Titanic objects raised to the surface. Titanic is a story raised from the bottom. What else was on board the Titanic?

The next anniversary of, without a doubt, the most famous tragedy at sea, which occurred on the night of April 14-15, 1912, caused a surge in auction sales. This year's biggest purchase was a deck chair from the Titanic, worth £100,000. What place does this unique item occupy among other artifacts associated with the sunken liner? 15th place In 2011, a wooden humidor (a box for storing cigars) that belonged to the captain of the Titanic, Edward John Smith, was sold. This is evidenced by his initials and the emblem of the White Star Line company that owned the liner. Interestingly, the humidor was not recovered from a sunken ship - which explains the relatively low price of 25 thousand pounds - but was discovered in the home of a Liverpool pensioner. When asked how he got there, the woman could not give a clear answer. 14th place In 2008, the last surviving Titanic passenger paid £27,000 for a suitcase full of belongings. These things were once collected by New Yorkers for the surviving members of her family - herself (she was only two months old at the time of the disaster), her mother and brother. A 96-year-old woman had to resort to a sale to pay for her stay in a private nursing home. The following year, Titanic director James Cameron and actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett provided her with financial assistance. And a few weeks after that she died. 13th place In the same 2008, a ticket for the ill-fated flight was sold for 33 thousand pounds. It belonged to Lillian Esplund, who had died two years earlier, the youngest of the surviving passengers who retained at least some memories. She was five years old at the time of the plane crash. She did not like to talk about the shipwreck, in which her mother and three-year-old brother survived, but her father and three older brothers died. Almost the same amount - 34 thousand in pounds - was paid at the Bonhams New York auction for an unused ticket to the Titanic launching ceremony. 12th place In June 2008, a life jacket from the Titanic was auctioned for 34 thousand pounds. It was in good condition and belonged to a Canadian farmer who caught it from the shore. The fact that they did not have time to use the vest is evidenced by the intact shoulder straps: they were usually cut when removed so as not to injure the skin. Another inflatable vest was sold the year before for £59,000, but details of the sale are unknown. In total, six such life-saving devices are believed to have survived. 11th place 40 thousand pounds was paid by an anonymous buyer of a bronze plate with the inscription “S.S. Titanic" and the bronze White Star Line flag. A little less - about 33 thousand pounds - was paid for similar plates on which “Titanic” and “Liverpool” were written. And the bronze medal of disaster survivor Molly Brown cost the buyer about 6 thousand pounds. 10th place In April 2012, a silk kimono allegedly belonging to passenger Christina Lucy Duff Gordon, a well-known fashion designer at the time, was auctioned off. The cost was 48 thousand pounds. Her son gave the item to Lord Anthony Halsberry, who wrote a book about her mother, and he, in turn, sold it, requiring the buyer never to show it publicly. This ban was violated, and the item again ended up in the possession of the descendants of its owner. Some experts believe that the kimono dates back to a later time and probably belonged to Halsberry’s wife, who did not sail on the Titanic. 9th place In 2006, a medallion with a portrait of her mother belonging to passenger Helen Candy was sold for 58 thousand pounds. Her silver flask sold for 30 thousand pounds. The surviving passenger gave both items shortly after the disaster to also survivor Edward Kent, since she did not have pockets on her clothes. In addition, £47,000 was paid at auction for her handwritten 36-page account of the disaster. 8th place The most expensive surviving menu from the second-class restaurant on the Titanic was sold in 2012, the year of the 100th anniversary of the tragedy. It cost 87 thousand pounds. The previously sold menu, which ended up in the handbag of one of the first class passengers, cost a little less - 76 thousand pounds. It contained about 40 dishes. And another similar artifact, also from a top-level restaurant, was sold in October last year for 60 thousand pounds. It was accidentally put in the coat pocket of the Spencer family maid, who escaped with her mistress. 7th place In September 2007, a truly unique item was sold at auction - a small key that could prevent a disaster. The fact is that they opened a box with binoculars located at the lookout post. This key was accidentally or intentionally taken with him by officer David Blair, who was transferred to another ship shortly before the Titanic went to sea. At first Blair was very annoyed by the transfer, but after the tragedy, of course, he changed his mind and kept the key as a talisman. Its price was 90 thousand pounds. And in 2012, a set of keys to a room in which lanterns for lifeboats were stored was sold for £59,000. 6th place The 100th anniversary of the shipwreck was marked by another landmark sale - a letter from 33-year-old Wallace Hartley, who led the ship's band. “I’m writing just to say that we had a good time. There was a lot of turmoil as I just started to settle in. The ship is beautiful, it probably cost a lot of money. I miss home, it would be great to see you at least for an hour or two, but it’s not in my power. The orchestra is wonderful, the guys seem great. I'll probably get home on Sunday morning. We will arrive on Saturday. “I’m glad that my mother’s leg doesn’t hurt so much,” says the letter, which was sent from the Irish port of Cove (then Queenstown), the Titanic’s last stop before leaving for the open ocean. Hartley died along with the entire orchestra, encouraging the dying people with their music until the very end, and his message was valued at approximately 90 thousand pounds. 5th place The pocket watch of Edmund Stone, one of the Titanic's stewards, was sold in October 2008 for £94,000. They stopped exactly at the moment the ship began to sink to the bottom. The key to the first class cabin that belonged to him cost 60 thousand pounds. 4th place The sun lounger mentioned above, which sold for £100,000 at yesterday's auction, was picked up by the crew of the Mackay-Bennett, which was sent to recover the bodies of the victims. This item once served first class passengers and was located on their promenade deck. 3rd place Another letter, sold a year ago, became the most expensive to date - 119 thousand pounds. It was written by second class passenger Esther Hart and her seven-year-old daughter Eva, who left a sweet note at the end. A rather detailed letter was written on the fateful day of the death of the liner and addressed to the relatives of the passenger. Mother and daughter survived, the latter dying at the age of 91 in 1996. 2nd place A large sum - 220 thousand pounds - was paid for a detailed drawing of the Titanic measuring 10 by 1.5 meters. The document, written in ink, appeared in the materials of the investigation into the causes of the collision with the iceberg. The drawing shows the collision locations. The auction for this lot took place in 2011. 1st place Finally, the first place belongs to the violin of the orchestra leader, which was mentioned just above. It was sold in 2013 for 900 thousand pounds, or about $1.5 million. She was in a suitcase that was tied to the body of the deceased musician. Despite the water damage, its condition is quite good, although, of course, it will no longer be possible to play on it.

