Belfast Hopes Costly Titanic Visitor Centre Will Be Tip Of Iceberg Of Tourism Boom (24 Jan 2012, Irish Times)
A £97 million (€116 million) building named Titanic Belfast – located just 90m (100 yards) from the slipways where the luxury ship was built – will open its doors on March 31st. It is being billed by the North’s tourist board as the world’s largest Titanic visitor experience, intended to celebrate the city’s special relationship with the Titanic. After all, as Una Reilly, chairwoman of the Belfast Titanic Society, frequently says: “What happened was a disaster; the Titanic was not.” The new visitor centre hopes to highlight the “innovation, engineering and craftsmanship that flourished in Belfast a century ago and is still present today."

Titanic Exhibition To Come To Bromley (22 Jan 2012, News Shopper)
To mark the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic this April a musical and exhibition about the tragedy will be shown in Bromley. Kevin Gauntlett, director of Titanic the Musical, is inviting any family members of people on board the ill-fated ship to come to a special performance on April 14. The last night of the show will be performed on 14 April 2012, exactly 100 years after the sinking.

Music Event Marks Titanic Centenary (22 Jan 2012, Sheffield Telegraph)
One of the 20th century’s greatest disasters is commemorated at a charity concert in aid of the RNLI at Ecclesall Parish Church on March 10. A matter of a month later, 100 years ago on the night of April 14-15 1912, the Titanic sank. Five works in the second half of the concert are associated with the tragic event, with particular emphasis on the eight members of the Titanic band who carried on playing as the ship sank. Legend has it that their final item was Nearer, My God, to Thee, and shortly after American composer Harold Jones penned a song in memory of the ship’s musicians quoting Lowell Mason’s hymn tune ‘Bethany’ to the words – heard here.

Robin Gibb: How My Obsession With The Titanic Has Helped Save My Life (22 Jan 2012, Daily Mail
There are few names that resonate more clearly than that of the Titanic. Even today, 100 years since that  disastrous maiden voyage, it remains a milestone in the course of modern history. We have all grown up with the story of the White Star liner and the iceberg. And for me in particular, the tragedy has become an interest bordering on obsession. It is no exaggeration to say that I have been studying the Titanic for most of my adult life and pondering its fate since I first heard the story of this great ship in the early days of childhood.

Ice Flies At Second Titanic Carving Competition (17 Jan 2012, The Mountain Press)
The museum held its second-annual ice carving competition throughout the afternoon, with 17 amateurs and professionals from all over the U.S. using chainsaws, chisels, blow torches, hot irons, knives and drills to turn 300-pound blocks of ice into dramatic sculptures. "It's a fascinating process," said Rick Laney, spokesperson for the attraction. "Ice carving is not something people are usually familiar with. We try to give people reasons to come to the museum. Everything we do here is to honor the people on board by telling their stories." Professional carvers received two blocks of ice and a four hour time limit. Amateur sculptors had three hours to complete one block. Because there was no theme for the event, competitors could carve any design they wanted.

Titanic Cufflinks Cash In On The Death Of Thousands (16 Jan 2012, Gizmodo)
The company's new Titanic-DNA wrist adornments are made from "stabilized oxidized steel" salvaged from the ship's final resting place, but also sourced from the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast where the Titanic was built. The whole shipyard thing kind of makes it feel like RJ is cheating, but I imagine the amount of metal they have from the actual ship is minuscule.

Titanic Centennial Commemorations Sink To New Lows (13 Jan 2012,Wall Street Journal)
This April it will be 100 years since the Titanic's one and only sailing. And the centennial of the unsinkable ship's sinking, which took the lives of some 1,500 people, is already a bloated extravaganza of dubious taste and obtuse cultural history. If only there were lifeboats in which to escape it all.

Watch Out! This Year The Titanic Disaster Is About To Wash Over Us Again(13 Jan 2012, The Guardian)
A fourth wave, however, threatens to outrank even the monarch's. A fortnight or so after Scott died in Antarctica, the Titanic went down 350 miles south-east of Newfoundland. These fatal encounters with snow and ice – at opposite ends of the world but near-simultaneous – became the classic British tragedies. For a long time, Scott's story was the better known in its details. It had far fewer and more strongly defined characters, a literature that included Scott's diaries, and it established Scott and his party as unquestionably heroic from the moment the news of their deaths reached Britain nearly a year later.

