# Was the Titanic launched to great fanfare? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-titanic-launched-to-great-fanfare/944364 "2021-06-16T02:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-titanic-launched-to-great-fanfare/944364/1 "2021-06-16T02:22:58Z")
The _Titanic_ disaster was, it goes without saying, perhaps one of the most well-known sea disasters in modern history. When the ship was first launched, was there a lot of fanfare surrounding it? When the ship sank, did the newspapers have to spend a lot of time catching people up on what exactly made the _Titanic_ so special to begin with? Or was the maiden voyage already international news before tragedy struck? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-titanic-launched-to-great-fanfare/944364/2 "2021-06-16T02:25:59Z")
According to a book I read some years back (whose title escapes me at the moment), Harland & Wolff weren’t big on christenings or other launch ceremonies. To quote one of the yard workers, “they just builds 'er and shoves 'er in.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-titanic-launched-to-great-fanfare/944364/3 "2021-06-16T03:08:39Z")
> **[Titanic Launch • Titanic Facts](https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-launch/)** > > Read facts about the launch of the RMS Titanic, at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, 31 May 1911. 100,000 people watching, according to the website. I think that sounds highly inflated, but if it is accurate,even if the number was 10,000, that’s a lot for a ship launch. The Titanic was big news. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-titanic-launched-to-great-fanfare/944364/4 "2021-06-16T03:10:46Z")
Contemporary news article: > **[From the archive: The Titanic is sunk, with great loss of life](https://www.theguardian.com/news/1912/apr/16/leadersandreply.mainsection)** > > From the archive: On this day in 1912, the Guardian reported that the maiden voyage of the Titanic, the largest ship ever launched, had ended in disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-titanic-launched-to-great-fanfare/944364/5 "2021-06-16T03:13:58Z")
NYT. The first class passengers were the Kardashians of the day: [https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0415.html](https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0415.html) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-titanic-launched-to-great-fanfare/944364/6 "2021-06-16T03:22:17Z")
One more. Reproduction of a newspaper ad touting what the future should have been, if not for the evil iceberg that had its own plans: > **[Titanic Art - Pixels](https://pixels.com/art/titanic)** > > Shop for titanic wall art from the world's greatest living artists. All titanic artwork ships within 48 hours and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee. Choose your favorite titanic designs and purchase them as wall art, home decor, phone cases,... ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-titanic-launched-to-great-fanfare/944364/7 "2021-06-16T07:07:33Z")
The launch definitely made the papers around the world. Here’s an Australian sampling - most of it was about the technical details, and the crowd is measured only in ‘many thousands’, but it would have given the flavour of technological marvels being made into reality. [Sydney Daily Telegraph](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239099215) [Melbourne Herald](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242832174) [North West Times and Emu Bay Advocate](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64200367) The big angle was that it had an equally huge sister ship, the Olympic, so it would have felt like a new age dawning. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-titanic-launched-to-great-fanfare/944364/8 "2021-06-16T19:12:00Z")
The Olympic was launched six months before Titanic. I’d think that one would have been the newsworthy one.