This Day in History: 1912-04-14

The Titanic sinks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of 1,500 lives on this day in 1912. It is one of the worst peacetime nautical disasters in history and a reminder of the fragility of technological systems when they are pushed to their limits. Multiple failures were behind the disaster, including the captain’s refusal to slow down when approaching an ice field, a glancing blow from an iceberg that caused more damage than was expected, weak rivets that sheared off too readily, not enough lifeboats for everyone on board, and an archaic radio system that made it difficult to respond quickly to calls for help. After a century, the Titanic disaster still resonates as a metaphor in considering the state of our technological systems and their responsiveness to changing environmental and climate conditions.