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2004 Archive Headline News Page
The headline news archive contains the relevant headline and a short excerpt from the article (or summary), source information, and original link to article. Most news outlets do maintain archives for a year or less; some charge a fee to access their archives.
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LAWYERS WANT LAWSUIT AGAINST TITANIC SALVAGE COMPANY LEADERS DISMISSED TITANIC LETTER UP FOR AUCTION RMS TITANIC STRUCK FAUX-ICEBERG TITANIC'S SALVAGER TAKING ON WATER? |
TITANIC SALVAGE COMPANY PETITIONS FOR RIGHT TO SELL SHIPWRECK'S ARTIFACTS |
COUPLE REFLECTS ON FAMILY TALE OF TITANIC SAVE MAGISTRATE RECOMMENDS TOSSING PART OF SUIT IN TITANIC CASE TITANIC ANNOUNCES WORLD WIDE EXHIBITION PLAN |
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JUDGE TOSSES SUIT AGAINST TITANIC SCAVENGER TITANIC TASK: TO SAVE DEEP-SEA WRECKS IRELAND REMEMBERS TITANIC EXPLORER WHO DISCOVERED TITANIC RETURNS WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL ON URGENT MISSION TO INVESTIGATE ENDANGERED WRECK LOCAL MAN WAS NEAR TITANIC DISASTER LIFEBOAT WAS LUCKY FOR FAMILY |
THE TITANIC IS A TOMB, NOT A TREASURE TROVE' TITANIC EXHIBITION PREPARES TO DOCK IN EDINBURGH SHIPWRECK IN THE DESERT: TITANIC ARTIFACTS ON DISPLAY IN SALT LAKE CITY TITANIC FIRM UNLIKELY TO OWN ARTIFACTS FAMILY GIVES PROPER BURIAL TO 1-YEAR-OLD TITANIC SURVIVOR OMSI SET TO OPEN 'TITANIC SCIENCE' EXHIBIT TITANIC LIFE VEST PRESERVES HISTORY FITTINGS OF SISTER SHIP TO TITANIC TO BE AUCTIONED TITANIC MEMORABILIA TO HIT AUCTION BLOCK IN JUNE JUDGE INVOLVED IN TITANIC CASE PASSES AWAY SHIPWRECK EXPERT ABANDONS HUNT FOR CLYDE LINER |
BRITAIN, U.S. AGREE TO PROTECT TITANIC ; PACT PROHIBITS SOME DIVES, SALE OF ARTIFACTS TITANIC HERO IN PLAQUE HONOUR TITANIC MENU FETCHES $88,500 AT AUCTION TITANIC ARTEFACTS GO ON SHOW FOR FIRST TIME SLOCUM TRAGEDY REMEMBERED, FINALLY RARE TITANIC MEMORABILIA HEADED FOR THE AUCTION BLOCK;ITEMS INCLUDE LIFE JACKET FROM VICTIM OF ROMANTICIZED TRAGEDY |
JULY NO ARTICLES |
AUGUST NO ARTICLES |
MORE TITANIC ITEMS UNDER HAMMER A TITANIC SURVIVOR'S STORY, AS TOLD BY HER GRANDSON COUNCIL SINKS BID TO RETURN 'TITANIC LINK' SHIP TITANIC EXPEDITION 2004 YIELDS RARE ARTIFACTS TITANIC SURVIVORS CAUGHT ON FILM TITANIC TIES: SEVERAL SURVIVORS OF ILL-FATED SHIP NOW REST IN DELCO TITANIC TENDER 'MUST COME TO BELFAST' TRAGEDY OF TITANIC VISITS SHANGHAI |
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TITANIC COMPANY'S PRESIDENT, SHAREHOLDERS FINED IN TAKEOVER SEC FILES CIVIL INJUNCTIVE ACTION AGAINST CURRENT AND FORMER RMS TITANIC, INC. OFFICERS AND CIVIL PENALTY ACTION AGAINST OTHER INDIVIDUALS IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR 1999 TAKEOVER OF THE COMPANY RMS TITANIC, INC. ANNOUNCES NAME CHANGE AND HOLDING COMPANY FORMATION FIRM SALVAGING TITANIC FINDS NEW DEBRIS |
NEW CHUNK OF TITANIC FOUND HERE WE GO AGAIN; COAL FIRE LEAD TO TITANIC DISASTER U.S. EXPLORER ACCUSES RUSSIA AND FRANCE OF LOOTING THE TITANIC WRECK TITANIC FOUNDER FEARS FOR FUTURE OF GREAT WRECK TITANIC RADIO MESSAGE FETCHES $5,500 |
DECEMBER NO ARTICLES |
NEW
CHUNK OF TITANIC FOUND ( 9 Nov 04, ABC Science Online) "A new piece
of the Titanic's hull has been found deep in the North Atlantic,
according to the company granted exclusive rights to salvage the ship. RMS
Titanic Inc says the 30-metre hull section was part of a massive debris
field, found more than 3 kilometres underwater. he newly discovered debris
field includes objects associated with life onboard the ship, as well as
several decks, levels and portholes of the hull. It paints a picture of
decadence that stands in sharp contrast to the silt-covered wreckage of
the hull. "The found section of the hull is a huge, pie-shaped piece
of the ship that broke off from the middle of the Titanic. It weighs
over [90 tonnes]," said Arnie Geller, president of RMS Titanic Inc.
