There were two official inquiries into the Titanic’s sinking. There was the British inquiry into the Titanic’s sinking. The British inquiry into the Titanic’s sinking was undertaken by the ‘British Wreck Commissioner.’ The British Wreck Commissioner began their inquiry into the Titanic’s sinking on the 2nd of May 1912, and it lasted up to the 3rd of July 1912. Meanwhile, the American inquiry into the Titanic’s sinking began several weeks before the British inquiry began - the American inquiry into the Titanic’s sinking began on the 19th of April 1912.
The American inquiry into the Titanic disaster began in New York with its initial hearing. The hearings into the Titanic disaster began in Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, on the 19th of April 1912. The Hearings and Inquiry The American inquiry into the Titanic disaster was part of the United States senate - it was part of the subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. Heading the inquiry was United States senator William Alden Smith. There was a total of seven senators who were part of the United States senate inquiry - including Alden Smith himself. The other senators were: Francis G. Newlands, George Clement Perkins, Theodore E. Burton, Furnifold McLendel Simmons, Jonathan Bourne, and Duncan U. Fletcher. Throughout the inquiry, the senators carried out the questioning of eye witnesses who were present during the Titanic disaster. While eye witnesses were given their statements to the inquiry - all of the senators were present for the duration of the statement, and the duration of the inquiry. The inquiry was carefully chosen and representative; to include America’s two leading political parties (the Democrats and Republicans), in order to avoid bias.
Over the course of two weeks between the 19th of April and the 25th of May 1912, there was a total of 80 eye witnesses questioned throughout the United States senate inquiry. The 80 eye witnesses included crew members of the Titanic who survived, and passengers of the Titanic who survived. Through eye witness testimonies at this inquiry, the senate (and later the world), learned about a few things about what happened before the Titanic hit the iceberg, and what happened after the Titanic hit the iceberg.
The inquiry was found to be damaging for both Captain Smith and Bruce Ismay. Eye witnesses spoke of how the Titanic had received several iceberg warnings before she hit the iceberg. They concluded that Captain Smith had an ‘’indifference’’ to the danger that the Titanic faced from the icy conditions that it was going through; and the iceberg warnings which he received. They also concluded that it was Captain Smith’s indifference to these iceberg warnings that was a leading contributor in the Titanic hitting an iceberg on the night of the 14th of April 1912. The findings of the United States senate inquiry was also daming for Bruce Ismay. Although they found that Ismay did not order that Captain Smith speed up the Titanic; they did find that Captain’s Smith decision to put the Titanic on full speed may have been a result of Bruce Ismay being on board the Titanic during her maiden voyage. It was pretty damning for Ismay. But the inquiry concluded that it was as a result of Captain’s Smith own actions, that the ship was sped up through icy waters and even to the point of the Captain being negligent by ignoring iceberg warnings that he had received from other ships in the area just before the Titanic tragedy happened.
The senate also concluded that Captain Smith had contributed to the tragedy in other ways: such as the Titanic not being prepared for the disaster and the ship's safety equipment not being tested by the Captain (or crew). On the morning of the 14th of April 1912, there was supposed to be a safety test on the Titanic to test its lifeboats. However, Captain Smith cancelled this safety test that morning - it’s not exactly clear why he had cancelled that safety test.
What is clear, is that the crew were not prepared for the Titanic disaster when it happened. When Titanic’s lifeboats were being filled up in the early morning hours of the 15th of April 1912 - just after the Titanic hit the iceberg - lifeboats were not filled up to their maximum capacity by the Titanic’s crew. In many of the lifeboats, they were not even filled up with half of the capacity that they could hold. Ultimately, if the crew had been properly trained, and filled up the lifeboats with passengers to the lifeboats full capacity, then hundreds of more people could have been saved as a result. Therefore, an ill-prepared crew, as a result of Captain Smith’s actions, cost hundreds of people their lives that could have been saved if safety procedures were followed and correctly in place. The lack of preparedness for such an event - through Captain Smith’s negligence - was another contributing factor in the Titanic tragedy. There was one last damning conclusion for Titanic’s crew and Captain: their lack of informing third class passengers that the Titanic had struck an iceberg, and that the ship was going to sink as a result in this. Unlike the film in 1997, most third class passengers were not even aware that the Titanic had hit an iceberg, or that it was going to sink - rather than knowing, and being prevented from saving themselves (as the film showed). Instead, most third class passengers weren’t even aware of the incident, due to the crew, nor Captain informing third class; the United States senate committee found. Therefore, it was a lack of knowledge about the event, caused by a lack of care and duty from the crew and captain, that resulted in most third class passengers losing their life. The SS Californian Outside the Titanic itself, there was one more contributing factor in the mass loss of life that Titanic suffered that ill-fated night: the inaction of the SS Californian. Or, as some have called the SS Californian ‘the ship that watched the Titanic sink.’ The United States inquiry found that the SS Californian wasn’t entirely honest in stating its location during the time that Titanic sank. The inquiry found that the SS Californian was closer to the Titanic than the captain of the SS Californian claimed. The SS Californian was the last ship to contact the Titanic - and they had contacted the Titanic just minutes before the Titanic struck the iceberg. Ever since that ill-fated night, there has been speculation about the SS Californian’s role that night - did the ship knowingly watch the Titanic sink, while providing no assistance to the Titanic’s crew and passengers? The United States senate stated that the SS Californian captain must be held to account for his inaction that night. And, that the British government had to hold the SS Californian’s captain accountable for his inaction that night. We will look into how the British dealt with the situation, and their findings in a future blog post: the British inquiry began several weeks after the American inquiry.