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More than 105 years ago, the famous Titanic set off on its first and last voyage. On board were the wealthiest people of the time, who brought untold wealth and works of art worth millions of dollars to the New World. What legendary treasures lie in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean and why has no one managed to get them yet?

We are in website We found a list of the most expensive personal belongings of the Titanic passengers, and some of the items seemed very strange to us.

1. Billion dollars on board

On April 10, 1912, the Titanic set sail from Southampton for New York with 1,317 passengers and 908 crew on board. According to various sources, they carried with them jewelry totaling from half a million to a billion dollars in terms of modern money.

2. Tons of valuable cargo for sale

The ship was also used to deliver 60,000 pieces of mail and several tons of various goods for sale in the United States, worth more than $10 million in today's money. In the holds of the ship there were furs, wines, champagne, food, books, medical instruments and even two barrels of mercury.

3. Diamonds

As we learned from surviving documents, the ship carried a collection of diamonds worth over $300 million.

4. Mysterious manuscript

One of the most valuable items that ended up on board the doomed ship was the manuscript of the 11th century Persian scientist and philosopher Omar Khayyam. The enamel-bound manuscript was decorated with a thousand precious stones.

5. Works of art

What was carried on board the Titanic became known thanks to claims and lawsuits filed by surviving passengers after the shipwreck. The most expensive loss was the painting by the French artist Merry-Joseph Blondel “Circassian Woman in the Bath” (La Circassienne au bain). Its owner valued the painting at $100,000 (about $2.4 million in modern terms).

6. "Dragon's Blood"

The list of cargo from the Titanic also mentioned 76 containers with “dragon’s blood”. This is what they used to call the resin from trees that grew on the Canary Islands. It was mainly used for medicinal purposes.

