Titanic - The Sinking of the Century/Great Adventures of the 20th Century: Titanic

April 10th 1912 Tanny sales from Southampton to begin a seven-day crossing to New York Titanic is commanded by Captain Edward J Smith a respected English seaman with 40 years experience titanic's Odyssey begins with a sprint across the English Channel to shirbil in France here most of her first-class passengers come aboard many are wealthy North American tourists eager to be part of history awestruck travelers already are calling her the millionaire's special there's a swimming pool a gymnasium a Parisian sidewalk cafe and staterooms furnished with French antiques the passenger list includes many of the world's most celebrated tycoons John Jacob Astor Benjamin Guggenheim fabled men fabulous wealth Isidor Straus and his wife Ida owners of Macy's department store Charles M Hayes president of Canada's Transcontinental Railroad government officials such as major Archibald but aide and confidant of president William Howard Taft titanic's most expensive stateroom goes to John Jacob Astor the fourth owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel but Astor's image has been tarnished by a scandalous divorce and is a remarriage to 19 year old madeline force now with Madeline five months pregnant Astor decides to return home on the Titanic to reclaim his supremacy in East Coast society from Cherbourg The Millionaire special steams to Queenstown Ireland to take on passengers of a far different social rank they are immigrants fleeing poverty and hopelessness among the refugees 16 year old Kate gildner second oldest child of an Irish peasant family of 10 kate has decided to join her elder sister Molly in New York with her in her cramped third-class cabins are 700 other emigrants from dozens of Nations each room had four bunks with a wash basin soap and towels between these poorest passengers are housed in the belly of the ship four decks below the millionaires promenade cut off from the rest of the ship by ropes and regulations lest they infect the privileged with the diseases of the destitute in fact Titanic's owners are counting on the immigrant trade for their profits then she turns seaward as Titanic leaves sight of land forever as she steers for New York Titanic carries the ambitions of the Titanic capitalist who owns her John Pierpont Morgan already famous and feared for buying up railroads and steel companies he now seeks to rule the ocean but JP Morgan is too ill to make the maiden voyage it is a sickness that will save his life on the North Atlantic the shipping lanes are littered with giant birds and floating sheets of ice but her owners have asked captain Smith to make a fast crossing to New York I'd wrong there's nothing this ship cannot handle for the first four days the voyage is idyllic passengers settle into shipboard routine formal dress and continental cuisine make for enchanted evenings but four decks below the roar of the engines of the role of the giant ship can find young Kate Gilman to her windowless captain by Sunday April 14th Titanic's maiden voyage is more than half open captain smith and designer animals agree to test her engines at top speed the following morning Newfoundland is now within range of Titanic's wireless radio in 1912 radio means Morse code signals for the range of only a few hundred miles Titanic's machine is operated by 21 year-old Harold bride the wealthy passengers are fascinated with this new technology they keep ride busy with frivolous messages to friends and relatives ashore at sunset on Monday April 14th all as well aboard the millionaire's special at 10:25 p.m. a wireless operator in Newfoundland picks up a desperate cry for help fun at once we struck a bird it cqd om position 41:46 operators tried to contact great ship from shore there's no reply the news is sent by cable to Halifax and relay to New York the greatest ship in the world is sinking at the offices of the New York Times managing editor car van anda must quickly decide whether the ship is doomed he decides to run the story on the front page word soon reaches Philip Franklin vice president of the Titanic's parent company I was roused by the telephone ringing a reporter said they just heard that Titanic was sitting I immediately called up our dock lastima they've heard anything at all Franklin spends the next few hours making frantic calls for more information on April 15th 1912 New York and the world learned that the impossible has occurred The Times has been so quick to rush the news to print that no one has had time to withdraw the advertisement on page 11 for the Titanic's return passage to England in New York other editors mocked The Times for printing a mere rumor but the news spreads consumed worried visitors begin to gather at the offices of the white star steamship line on Broadway Philip Franklin assures everyone that even if Titanic did Ram an iceberg she would remain afloat with her passengers unhurt she is absolutely unsinkable and it makes no difference watching the report should not cause any serious anxiety as he studies Titanic's passenger list Franklin is haunted by an inconceivable horror the loss of more than 2,000 lives meanwhile hundreds of freelance radio operators are listening for any transmissions regarding Titanic's fate but this morning was the Titanic lies broken on the ocean for an amateur radio operator copies down to messages from the sea taken together they will inspire new hope and celebration at noon philip Franklin's grim daydream is interrupted by the best imaginable news Franklin reads the message to report us all Titanic passengers are safe The Virginian towing the liner to Halifax but what no one knows is that the radio operator has mistakenly mixed two transmissions one that a crippled oil tanker is being towed to Halifax the other that those few who did survive the Titanic sinking are safely aboard a rescue ship the evening editions are delighted to announce