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Lucrezia Borgia was born on this day in history: she was born on the 18th of April 1480.
Who Was Lucrezia Borgia? Lucrezia Borgia was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI. Pope Alexander VI is one of Rome’s most infamous Popes to ever sit in the Vatican. There are several reasons why Pope Alexander VI was infamous in his role as pope. One of those reasons, was in his uncompromising attitude to disent: the pope had a man called Salvestro hung and burnt at the steak - this was because Salvestro wanted reforms to be made in the Catholic Church. This in turn made Salvestro a target for the pope, due to the pope feeling his position in power within the Vatican was being threatened by Salvestro. The actions of Pope Alexander VI towards Salvestro, showed a pope which was ruthless, uncompromising and callous in his actions. The popes callous nature can also be seen in the way he handled his children: including Lucrezia. Lucrezia Borgia has been viewed in history as something of a maneater. However, her reputation as a maneater throughout history is probably an inaccurate portrayal of her actions (or, inactions): she was more likely a woman who was used by the men in her life - like Pope Alexander VI as a tool to form relationships and two of the three of her marriages, to further the pope’s own political interests. The Marriages of Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia was married three times. Her first marriage was to a man named Giovanni Sforza, on the 12th of June 1493. Their marriage was annulled in March 1497. Pope Alexander seemed to have had an influential hand in the annulment of Lucrezia Borgia and Giovanni Sforza - due to the pope not viewing the marriage as one which would further his political interests, he got the marriage annulled.
Her second marriage was to Alfonso d’Aragon in 1498. However, the marriage between Alfonso d’Aragon and Lucrezia Borgia was short lived, as d’Aragon was murdered two years later in 1500.
Lucrezia’s third, and last marriage, was to Alfonso d’Este. Her third marriage was her most successful marriage. She had 10 children with Alfonso d’Este. However, just days after giving birth to her tenth and last child, Lucrezia Borgia fell ill and died as a result of giving birth. Lucrezia Borgia died on the 24th of June 1519. Sources: https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/execution-girolamo-savonarola https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/01-02/lucrezia-borgia-renaissance-italy-scandal-intrigue/ https://www.historytoday.com/history-matters/were-borgias-really-so-bad
On the 18th of April 1912, The Carpathia reached New York with Titanic’s survivors.
The Carpathia reached New York on the 18th of April 1912 - just three days after the Titanic sank into the Atlantic Ocean, after hitting an iceberg on the 14th of April. Sadly, most people - crew and passengers alike - died as a result of the Titanic hitting an iceberg. There were more than 1,500 people died as a result of the incident; while 706 people survived. Titanic's survivors were rescued by The Carpathia at around 4am on the 15th of April 1912: that was around one hour and forty minutes after the Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. No ships reached the Titanic to save all onboard the ship; The Carpathia was the fisrt ship at the scene after the Titanic had sank. The Carpathia reached the location of where the Titanic sank (and where the Titanic survivors were) at around 4am that morning; the Titanic survivors that were waiting in lifeboats were rescued and helped onto The Carpathia by The Carpathia’s crew. Three days later, on the 18th of April 1912, The Carpathia, along with Titanic’s survivors reached New York in the evening that day.
The Carpathia arrived in New York at between 8.30pm or 9.30pm, at Pier 54 first, then went to Pier 59. If Titanic’s journey had been successful, she would have reached Pier 59 in New York on the previous day - the 17th of April 1912. Instead, it was The Carpathia a day later which arrived in New York with what was left of the Titanic - both in terms of passengers, and in terms of Titanic’s lifeboats.
Later, other things were recovered from the Titanic wreckage. Thousands greeted The Carpathia and Titanic survivors when she reached New York. A Sunk Reputation The journey that The Carpathia took to New York after the Titanic disaster was also pretty signaticant, especially for one person: Bruce Ismay. Bruce Ismay was the owner of the Titanic, and sailed with the ship during her ill-fated voyage. However, it was not just the Titanic that sank on the 15th of April 1912: it was also Bruce Ismay’s reputation that sunk on that ill-fated night. His actions are well portrayed in the Titanic (1997) film; where he is seen escaping the Titanic via a lifeboat after insisting and instructing the ship’s Captain Smith to speed up the Titanic. It has been suggested that Ismay did insist that Captain Smith speed up the Titanic - despite the Titanic going through icy waters. It is something that damaged Ismay’s reputation - a reputation that never recovered; he became disgraced for the rest of his life after the Titanic incident. But. It wasn’t only his potential behaviour on the Titanic which damaged his reputation; what also damaged his reputation was his alleged behaviour on the Carpathia while the ship made way to New York. Bruce Ismay allegedly did not mix with other Titanic survivors on the trip to New York: while every other survivor slept and spent their time in the dining room, Ismay insisted on having a private cabin - where he remained isolated from other survivors. His actions might have been down to shock due to the Titanic disaster. Or, it could have simply have been as a result of wanting to be alone; while not being around other passengers. Whatever the truth of Ismay’s actions on The Carpathia, what is known is how his actions were perceived by other people. His actions on The Carpathia further damaged his reputation. Something that he never recovered from for the rest of his life. Ismay, along with all of the other survivors of the Titanic, got off The Carpathia during the evening of the 18th of April 1912. Source: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/on-this-day-carpathia-new-york-titanic-survivors https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8677437/Titanic-builder-J-Bruce-Ismay-doomed-the-moment-he-jumped-ship.html
Just after the Titanic tragedy happened on the 15th of April 1912, there was conflicting newspaper reports about what had happened in the aftermath of the disaster.
In other words: different newspapers were reporting different things about the Titanic tragedy just after the tragedy had happened. For example, two newspapers - The Irish Times and the Daily Mail - on the 16th of April 1912, reported about the Titanic tragedy, however: both The Irish Times and the Daily Mail reported the story quite differently. Both The Irish Times and the Daily Mail gave a different interpretation of what actually happened on the 15th of April 1912; after the Titanic had struck and iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. Although The Irish Times and the Daily Mail gave different interpretations of the events surrounding the aftermath of the tragedy, one of the interpretations was quite close to the truth of what actually happened on that ill-fated night. The Irish Times was the more accurate report of the two reports: The Irish Times reported on the Titanic tragedy a lot more accurately than the Daily Mail on the 16th of April 1912. The Irish Times reported that there were over 1,000 people who lost their life. The Irish Times also reported that were 675 women and children that survived the tragedy. These numbers reported weren’t entirely accurate. However, they were close to the number of people who survived; while being accurate that over 1,000 people did die.
On the same day that The Irish Times reported about the Titanic hitting an iceberg, the Daily Mail also reported about the Titanic hitting an iceberg.
The Daily Mail on the 16th of April 1912, did accurately report that the Titanic hit an iceberg - and that as a result of Titanic hitting an iceberg, she sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. However, what the Daily Mail at the time got wrong, was that there was a loss of life as a result of Titanic’s collision with an iceberg. Whereas, the Daily Mail reported that Titanic’s collision with an iceberg resulted in no loss of life. During an era where communication and technology was limited, it is unsurprising that there was inaccuracies in the reporting of this tragedy. By the 17th of April 1912, the reports surrounding the Titanic became more accurate. Sources: http://www.paperlessarchives.com/titanic_newspaper_archive.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2129197/Daily-Mail-archives-reveal-Britain-learned-Titanic-disaster.html https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/a-supreme-tragedy-the-irish-times-view-on-the-sinking-of-the-titanic-1.3860891
On the 15th of April 1912, the Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, 107 years ago on this day - resulting in more than 1,500 people losing their life.
The Titanic sank in the early morning hours of the 15th of April 1912 at 2.20am (the ships time), after hitting an iceberg late in the evening of the 14th of April 1912 at 11.40pm. The ship, which was thought to be ‘’practically unsinkable’’ took a little less that three hours to be completely submerged by the Atlantic Ocean: the Atlantic Ocean is where the Titanic struck and iceberg and sank into the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg. The Titanic’s maiden voyage began on the 10th of April 1912. The Titanic’s maiden voyage began in Southampton in England. After leaving England at noon on the 10th of April 1912, the Titanic’s next port of call was Cherbourg in France. Titanic arrived in Cherbourg, France later that evening. on the 10th of April. She did not stay long in Cherbourg, and after departing from Cherbourg, Titanic left to stop at her final port of call - Queenstown in Ireland.
