Media Monday: The Pier "Titanic" Never Reached, and the "Carpathia"

The crowd at the doors of the Cunard Line's Pier 54, where the ship Carpathia had arrived with survivors of the Titanic disaster aboard. The Carpathia arrived in New York in the evening of April 18, 1912; its arrival was delayed due to bad weather at sea. Since there had been many erroneous newspaper stories about the number of those rescued from the Titanic, including one that claimed the ship was damaged and afloat, being towed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the real extent of the loss of life wasn't evident until the survivors of the disaster arrived in New York. Bain News Service, April 18, 1912. Library of Congress.

This week is the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The "unsinkable" vessel struck an iceberg on the evening of April 14, 1912 and was sunk by the morning of April 15, 1912. Of the 2,240 people on board, only 706 were rescued, and were taken aboard the RMS Carpathia. It took several days of bad weather for them to finally reach New York City on April 18, 1912. After dropping off the rescued lifeboats of the Titanic at her original destination - the White Star Line's Pier 59 - the Carpathia docked at Pier 54, of the Cunard Line, to crowds of thousands.

To learn more, watch this 100th anniversary special by CNN about the two New York City piers. 

For more about the Carpathia, a Cunard line transatlantic immigrant vessel, check out this short film about her and her role in the rescue of Titanic survivors. 

Sadly, the Carpathia was sunk by the U-boat U-55 during the First World War, but nearly all her passengers were rescued. 

We'll be posting more about the Titanic disaster this week, so stay tuned!

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