7. Mummy under the captain's bridge

Perhaps a very exotic treasure was transported on the ship. It is believed that the mummy of an Egyptian soothsayer from the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV was kept in a wooden box under the captain's bridge. With her was also an amulet with the image of the king of the underworld Osiris. There was an inscription on it that meant something like this: “Rise from oblivion and with one glance defeat everyone who stands in your way.” Some researchers believe that it was this ancient mummy that led to the death of the Titanic, while others deny the very fact of transporting an unusual artifact on board the ship.

8. Legendary car

Among other expensive cargo, the Titanic carried a partially disassembled brand new Renault Type CB Coupe de Ville. It is known that the owner of the car managed to escape with his family. After returning to the United States, he demanded compensation from the ship's owners for the car in the amount of $5,000 and another $300 for the two dead dogs.

Why the Titanic has not yet been raised to the surface

Relatives of wealthy passengers who died in the disaster discussed the possibility of raising the sunken liner. However, in 1912, such a technical possibility was not possible due to the too great depth at which the wreckage of the ship was located - about 3,750 meters.

At the end of the 1950s, they again returned to the ambitious idea of ​​\u200b\u200bsearching and recovering the wreckage of the Titanic. The most incredible proposals were put forward. In 1966, they seriously wanted to line the hull with plastic containers of water and pass an electric current through them so that the gases obtained by electrolysis, according to some scientists, would raise the ship.

It was proposed to freeze the ship's hull from the inside so that it floats to the surface, like an ice cube. There was even discussion of plans to fill the ship's hull with ping-pong balls or hundreds of tons of liquid wax. However, all these fantastic ideas remained unrealized.

They tried to find the treasures of the Titanic using high technology, but the exact location of the wreckage of the ship was established only 33 years ago. The first deep-sea vehicles

According to the testimony of surviving first and second class passengers and information leaked to the press, there was a lot of treasure on board the Titanic. According to estimates by the managing director of the Andrews shipyard, where the giant steamship was built, the “cost” of the liner’s passengers, among whom were collectors, millionaires and very wealthy people, was about $250 million. These passengers carried with them expensive antique paintings, things, diamonds and gold.

Of course, the paintings, like the priceless manuscript of Omar Khayyam's "Rubai", the rare, magnificently preserved mummy of an Egyptian soothsayer from the time of Pharaoh Amenhotep I (belonged to the archaeologist and Lord Canterville) - all this was irretrievably lost in the abyss, but gold bars, diamonds and gold jewelry, undoubtedly remained in the Titanic's safes and cabins.

After the Titanic was discovered in the Atlantic at a depth of 3750 m in 1989 by the famous submariner R. Ballard, three expeditions visited the site of the sinking - two American-French and one Russian.

A special document specifically stipulated that nothing from the Titanic's property would be brought to the surface by expeditions. Therefore, even the gutta-percha children's doll, after photographing it, was carefully put back in place. The expedition members strictly followed this order, although sometimes they found unique objects. In one of the dives, for example, a golden candlestick was discovered in a cabin crushed by water. And it was also returned to the Titanic.

The main purpose of these dives was to examine the place of death and the nature of the destruction of the hull. As it turned out, the hull of the airliner broke. The stern part of it, where there was no hole and where a giant air cushion formed, broke off and sank a little later, separately from the bow.

The American underwater mini-robot Jason carefully entered the interior of the Titanic and took several hundred photographs. Crystal and gilded chandeliers under the ceiling have been preserved there; columns once sheathed with expensive trees; staircase of the main salon; first class cabins with English porcelain baths; bottles of champagne, Chinese sets with the emblem of the famous White Star shipping line (White Star) with a star inside a red triangle are objects of desire for many collectors. An ancient Greek bronze sculpture of Diana was found that apparently belonged to Margaret Brown, a millionaire from Denver who transported rare items acquired in different countries. Taking command of one of the lifeboats, she at the last moment ordered to throw it all overboard.

However, a second French underwater expedition received permission to retrieve items from the cabins and bring them to the surface. Apparently, some interesting arguments from the French played a role, convincing lawyers to extract both scientific data and objects of legal significance from the bottom of the ocean.

