A Night to Remember

Once the Titanic disappeared, Lady Duff Gordon turned to her servant and said, “There is your beautiful nightdress gone” (94). The rest of the world took the disaster more seriously. In the aftermath, the routes designated for ocean liners were shifted south. The International Ice Patrol was established to track and address ice formations. All ships carrying passengers were required to have a telegrapher operating their wireless machine 24 hours a day.

The Titanic carried lifeboats for only 1,178 of the 2,207 people on board, but the White Star Line had boasted that she was carrying more lifeboats than regulations required. After she sank, passenger ships were required to carry enough lifeboats to accommodate every single person on board. Inquests held on both sides of the Atlantic acknowledged that a lack of explicit disaster protocols and appropriate training for the crew resulted in chaotic, inefficient, and detrimental actions taken by men trying their best in unprecedented circumstances without effective guidance. The significant loss of life among third-class passengers was largely ignored by the investigations and inquests. The roster of those traveling first class on the Titanic was well-known to the public; the social elites were the celebrities of the period.