Titanic facts: True stories, myths, and books that reveal the real tragedy

When you think of the Titanic, the ill-fated British passenger liner that sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, killing over 1,500 people. Also known as RMS Titanic, it remains one of the most studied disasters in history—not because it was the biggest ship, but because of the human choices, class divisions, and quiet heroism that played out on its decks. Most people know the movie. Few know the real stories behind the lifeboats, the band that kept playing, or the third-class passengers who never made it to the deck.

Titanic facts aren’t just about numbers—they’re about people. The ship carried over 2,200 souls, from millionaires in first class to immigrants in steerage, all with different chances of survival. Only about 31% made it. Why? Lifeboats were half-empty because crew didn’t know how to fill them. Some third-class passengers were locked below. A nearby ship, the Californian, saw the distress rockets but didn’t respond. These aren’t plot twists. They’re documented facts, pulled from survivor testimonies, official inquiries, and shipping logs. And they’re the reason books like A Night to Remember still sell today—not because they’re dramatic, but because they’re true.

What makes the Titanic still matter isn’t the wreckage on the ocean floor. It’s the questions it leaves behind: Who got saved? Who got ignored? Who was blamed? And why do we keep telling this story? The posts below dig into those questions. You’ll find book reviews that separate fact from Hollywood fiction, survivor accounts that haven’t made it into textbooks, and historical deep dives that show how the disaster changed safety rules forever. No fluff. No myths. Just the real people, the real mistakes, and the real books that tell their stories.