For example, during the investigation and trial examining the circumstances of the sinking of the Titanic, some passengers claimed that while the Titanic was sinking, individual crew members robbed personal safes in the cabins. This was a serious allegation that had to be investigated.

Titanic Indeed, Jason managed to examine some of the service rooms and passenger cabins, including the one that, according to an eyewitness, was robbed. The Jason operator managed to use a manipulator to turn the handle of the safe, partly this indicated that the lock of the safe was indeed open, but the massive steel door, covered with a thick layer of rust, did not budge!

Nothing was reported to the press about the safes located in the service areas and Captain Smith's cabin. It is only known that the French raised 1,412 objects to the surface, some of which were handed over to the museum, some were distributed to private collections and sold at auction for a lot of money, and some objects were returned to their previous owners, who, alas, by 1991 remained in only a few people are alive.

The Russian underwater expedition from the P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, equipped with the deep-sea manned vehicle "Mir", together with the Canadian company "SHAH", the American company "OCEAN IMAGE" and the US National Geographic Society in 1991, made seventeen deep-sea dives at the site of the death "Titanic".

"Mir" managed to shoot a unique film, which received the highest rating from experts and is being studied.

According to expert reports, the Titanic sank deeply into the bottom silt. Its bow, where the 95-meter wound from the iceberg that destroyed the liner should be located, was buried too deeply due to the enormous weight of the hull. This sad circumstance did not allow us to examine the hole. It was only possible to establish that the starboard side skin was strongly pressed inward and rivets along the side had burst.

What was sensational was that after carefully studying the film and photographs, some experts said that the iceberg only crushed the giant’s hull and could not tear open the massive steel plating!

Then the question arises: what caused the death of the Titanic? Perhaps subsequent deep-sea expeditions will answer this.

The Titanic, along with its safes and buried treasures, is apparently destined to rest on the ocean floor for a very long time. There are already concerns that sooner or later amateur submariners will be able to reach his cabins. In just a few years they will be able to build both deep-sea vehicles and unique search electronic equipment. And the depth of 3750 meters will not pose a serious obstacle for them.

Expedition to the Titanic

As for the future fate of the Titanic, there are projects to transform it into the International Maritime Museum. It is already possible to conduct interesting research on it regarding the laws of corrosion of various metals and ecology. And in just ten years, multi-seat deep-sea submersibles will be able to show the Titanic illuminated by spotlights to numerous tourists and lovers of underwater archeology.

On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the most modern passenger liner at that time, the Titanic, making its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and soon sank. At least 1,496 people died, 712 passengers and crew were rescued.

The Titanic disaster quickly became overgrown with a mass of legends and speculation. At the same time, for several decades, the place where the lost ship rested remained unknown.

The main difficulty was that the location of the death was known with very low accuracy - we were talking about an area 100 kilometers in diameter. Considering that the Titanic sank in an area where the depth of the Atlantic is several kilometers, finding the ship was very problematic.

Titanic. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The bodies of the dead were going to be raised with dynamite

Immediately after the shipwreck, relatives of wealthy passengers who died in the disaster came up with a proposal to organize an expedition to raise the ship. The initiators of the search wanted to bury their loved ones and, to be honest, return the valuables that had sunk to the bottom along with their owners.

The decisive attitude of the relatives came across a categorical verdict from experts: the technology for searching and lifting the Titanic from great depths simply did not exist at that time.

Then a new proposal was received - to drop dynamite charges to the bottom at the supposed site of the disaster, which, according to the authors of the project, were supposed to provoke the ascent of the corpses of the dead from the bottom. This dubious idea also did not find support.

The First World War, which began in 1914, postponed the search for the Titanic for many years.

Interior of the veranda for first class passengers of the Titanic. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Nitrogen and ping pong balls

They started talking about searching for the liner again only in the 1950s. At the same time, proposals began to appear on possible ways to raise it - from freezing the body with nitrogen to filling it with millions of ping-pong balls.

In the 1960s and 1970s, several expeditions were sent to the area where the Titanic sank, but all of them were unsuccessful due to insufficient technical preparation.

In 1980 Texas oil tycoon John Grimm financed the preparation and conduct of the first large expedition to search for the Titanic. But, despite the availability of the most modern equipment for underwater searches, his expedition ended in failure.