Halifax: The Titanic's Undertaker (13 Jan 2012,Telegraph.co.uk)
The role Halifax played in the Titanic story is little known on this side of the Atlantic. Yet it was a crucial one. Halifax was the Titanic’s coroner, undertaker and mourner. It gathered, identified and buried the bodies, and it did so with great diligence and respect. The poignant tales of love and loss uncovered in the process ensure that the sinking is remembered not just as a historic event but as a human tragedy on a colossal scale.

Titanic Memorial Cruise Is A Disaster Waiting To Happen (12 Jan 2012,The Stir)
See, the thing about this is it sounds like the exact opposite of a vacation. It sounds like a terrible, panic-strickened mess of a situation, where something's bound to go wrong. I'm all for boning up on history, but I certainly don't want any part of a re-enactment of one of the most tragic events in history. Especially while I'm on vacation. I'm trying to see the other side of this here -- truly, I am -- but I honestly can't. I can only see a giant red flag and a neon sign saying, "Bad Idea Jeans!"

Yes, He Discovered The Titanic. No, He Doesn't Want To Talk About It.(12 Jan 2012,New York Times (blog)
Mr. Ballard, the great explorer of the seas, is lending his name and his expertise to yet another attempt to capitalize on the public fascination with a century-old shipwreck. Now 69, he would rather talk about another ship, one that floats and which he plans to use to survey the sea floor of the South Pacific. But he knows that there will be no escaping the Big T this year, the 100th anniversary of its sinking.

Titanic Ghost Rolls Royce Returns To Northern Ireland (12 Jan 2012, Belfast Telegraph)
Made to order for the chairman of Harland and Wolff, this car, like the luxury liner it is named after, was the last word in absolutely everything.And all eyes will again be on the 101-year-old Titanic Ghost Rolls Royce when it returns to Northern Ireland for the first time in 85 years later this month. The striking vehicle, which was built for Lord William Pirrie shortly before Titanic was launched in April 1912, is to be the star attraction at a vintage car show in Co Down. "This car has a unique link to a special time and place in our history and we are thrilled to be able to bring it back to Northern Ireland in the year when so much attention is focused on the Titanic," said organiser of the Newcastle Vintage, Classic and Sports Car Show Martin Cromwell.

An Eerie Trip With The Tourists Diving Two Miles To See The Titanic (12 Jan 2012, Daily Mail)
From the external lights of our vessel, I can see across the ancient terrain, which looks almost like a lunar landscape. Occasionally strange aquatic creatures dart across my vision, adding to the alien atmosphere. Then suddenly, there it is, the sight I shall never forget. Rising before my eyes is the prow of the most famous ship in the world. I am peering at the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which plunged to this watery, icy grave almost a century ago in April 1912. Even in the darkness of the ocean floor, the front part of the mighty vessel still looks magnificent, the encrusted railings and sweep of her hull instantly recognisable.   

Sea Research Foundation Unveils Mystic Aquarium's Centenary Titanic Exhibit(11 Jan 2012, PR Newswire-Press Release)
Beckoning visitors to "journey to new depths of discovery," Sea Research Foundation, operator of Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Conn., has announced a major new exhibit -- Titanic - 12,450 Feet Below -- at Mystic Aquarium's Ocean Exploration Center exhibit hall. The exhibit, opening on April 12, marks the 100th anniversary of the maiden voyage and sinking of the celebrated ocean liner. It is the product of a collaboration between famed oceanographic explorer Dr. Robert Ballard, president of Sea Research Foundation's Institute for Exploration, who led the 1985 expedition that first located the sunken Titanic, and Tim Delaney, the former Walt Disney Imagineering designer and head of Tim J. Delaney Design. The Ocean Exploration Center renovation and its inaugural Titanic - 12,450 Feet Below exhibit are sponsored by United Technologies Corporation.

