Aftermath: The Story of the Century

When the Titanic sailed, the New York Times listed the prominent passengers aboard this “unsinkable ship” on the front page. After she sank, the New York American broke the news on April 16 with a lead devoted almost entirely to John Jacob Astor; at the end it mentioned that 1,800 others were also lost. The loss of the ship was the greatest news story of modern times.

Once the massive loss of life became known to the public, White Star chartered several ships from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to retrieve bodies. Three other Canadian ships followed in the search. Each ship left with embalming supplies, undertakers, and members of the clergy. The first ship to reach the site of the sinking, the CS Mackay-Bennett, found so many bodies that the embalming supplies aboard were quickly exhausted. Health regulations required that only embalmed bodies could be returned to port. Captain Larnder of the Mackay-Bennett and undertakers aboard decided to preserve only the bodies of first class passengers, justifying their decision by the need to visually identify wealthy men to resolve any disputes over large estates. 

Bodies recovered were preserved for transport to Halifax, the closest city to the sinking with direct rail and steamship connections. A large temporary morgue was set up in the curling rink of the Mayflower Curling Club and undertakers were called in from all across eastern Canada to assist. Some bodies were shipped to be buried in their home towns across North America and Europe. About two-thirds of the bodies were identified. Unidentified victims were buried with simple numbers based on the order in which their bodies were discovered. The majority of recovered victims, 150 bodies, were buried in three Halifax cemeteries. As far as unaccounted bodies and missing victims go, over 1,000 were never located. These bodies most likely were scattered in all different directions and depths of the Atlantic following the sinking.

Even before the survivors arrived in New York, investigations were planned to discover what had happened, and what could be done to prevent a recurrence. Inquiries were held in both the United States and Great Britain, the former more robustly critical of traditions and practices, and scathing of the failures involved, and the latter broadly more technical and expert-oriented.

View of the US Senate inquiry into the RMS Titanic sinking.

The US Senate's inquiry into the disaster was initiated on April 19^th. The chairman, Senator William Alden Smith, wanted to gather accounts from passengers and crew while the events were still fresh in their minds. Smith also needed to subpoena all surviving British passengers and crew while they were still on American soil, which prevented them from returning to the UK before the American inquiry was completed on May 25^th. The British press condemned Smith as an opportunist, insensitively forcing an inquiry as a means of gaining political prestige and seizing "his moment to stand on the world stage". Smith, however, already had a reputation as a campaigner for safety on US railroads, and wanted to investigate any possible malpractices.

The British Board of Trade's inquiry into the disaster was headed by Lord Mersey, and took place between May 2^nd and July 3^rd. Being run by the Board of Trade who had previously approved the ship, it was seen by some as having little interest in its own or White Star's conduct being found negligent.

Each inquiry took testimony from passengers and crew of Titanic, crew members of Leyland Line's Californian, Captain Arthur Rostron of Carpathia, and other experts. The British inquiry also took far greater expert testimony, making it the longest and most detailed court of inquiry in British history up to that time. The two inquiries reached broadly similar conclusions; the regulations on the number of lifeboats that ships had to carry were out of date and inadequate, Captain Smith had failed to take proper heed of ice warnings, the lifeboats had not been properly filled or crewed, and the collision was the direct result of steaming into a dangerous area at too high a speed.

The SS Californian

One of the most controversial issues examined by the inquiries was the role played by SS Californian, which had been only a few miles from Titanic but had not picked up her distress calls or responded to her signal rockets. The Californian had warned Titanic by radio of the pack ice in the water. (The Californian had stopped that evening due to said ice.) However, the Californian’s warning was ignored by Titanic's senior wireless operator, Jack Phillips. 

Neither inquiry's findings listed negligence by the ships parent company’s as a factor. The US inquiry concluded that since those involved had followed standard practice the disaster was an act of God. The British inquiry concluded that Smith had followed long-standing practice that had not previously been shown to be unsafe, noting that British ships had carried 3.5 million passengers over the previous decade with the loss of just 10 lives, and concluded that Smith had done "only that which other skilled men would have done in the same position". The British inquiry also warned that "what was a mistake in the case of the Titanic would without doubt be negligence in any similar case in the future".

A survey plane with the International Ice Patrol
does a reconnaissance flight.

The recommendations included major changes in maritime regulations to implement new safety measures, such as ensuring that more lifeboats were provided, that lifeboat drills were properly carried out and that wireless equipment on passenger ships was manned around the clock. An International Ice Patrol was set up to monitor the presence of icebergs in the North Atlantic, and maritime safety regulations were harmonized internationally through the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea; both measures are still in force today.

What remains of Captain Smith's bathroom.

Today, the wreckage of the once mighty ship lay at the bottom of the Atlantic. Since the tragic incident, numerous proposals, from serious to ridiculous, have been brought forth in regards to this now historic site. Suggestions such as raising the remains, underwater salvage, and even pumping the body of the Titanic with wax to lift it to the surface were floated by researchers. Most of these expeditions and endeavors have been halted due to financial difficulties, weather, or events that were deemed more important to focus on around the world (World War II). The wreck itself was rediscovered and explored to fuller extent with more sophisticated underwater technology on September 2^nd,1985. In the years since the discovery of the wreck, there have been ongoing expeditions to further explore and map the site.

Prior to the discovery of Titanic's wreck, in addition to the common assumption that she had sunk in one piece, it had been widely believed that conditions at 12,000 feet down would preserve the ship intact. The reality has turned out to be very different, and the ship has increasingly deteriorated since it sank.