The discovery confirms speculation that the ship did not merely break in
half, but split apart in sections as it sank.
HERE
WE GO AGAIN; COAL FIRE LEAD TO TITANIC DISASTER 8 Nov 04, Xinhua) "A
smoldering coal fire and the attempt to control it through the voyage may
have led to the sinking of the Titanic 92 years ago, reported China Radio
International on Monday. Engineer Robert Essenhigh of American Ohio State
University came up with this theory."
U.S. EXPLORER ACCUSES RUSSIA AND FRANCE OF LOOTING THE TITANIC WRECK (16 Nov 04, Pravda) " Well-known American explorer Robert Ballard virtually accused Russia and France of plundering fragments of the legendary Titanic that sank in the Atlantic in 1912. According to the scientist, one has to take urgent measures to save the sunken ship, otherwise, Ballard believes, there will be nothing left of the legend soon, the Noviye Izvestia newspaper reports. Russian scientists, however, reject Dr.Ballard's accusations of looting. "We perform scientific and tourist divings to the Titanic. Everyone can see the legendary vessel, because it sank in neutral waters. Therefore, there is nothing illegal in our actions, Mir pilot Evgeni Chernyaev said. However, taking souvenirs from the Titanic is out of the question. The French steal and shift the blame on us, he added."
TITANIC FOUNDER FEARS FOR FUTURE OF GREAT WRECK (14 Nov 04, Reuters) "ndersea tourists and souvenir hunters are hastening the decay of the Titanic, says U.S. explorer Bob Ballard who discovered the world's most famous shipwreck nearly 20 years ago. In a visit last June to the site of the Titanic -- his first since 1985 -- Ballard was shocked at how fast the wreckage had deteriorated and he wants Congress to pass legislation giving greater protection to the sunken vessel. Most alarming, he said, was damage caused by submersibles landing on the deck of the Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic on April 14, 1912, on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York. "It's sort of like going into the Louvre (Museum in Paris) with a bulldozer," said Ballard of the submersibles landing on the deck of the once-luxury liner."
TITANIC RADIO MESSAGE FETCHES $5,500 (12 Nov 04, AP) "A wireless message relayed to a ship rescuing survivors from the Titanic -- and sent by Guglielmo Marconi, the creator of wireless radio -- was sold for almost $5,500 yesterday at a British auction house."
TITANIC COMPANY'S PRESIDENT, SHAREHOLDERS FINED IN TAKEOVER (27 Oct 04,Virginian-Pilot) "The president of the company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic was fined $85,000 by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday for his actions during a 1999 hostile takeover of the company. Other current and former shareholders agreed to civil penalties ranging from $15,000 to $110,000 for their roles. Each of the eight individuals involved in the action neither admitted nor denied the SEC's alleged illegal activities. The actions were not directed at the company, which changed its name from R.M.S. Titanic Inc. to Premier Exhibitions Inc. earlier this month. Shareholder Joseph Marsh, who was part of the group that seized a majority stake in the company in 1999, was hit with the most expensive penalty: a $75,000 fine plus an additional $35,000 "disgorgement" penalty based on the low cost of the shares he purchased, the SEC said. "
SEC FILES CIVIL INJUNCTIVE ACTION AGAINST CURRENT AND FORMER RMS TITANIC, INC. OFFICERS AND CIVIL PENALTY ACTION AGAINST OTHER INDIVIDUALS IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR 1999 TAKEOVER OF THE COMPANY (26 Oct 04, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission) "The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") today filed a settled civil injunctive action against Arnold Geller ("Geller"), current president and director of RMS Titanic, Inc. ("RMS"), and G. Michael Harris ("Harris"), a former officer and director of RMS. In a related proceeding, the Commission filed a settled civil penalty action against John Joslyn ("Joslyn"), Joseph Marsh ("Marsh"), P. David Lucas ("Lucas"), Steven Sybesma ("Sybesma") and Jon Thompson ("Thompson"), all of whom were shareholders of RMS. According to the Commission's Complaints, between May and November 1999, these seven defendants were members of a group of insurgent shareholders that, among other things, made materially false and misleading statements in Schedule 13D filings, failed to file and timely amend Schedule 13D filings and failed to comply with certain proxy rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") in an effort to acquire control of RMS and remove certain members of its then current management.
Without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission's Complaint, Geller and Harris have consented to the entry of final judgments enjoining them from violating Sections 13(d)(1), 13(d)(2) and 14(a) of the Exchange Act and Exchange Act Rules 12b-20, 13d-1(a), 13d-2(a) and 14a-3 through 14a-6. Geller also has consented to pay a civil penalty of $85,000. The final judgment as to Harris does not order him to pay a civil penalty based on his sworn representations and other documents and information submitted to the Commission concerning his financial condition. Each of the defendants named in the Commission's Complaint for civil penalty has consented, without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations, to the entry of final judgments ordering them to pay civil penalties in the following amounts: Joslyn, $75,000; Marsh, $75,000; Lucas, $30,000; Sybesma, $30,000; and Thompson, $15,000.
