Titanic

The RSM Titanic is the most famous ship to have been built in Belfast. It isn't famous because of the years of service it had, but rather for what actually happened to it.

The Titanic, coined unsinkable, actually struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sank.

The Titanic will always have a connection with the Belfast, the place where it was built. It was built in 1911[1].

The Titanic sank, with the loss of 1503 passengers and crew, on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg[2].

The part of Belfast where the Titanic was built is being regenerated as the Titanic Quarter; a business park. The Titanic Quarter is 75 hectares of reclaimed Belfast city harbor. It is being developed into one of the largest waterfront developments in Europe[3].

There have been a number of films about the Titanic. The most famous of these was James Cameron's epic 1997 blockbuster (www.titanicmovie.com). The main people in the film are Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Some may find it ironic that such a successful film was built on a back of a tragic disaster; the sinking of the Titanic.

References

  1. Wikipedia, Merchant and Industrial town, History of Belfast. Available [online] from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Belfast [Accessed 3 March 2007].
  2. BBC, Titanic: Sinking the Myths, Titanic: Sinking the Myths. Available [online] from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwone/titanic_01.shtml [Accessed 3 March 2007].
  3. Wikipedia, Titanic: Sinking the Myths, Belfast. Available [online] from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast [Accessed 3 March 2007].

© 2007 | Belfast History developed by David Bennett