie Jewell in the crow's nest.

10:55 p.m. Some 10-19 miles north of Titanic, the Californian is stopped in ice and sends out warnings to all ships in the area. Bride rebukes the Californian with the famous reply

"Keep out! Shut up! You're jamming my signal. I'm working Cape Race"

11:35 p.m. Californian's wireless operator Evans turn off his set, and retires for the evening.

11:40 p.m. In the crow's nest, Fleet sees a large iceberg dead ahead and signals the bridge. He quickly reached above him and rang the bell three times. This was to signal that there was something out ahead. Fleet reached for the telephone and waited until it was picked up below. When it was answered he asked "Is there someone there?" "Yes" replied Officer Moody. "What do you see?" "Iceberg right ahead" Fleet answered. "Thank you" Moody replied as he hung up the phone. Sixth Officer Moody relays the message to Murdoch who instinctively orders "Hard-a-starboard" and telegraphs the engine room to stop all engines, followed by full astern. He also closes the watertight doors.

Titanic slowly begins to veer, but an underwater spar from the passing berg scraps and bumps along the starboard side for a 300-foot distance fully opening five forward compartments to the sea, as well as flooding the coal bunker servicing the No. 9 stokehold.

11:42 p.m. Aside from the men on the bridge and those closest to the impact, few realized that anything had happened. George Symons, just off duty as lookout, was lying in his bunk and thought that the anchor had dropped and the scraping sound he had heard was the chain running out of the ship. Henry Sleeper Harper, of the American publishing family, sat up in his bed and saw the iceberg pass his window, pieces of it crumbling as it went by. There were huge chunks of ice on the deck that people were kicking around as if it were a game.

Almost everyone in the first-class smoking room stood up from their seats when the jarring motion disturbed the room. Quartermaster George Rowe, located on the poop deck at the very stern of the ship, felt the jarring motion and, seeing the iceberg, walked to the rail to watch it pass.

11:55 p.m. The post office on "G" Deck forward is already flooding. After a quick inspection of the damage by Wilde, Boxhall and Andrews, Captain Smith knows the worst...that Titanic was sinking and the more than 2,200 people on board were in extreme peril.

Bruce Ismay, who had been asleep in his luxurious suite on B-deck, had also been awakened by the strange noise caused by the iceberg. Without bothering to change out of his nightclothes, he went to the bridge and asked Captain Smith what had happened. "We have struck ice," Smith replied. "Do you think the ship is seriously damaged?" Ismay asked, hoping that things weren't as bad as they might be. "I am afraid she is."

Thomas Andrews, managing director of Harland & Wolff, arrived on the bridge a few minutes after Ismay departed. He told Captain Smith, in detail, of the full seriousness of the Titanic's current situation. It was clear, based on reports received from throughout the ship, that the Titanic's first six watertight compartments had been ruptured. The ship had never been designed to take this type of damage. The ship had been gashed opened to the sea.

Monday, April 15, 1912
shortly after midnight, Captain Smith ordered a radio call for assistance. Phillips taps out the regulation distress signal CQD...MGY...CQD...MGY... The 13,600 ton Cunard ship Carpathia recieved the message. Her Captain, Arthur Rostron, immediately turned his ship around and headed at full speed toward the Titanic's radioed position.

The squash court, 32 feet above keel, is awash. The majority of the boilers have been shut down, and huge clouds of steam roar out of the relief pipes secured to the sides of the funnels. Smith orders that the lifeboats be uncovered and musters the crew and passengers.

12:15 a.m. Wallace Hartley and his band begin to play lively ragtime tunes in the 1st Class lounge on "A" Deck. They would continue to almost the end, and every member of the band would be lost.

12:25 a.m. Smith gives the order to start loading lifeboats with women and children. 2nd Officer Lightoller follows this order particularly to the letter.

12:45 a.m. Starboard lifeboat No. 7 is safely lowered away with only 28 people, while it can carry 65. At about this same time, the first distress rocket is fired by Quartermaster George Rowe, under the direction of Boxhall, from the bridge rail socket on the Boat Deck by the No. 1 emergency cutter.

1:00 a.m. There were five lifeboats in the water. Yet, many people still did not realize the seriousness of the situation or could not come to grips with reality. Word was still spreading that everyone was to put on their lifejackets and prepare to abandon ship. Many passengers continued to place hope that the nearby steamer, whose lights still remained visible, would come to their rescue. Other passengers assumed that many ships would be racing to their assistance and arrive long before a ship such as the size of the Titanic could sink.

1:15 a.m. Water has reached Titanic's name on the bow, and she now lists to port. By this time, seven boats have been lowered, but with far fewer passengers and crew than rated capacity.

1:20 a.m. The tilt of the deck grows steeper and boats now begin to be more fully loaded, with starboard No. 9 lowered with some 56 people aboard.

1:20 a.m. A wireless from Cape Race, Newfoundland arrives at the offices of the New York Times reading:

"Sunday night, April 14th (AP). At 10:25 o' clock tonight the White Star Line steamship Titanic called "CQD" to the Marconi station here, and reported having struck an iceberg. The steamer said that immediate assistance was required."

Although everything appeared calm on the boat deck, deep within the bowels of the Titanic crewmen still labored hard to keep the lights burning and the pumps working, despite risking their own safety. In boiler room No.5, which was directly below the forward Grand Staircase, a gigantic wave of green foam suddenly came pouring from the forward boiler, flooding the room.

Stoker Fred Barrett was climbing up an escape ladder when he watched in horror as two engineers were engulfed by water. Unable to help, he continued climbing.

Steward F. Dent Ray had returned to his room to get his overcoat when he discovered that the water had reached E deck in the forward part of the bow. The corridor was flooded almost as far as the main staircase.. As the forward compartments filled with water and spilled over into those farther aft, the rate of sinking increased.

1:30 a.m. Signs of panic begin to appear as port No. 14 is lowered with 60 people, including 5th Officer Lowe. Lowe is forced to fire three warning shots along the ship's side to keep a group of unruly passengers from jumping into the already full boat.

Smelting magnate Ben Guggenheim, along with his manservant Victor Giglio return to their cabins and change into evening dress explaining, "We've dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen".

Wireless distress calls tapped out by Phillips reach desperation status, with messages such as, "we are sinking fast" and, "cannot last much longer".

1:40 a.m. Most of the forward boats have left and passengers begin to move to the stern area. Collapsible C was soon filled with women and children and, as it was being lowered, two gentlemen stepped on board. One was William Carter, the other Bruce Ismay. With the Titanic close to sinking, Ismay had clearly decided to save himself in shame. When J. Bruce Ismay leaves on collapsible "C" with 39 aboard, it is the last starboard boat to be lowered. The forward Well Deck is awash.

2:00 a.m all of the Titanic's rockets had been fired. Collapsibles A and B were still lashed upside down to the roof of the officers' quarters.

By this time, the third class passengers had broken out of the locked stairwells.

2:00 a.m. Water is now only 10 feet below the Promenade Deck. At about this time, Hartley chooses the band's final piece 'Nearer, My God, to Thee'. Hartley had always said it would be the hymn he would select for his own funeral.

2:05 a.m. With more than 1,500 still on board, and just Collapsible "D" available, Lightoller instructs the crew to lock arms and form a circle around the boat, permitting only women and children to pass through the circle. "D" begins its downward journey with 44 people out of the rated capacity of 47.

2:10 a.m. The sea is pouring on to the forward end of "A" Deck, and Titanic's tilt grows steeper. At this same time, Captain Smith goes to the wireless cabin and releases Phillips and Bride telling them that they have "done their duty". On the way back to his bridge, Smith tells several crewmen "It's every man for himself".

2:17 a.m. Titanic's bow plunges under while hundreds of 2nd and 3rd Class passengers hear confession from Father Thomas Byles gathered at the aft end of the Boat Deck.

Collapsible B is pushed off the roof of the officer's quarters, and lands upside-down on the boat deck. On the other side of the ship, Collapsible A is in the process of being loaded when the the bridge and boat deck go under. The resulting wave sweeps both boats off Titanic, and washes out most of A's passengers.

2:18 a.m. A huge roar is heard as all moveable objects inside Titanic crash toward the submerged bow. The lights blink once and then go out, leaving Titanic visible only as a black silhouette against the starlit sky. Many are convinced that the hull breaks in two between the 3rd and 4th funnels. The ship achieves a completely perpendicular position and remains there for several minutes.

2:20 a.m. Titanic settles back slightly and slides down to the bed of the North Atlantic some 13,000 feet below. Only one lifeboat returned (Lifeboat 14) to help the 1500 victims.

3:30 a.m. The Carpathia's rockets are sighted by those in the lifeboats.

4:10 a.m. Titanic's No. 2 lifeboat is picked up.

5:30 a.m. After being advised by the Frankfort of Titanic's loss, the Californian makes for the disaster site.

8:30 a.m. Californian arrives just as the last boat, No. 12, is rescued by the Carpathia.

8:50 a.m. The Carpathia leaves the searching for survivors to other ships and heads for New York. She carries only 705 survivors. An estimated 1,522 souls have been lost.

J. Bruce Ismay sends the following message to the White Star Line's New York offices: "Deeply regret advise you Titanic sank this morning after collision with iceberg, resulting in serious loss of life. Full particulars later."

Earl Chapman on the Titanic Discussion List originally published this chronology of events. Earl modified it slightly in 1997. The 1997 version formed the basis of this timeline.

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