by TIMOTHY J. THOMPSON

Created on: December 26, 2007

Human Beings are always in control of their own destinies. There is simply no such thing as "the inevitable." This is true in everyday life as well as in major historical events. No event, no matter how big, was unavoidable. It boils down to human error. It is as simple as that. Take the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic for example. That was one of the most significant moments in all of recorded history. And it was completely avoidable. Without a doubt, that terrible tragedy was a result of carelessness on the part of human beings. Well, to be specific, one human being in particular. His name was J. Bruce Ismay.

J. Bruce Ismay was the Chairman of the White Star Line. It was one of the most preeminent shipping firms in the entire world by the turn of the 20th century. Ismay was determined to make White Star the most dominant force in the maritime world. In order to achieve this, he wanted to build three enormous trans-Atlantic vessels so mammoth that they would dwarf every other ship afloat. The first of these massive steamers would be called, Olympic. The second one would be called, Titanic. The last one was going to be called, Gigantic, but that name would later change to Britannic. Together, these three great liners, or mail steamships would be called, the Olympic Class of ships.

To forge this dream into a reality, Ismay employed the naval architects and engineers of Harland and Wolfe, one of the most prominent ship building firms in the world, to design the new ships. Thomas Andrews was the Managing Director of Harland and Wolfe, and served as the chief architect, builder and designer of the Olympic Class. Late one evening in the early spring of 1909, he and a dozen members of his staff had a meeting with Ismay at the famous Southwig House in Belfast, Ireland. Confident that Ismay would enthusiastically approve of their plans, Andrews began describing the blueprints in detail.

The Olympic Class of ships would indeed be the most enormous steamships ever conceived of. They would be 882.9 feet long, 92.5 feet wide, 176 feet tall, and weigh 45,000 tons. These leviathans would displace 66,000 tons of water. In addition, they would have two masts, four funnels, three propellors, energy saving, three-story high, reciprocating engines, 29, 17 1/2 foot tall boilers, 6 boiler rooms, 2 Orlop decks, a mail room, a mail sorting room, a hospital, a hospital operating room, a hospital recovery room, a swimming pool, a squash tennis court, a French sidewalk cafe, a Turkish bath,

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