Background

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Titanic Disaster – Genuine Footage (1911–1912)

The name Titanic derives from the Titans of Greek mythology. Built in Belfast, Ireland, in
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it was then known), the RMS Titanic
was the second of the three Olympic-class ocean liners—the first was the RMS Olympic and
the third was the HMHS Britannic.[12] Britannic was originally to be called Gigantic and was
to be over 1,000 feet (300 m) long.[13] They were by far the largest vessels of the British
shipping company White Star Line's fleet, which comprised 29 steamers and tenders in
1912.[14] The three ships had their genesis in a discussion in mid-1907 between the White Star
Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, and the American financier J. P. Morgan, who controlled
the White Star Line's parent corporation, the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM).

The White Star Line faced an increasing challenge from its main rivals Cunard, which had
recently launched the Lusitania and the Mauretania—the fastest passenger ships then in
service—and the German lines Hamburg America and Norddeutscher Lloyd. Ismay preferred
to compete on size rather than speed and proposed to commission a new class of liners that
would be larger than anything that had gone before as well as being the last word in comfort
and luxury.[15] The company sought an upgrade in their fleet primarily in response to the
Cunard giants but also to replace their oldest pair of passenger ships still in service, being the
SS Teutonic of 1889 and SS Majestic of 1890. Teutonic was replaced by Olympic while
Majestic was replaced by Titanic. Majestic would be brought back into her old spot on White
Star Line's New York service after Titanic's loss.[16]

The ships were constructed by the Belfast shipbuil