The Titanic | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/titanic/RSS feed for The TitanicenMon, 20 Apr 2026 19:11:49 +0000The Titanic Carried 3,500 Life Jackets, but Almost All of Them Have Been Lost to History. This One Just Sold at Auction for Nearly $1 Millionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-titanic-carried-3500-life-jackets-but-almost-all-of-them-have-been-lost-to-history-this-one-just-sold-at-auction-for-nearly-1-million-180988574/The artifact belonged to first-class passenger Laura Mabel Francatelli, a secretary heading to Chicago with her employer. It's the only life vest connected to a survivor of the 1912 shipwreck to ever appear at auctionMon, 20 Apr 2026 19:11:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-titanic-carried-3500-life-jackets-but-almost-all-of-them-have-been-lost-to-history-this-one-just-sold-at-auction-for-nearly-1-million-180988574/The Titanic's Wealthiest Victim Was Carrying a Gold Pocket Watch When He Died. Now, It Could Sell for $500,000 at Auctionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-titanics-wealthiest-victim-was-carrying-a-gold-pocket-watch-when-he-died-now-it-could-sell-for-500000-at-auction-180988475/John Jacob Astor IV was returning from his honeymoon with his wife, who survived the 1912 disaster. His pocket watch and gold pencil case are going up for sale this monthFri, 03 Apr 2026 16:57:53 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-titanics-wealthiest-victim-was-carrying-a-gold-pocket-watch-when-he-died-now-it-could-sell-for-500000-at-auction-180988475/Popular Lore Claims That William Howard Taft Got Stuck in a Bathtub. New Research Sheds Light on the Legend's Forgotten Originshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/popular-lore-claims-that-william-howard-taft-got-stuck-in-a-bathtub-new-research-sheds-light-on-the-legends-forgotten-origins-180988386/A long-overlooked 1929 account contains the earliest known reference to the anecdote, suggesting that the 27th president found himself trapped in a tub during a Mississippi River voyageMon, 23 Mar 2026 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/popular-lore-claims-that-william-howard-taft-got-stuck-in-a-bathtub-new-research-sheds-light-on-the-legends-forgotten-origins-180988386/The Titanic's Sister Ship, the Britannic, Sank in 1916. For the First Time, Divers Have Recovered Artifacts From Its Wreckhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-titanics-sister-ship-the-britannic-sank-in-1916-for-the-first-time-ever-divers-have-recovered-artifacts-from-its-wreck-180987402/The luxury liner was requisitioned as a hospital ship during World War I. Thirty people died after the vessel struck a German naval mine and sank off the coast of GreeceThu, 25 Sep 2025 17:30:15 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-titanics-sister-ship-the-britannic-sank-in-1916-for-the-first-time-ever-divers-have-recovered-artifacts-from-its-wreck-180987402/See Rare Letters From a Titanic Passenger, Who Called the Vessel a 'Fine Ship' Days Before It Sankhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-rare-letters-from-a-titanic-passenger-who-called-the-vessel-a-fine-ship-days-before-it-sank-180987112/Archibald Gracie's letter, which recently sold at auction, is part of a new exhibition at the Molly Brown House Museum in DenverFri, 08 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-rare-letters-from-a-titanic-passenger-who-called-the-vessel-a-fine-ship-days-before-it-sank-180987112/He Boarded the Titanic, Then Wrote a Letter: 'It Is a Fine Ship, But I Shall Await My Journey's End Before I Pass Judgment'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/he-boarded-the-titanic-then-wrote-a-letter-it-is-a-fine-ship-but-i-shall-await-my-journeys-end-before-i-pass-judgment-180986526/First-class passenger Archibald Gracie wrote the missive shortly after settling into his cabin on the doomed vessel. It just sold at auction for nearly $400,000Wed, 30 Apr 2025 14:07:33 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/he-boarded-the-titanic-then-wrote-a-letter-it-is-a-fine-ship-but-i-shall-await-my-journeys-end-before-i-pass-judgment-180986526/Eight Historic Moments That Took Place at the Waldorf Astoria New Yorkhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/eight-historic-moments-that-took-place-at-the-waldorf-astoria-new-york-180986439/The famous hotel reopens this spring after an extensive renovation that began in 2017Wed, 16 Apr 2025 18:25:52 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/eight-historic-moments-that-took-place-at-the-waldorf-astoria-new-york-180986439/The Long, Strange Trip of the Titanic Victims Whose Remains Surfaced Hundreds of Miles Away, Weeks After the Ship Sankhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-long-strange-trip-of-the-titanic-victims-whose-remains-surfaced-hundreds-of-miles-away-weeks-after-the-ship-sank-180986386/Rescuers only recovered the bodies of 337 of the 1,500-plus passengers and crew who died in the disaster. Around one-third of these corpses were buried at seaMon, 14 Apr 2025 10:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-long-strange-trip-of-the-titanic-victims-whose-remains-surfaced-hundreds-of-miles-away-weeks-after-the-ship-sank-180986386/See the Titanic in Remarkable Detail With a 3D Scan That Reveals New Secrets of the Doomed Ship's Final Momentshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-titanic-in-remarkable-detail-with-a-3D-scan-that-reveals-new-secrets-of-the-doomed-ships-final-moments-180986415/A documentary called "Titanic: The Digital Resurrection" will unveil the most detailed digital reconstruction of the shipwreck ever created. Experts are using the model to study the vessel's demiseFri, 11 Apr 2025 18:56:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-titanic-in-remarkable-detail-with-a-3D-scan-that-reveals-new-secrets-of-the-doomed-ships-final-moments-180986415/The Historic S.S. 'United States,' the Fastest Liner to Cross the Atlantic, Is Heading to a Watery Gravehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-historic-ss-united-states-the-fastest-liner-to-cross-the-atlantic-is-heading-to-a-watery-grave-180986059/Officials plan to purposefully sink the passenger ship off the coast of Florida, where it will become the world's largest artificial reefFri, 14 Feb 2025 22:03:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-historic-ss-united-states-the-fastest-liner-to-cross-the-atlantic-is-heading-to-a-watery-grave-180986059/