In addition, on October 26, 2004, the Commission instituted and simultaneously settled administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings against Joslyn, Marsh, Lucas, Sybesma, Thompson and one additional member of the group, Stanley Thomas, based on certain of their conduct in the removal action. (In the Matter of John Joslyn, et al., Administrative Proceeding File No. 3-11718 ("Order")). Without admitting or denying the findings in the Commission' Order, the respondents agreed to settle the charges against them by consenting to the Order which:
* directs Joslyn, Marsh, Lucas, Sybesma, Thompson and Thomas to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations, and any future violations, of Sections 13(d)(1) and 14(a) of the Exchange Act and Exchange Act Rules 12b-20, 13d-1(a) and 14a-3 through 14a-6 and, additionally as to Joslyn, Marsh and Thompson, Section 13(d)(2) of the Exchange Act and Exchange Act Rule 13d-2(a);
* directs Marsh, Lucas and Sybesma to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest in the total amounts of $35,000, $20,000 and $20,000, respectively, because they were able to buy certain RMS shares more cheaply than they could have had the market been aware of their group and its activities; and
* directs Thomas to pay a civil money penalty of $20,000 and suspends Thomas, who was a registered representative during the relevant time, from association with any broker or dealer for a period of nine months."
RMS Titanic, Inc. Announces Name Change and Holding Company Formation (15 Oct 04, PR Newswire) "RMS Titanic, Inc.announced today that it has completed the formation of its new holding company Premier Exhibitions, Inc. The stock of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. will be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board beginning Monday, October 18, 2004 under the new symbol "PXHB". RMS Titanic, Inc.'s stock will cease quotation as of the close of business today. This tax-free reorganization was structured in a manner that did not require action by RMS Titanic Inc.'s shareholders under Florida law, whose rights, privileges and interests will remain the same with respect to Premier Exhibitions, Inc. Outstanding stock certificates of RMS Titanic, Inc. will be exchanged for new certificates of Premier common stock on a one-for-one basis; however, the articles of incorporation, by-laws, officers, and directors of the company did not change as a result of the holding company formation. The purpose of the holding company formation is to create an organizational framework that tends to be more flexible and conducive to future expansion. As a result of the new framework, Premier Exhibitions, Inc. will continue the company's overall business of developing and touring museum quality exhibitions throughout the world, while RMS Titanic, Inc. will be limited solely to touring the company's Titanic exhibitions. RMS Titanic, Inc. continues to be the only company ever permitted by law to recover objects from the wreck of the Titanic, and likewise continues to maintain its salvor- in-possession rights to the wreck of the Titanic, which were granted to it bya United States Federal Court in 1994."
In related news:
RMS Titanic, Inc. Announces Profitable Quarterly Results (14
Oct 04, PR Newswire) "RMS Titanic, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SOST -
News) has announced the results of its second quarter and six months ending
August 31, 2004. Revenues for the second quarter rose 221% to $2,381,000
compared to $741,000 for the same period one year ago. Revenues for the
six month period ended August 31, 2004 increased 76% to $2,772,000 compared
to $1,577,000 for the same period one year ago. Net income for the quarter
was $134,000 as compared to a loss of $78,000 from one year ago. For the
six months ended August 31 2004, the net loss increased to $741,000 from
$351,000 from one year ago. The higher revenues and net income for the current
quarter resulted from the five exhibitions that the Company presented during
the 2nd quarter while presenting its own exhibitions. Previously, the Company
was a licensor of artifacts that allowed a third party to conduct the Titanic
exhibitions. Earnings for the second quarter were $0.01 as compared to $0.00
one year ago, while losses for the respective six month periods were $0.04
and $0.02."
FIRM SALVAGING TITANIC FINDS NEW DEBRIS ( 7 Oct 04, Virginian-Pilot) "The company that owns the rights to salvage the famed Titanic has completed its seventh voyage to the wreck site, discovering a new field of artifacts from one of the ship's restaurants including a fully intact champagne bottle. Calling the journey "an overwhelming success," the report to the court said a previously unknown debris field was discovered south of the ship's stern. The field contained mostly remnants of the ship's first-class A La Carte Restaurant, including the champagne bottle, a milk scalder and a wall sconce. Other items recovered include decorative pieces of the grand staircase, Turkish bath tile, a crystal decanter, bed fragments and various unidentified pieces containing copper, bronze, brass, porcelain, wood and leather."
MORE
TITANIC ITEMS UNDER HAMMER (24 Sep 04, iic Dumfries.co.uk)"Two
more items from the Titanic bargain buy have gone under the hammer. And
former Castle Douglas policeman David Howard is another £5,000 better
off. A pocket watch which almost certainly belonged to Dumfries born third
class steward Thomas Mullin was sold for £2,100 and a further £2,800
was paid for his memo book. An illustrated book of the 1912 disaster, part
of the collection bought at a Dumfries sale for just £102, also brought
in £100. The lots were sold by Wiltshire auctioneers Henry Aldridge
and Sons.Allan Aldridge said: "With the buyers' premium it means the
lots sold have fetched around £37,000."