Played a major role in the discovery of the Titanic ocean explorer and part-time US Navy officer Robert Ballard. Ballard, who was involved in improving small unmanned underwater vehicles, became interested in underwater archeology and, in particular, the mystery of the Titanic sinkhole back in the 1970s. In 1977, he organized the first expedition to search for the Titanic, but it ended in failure.

Ballard was convinced that finding the ship was only possible with the help of the latest deep-sea bathyscaphes. But getting these at your disposal was very difficult.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Doctor Ballard's Secret Mission

In 1985, having failed to achieve results during an expedition on the French research vessel Le Suroît, Ballard moved to the American vessel R/V Knorr, with which he continued the search for the Titanic.

As Ballard himself said many years later, the expedition, which became historic, began with a secret deal concluded between him and the command of the Navy. The researcher really wanted to get the Argo deep-sea research vehicle for his work, but the American admirals did not want to pay for the work of the equipment to search for some historical rarity. The ship R/V Knorr and the Argo apparatus were supposed to carry out a mission to examine the sites of the sinking of two American nuclear submarines, Scorpion and Thresher, which sank back in the 1960s. This task was secret, and the US Navy needed a person who could not only carry out the necessary work, but also be able to keep it secret.

Ballard's candidacy was ideal - he was quite famous, and everyone knew about his passion for finding the Titanic.

The researcher was offered: he could get the Argo and use it to search for the Titanic if he first found and examined the submarines. Ballard agreed.

Only the leadership of the US Navy knew about the Scorpion and Thrasher; for the rest, Robert Ballard simply explored the Atlantic and looked for the Titanic.

Robert Ballard. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

"Comet tail" at the bottom

He coped with the secret mission brilliantly, and on August 22, 1985, he was able to again begin the search for the liner that died in 1912.

None of the most advanced technology would have ensured his success if not for the previously accumulated experience. Ballard, while examining the sinkhole sites of the submarines, noticed that they left at the bottom a kind of “comet tail” of thousands of fragments. This was due to the fact that the hulls of the boats were destroyed when sank to the bottom due to enormous pressure.

The scientist knew that during the dive on the Titanic, the steam boilers exploded, which meant that the liner should have left a similar “comet tail.”

It was this trace, and not the Titanic itself, that was easier to detect.

On the night of September 1, 1985, the Argo apparatus found small debris at the bottom, and at 0:48 the camera recorded the Titanic’s boiler. Then it was possible to discover the bow of the ship.

It was found that the bow and stern of the broken liner were located at a distance of about 600 meters from each other. At the same time, both the stern and the bow were seriously deformed when sank to the bottom, but the bow was still better preserved.

Ship model. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

House for underwater inhabitants

The news of the discovery of the Titanic became a sensation, although many experts hastened to question it. But in the summer of 1986, Ballard carried out a new expedition, during which he not only described in detail the ship at the bottom, but also made the first dive to the Titanic on a manned deep-sea vehicle. After this, the last doubts were dispelled - the Titanic was discovered.

The liner's final resting place is located at a depth of 3,750 meters. In addition to the two main parts of the liner, tens of thousands of smaller debris are scattered along the bottom over an area of ​​4.8×8 km: parts of the ship’s hull, remains of furniture and interior decoration, dishes, and personal belongings of people.

The wreckage of the ship is covered with multi-layered rust, the thickness of which is constantly growing. In addition to multi-layered rust, 24 species of invertebrate animals and 4 species of fish live on and near the hull. Of these, 12 species of invertebrates clearly gravitate towards shipwrecks, eating metal and wooden structures. The interior of the Titanic was almost completely destroyed. The wooden elements were consumed by deep sea worms. The decks are covered in layers of clam shells, and stalactites of rust hang from many of the metal pieces.

A wallet recovered from the Titanic. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Are all the people left with shoes left?

During the 30 years that have passed since the discovery of the ship, the Titanic has been rapidly deteriorating. Its current state is such that there can be no talk of any lifting of the vessel. The ship will forever remain at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

There is still no consensus on whether human remains were preserved on the Titanic and around it. According to the prevailing version, all human bodies completely decomposed. However, information periodically appears that some researchers have nevertheless stumbled upon the remains of the dead.