Titanic The Experience Unveils New Artifact (11 Jan 2012, WDBO Radio)
It was originally located on the starboard side on the C deck; with portholes that were used to look into the ships dishwashing and china storage room.  After two diving attempts to retrieve the piece, the 3,000 pound piece will finally be on display in the museum adding to the “Titanic Experience.” Along with the ship’s hull, there are also 100 authentic artifacts recovered from the wreck on display also. The exhibit will also provide the visitors with a “real life” walk through with the tour guide, who is also a trained actor.

'Fr. Browne's Titanic Album' Released To Mark Centenary(11 Jan 2012, Derry Today)
When Derry priest Fr. Eddie O’Donnell stumbled across over 40,000 negatives belonging to the late Fr. Frank Browne he would not have been able to envisage the significance of what he had just discovered. Fr. Browne, a Jesuit priest, was widely recognised as a skilled photographer. He boarded the Titanic in Southampton and several days later he was ordered off the boat in Cobh, Co. Cork by his superior. Fr O’Donnell discovered the invaluable collection of photographs and mementoes in a Dublin basement in 1985. His book ‘Father Browne’s Titanic Album’ has been updated and re-released to mark the 100th anniversary of the boat sinking in 1912.

Granddaughter Of Carpathia Master Sir Arthur Rostron Visits Southampton Port (10 Jan 2012, Daily Echo
Mrs Pettet, who lived in Southampton until she was 21, was visiting the Queen Elizabeth to see one of the ship’s ultra-luxury suites, which has been named after her grandfather. “My grandfather was a quiet man, who never talked about his part in the Titanic story,’’ said Rosemary, aged 73.

Titanic Auction Not Popular At Maritime Museum (8 Jan 2012, TheChronicleHerald.ca)
The sale of more than 5,000 artifacts salvaged from the world’s most famous shipwreck is causing concerns for a local museum official. Concerns serious enough the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will never consider hosting the Titanic relics — even as a temporary exhibit. "No maritime museum in the world that is part of the (International Congress of Maritime Museums) would display any of these items," the museum’s registrar Lynn-Marie Richard said in a recent interview.

Titanic's Wallace Hartley Honoured By Pendle Composer (6 Jan 2012, BBC News)
A Lancashire composer has revealed a musical tribute to the leader of the band on the Titanic, Wallace Hartley. Peter Young from Earby, Pendle decided to compose a four movement concerto to celebrate the bravery of the Colne-born violinist in the ship's centenary year. Wallace Hartley and his band continued to play as the ship sank off the coast of Newfoundland in April 1912. Mr Young said he was "honoured to compose a piece about Colne's famous son, who died so tragically".

'Titanic' Postcard Expected To Make €5000 At Auction (6 Jan 2012, Irish Times)
A postcard sent from a passenger on the Titanic to his father in Scotland has turned up in a Dublin salesroom and will be auctioned later this month. It had been stamped and put in the mail box on the ship and taken ashore at Queenstown, now Cobh, in Cork. It is expected to make €5,000 – or more given the worldwide interest generated by centenary commemorations of the maritime disaster. In a brief, poignant message Andrew Johnston wrote to his “Dear Father” to apologise that he “had not time to write before we sailed” and that “we don’t get to New York till Wednesday next so I will write when we get there." He never did.

Titanic Artifacts Up For Auction: Casual Buyers Need Not Inquire (5 Jan 2011, Los Angeles Times)
For one thing, the items — more than 5,000 of them — must be sold in bulk, Ettinger said at a news conference announcing the auction, held just up the Hudson River from where the Titanic was due to dock in April 1912. That means the gold coins, the perfectly preserved demitasses, and the man's vest with buttons still attached will come with a 17-ton hulk of hull and no shortage of other items better suited for a shipyard than a collector's coffee table.

Queen's Visit Set To Crown Titanic Year As City Comes Into Its Own (2 Jan 2012, Belfast Telegraph)
This year marks the centenary of the ill-fated voyager's maiden journey on April 15, 1912. More than 1,500 people perished in the disaster when the largest passenger steamship in the world at the time went down after striking an iceberg when travelling between Southampton and New York. Nearly 35,000 Titanic enthusiasts have already pre-ordered tickets to tour a new £90m visitor attraction dedicated to the doomed liner. More than 400,000 are expected to pay a visit in its first year when Titanic Belfast is launched in March.