A TITANIC SURVIVOR'S STORY, AS TOLD BY HER GRANDSON(22 Sept 04,Northeast Philadelphia News Gleaner)" She decided to surprise Henry and return to the United States sooner than expected. She purchased a third class ticket- aboard the R.M.S. Titanic.Petteruti shared his family history last week at the Franklin Institute, which is hosting an exhibition of Titanic artifacts. Petteruti, a longtime Philadelphia resident, joined other descendants who shared their families' story. Petteruti's grandmother's room contained two small bunk beds and was located near the boiler room. Bertha told her family that the food was good and the accommodations were better than any ship she had ever traveled aboard."
COUNCIL SINKS BID TO RETURN 'TITANIC LINK' SHIP (21 Sep 04, Belfast Telegraph-Sub. Req)"Former minister Michael McGimpsey today rounded on fellow city councillors over their failure to back a bid for a ship with strong links to the Titanic. The Belfast-built SS Nomadic, described as the Titanic's mother ship, was listed for auction in France yesterday. The Belfast Titanic Society was today seeking information on the outcome of the sale, while voicing deep disappointment that it will not be coming home to Northern Ireland. The City Council recently debated launching a bid for the 93-year-old vessel. But pessimism was voiced over the prospects of other bodies helping to finance the acquisition. It was estimated that buying the Nomadic and bringing it to Belfast would cost £0.5m, while the bill for complete restoration would come to £7m."
TITANIC EXPEDITION 2004 YIELDS RARE ARTIFACTS(20 Sep 04, PR Newswire) "RMS Titanic, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SOST - News) today announced the completion of its seventh research and recovery expedition that rescued over 75 important historic artifacts from the Titanic wreck-site. The Company will continue its recovery work by planning future expeditions to the Titanic wreck site as it intends to maintain its sole and exclusive rights as Salvor-in-Possession as ordered by the U.S. Federal District Court....The mission objectives for Expedition 2004, in addition to recovering important historical objects and identifying artifacts for future recovery, were to inspect the wreck-site for alleged harm caused by previous visitors and, if necessary, the Company would establish guidelines for future visitation."
TITANIC SURVIVORS CAUGHT ON FILM (31 Aug 04, BBC) "The Titanic at the start of her first and fatal voyage An old newsreel showing the survivors from the Titanic ship wreck has been discovered in an old shed. The film was unearthed after the death of a cinema projectionist. The reel was in his garden shed. It shows survivors from the famous shipwreck arriving in New York and people turning out to help them."
TITANIC TIES: SEVERAL SURVIVORS OF ILL-FATED SHIP NOW REST IN DELCO (22 Aug 04, Delaware County Times, Chester, PA, USA) "Nearly 100 years after the Titanic sank off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, there are still many unsolved mysteries surrounding some of the passengers aboard the fabled ocean liner. And at least a few of those mysteries are buried right here in Delaware County. James Robert McGough, a first-class passenger who survived the sinking of the ship, is buried in a three-grave plot in Yeadon's Holy Cross Cemetery, according to burial records. However, McGough's name isn't recorded on the family tombstone that was purchased by his father-in-law, Patrick Hughes. His wife, Mary J. McGough, also is buried at the site, but her name isn't recorded on the stone either. Two others, presumably Mary's deceased brother and sister, along with her mother are also buried at the site and their names are listed on the headstone. The reasoning behind the McGough omissions is still a mystery to researchers, said Titanic historian and author Calvin Sun, although there is speculation the McGoughs died childless, leaving no one to record their names on the headstone."
TITANIC TENDER 'MUST COME TO BELFAST'(17 Aug 04, Belfast Telegraph-subscription required)"Plans were today afoot to have the Nomadic, a passenger tender built in Belfast to service the Titanic, returned to the Harland & Wolff shipyard...."
TRAGEDY OF TITANIC VISITS SHANGHAI (13 Aug 04, XINHUA)" An exhibition of memorabilia from the Titanic has docked in Shanghai and will last about two months The exhibition boasts nearly 300 items recovered from the wreckage of the famous ship. CRIENGLISH.com reported Thursday. The items will be on display for the next two months; the first time they've visited Asia. Organizers have successfully re-created the fateful night, with an ice wall, a replica of the ship's grand staircase, a first-class suite and a third-class cabin. "
BRITAIN, U.S. AGREE TO PROTECT TITANIC ; PACT PROHIBITS SOME DIVES, SALE OF ARTIFACTS (19 June 04, San Francisco Chronicle) "The United States on Friday joined Britain in signing an international agreement to protect the wreck of the sunken ocean liner Titanic from thievery and damage caused by salvagers and undersea tourists. The agreement designates the Titanic as an international memorial and requires signatories to prohibit their nationals and ships from making unregulated dives on the wreck or selling artifacts from it." The pact will not go into effect in the United States until enabling legislation is passed.
