On April 10, 1912, the Titanic, a passenger liner on its maiden voyage, left Southampton, England en route to New York. Its passengers included wealthy Americans and Europeans and working-class people from many countries emigrating to America.

The Titanic represented a great achievement in engineering and design. It was the biggest ship in the world at that time: 269 meters long and 28 meters wide, with nine decks. For safety, the Titanic's hull had 16 separate watertight compartments. Even if four of its front compartments or any two of its middle compartments were flooded with water, it could still stay afloat. Because of this, the ship was widely believed to be unsinkable.

The Titanic received several warnings about ice as it made its way across the North Atlantic. However, the warnings were not enough to prevent a calamity. At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, the Titanic struck an iceberg. The ship's builder inspected the damage and informed the captain that the Titanic could not be saved. Water had made its way into six of the hull's front compartments - too many for the ship to stay afloat.

The ship had enough lifeboats for only 1,178 people, or just over half the passengers aboard. In addition, the first several lifeboats used were not filled to capacity. At first, many of the passengers did not believe that the ship would really sink, and did not want to get in the lifeboats. At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, two and a half hours after striking the iceberg, the Titanic disappeared beneath the surface of the ocean. Of the approximately 2,200 passengers and crew members on board, only 705 survived.

People were stunned when the news arrived of the Titanic's fate. Inquiries were held in both America and Great Britain to determine the reasons for the accident. Later, regulations were put in place to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again. All ships are now required to carry enough lifeboats for everyone on board. The International Ice Patrol, established in 1913, warns ships of icebergs in the North Atlantic.

Even now, more than 90 years later, the sinking of the Titanic still holds great public interest. It has been the subject of several books and films, including the blockbuster movie Titanic in 1997.

In 1985, the Titanic's wreckage was discovered lying in two pieces on the ocean floor 3,798 meters below the surface. Popular exhibitions now display some of the many artifacts salvaged from the wreck. The ship itself, however, will likely remain where it is. Its iron hull has started to disintegrate, eaten away by microbes. Eventually, all that will be left of the once magnificent ship will be artifacts and memories.

By Mary Adair