April 15 historic event (just one today)
Ninety-eight years ago today, the Titanic sank in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg the night before. About two thirds of the 2,200+ aboard – over 1,500 people – died in the sinking.
The sinking and the subsequent massive loss of life were the results of bad planning, bad luck, and poor decisions made both before and after the collision.
-The number of lifeboats aboard was reduced to the minimum allowed by law.
-The Californian, a ship that was close enough to easily reach the sinking Titanic before it went down and rescue most (if not all) passengers, never approached the doomed ship. This was because;
After the sinking, ships were chartered to recover as many of the bodies as was possible. Those that were in poor shape were buried at sea, but hundreds were recovered. About half were never identified, and were buried under tombstones with only a number on them instead of a name.
More than ninety years after the disaster, DNA testing identified him as 19-month-old Sidney Leslie Goodwin. His entire family died in the sinking, and his body was the only one recovered.
The disaster was shocking and inspired changes in maritime law and safety regulations.
Although there have been other sinkings with higher numbers of casualties, it remains (nearly 100 years later) by far the most famous shipwreck in history.