TITANIC
HERO IN PLAQUE HONOUR (15 June 04, South London Press-UK) "A plaque
to honour a Titanic survivor could soon be mounted in a South London library.
The move comes after the South London Press teamed up with a former Nunhead
man who discovered the roots of one of the ship's radio operators, Harold
Bride. Brian Payne, 68, left Nunhead in 1968 and now lives in High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire. And he has wanted a plaque to commemorate Mr Bride mounted
in Nunhead library since making the discovery. Brian called on the South
London Press to boost his campaign in January last year and now a commemorative
wooden plaque to honour the radio operator has been offered by the Radio
Officers' Association in Southampton. Southwark council said they would
be happy to consider the proposal."
TITANIC
MENU FETCHES $88,500 AT AUCTION (12 June 04, Associated Press) The lots
auctioned by Guernsey's ranged from artefacts salvaged amid flotsam on the
night of the disaster to more tangential items associated with the ship
and James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster film. The most expensive item sold,
a first-class dinner menu from one of the Titanic's last suppers, fetched
$88,500, including the buyers premium."
TITANIC ARTEFACTS GO ON SHOW FOR FIRST TIME (10 June 04, The Scotsman)"A host of previously unseen artefacts recovered from the wreckage of the Titanic by a team of explorers go on show today. The objects were recovered during the most recent recovery expedition to the site in 2000. They are due to be unveiled at The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester at 11am. It comes ahead of the opening of Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition at the museum later this month. Mark Lach, exhibit designer and member of the exploration team, is expected to give a presentation about the dive, the artefacts and the exhibition at a press conference. Mr Lach said: "Travelling two-and-a-half miles to the ocean floor and seeing Titanic face to face was the adventure of my life."
SLOCUM TRAGEDY REMEMBERED, FINALLY (8 June, The Journal News-NY) "It sounds like the kind of tragic tale that would be captured in folk songs, relived by each generation's screen idols and passed down in New York City lore. More than 1,300 people, mostly women and children, go on a Lutheran church boat trip in the East River. The vessel catches fire and sinks. Its lifeboats are stuck to the paint on the deck, and its life jackets have been disintegrated by age. The death toll - 1,021 - represents one of the greatest maritime disasters in American history. Part of the story of the General Slocum steamboat, which burned 100 years ago June 15, is that it has not been remembered. The tragedy did receive attention for a few years after it occurred in 1904, but then it drifted from the public consciousness for a century."
RARE TITANIC MEMORABILIA HEADED FOR THE AUCTION BLOCK ; ITEMS INCLUDE LIFE JACKET FROM VICTIM OF ROMANTICIZED TRAGEDY (6 June 04, San Francisco Chronicle) - "Consider what Guernsey's auction house plans to sell on Thursday: A life jacket worn by a passenger on the Titanic -- a victim, not a survivor. A slip of paper found with the body of another victim. A canvas bag that was filled with the belongings of yet another victim. A whistle that belonged to the relatively junior officer in charge of lifeboat No. 14. Ettinger is betting that collectors will pay big money for items from the Titanic, the Lusitania, the Andrea Doria and other doomed ocean liners. He expects the life jacket to sell for $30,000 to $40,000, in part because of its rarity -- it was brought back by rescuers or survivors, not brought up by divers, whose discoveries cannot legally be sold."
See also an article at National Geographic by going to: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0607_040607_titanicauction.html
'THE
TITANIC IS A TOMB, NOT A TREASURE TROVE'( 23 May 04, Independent Online)
"The wreck of the Titanic is being slowly destroyed by tour operators,
film crews and trophy hunters who have stripped more than 6 000 objects
from the ship since it was discovered on the bottom of the Atlantic in 1985.
Robert Ballard, the man who found the Titanic, said that a "circus"
had developed around the shipwreck during the past 20 years despite it being
the grave of the people who drowned when it struck an iceberg on its maiden
voyage in 1912. Ballard, a marine archaeologist, said that the Titanic should
be protected against further damage out of respect for its heritage and
for those who died in the tragedy. He said that many of the visits had involved
landing heavy equipment on its decks, which had caved in under the weight.
Some structures, such as the crow's nest, had also been destroyed. Most
of the visits had had little to do with scientific research, Ballard said.
"A few years ago a couple of people went down and got married on the
bow. I think that is over the edge, it's like going to a cemetery to get
married."
TITANIC
EXHIBITION PREPARES TO DOCK IN EDINBURGH (24 May 04, Ediburgh Evening
News) "The exhibition, which will feature more than 100 artefacts from
the wreck of the ship, will take place at the City Art Centre in Market
Street from July 10 until the end of September. The event, coming to Edinburgh
as part of a UK tour, will feature the necklace worn by 19-year-old Kate
Phillips, who is thought to have inspired the character played by actress
Kate Winslet in the Oscar-winning Hollywood film about the sinking of the
famous cruise ship.The collection details the construction of the ill-fated
liner, her maiden voyage and who's who on her passenger list.Visitors will
be treated to the emotional story of the Titanic's voyage, when she hit
the iceberg, and heart-felt tales of survivors and victims. Exclusive images
and footage of her final resting place some two and a half miles beneath
the sea on the North Atlantic seabed will also be on display.In a bid to
give the exhibition a Scottish flavour, details of passengers or crew members
with Scottish connections will be showcased, including the story of 39-year-old
First Officer William McMaster Murdoch, from Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway."