that Titanic is safe and that the New York Times was wrong Europe goes to bed Monday confident that the demise of the great Atlantic liner is only a merabh a thousand miles from New York Titanic's giant sister ship the Olympic is about to destroy all illusions her message barely makes it to New York radio is unregulated airwaves are cluttered with the signals of freelance wireless operators ironically this terrible news is received at Wanamaker's department store in new york it is installed a wireless booth as a publicity stunt at 4:35 p.m. david Sarno the twenty-one year old with a passion for radio here's the olympic report that only 675 people have survived the wreck of the Titanic Sarnoff calls the newspapers and again the New York Times takes the lead it posts bulletins on public billboards at Times Square at the offices of the White Star Line reporters besieged Philip Franklin for details he holds to his fantasy Titanic could not have sunk because it cannot sink then at 6:20 p.m. the courier brings Franklin a telegram his nightmare is real I got off the first line in the half when it said the Titanic sank at 2 o'clock a.m. and there was not a reporter left in the room we're so anxious to get out to telephone the news as evening falls the White Star Line begins to receive visits from anxious relatives of Titanic's illustrious clientele one of the first is Vincent Astor son of John Jacob Astor Vincent is 20 a freshman at Harvard he meets privately with Philip Franklin and is told that almost all of the survivors must have been written children is there any news my father but Franklin does not know is that more than 100 men have also suffered day two April 16 all night Vincent Astor haunts the offices of the Marconi wireless company why is there so little information the rescue ship Carpathia is wireless has a range of only 400 miles the Carpathia must rely on other ships to relay the lists of the living you by daybreak on Tuesday the first list of survivors is being posted all over the city it contains a hundred and twenty five names 27 of them men with so little hard news available the furiously competitive New York newspapers outdo each other in wild speculation Titanic's passengers must have been thrown violently about and many injured as the lifeboats were swung out the British fighting blood of the officers asserted itself armed no doubt with revolvers to drive back the panic-stricken male passengers darkness and fog added to the typical total darkness undoubtedly prevailed when the lifeboats were launched by the dim light of oil lanterns the Titanic's officers kept back the cowards and help women and children to safety the newspaper accounts are thrilling our and almost entirely wrong but the reports transfix the world in a global community of grief fascination and fear England wakes to the crushing news the White Star officers are besieged Lloyds of London the Titanic's insurer reels from the losses in New York the posting of partial lists of survivors only deepens the anguish soon private grief is joined by public outrage British law has permitted the wonder ship to sail with only enough lifeboats for one half of her passengers one millionaire's destiny is investigated personally when mrs. florrick Guggenheim arrives to inquire after her husband Benjamin Benjamin Guggenheim is a mining magnate with an estimated worth of 85 million untaxed dollars for the past eight months he has been in Paris accompanied by one of his many mistresses Guggenheim's name does not appear on the list of survivors when she learns this crushing news Verret remains composed enough to speak to reporters about the shortage of lifeboats but I captain by Tuesday noon squads of Mounted Police have brought in to keep order dozens of relatives of immigrant passengers arrived the clerk's can offer them nothing the carpathia still is ignoring all questions about the lower classes at the White House Taft sends out two American ships to serve as wireless relay stations for the carpathian but Taft is also furious that only a few hours earlier garbled messages were suggesting that the Titanic was safe he declares that Washington must regulate the infant broadcasting industry in the right afternoon Vincent Astor son of the Titanic's riches passenger searches the survivalists he's devastated he finds a stepfather man there is no mention of his phone now as Tuesday ends the wireless station at Cape Race Newfoundland receives a grim message from the Mid Atlantic confirmation that the only survivors are aboard the Carpathia of all the crew only four offices and one radio operator have been rescued now there can be no dive no chance no 600 miles from the North American coast the Carpathia slowly makes her way westward carrying the living day three only the Carpathia knows who has survived and who has a Parrish Don the Titanic New York is told only the names of the wealthiest survivors at the New York offices of the White Star Line Molly gildner does not know whether her 16 year old sister Kate is alive or dead okay our boy in Washington senator Aldon Smith orders an investigation and rushes to New York to ensure that the ships surviving officers do not escape American justice on Wall Street chairs in the Marconi wireless companies soar from fifty to three hundred and fifty dollars each newspaper cartoonists accuse Titanic's owners of outright murder journalists and desperate relatives from across the continent converge on New York Thursday April 18th the Carpathia approaches New York Harbor white star vice-president Philip Franklin heads for the docks to confront the reality of the loss 40,000 spectators are at the dock along with hundreds of policemen and every off-duty nurse and doctor in the city and from the dock by order of JPMorgan reporters chartered tugboats 20 year old Vincent Astor attempts to sail his own yacht to pick up a stepmother Madeline but permission is refused the rich and the poor we'll wait together