Flares And Gun Salute In Cork Pay Tribute To Lost Lives Of 'Titanic'(1 Jan 2012, Irish Times)
One hundred and twenty-three flares were released from Spike Island in Co Cork to commemorate the individuals who boarded the ill-fated Titanic from nearby Cobh on April 11th, 1912. When the Titanic struck an iceberg in the north Atlantic four days later, it sank with the loss of over 1,500 lives, including 79 of those who boarded in Cobh. Among those who died was a Cobh native, able seaman Lionel Leonard, who travelled as a third-class passenger. Cobh, the last port of call for the Titanic , will host a year-long series of events and activities that will commemorate the centenary of the legacy of the Titanic and the people associated with it.

New Titanic Exhibition Set For KS (Dec 2011, The New York Irish Emgirant)
A massive Titanic exhibition is on its way to Kansas City’s Union Station as communities on both sides of the Atlantic get ready to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the passenger liner’s sinking in 2012. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will go on display in Kansas City on March 10, and promises to be a bigger and better version of a similar exhibition held at Union Station in 2001. The exhibition will be complemented by programming from the Irish Museum and Cultural Center, also located at Union Station. The program’s goal is to showcase the Irish roots of the RMS Titanic, including its origin in Northern Ireland at the famous Harland and Wolff Shipyard.

Would You Take a Replica Cruise of the Titanic's Maiden Voyage?(29 Dec 2011,TIME)
Marketed towards relatives of those on board, as well as history buffs and those who are simply curious, Titanic Memorial Cruises has organized two voyages that will retrace the transatlantic journey.  On April 8, 2012, the HMS Balmoral will depart from Southampton, England, en route to arrive at the spot near Nova Scotia where Titanic rests by April 14, the 100-year anniversary of the sinking.  That night in 1912, the massive ship struck an iceberg and sank several hours later, claiming over 1500 lives.  The wreckage still sits on the bottom of the ocean floor.  A memorial ceremony will be held on board to commemorate the tragedy.A second ship, the Azamara Journey, will depart from New York, cruising to the same location. There are 1309 spaces on the Balmoral and they are already sold out, though some spots remain on the Azamara Journey.

Titanic Artifacts Headed to Auction (29 Dec 2011,Wall Street Journal)$
The owner of the largest trove of artifacts salvaged from the Titanic is putting the vast collection up for auction as a single lot in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the world's most famous shipwreck. More than 5,500 items including fine china, ship fittings and portions of hull that were recovered from the ocean liner have an estimated value of $189 million, according to Premier Exhibitions Inc., parent of RMS Titanic Inc., the Titanic's court-approved salvor. That value was based on a 2007 appraisal and doesn't include intellectual property gathered from a 2010 scientific expedition that mapped the wreck .

US Titanic Exhibit To Mark Centenary In Connecticut (28 Dec 2011, Irish Central)
The new exhibition is scheduled to open about two weeks after the Titanic exhibit in Belfast, which has already pre-sold a staggering 35,000 tickets for tours. The exhibit in Belfast is at the site where the Titanic first touched water in 1911. At the Connecticut exhibition, visitors will be able to view what the luxury liner looked like before it met its fate, and view the worldwide headlines its untimely sinking spurred. They will also have the opportunity to read about the myths and legends that stemmed from the sinking.

Titanic Relatives To Mark 100th Anniversary In Atlantic (28 Dec 2011, BBC News)
Relatives of passengers and crew on Titanic are planning to mark the 100th anniversary of the disaster by sailing to the spot where the liner sank . They will set off on 8 April next year from Southampton to retrace RMS Titanic's route across the Atlantic. A special memorial ceremony will be held on board the cruise ship Balmoral at the time the ship went down.