SHIPWRECK
IN THE DESERT: TITANIC ARTIFACTS ON DISPLAY IN SALT LAKE CITY (28 May
04, Salt Lake Tribune) " Corbett was one of several Titanic passengers
with ties to Utah, a fact revealed in "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition,"
which opens Saturday at the ZCMI Center in downtown Salt Lake City. The
touring show, which runs through Jan. 8, 2005, displays 292 artifacts recovered
from the wreckage. Together these items, from crystal vases to chamber pots,
offer a compelling glimpse into the doomed voyage of the most famous ship
in history. "It's a timeless story," exhibition designer Mark
Lach told reporters during a preview tour Thursday. "Ninety-two years
later, we're still talking about Titanic because it connects with us on
a very human level." The exhibition travels worldwide under the auspices
of RMS Titanic Inc., the for-profit company granted exclusive rights to
the Titanic's contents after it salvaged the ship, which lies under 2.5
miles of ocean off the Newfoundland coast. RMS Titanic Inc. will share profits
from ticket sales with the Utah Museum of Natural History, which is presenting
the show in Salt Lake City. (The Salt Lake Tribune is a co-sponsor.)"
TITANIC FIRM UNLIKELY TO OWN ARTIFACTS (17 May 04, Reuters) " A U.S. judge says she is unlikely to grant ownership of nearly 6,000 Titanic artefacts to the company that holds sole salvage rights to the sunken luxury liner. Officials from R.M.S. Titanic were in U.S. District Court on Monday to set the parameters for a trial later this year concerning the compensation the company should receive for its work salvaging the ship and preserving the artefacts. "At this point, you should count on a negative response," U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Smith told company executives. "You will not be entitled to full title of all of the artefacts." The company says it is owed $225 million in compensation for the five salvage dives it has financed. That price tag includes the estimated value of the artefacts: $71.5 million."
FAMILY GIVES PROPER BURIAL TO 1-YEAR-OLD TITANIC SURVIVOR (13 May 04, Newsday) "Over the years while reading books and cruising Titanic-related Internet sites, he kept coming across the Nackid family name. The fact the Nackids were coming to Connecticut on the Titanic piqued his interest. He began to delve deeper into who they were, even charting the Nackid family tree. He learned that Mary, the baby, was the first Titanic survivor to die. He went to the funeral home where she was laid to rest, searching for records. Tompkins learned baby Mary was buried in a pauper's grave because the family was brand new to the country and penniless. After about two years of searching, Tompkins tracked down the Nackid family in Bethel. His interest immediately attracted Amy, who wanted to know more about her family's lost history. "
OMSI SET TO OPEN 'TITANIC SCIENCE' EXHIBIT (13 May 04, Bend.com) "On Saturday, May 29, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry will open a new exhibit, Titanic Science: The Real Artifacts, The True Stories. The exhibit, which will run through the summer, represents years of research and an unprecedented combination of science and human drama."Titanic Science" combines real scientific findings with actual artifacts, creating a powerful educational experience. The highly interactive exhibit will take visitors through an exploration of the disaster and the emotional journey that resulted in the loss of more than 1,500 lives, including a handful of Oregonians."
TITANIC LIFE VEST PRESERVES HISTORY (13 May 04, Indiana Star) "Anything that connects us to that terrible night seems to possess a numinous power far beyond its actual physicality. So a life vest worn by a passenger that fateful night and donated to the Smithsonian in 1982 by the Chicago Historical Society seems to speak to us from the tilting deck of the stricken ship. Paul Johnston, a curator at the National Museum of American History, said that the vest was given to the society by Dr. Frank Blackmarr, a Chicago physician who was a passenger on the Carpathia, which had picked up distress signals from 58 miles away and steamed to the rescue, arriving two hours after the Titanic had gone down.
FITTINGS
OF SISTER SHIP TO TITANIC TO BE AUCTIONED (14 May 04, Tyne Tees.tv -
Yorkshire,England,UK) "Fittings from the vessel, once described as
a "floating palace" were sold off at auction. Some of the lots
were bought by the paint manufacturers Smith and Walton for a new factory
building in Haltwhistle in Northumberland which later became Akzo Nobel.
Windows from the ship's gynasium, light fittings, decking and even a staircase
were all incorporated. But now this is part of a business park and the fittings
are once again being put up for auction. Preparations for the auction are
bringing clues as to how the vessel was built, while highlighting the value
of some of the fittings. Tiles now sell for more than a hundred pounds each."
