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100 Years After She Sank, Titanic Continues To Fascinate
'The Sinking of the Titanic' appeared in a July 1946 issue of Esquire Magazine. This painting is by Harper Goff.
(New York, NY, Abbie Swanson, WNYC) The Titanic tragedy that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 and stunned the world still captivates audiences 100 years after the largest so-called unsinkable steamer collided with an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sank into the ocean depths.
The details of the disaster have been revisited in countless articles and a dozen movies, including "A Night to Remember" and James Cameron's 1997 "Titanic," which is being re-released in 3D on Wednesday.
The sinking of the New York City-bound steamer off the coast of Newfoundland on April 15, 1912, continues to intrigue because it is epic, according to Paul Heyer, who wrote Titanic Century: Media, Myth and the Making of a Cultural Icon.
"It has a kind of tragic ore to it that we find in the Bible, Greek drama, Shakespeare, novels such as Moby Dick," he said. "It’s almost as if all these themes in literature have come to life in a real historical event."
Charles Haas, author of several books on the ship, recalls learning about the Titanic from his grandfather, with whom he would watch giant ocean liners float through the New York Harbor.
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