Titanic Project Will Be A Success (24 Dec 2011,Belfast Telegraph)
The multi-million pound Titanic Signature Building in Belfast will become an international attraction, First Minister Peter Robinson says. He and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness sprung to the defence of the project after a recent Audit Office report cast doubt over its long-term prospects. The biggest single tourism project launched in Northern Ireland, the building will require an estimated 290,000 visitors a year to break even. And so far 35,000 tickets have been sold in advance of its opening in April to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the historic ship’s sinking.

Titanic Artifacts To Be Auctioned (23 Dec 2011, Atlanta Business Chronicle)
Thousands of artifacts from the Titanic will be auctioned next year, the artifacts' owner, Premier Exhibitions Inc., said today. Premier has hired Guernsey’s Auctioneers to sell the artifacts. The results of the auction will be announced on April 15 in New York City. Premier’s collection includes over five thousand artifacts recovered in expeditions to the wreck site in 1987, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2004. Premier (Nasdaq: PRXI) won legal title to the artifacts last August. The title came with several conditions. First, the artifacts must be kept together as a single collection with other Titanic artifacts collected prior to 1987. The collections can only be sold together in their entirety. And the company must comply with provisions that guarantee the long-term protection of all of the artifacts.

35000 Order Titanic Centre Tickets (21 Dec 2011, The Press Association)
Nearly 35,000 Titanic enthusiasts have already pre-ordered tickets to tour a new £90 million visitor attraction dedicated to the doomed liner. The interest in Titanic Belfast - 400,000 are expected to pay a visit in its first year - emerged as its operators marked 100 days until Northern Ireland's largest ever tourism project opens its doors. The eye-catching building, which is made up of 3,000 aluminium panels shaped like the vessel's hull, has been built on the spot where the liner was first rolled into the water in 1911.

Titanic Remembered Exhibition To Mark Ship Disaster's Centenary(20 Dec 2011, News Shopper)
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich will mark the centenary of the sinking of Titanic with a small exhibition. Titanic Remembered will tell the stories of some of those who survived the tragedy and explore how that fateful night in 1912 has become the most famous maritime disaster in history.

Allure Of Titanic Endures For Halifax Buffs 100 Years After Sinking (20 Dec 2011,Winnipeg Free Press)
Pinto, now 59, wants Canada to formally recognize the disaster of April 15, 1912, when the largest liner of its time went down south of the Grand Banks after colliding with an iceberg on a calm, moonless night on its maiden voyage. He's hoping to hold a wake, film festival, concerts, and to spur interest in the creation of a Halifax monument to the disaster's 1,500 victims and the just over 700 who survived. Moreover, Pinto and others want to highlight the special relationship this coastal capital has with one of history's most compelling tragedies.

Olympic Effort Too Late To Save Titanic (17 Dec 2011, Topeka Capital Journal)
Little did the youngster know the book — which was made into a movie in 1958 — would lead to a decades-long fascination with all things associated with the sunken ocean liner and his writing an account of the Titanic's sister ship, the Olympic. “I read it (Lord’s book) and got hooked,” he said. Sisson's book, “Racing Through the Night: Olympic's Attempt to Reach Titanic,” was released in England last summer and the United States in October.

Auctions This Week Saw Strong Demand For Items Relating To The 'Titanic' (17 Dec 2011, Irish Times)
Bidders spent over €500,000 during the two-day auction at the D4Berkeley Hotel in Ballsbridge where auctioneer Fonsie Mealy noted that the market was “buoyant”. Some 82 per cent of the almost 1,200 lots sold. Just months before centenary commemorations to mark its sinking on April 15th, 1912, the Titanic disaster continues to fascinate and enthral. Among memorabilia in the auction was a poignant photograph of Athlone widow Margaret Rice who perished along with her five young sons. The sepia-tinted photograph made €2,200 – exceeding its estimate of €1,000-€1,500.

New Titanic Claims Blame Dalbeattie Man (15 Dec 2011, Dumfries and Galloway Standard)
William Murdoch, first officer on the ill-fated Titanic, might have saved the “unsinkable” passenger liner had he taken immediate action when an iceberg was spotted. Instead, according to a new book, Murdoch delayed for 30 seconds, analysing information coming his way. And that delay, the researchers who wrote “Report into the Loss of the SS Titanic: A Centennial Reappraisal” claim, meant the ship was unable to avoid the collision that ended with more than 1,500 people losing their lives.