Titanic arrived in Queenstown on the following day, the 11th of April 1912. While in Queenstown, the Titanic picked up her final passengers which boarded the ship in Queenstown, at Cork Harbour, before setting sail out into the Atlantic Ocean. Most of Titanic’s journey during the 11th of April 1912, and the 12th and 13th of April 1912, was a normal and typical maiden voyage. Nothing drastic or alarming happened in those days.
But that changed on the 14th of April 1912, when Titanic received numerous ice, growler and iceberg warnings throughout the day of the 14th of April 1912. The first iceberg warning that Titanic received that day was at 9am from the Caronia. Several other iceberg warnings were given to the Titanic throughout that day. The Titanic’s final iceberg warning came just around one hour before she hit the iceberg - that iceberg warning was from the Californian, which had informed the Titanic that they had stopped for the night due to ice in the area - a warning that was dismissed by the Titanic’s wireless operator, Jack Phillips, who was busy with other messages.
Around an hour later, at 11.39pm in the crows nest, Frederick Fleet spotted the iceberg that Titanic was heading towards. It was too late for the crew to do anything by the time Fredrick Fleet spotted the iceberg. Just seconds later after Fredrick Fleet spotted the iceberg, at 11.40pm, Titanic struck the iceberg. It took just under three hours for the Titanic to sink at 2.20am. Most of the passengers and crew sadly died as a result of the collision. While just over 700 of Titanic’s passengers, and some crew members, survived Titanic’s collision.
Those who survived the collision, had to wait around two hours before help arrived: the Carpathia was the ship that rescued Titanic’s survivors at around 4am on the morning of the 15th of April 1912.
The Titanic sea trials began in the early hours of the morning, on the 2nd of April 1912. The Titanic sea trials began a day later than they were supposed to begin: they were supposed to begin on the 1st of April 1912. However, due to their being bad weather on the 1st of April 1912 in Belfast, the Titanic sea trials were delayed, and instead the trials happened the following day, on the 2nd of April 1912.
What Were The Titanic Sea Trials? The Titanic sea trials was an event on the 2nd of April 1912. It was aimed at testing how well the Titanic done at sea. The Titanic was tested at different speeds that day, to see how she would cope at being tested at different speeds. Basically, the Titanic sea trials were a test, to see how well the Titanic done at sea - and she passed that day. After about 12 hours of being at sea on the 2nd of April 1912, the Titanic passed her trial, and was noted to have been seaworthy. The Titanic left Belfast Docks during the morning of the 2nd of April 1912 at 6am that morning to start her trials. Her trials were in the Irish Sea.
The Titanic was back in Belfast Docks at around 7 pm, on the evening of the 2nd of April 1912. However, she did not stay in Belfast that long, after she had arrived back there. Just one hour later, the Titanic left Belfast Docks again. Only this time, the Titanic left Belfast Docks forever that evening - never to return. That night, she made her way to Southampton - where the Titanic would set sail on he doomed maiden voyage.
Jack the Ripper, the world’s most notorious serial killer; is thought to have have killed at least five women during the Autumn of 1888.
The five women murdered during the Autumn of 1888, were all killed in a matter of weeks from each other. From August 31st 1888, up to the 9th of November 1888, five women were killed at the hands of the notorious serial killer: Jack the Ripper. , Jack the Ripper is believed to have killed at least five women during the Autumn of Terror. These five women were: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly: all of these five women were believed to have been killed by the same hand - that hand is believed to have been ‘Jack the Ripper’. However, it’s also been speculated that these were not his only victims.