But James Cameron, director of the famous movie "Titanic", who personally has over 30 dives to the liner on the Russian Mir deep-sea submersibles, is sure of the opposite: “We saw shoes, boots and other footwear at the site of the sunken ship, but our team has never encountered human remains.”

Things from the Titanic are a profitable product

Since the discovery of the Titanic by Robert Ballard, about two dozen expeditions have been carried out to the ship, during which several thousand objects were raised to the surface, ranging from personal belongings of passengers to a piece of plating weighing 17 tons.

The exact number of objects recovered from the Titanic is impossible to establish today, since with the improvement of underwater technology, the ship has become a favorite target of “black archaeologists” who are trying to obtain rarities from the Titanic by any means.

Robert Ballard, lamenting this, remarked: “The ship is still a noble old lady, but not the same lady I saw in 1985.”

Items from the Titanic have been sold at auction for many years and are in great demand. So, in the year of the 100th anniversary of the disaster, in 2012, hundreds of items went under the hammer, including a cigar box that belonged to the captain of the Titanic ($40 thousand), a life jacket from the ship ($55 thousand), and a master key first class steward ($138 thousand). As for the jewelry from the Titanic, their value is measured in millions of dollars.

At one time, having discovered the Titanic, Robert Ballard intended to keep this place secret, so as not to disturb the resting place of one and a half thousand people. Perhaps he shouldn't have done this.

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The sinking of the Titanic passenger liner, in which 1,517 of the 2,229 passengers and crew died (official figures vary slightly), was one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters. The 712 surviving passengers of the Titanic were picked up by the rescue ship Carpathia.

Few disasters have caused such a resonance and had such a strong impact on public consciousness. The disaster changed attitudes towards social injustice, influenced the rules of passenger transport in the Atlantic Ocean, contributed to stricter requirements for the presence of a sufficient number of lifeboats on board passenger ships and led to the creation of the International Ice Service.

Today marks 106 years since the disaster of the Titanic, which became one of the most famous ships in history. Many books and films, exhibitions and memorials are devoted to the theme of the Titanic sinking.

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The British passenger liner Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England on her first and last voyage on April 10, 1912. Before heading to New York, the Titanic stopped at Cherbourg (France) and Queenstown (Ireland). Four days later, on April 14, 1912, at 23:40 local time, the liner collided with an iceberg 603 kilometers south of Newfoundland.

At 2:20 am, the Titanic broke into two parts and sank. At that time there were about a thousand people on board. People who found themselves in the icy water soon died from hypothermia. (Frank O. Brainard Collection)

The passenger liner Titanic departs on her first and last voyage to New York from Queenstown, Ireland, 1912. On board the liner were the richest people of that time: millionaires John Jacob Astor IV, Benjamin Guggenheim and Isidore Strauss, as well as more than a thousand emigrants from Ireland, Scandinavia and other countries who were going to start a new life in America.

The disaster shocked the whole world. The investigation into the sinking of the Titanic, which began a few days after the disaster, contributed to significant improvements in shipping safety. (United Press International)

Workers leave the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, where the Titanic was built between 1909 and 1911. At the time of its launch, the Titanic was the largest passenger liner in the world. In this 1911 photo, the Titanic is in the background. (Photographic Archive/Harland & Wolff Collection/Cox)

Dining room on the Titanic, 1912. The liner was designed and built with the latest technology and served as the embodiment of luxury and comfort. On board there was a gym, a swimming pool, libraries, high-end restaurants and luxurious cabins. (The New York Times Photo Archives/American Press Association)

Second class room on board the Titanic, 1912. More than 90% of the second class passengers were men, who remained on board the sinking liner, as women and children were the first to board the lifeboats. (The New York Times Photo Archives/American Press Association)

The Titanic sails from Southampton, England, on April 10, 1912. Some experts believe that the cause of the Titanic disaster was the poor quality of the hull rivets that were used in the construction of the liner. (Associated Press)

Captain of the Titanic, Edward John Smith, captained the largest liner of his time. The length of the Titanic was 269.1 meters, width - 28.19 meters, displacement - more than 52 thousand tons.

