12:00 PM — Titanic departs Southampton. As she passes the moored SS New York, the displacement of water snaps New York’s mooring ropes. The smaller ship swings dangerously close. Tugs intervene. Departure is delayed by one hour. Several passengers later called this a bad omen.

6:30 PM — Titanic arrives at Cherbourg, France. 274 passengers board, including John Jacob Astor IV and his young wife Madeleine. 24 passengers disembark.

8:10 PM — Titanic departs Cherbourg for Queenstown, Ireland.

11:30 AM — Titanic arrives at Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland. 123 passengers board — most are third class emigrants heading to America. 7 passengers leave the ship. This is the last port of call.

1:30 PM — Titanic departs Queenstown for New York. Total aboard: approximately 2,224 passengers and crew.

Two uneventful days at sea. The ship covers 386 miles on the 12th and 519 miles on the 13th. Passengers explore the grand staircase, the gymnasium, the Turkish bath, and the swimming pool. The wireless room is busy with personal messages — passengers sending telegrams to friends and business contacts in New York. Ice warnings begin arriving from other ships.

9:00 AM — Caronia reports ice at 42°N, 49°-51°W.

11:40 AM — Noordam reports ‘much ice’ in the same area.

1:42 PM — Baltic warns of ‘large quantities of field ice’ at 41°51’N, 49°52’W. Captain Smith hands this message to Bruce Ismay, chairman of White Star Line, who puts it in his pocket.

1:45 PM — Amerika reports ‘two large icebergs’ at 41°27’N, 50°8’W.

7:30 PM — Californian reports ‘three large bergs’ at 42°3’N, 49°9’W. This message is delivered to the bridge.

9:40 PM — Mesaba sends an urgent warning of ‘heavy pack ice and great number of large icebergs’ directly in Titanic’s path. This message is never delivered to the bridge — the wireless operators are overwhelmed with passenger telegrams.

10:00 PM — First Officer Murdoch relieves Second Officer Lightoller on the bridge. The night is calm, moonless, and cold — 33°F. Lightoller later testified this was the worst possible condition for spotting icebergs: no wind meant no waves breaking at their base.

11:00 PM — Californian warns Titanic of ice. Wireless operator Jack Phillips, buried in passenger messages, responds: ‘Shut up, shut up! I am busy.’ Californian’s operator turns off his set and goes to bed.

11:40 PM — Lookout Frederick Fleet spots an iceberg dead ahead. He rings the bell three times and telephones the bridge: ‘Iceberg, right ahead!’ First Officer Murdoch orders ‘Hard-a-starboard’ and ‘Full speed astern.’ The ship turns — but not enough. The iceberg scrapes the starboard side below the waterline, opening the first five compartments to the sea.

12:00 AM — Thomas Andrews, the ship’s designer, inspects the damage and tells Captain Smith the ship has at most two hours.

12:05 AM — Smith orders the lifeboats uncovered and the crew mustered. The wireless operators begin sending distress signals — first CQD, then the newer SOS.

12:25 AM — The order is given: women and children first. On the port side, Second Officer Lightoller interprets this strictly — women and children ONLY. On starboard, First Officer Murdoch allows men to board if no women are waiting.

12:45 AM — Lifeboat 7, the first to launch, leaves with only 28 people. It can hold 65. Many passengers refuse to board — they believe the ship is safer than a small wooden boat in the freezing Atlantic.

1:15 AM — The ship’s tilt becomes obvious. Water reaches the nameplate on the bow. The band is playing on the boat deck.

1:40 AM — Most remaining lifeboats are launched. Many are less than half full. Collapsible boats C and D are prepared.

2:05 AM — The last lifeboat is launched. Over 1,500 people remain on the ship. The bow is underwater. Passengers and crew climb toward the stern, which is rising out of the water.

2:17 AM — The last wireless message is sent. The lights flicker and go out. The ship splits in two between the third and fourth funnels. The bow section plunges to the ocean floor.

2:20 AM — The stern section, briefly vertical, sinks. Approximately 1,496 people are in the 28°F water. Life expectancy in water that cold: 15 to 45 minutes.

3:30 AM — Carpathia’s rockets are sighted by the lifeboats.

4:10 AM — Carpathia picks up the first lifeboat.

8:30 AM — Carpathia picks up the last lifeboat. 710 survivors. The rescue is complete.

The American inquiry began on April 19 — four days after the sinking. The British inquiry followed in May. Between them, they interviewed over 100 witnesses. The transcripts run to thousands of pages. Most of what we know comes from these documents, not from Hollywood.