Some Titanic Facts-- Part 1

From the April 15th Chicago Tribune Focus Maritime Milestone "A Titanic Century" by Emily Rosenbaum.

**  Captain Edward Smith was known as the "millionaire's captain" because of his popularity with wealthy passengers.  He sure looked the part of a sea captain.

**  US and British investigations proposed safety recommendations and in 1913 led to the first International Conference of Safety of Life At Sea.  One major rule was that every ship now had to have space for each passenger in a lifeboat.

**  Millvina Dean, 97, was the last survivor of the sinking, died in 2009.  She was nine weeks old when her family left London for a new life in Wichita, Kansas, where her father hoped to open a shop.  Her mother and brother survived, but father did not.

**  Researchers this year made a field map of the wreck and debris area, taking 130,000 photos to create the most in-depth picture yet of the 3-mile-by-five-mile wreckage field.

**  Researchers have often puzzled over how Captain Smith, with all his experience in the North Atlantic, seemingly disregarded the iceberg warnings.

**  The Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., features a half-scale replica of the ship's bow, complete with a never melting iceberg.  Other artifacts include a third-class menu, a deck chair and Isidor Staus' wedding band.

More to Come.  --Cooter