Plaque Will Honour Titanic Victims (15 Dec 2011, Falmouth Packet)
Two Porthleven men who lost their lives on the sinking Titanic are to be remembered with a plaque in the port. Brothers Edgar and Fred Giles were sailing to America to “start a new life” according to mayor Mark Berryman, who has been researching the history of their lives tragically cut short almost a century ago. With next year marking the centenary of the disaster, Mr Berryman has called upon the town council to put up a plaque in memory of the pair, whose relatives still live in the village.

Liverpool To Commemorate Titanic With Giant Street Theatre Performance (14 Dec 2011, Event Magazine)
Gigantic puppets will roam the centre of Liverpool next April as the city commemorates the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The Titanic was registered in Liverpool making the city its home port, and at least 90 members of its crew were from Merseyside, or had close links to the area. Marionette company Royal de Luxe is working with council officials to bring its Sea Odyssey show - inspired by the ship and a young girl whose father was a passenger - to the city. The company is famed for bringing the streets of London to a standstill in 2006 with the Sultan’s Elephant.

Historic Titanic Company Minute Book Bought At Auction By H&W (14 Dec 2011, BBC News)
The Belfast shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff, which built the Titanic, has bought back its original Minute Book for an undisclosed sum. The item was just one lot that went under the hammer at an auction of rare books and historical memorabilia in Dublin this afternoon. The Harland and Wolff manuscript included the 1911 director's register which listed Thomas Andrews as the company director. His name did not occur in the 1912 list, as he went down with the Titanic in April 1912.

Titanic Survivor From Port Dover, Ont. Has Grave Marked (13 Dec 2011, Hamilton Spectator)
Plans are in the works for a survivor of the Titanic who was born in Port Dover, Ont., to have a marker placed on his burial spot near London, England. William Edwy Ryerson was born in Port Dover in 1878 and served as a 2nd class steward on the luxury passenger liner. He has been lying in an unmarked grave for more than 60 years.

Titanic Building May Face Long Term Financial Concerns (13 Dec 2011, BBC News)
A government report has questioned the financial viability of two key tourism projects In Northern Ireland. The Audit Office said it was doubtful whether the Titanic Signature Building would break even in the long term. The £77m development is due to open in 2012, in time for the centenary of the sinking of the ship. The report has also raised concerns over the new Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre because of a difficulty in predicting tourism numbers. It is estimated that the Titanic building in Belfast will need 290,000 visitors a year to break even.

Postal Museum To Debut A Hindenburg, Titanic Exhibit (13 Dec 2011,NBC Washington)
An upcoming exhibit at the National Postal Museum (2 Massachusetts Ave. NE) will celebrate two transportation marvels, and their related disasters."Fire & Ice: Hindenburg and Titanic" will open in March, for what's sure to be both an illuminating and terribly depressing look at both.

Titanic Tickets Go On Sale Today (12 Dec 2011,Mirror.co.uk-blog)
The 12 days of Christmas are beginning today for the new Titanic Belfast exhibition, as tickets go on sale to the public for the first time. Between now and Christmas Eve, everyone buying tickets online will receive a five per cent discount on admission and will also be entered into a prize draw to win tickets for an MTV concert taking place on the Titanic slipway next spring. Also up for grabs are VIP tickets to special previews before the official opening on March 31.

Precinct Honour For Colne's Titanic Hero (12 Dec 2011, Lancashire Telegraph)
Colne Precinct could be renamed in honour of the town’s most famous son to mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster. Talks are taking place to name the town centre shopping arcade after bandmaster Wallace Hartley, who famously lead the band as the liner sank after hitting an iceberg. His body was recovered two weeks after the ship sank, still fully dressed in his bandmaster uniform, and returned to Colne where a huge procession followed his body to its burial on May 18 1912.

Youngsters Visit Anchor In Titanic Topic (11 Dec 2011, Dudley News)
Children from Sledmere Primary School took part in a series of maritime-themed workshops as they studied the area’s historic link with the Titanic. The Year 2 children attended the sessions at The Savoy Centre in Netherton, and as well as getting the opportunity to examine the replica Titanic anchor, the youngsters were also able to take part in a series of hands on collage and crafts workshops run by Artspace.

