The Sinking of the White Star Line's "Olympic" on This Day in History

 

This day in history: The White Star Line ship RMS Olympic collided with the British warship HMS Hawke on this day in 1911. The White Star Line, a British shipping company, also owned the Titanic, which would famously sink months later in April 1912. These are actually two of many mishaps the White Star Line would have. Their RMS Tayleur, described as "the first Titanic", sank on her maiden voyage in 1854. Of more than 650 aboard, only 280 survived. The SS Royal Standard hit an iceberg in 1864. The RMS Atlantic sank in 1873, killing 562 passengers. The RMS Republic collided with another ship in 1909. This ship was equipped with a new Marconi wireless telegraphy transmitter, and issued a CQD distress call, resulting in the saving of around 1,500 lives. The HMHS Britannic suffered an explosion on 1916 with a loss of 30 lives. The SS Naronic went missing in 1911.

Despite all of this, the White Star Line still prospered. 

Also, on September 20: The steamboat Dean Richmond collided with the steamboat Cornelius Vanderbilt and sank in the Hudson River at Rondout, New York with the loss of two of her 150 passengers and crew in 1867.

The Fanny collided with the steamship Colombia and sank in the River Mersey with the loss of four of her crew in 1866.

The Challenge was reported missing in 1876 and never seen again while travelling from Ireland to Brazil.

The British Lady was run into by the steamship Risca in 1871 off Porthcawl, Glamorgan (Wales) and was severely damaged.

The Falcon was run into by the steamship Rotterdam at Harwich, Essex in 1871 and was beached. 

The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 was launched in Clydebank, Scotland in 1967.

Singer Jim Croce, songwriter and musician Maury Muehleisen and four others died when their light aircraft crashed on takeoff at Natchitoches Regional Airport in Louisiana in 1973.

At least 161 people die after a ferry capsized close to the pier on Ukara Island in Lake Victoria and part of Tanzania in 2018.

See also: Mysteries of the Sea - 200 Books on DVDrom

Maritime Superstitions by H.R. Woestyn 1906

The Sea and its Legends by Benjamin Taylor 1900

The Mystery of the "Mary Celeste" by John E Watkins 1919

The Flying Dutchman and Other Legends of the Sea 1897

The Phantom Ship by Elliott O'Donnell 1911

The Story of the Haunted Ship by Wilhelm Hauff 1890