In the early 1900s Belfast was enjoying the greatest boom in its history. Belfast was best known for...

• In the early 1900s Belfast was enjoying the greatest boom in its history.

• Belfast was best known for ship building

• Belfast's ship builders were Harland and Wolff

Why build the Titanic?

• The Titanic was built because of competition between White Star Line and Cunard

• Cunard had launched the two fastest passenger ships in 1907

Building the Titanic

• The Titanic was built by Harland and Wolff for the White Star Line

• It took three years to build the Titanic

• The Titanic was 883 feet long and 104 feet high

• Seventeen men died during the construction of Titanic and Olympic

The launch of the Titanic

• Titanic was launched on May 31st

• It was launched at Harland and Wolff

• Titanic was launched and put in the water at 12:15

Fitting out

• When the launch was over Titanic was towed to the fitting out basin to be turned into the floating palace she would become.

• The army of workers would put in the grand staircase, a swimming pool, restaurants, a gymnasium and a hospital

Maiden Voyage

• The Titanic sailed from Southampton on 10th April

• Then it picked up passengers at Cherbourg before finally collecting passengers in Queenstown in Ireland 11th April

The Captain

• Titanic’s Captain was

Edward John Smith

• He joined White Star

Line in 1880

• He was called ‘The

Millionaires Captain’

The Sinking of the Titanic

• On 14th April 1912 at 23:40 Titanic hit an iceberg

• It sank in less than three hours and had slipped beneath the North Atlantic at 02:20

• Unfortunately there were not enough lifeboats on board

Survivors

• 23% of the crew were saved and 77% were lost

• 38% of the passengers were saved and 62% were lost

0

200

400

600

800

1000

FIRSTCLASS

SECONDCLASS

THIRDCLASS

CREW

GRAPH TO SHOW NUMBER OF SURVIVORS

NUMBERABOARD

NUMBER OFSURVIVORS

Rescuing the passengers

• There were 20 life boats on the Titanic

• Each lifeboat could carry 65 people when full

• Only half of the people could get into the lifeboats

• Unfortunately, many lifeboats left the ship which were not full

Acknowledgements

www.historyofthetitanic.org

www.census.nationalarchives.ie

Heroes of the Titanic book

www.discovery.com

www.encyclopediatitanica.org

www.titanic-titanic.com