Today, or rather tonight, marks 106 years since Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on the 14th April 1912. Over 1500 people died, with only 700 people surviving.

The Titanic was ordered on the 17th September 1908, along with 2 other ships (the Olympic and the Britannic). They were built at Harland and Wolff, in Belfast. They were the largest, most luxurious ships of the time, being 269m long. They opposed the Cunards ships, which valued speed over luxury.

The Titanic was laid down on the 31st March 1909 and was launched on the 2nd April 1911. It was completed on the 2nd April 1912.

The ship left Southampton on its maiden voyage on the 10th April 1912, after being delayed many times. It then travelled to Cherbourg, France to collect more passengers, and finally to Queenstown, Ireland. From there, it travelled across the Atlantic to New York - or so people thought.

4 days after departure from Southampton, at ~23:30, the ships lookouts spotted an iceberg. The commanding officer on the bridge, First Officer William Murdoch, ordered hard-astarboard (which would make the ship turn to port). The ship collided with the iceberg, smashing through 5 watertight compartments. The Titanic could float with 4 compartments flooded, but as 5 had been flooded the ship would sink.

The ship eventually sank in the early hours of the 15th April 1912, with a total loss of over 1500 people. The casualties included Captain Edward John Smith.

The wreck was eventually discovered by Robert Ballard in 1985. Ballard also discovered the wrecks of the Bismarck and the USS Yorktown.

Her sister ship, Olympic survived until 1935, when she was scrapped. Olympic served in WWI as a troop transport. However, her sister ship, RMS Britannic, wasn't so lucky. In WWII, she was a hospital ship, and sank when she struck a mine/was torpedoed. 32 people perished in that incident.