The height of the liner from the keel to the top of the chimneys was 53.3 meters, 10.5 of which were below the waterline. The Titanic was taller than most city buildings at the time. (The New York Times Archives)

An undated photograph of Titanic's first mate William McMaster Murdoch, who is revered as a hero in his homeland of Dalbeattie, Scotland. However, in the film Titanic, which received many Oscar awards, Murdoch's character is portrayed as a coward and a murderer.

At a ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, 20th Century Fox executive vice president Scott Neeson presented a check for $8,000 to Dalbeattie School to apologize to the officer's relatives. (Associated Press)

Presumably, the iceberg that the Titanic passenger liner collided with on April 14, 1912. The photograph was taken from the cable-laying vessel Mackay Bennett, captained by Captain Descarteret.

The Mackay Bennett was one of the first to arrive at the site of the Titanic disaster. According to Captain DeCarteret, it was the only iceberg near the site of the ocean liner wreck. (United States Coast Guard)

Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which sailed only partially full. This photograph of lifeboats approaching the Carpathia was taken by Carpathia passenger Louis M. Ogden.

The photograph was featured in an exhibition of documents related to the Titanic disaster that Walter Lord bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. (National Maritime Museum/London)

The rescue ship Carpathia picked up 712 surviving passengers from the Titanic. A photograph taken by Carpathia passenger Louis M. Ogden shows lifeboats approaching the Carpathia.

This photograph was also exhibited in an exhibition of documents that Walter Lord bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. (National Maritime Museum/London)

Although the Titanic had advanced safety measures such as watertight compartments and remote-controlled watertight doors, the ship did not have enough lifeboats for all passengers.

There were only enough boats for 1,178 people - that's only a third of all passengers and crew. In this photo you see the rescue of passengers from the Titanic. (Paul Treacy/EPA/PA)

Reporters interview passengers of the sunken Titanic who disembarked from the rescue ship Carpathia on May 17, 1912. (American Press Association)

Seven-year-old Eva Hart with her father Benjamin and mother Esther, 1912. Eve and her mother escaped the sinking Titanic, but her father died when the British liner sank on the night of April 15, 1912. (Associated Press)

People stand on the street waiting for the arrival of the Carpathia ship. (The New York Times Photo Archives/Times Wide World)

A huge crowd of people gathered outside the offices of the White Star Line on Broadway in New York to hear the latest news about the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912. (Associated Press)

The New York Times newsroom during the sinking of the Titanic, April 15, 1912. (The New York Times Photo Archives)

People read reports outside the offices of The Sun newspaper in New York after the sinking of the Titanic. (The New York Times Photo Archives)

Two messages sent from America to Lloyds of London insurers in London erroneously claimed that other ships, including the Virginia, were nearby providing assistance during the Titanic disaster.

These lots will be auctioned at Christie's in London in May 2012. (AFP/EPA/Press Association)

Titanic survivors Laura Francatelli and her employers Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon and Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon stand aboard the rescue ship Carpathia. Francatelli said she heard a terrible crash and then cries for help as her boat sailed away from the sinking ocean liner Titanic on that tragic night in 1912. (Associated Press/Henry Aldridge and Son/Ho)

The passenger liner Titanic shortly before departure on its first and last voyage, 1912. (New York Times Archives)

The photo, released by Henry Aldridge & Son/Ho auction house in Wiltshire, UK, on ​​April 18, 2008, shows an extremely rare artifact - a passenger ticket for the Titanic. (Henry Aldridge & Son/Ho)

An exhibit bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England by Walter Lord is a Marconi telegram. Miss Edith Russell (journalist and Titanic survivor) wrote in Women's Wear Daily: "Saved on the Carpathia, tell mother." "Carpathia", April 18, 1912. (National Maritime Museum/London)

Lunch menu from the restaurant on board the Titanic, signed by the surviving passengers. Walter Lord bequeathed this document to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. (National Maritime Museum/London)

The bow of the sunken Titanic, 1999. (P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology)

