R.M.S. Titanic–The Legacy Lives on
By Thomas C. Wilmer
When White Star Lines’ R.M.S. Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911 the vessel was hailed as the world’s largest and most expensive ocean liner ever built. Touting every imaginable cutting-edge luxury such as electric elevators, telephones, a heated swimming pool, a Turkish bath, a squash court and two barbershops—the technological marvel was dubbed “unsinkable” by White Star’s vice president.
Financed by American industrialist, J.P. Morgan, the ship was outfitted with the finest woodwork, artwork, carpets and fabrics available at any cost. The piece de resistance was the Grand Staircase, clad in oak paneling with gilded balustrades and intricate wrought iron railings illuminated by a glass-dome above.