at 8 p.m. in driving rain and lightning the Carpathia passes the Statue of Liberty solemnly she pauses a Titanic's dock and lowers the great ships left wings and now as the dazed and weakened survivors at last reach or the quiet is punctured by joyous shouts of real and the bitter cries of those who find no Friday morning there's a perverse mood of joviality on the docks as cabin boys from the Carpathia show off of the newsreel camera to Carpathia's captain and crew are hailed as heroes some of the Titanic survivors are mysteries to French children disembark nameless their parents presumed dead the scope of the young century belongs to the New York Times Marconi operator Harold bride has survived by clinging to an overturned life for a big wave carried the belt off I had hold on a no lock and I went off with it the next thing on you I was in the boat and the boat was upside down for $1,000 he has sold his incredible story to a Times reporter his broken feet hastily bandaged ride has been working for three days without sleep in the Carpathia's radio we learn the real story of what happened on that fateful night Sunday April 14th had been a day of leisure aboard the Wonder ship with New York still three days away bride had been transmitting routine greetings from Titanic's wealthiest travelers but incoming signals warned of heavy ice ahead other ships report that they are changing course and slowing down to avoid crossing the danger zone at night captain EJ Smith steers the Titanic slightly southward and then goes to dinner but the biggest ship in the world is still steaming at close to top speed at 11:35 and a clear calm moonless night the Titanic meets her desk lookout spot and iceberg just ahead immediately first officer William Murdoch orders a sharp turn and slams the engines into full reverse miss a fatal mistake the iceberg scrapes along the length of the Titanic in the radio room Harold bride and colleague Jack Phillips do not even sense the collision I didn't even feel the shock I was with Phillips when the captain put his head in the cabin we've struck an iceberg the captain said and I'm having an inspection made to tell us what it has done to us hey you better get ready to send out a call of assistance captain Smith has asked ship designer Thomas Andrews to go below to assess the damage there is water in the cargo holds and now it's flooding into boiler room number five panic if cold water reaches the furnaces they will explode andrás returns to the bridge with his dreadful news the ship has less than two hours to live calmly the captain orders the lifeboats to be uncovered lifeboats with room for fewer than half those unborn bride and Phillips make their first distress calls using a new international signal s OS the Carpathia promises assistance but it will take her four hours to sail 60 miles through the ice fields Phillips told me to run and tell the captain that the Carpathia had answered I did so and I went through a massive people to his cabin the decks were full of scrambling men and women the Titanic is beginning to tilt forward there is 32 feet of water in the hold and time is running out stewards are ordered to awaken and organize the passengers steward James h's arrives at the stateroom of millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim I put a life preserver on mr. Guggenheim he said it hurt him in the back there was plenty of time and I took it off for justed it and then put it on him again gallantly Guggenheim and his assistant helped women and children into the lighthouse mr. Guggenheim would shout out women first and he was of great help to the officers or what surprised me was the both mr. Guggenheim and his secretary were dressed in their evening clothes we've dressed up in our best replied mr. Guggenheim and are prepared to go down like gentlemen if anything should happen to me tell my wife in New York that I've done my best in doing my duty but some declined to be saved my distress refuses to leave her husband she and her beloved Isadora sit hand in hand while panic and confusion rage all around awaiting their fate the devotion of Ida Straus remains a deeply moving chapter in the legend of the Titanic far below the passenger decks the damage is now unstoppable one crewman dies in the torrent Titanic's first fatality flares are shut off and seen by a ship just five miles away the California but its captain does not recognize the flares as a distress call and so tragically does nothing the beleaguered Titanic lowers 16 lifeboats to the freezing water but several are swung away only half filled with first-class passengers for the third class immigrants trapped on the lower decks there is no only chaos Kate Jonah was deep within the Titanic she felt the iceberg immediately we were standing on the steerage third-class the corner and then we couldn't get up second and of course there was one man with the son he was our God in hom he said for God's sake let the women up and I had to go first and my thoughts were only going from first camp so there was a man on the second deck and he asked me to go on and show her only find out when I got I think it was the last kate is one of the few immigrants who will survive to follow her dreams and the titanic's elegant salons confusion John Jacob Astor confronts captain Smith who commands him to get his wife Madeline into a lifeboat immediately Astor asked to join his wife breeding that she is weakened by her pregnancy but the officer in charge will not permit any men in the life force and Astor declines to use his immense wealth to pull rank come master said to me the sea is calm you'll be all right your good hand I'll see you John Jacob Astor will never see his young wife again his body will be found floating weekly by 1:55 a.m. the titanic's turn is high in the air but 1500 people remain a boring ten minutes later the last of the lifeboats is lowered our bride in Jack Phillips remain at their post this water begins