- The Titanic— billed as an unsinkable ship —hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912.
- Over 1,500 people died in the maritime disaster, while 705 individuals survived.
- A number of the victims and survivors were famous people.
The Titanic is one of the most famous tragedies in maritime history.
And a number of its victims and survivors were quite famous too.
The ocean liner, which sank off the coast of Newfoundland on its maiden voyage to New York City, was billed as the paragon of luxury travel. As a result, many prominent individuals decided to book a trip on the doomed ship.
Some of the ship’s most famous passengers included a top fashion designer, one of the wealthiest men in the world, and a famous British countess.
For the most part, most of the well-known people on board were first-class passengers. Researcher Chuck Anesi crunched the numbers, breaking down the demographics of the survivors. He found that 97.22% of the 144 female first-class passengers were rescued, while only 32.57% of their 175 male counterparts were saved. Ultimately, he found that male second-class passengers fared the worse in terms of survival, with only 14 out of 168 making it out alive. The total survival rate for women was 74%, while the male survival rate was 20%.
Here are 12 of the most famous victims of the Titanic disaster— and 11 prominent people who survived: