The Commander Of The Titanic And The Bows Of His Ship

The Commander of the Titanic and the Bows of his Ship', (April 20), 1912. Captain Edward Smith (1850-1912) went down with his ship, and consequently became an icon of British 'stiff upper lip' spirit, due to his stoicism and fortitude in the face of adversity. The White Star Line ship RMS 'Titanic' struck an iceberg in thick fog off Newfoundland on 14 April 1912. She was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner of her time, and thought to be unsinkable. In the collision, five of her watertight compartments were compromised and she sank. Out of the 2228 people on board, only 705 survived. A major cause of the loss of life was the insufficient number of lifeboats she carried. Page 3, from "Titanic In Memoriam Number", a special supplement in "The Daily Graphic" newspaper issued following the sinking of the 'Titanic' on 15 April 1912, published on 20 April 1912. Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)