to flood the radio room we'll never forget the work of Philips buy last all for 15 minutes then came the captain's voice men you have done your full duty you can do no more abandon your cabin now it's every man for himself their work is done no radio message can bring salvation now still many men like railway tycoon Charles M Hayes of Montreal are certain that the Titanic cannot possibly sink after helping women and children into the lifeboats major Archibald but returns to the smoking lounge to engage in one last hand of cons other man seen in the lungs alone and silent Thomas Andrews head designer of the Titanic will die with her 2:18 a.m. 1,500 passengers officers and crewmen of all classes and creeds still on board the mightiest vessel ever built surrenders to the North Atlantic final moments are witness by Harold bride who has been swept into icy waters the ship was a beautiful sight then smoke and sparks were rushing out of a funnel the ship was gradually turning on the nose the band was still playing a guess old the band went down all that remains is the comm flat see few lifeboats the crews of the dryer the cries of the dying continued for hours echoed by Reverend horses from a lifeboat lost amid the chaos and debris as Monday morning breaks the survivors find themselves in a McCobb Wonderland of ice at 4 a.m. April 15th the Carpathia begins her distressing rescue task she's prepared to take on 3,000 people but finds only 15 rifles carrying 700 most survivors in Nam and Sharmon cold the Carpathia's captain offers his own quarters - Madeline force Astor bride is broken both his feet and his miraculous escape from death depth by day's end he will be back at work in the carpathia radio room transmitting names of survivors for Fleurette Guggenheim the final chapter is written on Friday morning a steward James etches tells the heroic tale of the last moments of her husband's life shortly after the last few votes I was ordered by the deck officer to man wave goodbye to mr. Guggenheim and that was the last I saw Guggenheim's infidelities would be forgiven his honorable death will render him a hero to his family and sixteen-year-old Kate gildner is reunited with her sister mom they have a photograph taken to reassure their parents back in iron Vincent Astor continues to believe that his own father somehow made it to a rescue ship but the following days bring the death of all hope the grim business of bringing home the day the coroner ship is dispatched from Halifax Canada to retrieve bodies the Makai Bennet sails for the full load 100 ruff pine confidence and 100 tonnes of mice her crew finds corpses still dressed in evening clothes many bloated beyond recognition even in death the first-class passengers are given the best treatment and and lain in a coffin the others are placed in canvas bags are buried at sea the ship of the Dead returns to Canada an ice rink is turned into a more filled with boxes each with three bodies some will be claimed by families and taken home many others will be buried in halifax ending their voyage in the soil of canada one of the seekers who arrives in Halifax is Vincent Astor he retrieves his father's body identified by a platinum ring and $4,000 found in his pocket in New York John Jacob Astor is eulogized as a hearing his reputation has finally been restored the mystery of the French children is finally solved they are returned to their mother in France the children have been kidnapped by her estranged husband and asked his own waldorf-astoria the Senate inquiry begins JPMorgan's man in New York Philip Franklin presents his version of the events Bruce Ismay the British head of the company escaped in one of the lifeboats he's condemned for not going down with the ship as did so many the inquest also condemns the californian and its crew for failing to rescue Titanic its captain Stanley Lord finds his reputation ruined by the disaster in England another inquest condemns the company's hunger for speed and luxury and it's fatal inattention to safety John Pierpont Morgan never sailed on the ship his ambition created but the disaster destroys him as well he is condemned by the US government for his attempts to monopolize key industries weakened and exhausted the wealthiest man in America in 1913 on April 15th 1912 1500 souls were sacrificed to a dream of luxury and speed today it is believed that Titanic's great weakness was her steel made brittle by the cold it sprang hundreds of leaks after the fatal collision but from the disaster came a precious legacy and laws for lifeboats better radios proper ice patrols and a new future Vincent Astor inherited seventy eight million dollars then sold off his father's Waldorf Astoria Hotel it was demolished to be replaced by an enduring symbol of the 20th century the Empire State Building Kate gildner lived in New York City until the age of 75 telling and retelling on radio and TV the story of her miraculous escape from death oh yes I was up and landed thinkin when we were in the lifeboat because one of my thoughts on my nose and then which ship rescued or kept a fear benjamín Guggenheim's inheritance was passed to his three daughters Peggy used her share to establish the famous Guggenheim collection of modern art Guillermo Marconi saw a wireless become one of the 20th century's first mass media david sarnoff the radio operator at Wanamaker's department store founded the national broadcasting company NBC few ships have touched the lives of so many so profoundly still the Titanic inspires all lying broken at the bottom of the ocean an eerie internal Testament the limits of human ambition and the power of the sea you

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Views: 524,547

Rating: 4.7388921 out of 5

Keywords: RMS Titanic (Ship), Television Documentary (TV Genre), Shipwreck (Disaster Type), Education (TV Genre)

Id: L11dz9Za7QY

Length: 44min 32sec (2672 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 30 2014