'Titanic Sank This Morning': Telegrams Sent By Shipping Firm's Head Are Revealed (10 Dec 2011, Daily Mail)
Almost 100 years after they were sent, telegrams declaring the sinking of the Titanic have been put up for sale. The eight messages were sent by Bruce Ismay, head of the ship’s  owners White Star Line, after he was rescued in the 1912 disaster. The first telegram to the shipping company’s New York office was set at 1pm on April 15 – 11 hours after the Titanic sunk with the loss of 1,517 lives.

Plan Afloat To Remember Titanic Steward On 100th Anniversary Of Sinking (7 Dec 2011, Hamilton Spectator)
William Edwy Ryerson has lain in an unmarked grave for more than 60 years, belying his involvement in the sinking of the Titanic, one of the world’s most infamous maritime disasters. Now, authorities of an Anglican Church outside London, England — where the former Hamiltonian was interred in 1949 in a pauper’s burial — are doing something about it. To mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 2012, authorities at St. Mary’s Church in Runwell — a medieval church near Chelmsford, northwest of London — want to lay a gravestone over Ryerson’s burial plot that day and hold a memorial.

Titanic Tour By Submersible (5 Dec 2011, Examiner.com)
The construction is mostly of maraging steel that is reported to have a better strength to weight ratio than titanium (per the Wikipedia).  You are not expected to pilot one of these submersibles yourself - seaworthy professionals will be running the tour offered by Deep Ocean Expeditions.  You and the MIRs will be transported by ship to the deep dive site.  But you need to know that your spot on the tour will cost about $60,000 - but is a "once in a lifetime trip."

Thirty-Second Judgement Call Led To Sinking Of Titanic (4 Dec 2011, Irish Independent)
The conclusion overturns the original verdict, which found that Murdoch, the first officer, steered away immediately but could not avert catastrophe because the iceberg had been spotted too late. Researchers believe the reason that Murdoch hesitated before giving the order "hard a starboard" was that he thought the Titanic might be able to pass by the hazard and that if he altered direction he might increase the risk to the ship by swinging its stern towards the obstacle.

Titanic Signature Building Gets High Praise (2 Dec 2011, 4ni.co.uk)
NI's top politicians, First Minister Peter Robinson and the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have been taking on a Titanic mission. They visited the site of Titanic Belfast to view progress on the Signature Building. The building is on target to open at the end of March 2012 to mark the centenary of famous Titanic's maiden voyage. Built to the same height as the ship, it will incorporate a major interactive exhibition through a number of themed galleries, recreating the Titanic story for visitors.

Paintings That Nearly Sank On The Titanic Sold For £7M (2 Dec 2011, Mirror.co.uk)
Two Russian paintings that narrowly avoided being sent to a watery grave on the Titanic have sold for nearly £7million. The early-20th century works by Vasili Polenov were booked on the ship for exhibition in the US. But the cargo was delayed and missed the doomed liner’s maiden voyage in April 1912.

Titanic Art Ready For Museum Launch (1 Dec 2011, Romsey Advertiser)
The city council invited Wellow Primary School to put together a picture of the Titanic for one of the education rooms at the attraction ahead of its opening next year. Kerry Somers, history leader at the school, said the 10- and 11-year-olds jumped at the chance to create the exhibit “They were really proud of what they’d done and wanted to show their parents,” she said.

World Travelers Recall Trip To Titanic Burial Site (1 Dec 2011, Shore News Today)
Hearing about a display of artifacts from the Titanic at Shore Mall in Egg Harbor Township brought back memories for Rose and Bill Povse of Absecon. Not memories back to 1912 – the couple, in their early 80s, laughed at the thought of that – but of a visit to Nova Scotia they took in 2004, where many of the bodies recovered from the ill-fated voyage were taken. “We spent an hour at the cemetery, Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, right on the St. Lawrence Seaway,” Bill Povse told a reporter invited to their home to see their photographs of the historic site. “There are graves of those from the Titanic at Fairview.”