Some theorists argue that Jack the Ripper had more victims than the five that were just listed - these five victims are known as ‘The Canonical Five.’ Some theorists argue that Jack the Ripper didn’t kill five women, and that he actually killed three women, or four of the Canonical Five women. For example: some theorists argue that Elizabeth Stride was not a victim of Jack the Ripper’s, because she was not mutilated. Whereas, - all of the other four women were mutilated by their killer. Others argue that Jack the Ripper did not kill Mary Jane Kelly. Some theorists believe that Jack the Ripper did not kill Mary Jane Kelly, because Mary Jane Kelly was killed by her killer indoors. Meanwhile, the other four Canonical victims, were killed outdoors. But; there is more to this case than just the Canonical Five victims: there are a total of eleven women who have been linked to Jack the Ripper. These eleven women's murders - are known as the ‘Whitechapel Murders’. The police at the time referred to the eleven murders as the Whitechapel Murders; and opened the case known as the Whitechapel Murders in 1888; it remained open until 1891. The Whitechapel Murders case was first opened on the 3rd of April 1888, with the attack and murder of a woman known as Emma Elizabeth Smith. Some have theorized that Emma Elizabeth Smith, was an early victim of Jack the Ripper’s. However, her attack and murder seems to have been gang-related, rather than that of a single murderer - therefore, along with the nature of the attack being different from the Canonical Five murders, rules Jack the Ripper out for the attack and murder of Emma Elizabeth Smith. Emma Elizabeth Smith was only the first Whitechapel Murders victim; most of the victims were murdered in 1888. A woman named Martha Tabram was the next victim; she was murdered on the 7th of August 1888. Unlike Emma - Martha Tabram's murder did have striking similarities to the Canonical Five victims. Not only was Martha Tabram a prostitute, she was also killed in a similar way to the Canonical Five. But, she was killed in a in a way that might suggest that the killer was less experienced in killing. It could be suggested that due to amateurish nature of the killing of Martha Tabram, that she was the earliest victim of Jack the Ripper - or one of the earliest victims of Jack the Ripper.
After Martha Tabram's murder, there were four more murders that Autumn: what is known as ‘The Autumn of Terror’. The Autumn of Terror is also part of the Whitechapel Murders. The Autumn of Terror is what most people think of - and refer to - when they are talking about Jack the Ripper. The Autumn of Terror was at the height of the Whitechapel Murders cases notoriety. The Autumn of Terror is when five (the Canonical Five) women were murdered at the hands of Jack the Ripper. Most theorists agree that Jack the Ripper killed these five women - while a few disagree.
The Canonical Five were murdered on the following dates:
The night were Jack the Ripper murdered two women on the 30th of September 1888 - Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes - is known as the Double Event. The murder of Mary Jane Kelly marked the end of the Autumn of Terror. It is also believe that Mary Jane Kelly was Jack the Ripper’s final victim. However, it’s possible that Jack the Ripper had more victims than we don't know about. Some have even argued that. However. It's impossible to know how many victims Jack the Ripper had. He could have murdered more women than we know about. Perhaps there were more murders that took place during 1888 that we are aware about. But, what we do know, is that the end of the Autumn of Terror, didn't result in the end of the Whitechapel Murders. What is clear, is that the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, was not the end to the Whitechapel Murders case. There was one more women named in the Whitechapel Murders case from 1888, her name was - Rose Mylett. Rose Mylett was found dead by a police officer on the 20th of December 1888. It was thought at the time, that Rose Mylett was possibly another victim of Jack the Ripper’s. However, her death was possibly accidental, or a suicide. By the end of 1888, it appeared as though Jack the Ripper had vanished as quickly as he appeared. It seemed as if by the end of 1888, that the Whitechapel Murders had come to an end. Jack the Ripper may have been finished after the end of 1888. However, the Whitechapel Murders were not. And the case was still open. Over half a year went by until the next Whitechapel Murders victim was killed - Alice MacKenzie - who was killed on the 17th of July in 1889. Today, Alice MacKenzie is not regarded as a victim of Jack the Ripper by many. At the time, most involved in the case also did not feel that Alice MacKenzie was a victim of Jack the Ripper, though a few did believe that she was a victim of Jack’s. Others at the time suggested that the murder of Alice MacKenzie, could have been a copycat killing - where the killer was either trying to make it look as if the murder was that of Jack the Ripper’s, or that he was just copying. Largely, 1889 was mostly quiet, and Alice MacKenzie was the only known victim to have been murdered that year. There was one other incident: there was a torso found on the 10th of September 1889, which was thought to have been from a woman. But most do not think that this toroso, was the work of Jack. There was one last Whitechapel Murder before the Whitechapel Murders case was closed. The last Whitechapel Murder was on the 13th of February 1891, when a women named Francis Cole was murdered. Again, Francis Cole’s murder did have similarities with the Canonical Five murders. However, it was also thought that her murder was another copycat type killing. And, therefore, not the work of Jack. After the murder of Francis Cole, the Whitechapel Murders case was closed. However, the Whitechapel Murders case, is probably the most debated about, and speculated about case in history. Even today, well over 100 years later, people still debate the Whitechapel Murders case, speculating which of these women were murdered at the hands of Jack the Ripper, and who was not. |
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