TITANIC MEMORABILIA TO HIT AUCTION BLOCK IN JUNE (12 May 04, ABC) " An unprecedented collection of Titanic memorabilia will be up for auction in June, with hundreds of items reclaimed from the wreckage brought together for what may be the only time. Guernsey's Auction House will hold The Titanic Auction at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York on June 10." Items to be auctioned off include (with estimated sales price):
demitasse cup and saucer from the captains table-$20,000-$25,000;
deck chair- $50,000-$60,000;
Painting of Titanic by Ken Marchall: $30,000 to $40,000
Life jacket: $30,000 to $40,000;
Items from the Gill Collection including a wedding certificate, attorney's letter to Sara Gill, and the relief check.
To see the full catalogue, you can go to www.guernseys.com
JUDGE INVOLVED IN TITANIC CASE PASSES AWAY (7 May 04, Virginian-Pilot) "J. Calvitt Clarke Jr., the federal judge who convicted Arthur J. Walker of spying for the Soviets and oversaw the undersea salvage of such famous shipwrecks as the Lusitania and the Titanic , died Thursday at his Virginia Beach home.Clarke, 83, retired from the Norfolk federal court in 1999 after 24 years there but was still involved in the Titanic salvage case. He left the bench after failing eyesight made it difficult for him to do such routine chores as reading instructions to juries."It is the real passing of an era for me and the court," said U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beech Smith , who was a law clerk for Clarke in 1979-1980 before later joining him as a colleague. She described him as "a superb judge and a wonderful, warm human being with impeccable judgment and an amazing work ethic."
SHIPWRECK EXPERT ABANDONS HUNT FOR CLYDE LINER (4 May 04, The Herald-UK) "The fate of the SS Waratah, the Clyde-built liner which vanished in stormy waters off the coast of South Africa almost a century ago, looks destined to remain a mystery. Emlyn Brown, the shipwreck hunter who has been searching for the vessel for two decades, announced yesterday that he is finally giving up, after yet another expedition to locate the ship ended in failure. "I cannot continue indefinitely. I've spent 22 years of my life searching for the ship. I've exhausted all the options. I now have no idea where to look," he said. Backed by Clive Cussler, the millionaire US novelist who wrote Raise the Titanic, Johannesburg-based Mr Brown has been involved in the quest to find the Waratah since the 1980s. The Waratah, with 211 passengers and crew, left Durban bound for Capetown on July 22, 1909. At some point during the three-day voyage it vanished. Neither wreckage nor flotsam was ever found."
JUDGE TOSSES SUIT AGAINST TITANIC SCAVENGER (30 April 04, Court TV) " A judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by stockholders of the company that owns sole salvage rights to the Titanic, saying they failed to prove the company's leaders enriched themselves while the stock price plummeted. The stockholders group sued R.M.S. Titanic Inc. in 2002, alleging fraud and racketeering. The lawsuit accused company leaders of driving the business into near-bankruptcy while giving themselves exorbitant salaries and expensive junkets. However, a judge in U.S. District Court in Norfolk ruled this week that the stockholders had failed to present sufficient evidence to prove their claims."
TITANIC
TASK: TO SAVE DEEP-SEA WRECKS (22 April 04, Christian Science Monitor)
"Most mariners tap their barometers for a quick forecast. In June,
marine explorer Robert Ballard plans to take his readings more than two
miles beneath the Atlantic Ocean. His "barometer" is the wreck
of the RMS Titanic. What it reveals about the ship's rate of decay and the
key causes behind it could help shape the future of preservation efforts
there and at deep-sea wrecks worldwide. Anecdotal evidence has mounted that
the torn, misshapen remains of the pride of Britain's White Star Line has
deteriorated much more rapidly than anyone thought. "I'm very concerned
about the future of human history beneath the sea," Dr. Ballard says,
referring to the hundreds of thousands of wrecks that are thought to lie
in deep international waters. "We've just discovered ships in the high
seas of the Black Sea that are absolutely perfectly preserved museum pieces
- with no laws governing their long-term future. The Titanic is the barometer
of the future of human history beneath the sea." Ballard's cruise this
summer represents the first expedition to the wreck dedicated solely to
science since it was discovered and initially mapped in 1985 and '86."
IRELAND REMEMBERS TITANIC (16 April 04, The Australian) "Belfast's mayor laid a wreath today commemorating the 92nd anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, a disaster being remembered with bittersweet pride in the city of its birth. "We are not embarrassed at having built that ship, we are proud to have built it," said Lord Mayor Martin Morgan. He laid the wreath outside Belfast City Hall at a monument that lists the 36 local people who died when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden trans-Atlantic voyage in April 1912."The memory of the ship leaving Belfast is as clear in my mind today as it was all those years ago," said John Parkinson, 98, president of the Belfast Titanic Society, who accompanied Morgan at the wreath-laying."
EXPLORER
WHO DISCOVERED TITANIC RETURNS WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL ON URGENT
MISSION TO INVESTIGATE ENDANGERED WRECK (15 April 04, PR Newswire) "The
most famous shipwreck in modern history, the R.M.S. Titanic continues to
captivate our imagination and to draw audiences into the mystery of her
death almost a century after her fatal collision with an iceberg. Now a
destructive combination of natural forces and human intrusions is threatening
to force the complete collapse of the wreck into the ocean floor. Almost
two decades after discovering the sunken wreck of the Titanic, National
Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Robert Ballard is returning to lead
a scientific expedition on an urgent quest to determine the factors hastening
its ultimate deterioration. On Monday, June 7, 2004 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, National
Geographic Channel will provide audiences with unprecedented access to the
ongoing expedition by broadcasting a one-hour special "Return to Titanic."
