Titanic Memorial
One hundred years ago, late on the evening of April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg while on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. It quickly became clear that the huge ship was doomed. Those aboard Titanic were ill-prepared for such an emergency. The ship's lifeboats had only enough space to carry about half of those on board. The crew had not been trained adequately in carrying out an evacuation. The officers did not know how many they could safely put aboard the lifeboats and launched many of them barely half-full. Third-class passengers were largely left to fend for themselves, causing many of them to become trapped below decks as the ship filled with water. A "women and children first" protocol was generally followed for the loading of the lifeboats and most of the male passengers and crew were left aboard. At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, only two hours and forty minutes after Titanic struck the iceberg, the ship sank, taking the remaining passengers and crew with it. Only 710 people (mostly women and children) survived the disaster, while 1,517 others lost their lives.
The Titanic Memorial is a granite statue in southwest Washington, D.C., that honors the men who gave their lives so that women and children might be saved during the RMS Titanic disaster. The thirteen-foot-tall figure is of a partly clad male figure with arms outstretched. The statue was erected by the Women's Titanic Memorial Association.
The memorial is located on P Street, SW, next to the Washington Channel near Fort Lesley J. McNair. It was designed by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who won the commission in open competition, and sculpted by John Horrigan from a single piece of granite. It was unveiled on May 26, 1931.
Originally located at the foot of New Hampshire Avenue, NW, in Rock Creek Park along the Potomac River, the monument was removed in 1966 to accommodate the Kennedy Center and re-erected without ceremony in 1968 on the south Washington waterfront in Washington Channel Park.
The inscription carved into the base of the statue reads:
TO THE BRAVE MEN
WHO PERISHED
IN THE WRECK
OF THE TITANIC
APRIL 15, 1912
THEY GAVE THEIR
LIVES THAT WOMEN
AND CHILDREN
MIGHT BE SAVED
ERECTED BY THE
WOMEN OF AMERICA
And on the back it says:
TO THE YOUNG AND THE OLD
THE RICH AND THE POOR
THE IGNORANT AND THE LEARNED
ALL
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES NOBLY
TO SAVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Titanic Memorial
One hundred years ago, late on the evening of April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg while on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. It quickly became clear that the huge ship was doomed. Those aboard Titanic were ill-prepared for such an emergency. The ship's lifeboats had only enough space to carry about half of those on board. The crew had not been trained adequately in carrying out an evacuation. The officers did not know how many they could safely put aboard the lifeboats and launched many of them barely half-full. Third-class passengers were largely left to fend for themselves, causing many of them to become trapped below decks as the ship filled with water. A "women and children first" protocol was generally followed for the loading of the lifeboats and most of the male passengers and crew were left aboard. At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, only two hours and forty minutes after Titanic struck the iceberg, the ship sank, taking the remaining passengers and crew with it. Only 710 people (mostly women and children) survived the disaster, while 1,517 others lost their lives.
The Titanic Memorial is a granite statue in southwest Washington, D.C., that honors the men who gave their lives so that women and children might be saved during the RMS Titanic disaster. The thirteen-foot-tall figure is of a partly clad male figure with arms outstretched. The statue was erected by the Women's Titanic Memorial Association.
The memorial is located on P Street, SW, next to the Washington Channel near Fort Lesley J. McNair. It was designed by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who won the commission in open competition, and sculpted by John Horrigan from a single piece of granite. It was unveiled on May 26, 1931.
Originally located at the foot of New Hampshire Avenue, NW, in Rock Creek Park along the Potomac River, the monument was removed in 1966 to accommodate the Kennedy Center and re-erected without ceremony in 1968 on the south Washington waterfront in Washington Channel Park.
The inscription carved into the base of the statue reads:
TO THE BRAVE MEN
WHO PERISHED
IN THE WRECK
OF THE TITANIC
APRIL 15, 1912
THEY GAVE THEIR
LIVES THAT WOMEN
AND CHILDREN
MIGHT BE SAVED
ERECTED BY THE
WOMEN OF AMERICA
And on the back it says:
TO THE YOUNG AND THE OLD
THE RICH AND THE POOR
THE IGNORANT AND THE LEARNED
ALL
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES NOBLY
TO SAVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN