1907
Plans are made to build two luxury ships, the Olympicand the Titanic, with a third, the Britannic to be built later.

1908-1909
Construction of Titanic and Olympic begins in Belfast, Ireland.

1910
October 20 The Olympic is successfully launched.

1911
May 31 The hull of the Titanic is successfully launched.
June The Olympic leaves on her maiden voyage.

1912
January Sixteen wooden lifeboats, along with four collapsible canvas-sided boats, are fitted onboard Titanic.
March 31 The outfitting of the Titanic is complete.
April 10 Wednesday---- Sailing Day
9:30 to 11:30 am: Passengers arrive in Southampton and board the ship.
Noon: The Titanic casts off and begins her maiden voyage.
6:30 pm: The Titanic rides at anchor in Cherbourg, France.
8:10 pm: The Titanic leaves for Queenstown, Ireland.
April 11, Thursday: 1:30 pm: The Titanic leaves Queenstown for New York.
April 12 and 13, Friday and Saturday: The Titanic sails through calm, clear weather.
April 14, Sunday: Seven ice warnings are received throughout the day.
11:40 pm: The lookouts see an iceberg right ahead. The iceberg strikes the ship on the starboard (right) side of her bow.
11:50 pm: Water has poured in and risen 14 feet in the front part of the ship.
April 15 Monday, 12:00 am: The captain is told that the ship can only stay afloat for a couple of hours. He gives the order to call for help over the radio.
12:05 am: Orders are given to uncover the lifeboats and to get the passengers and crew on deck. But there is only enough room for about half of the estimated 2,227 on board.
12:25 am: The order is given start loading the lifeboats with women and children first. The Carpathia, southeast of the Titanic by about 58 miles, picks up the distress call and immediately heads full speed to the rescue.
12:45 am: The first lifeboat is successfully is lowered away. It can carry 65 people, but is lowered with only 28. The first distress rocket is fired. Eight rockets will be fired during the night.
1:15 am: The tilt of the deck grows steeper. Lifeboats now begin to leave more fully loaded.
1:40 am: Most of the forward have now gone. Passengers begin to move back to the stern section.
2:05 am: The last lifeboat leaves. There are still about 1500 people still on the sinking ship. The tilt of the Titanic’s decks grows steeper and steeper.
2:17 am: The last radio call for help is sent out. Captain Smith tells the crew members "It’s every man for himself." The Titanic’s bow plunges under. Many passengers and crew jump overboard. The Titanic’s forward funnel collapses, crushing a number of people.
2:18 am: The ship’s light blink once and then go out. Several survivors see the ship slit in two. The bow section sinks.
2:20 am: The Titanic’s broken off stern section settles back into the water, becoming more level for a few moments. Slowly it fills with water and again tilts its high end into the air before sinking into the sea. Those struggling in the icy water slowly freeze to death.
3:30 am: The rescue ship Carpathia’s rockets are sighted by the survivors in the lifeboats.
4:10 am: The first lifeboat is picked up by the Carpathia.
8:50 am: The Carpathia leaves the area bound for New York. She carries 705 survivors.
April 18 9:00 pm: The Carpathia arrives in New York.
April 19 to May 25: An inquiry into the Titanic disaster is conducted by the United States Senate.
April 22 to May 15 Several ships are sent to the disaster site to recover bodies. A total of 328 bodies are found floating in the area.
May 2 to July 3 The British Inquiry is conducted.

1913
 April As a result of the Titanic disaster, the International Ice Patrol is created to guard the North Atlantic sea lanes.

1914
 February The Titanic’s second sister ship, the Britannic is launched. She is sunk two years later during World War One.

1935
 After 24 years of safe and reliable service, the Titanic’s first sister second ship, the Olympic, is retired and scrapped.

1985
 September 1 A joint French American scientific expedition led by Dr. Robert Ballard discovers the wreck of the Titanic.

1986
 July Dr. Ballard returns to the Titanic. In a submarine, he explores and photographs the entire wreck.

1987
 The U.S. Congress moves to make the Titanic an international memorial. A French expedition recovers many artifacts from the Titanic wreck.

This timeline was found in Exploring the Titanic by Dr. Robert Ballard. Check your local library or bookstore for it. It’s a really good book. It’s got awesome pictures in it, too. By the way, we could add a “1996” and put “For his new movie, director James Cameron takes machinery farther into the wreck of Titanic than anyone else has ever gone.”

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