One of the propellers of the Titanic passenger liner. The photo was taken during an expedition to the shipwreck on September 12, 2008. Five thousand artifacts will be sold at auction on April 11, 2012, almost 100 years after the Titanic disaster. (RMS Titanic, Inc., via Associated Press)

The starboard side of the Titanic's bow. This image was released by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on August 28, 2010. (Premier Exhibitions, Inc.-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Part of the Titanic's side, chains and an additional anchor buoy. Dr Robert Bollard, who discovered the wreck of the Titanic almost 20 years ago, returned to the site of the tragedy to look at the damage caused to the ship and its treasure by looters and seekers of easy enrichment. (Institute for Archaeological Oceanography & Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island Grad. School of Oceanography)

The huge propeller of the sunken Titanic lies at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The photo is undated. The first tourists to visit the shipwreck in September 1998 saw the propeller and other parts of the famous liner. (Ralph White/Associated Press)

A 17-ton fragment of the Titanic passenger liner, which was recovered from the ocean floor during an expedition to the shipwreck, July 22, 2009. On April 11, 2012, this exhibit will be sold at auction along with 5 thousand other artifacts. (RMS Titanic, Inc., via Associated Press)

A gold Waltham American pocket watch - a personal item of Karl Asplund - is seen in front of a painting of the Titanic painted by C.J. Ashford. The watch was found on the body of Karl Asplund, who sank with the Titanic. (Kirsty Wigglesworth Associated Press)

Money from the Titanic. The owner of one of the richest collections of things found on the Titanic put it up for auction in 2012, the year of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the famous liner. (Stanley Leary/Associated Press)

Photographs of Felix Asplund, Selma and Karl Asplund and Lillian Asplund in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. These photos are part of Lillian Asplund's collection of Titanic-related items.

Lillian was 5 years old in April 1912 when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage. The girl survived, but her father and three siblings were among the 1,514 people who died. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press)

Artifacts found at the Titanic wreck are on display at the TITANIC The Artifact Exhibit at the California Science Center: binoculars, a comb, dishes and a cracked incandescent light bulb. February 6, 2003. (Michel Boutefeu/Getty Images, Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times)

Glasses found among the wreckage of the Titanic. The full collection of artifacts found at the Titanic wreck site will be auctioned in April 2012 - 100 years after the tragedy. (Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)

Golden spoon from the Titanic. (Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)

The chronometer from the captain's bridge of the Titanic is on display at the Science Museum in London. It is one of more than 200 objects recovered from the ocean floor where the Titanic sank.

Visitors to the exhibition at the museum can go through the entire history of the famous liner in chronological order - from the drawings for its construction to the moment of destruction after a collision with an iceberg. (Alastair Grant/Associated Press)

The Titanic's speed measuring instrument and Gimbal lamp are among the artifacts on display at the museum in New York. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Objects from the sunken Titanic on display at the New York Museum. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)

A cup and pocket watch are among many items found on the Titanic, as well as a White Star Line flag button and a small porthole. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images, Brendan McDermid/Reuters, Michel Boutefeu/Getty Images-2)

These spoons from the Titanic are part of an exhibit at the South Norwalk, Connecticut Museum. (Douglas Healey/Associated Press)

The gold-plated handbag is one of the items from the Titanic. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The April 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine and its online version for iPad, where you can see new photos from the sunken liner, which still rests on the ocean floor at a depth of 3,784 m. Few disasters have affected society as much, and for so long, as sinking of the Titanic. (National Geographic)

The Titanic's stern, with two propellers sticking out of the mud and sand, rests on the ocean floor 600 meters south of the ship's bow. (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

The first complete image of the legendary wreckage. The photo mosaic consists of 1,500 high-resolution images taken using sonar research. (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)

The starboard side of the ship. The bow of the Titanic was the first to sink to the bottom of the ocean, so that its front part was buried in the sand, forever closing the mortal wounds left by the iceberg. (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)

The mutilated stern in profile. (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)

The stern of the Titanic, top view. This interweaving of metal is a mystery to scientists. As one of them said: “If you decipher this, you will love Picasso.” (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)

Two Titanic engines are visible through a crack in the stern. These huge structures, covered in rust, once powered the largest liner in the world at the time. (COPYRIGHT© 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, WHOI)