The telecast will originate from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) research ship Ronald H. Brown and include the first-ever live telecast
from Titanic's watery grave, some 12,000 feet under the Atlantic Ocean."
LOCAL
MAN WAS NEAR TITANIC DISASTER (14 April 04, Linton Daily Citizen)"Ninety-two
years ago this week the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage across
the Atlantic Ocean stunned the world. That day, April 15, 1912, still seems
alive in the mind of a Greene County man, whose father was among the first
rescuers dispatched to the iceberg-studded waters off the coast of Newfoundland,
Canada. A young 20-year-old Bloomfield man, Daniel M. Axe, was an U.S. Navy
seaman on the USS North Dakota stationed in New York harbor. "His ship
received one of the SOS messages from the Titanic and started toward the
wreckage and naturally, you know they never got there," said Daniel
M. Axe, Jr. of his father's involvement in the historic event. "They
started to get there, but were too late."Unfortunately, Axe's son never
got a chance to talk to his father about the historic, but tragic event,
because Daniel M. Axe, Sr. died when his son was just 4-years-old. However,
the event sparked a life-long interest and pursuit of Titanic history by
his son and later his grandson, Roger Axe, both of Bloomfield."
LIFEBOAT
WAS LUCKY FOR FAMILY (14 April 04, Times-Dispatch)"For Albert F.
Caldwell, No. 13 proved to be lucky. That was the number assigned to the
lifeboat that carried him, his wife and their 10-month-old son from the
sinking ocean liner Titanic during the early-morning hours of April 15,
1912. Unlike many of the 705 survivors who never wanted to speak of what
they had endured, Caldwell readily talked and wrote about the aftermath
of the supposedly indestructible ship's almost matter-of-fact brush with
an iceberg."I don't know why there's so much interest in the Titanic,
but now I'm known as 'The Survivor,'" Caldwell said five years before
his death at age 91.The first time Caldwell talked to The Times-Dispatch
was 22 years after the disaster. In that April 15, 1934, interview, Caldwell,
who had relocated to Richmond from Illinois a few months earlier, blamed
the crew's overconfidence for the loss of an additional 500 lives."
COUPLE
REFLECTS ON FAMILY TALE OF TITANIC SAVE (10 Mar 04, Kansas City Star)
"When Robert Ballard, the famed oceanographer known for his 1985 discovery
of the Titanic, speaks at Coastal Carolina University today, he will find
an attentive audience in Fred and Carol Stretton. The snowbirds from Ontario,
Canada, are spending the winter months on the Grand Strand. For the Strettons,
word of Ballard's visit recalls a family tale passed down the generations:
the story of Fred Stretton's grandfather and his experience on a ship that
rescued survivors of the ill-fated vessel. Stretton says his grandfather,
James Stapleton Stretton, was aboard the Carpathia. James Stretton later
told his family that he gave his room to Madeleine Astor, the young wife
of millionaire John Jacob Astor, who died during the tragedy, Fred Stretton
said. Astor later gave James Stretton binoculars in gratitude, Fred Stretton
said, but the binoculars have been lost."
MAGISTRATE
RECOMMENDS TOSSING PART OF SUIT IN TITANIC CASE (5 Mar 04, Associated
Press) "A federal magistrate recommended tossing out a lawsuit accusing
three leaders of the Titanic salvage company of enriching themselves at
shareholders' expense. The defendants are seeking summary judgments, in
which the judge would rule without the case going to trial. In announcing
his decision, U.S. Magistrate Judge Tommy E. Miller cited a lack of evidence
supporting the allegations against RMS Titanic Inc. President Arnie Geller
and Vice President Gerald Couture, and major stockholder Joe Marsh, an Akron,
Ohio, businessman. Miller recommended granting summary judgment for the
three defendants, but said it should be denied for a fourth, G. Michael
Harris, a former executive vice president of RMS Titanic. The magistrate
said there is a factual dispute in Harris' case. The ultimate decision will
be made by U.S. District Judge Rebecca B. Smith. Miller's recommendations
were dated Thursday but mailed to the attorneys in the case on Friday, according
to the court clerk's office. The lawyers have 10 days to respond. The lawsuit
seeking more than $3 million in damages was filed in April 2002 by Lawrence
D'Addario, who owns about 6 percent of RMS Titanic's stock. D'Addario alleges
the defendants' actions caused the value of the company's stock to plummet.
The lawsuit alleges Geller, Harris and Marsh were instrumental in the hostile
takeover of RMST in 1999 and that the company's new management engaged in
a scheme to loot the corporation, including fraud, mismanagement and waste
of corporate assets. "
TITANIC ANNOUNCES WORLD WIDE EXHIBITION PLAN (4 Mar 04, Business Wire)"RMS Titanic, Inc. ( announced its plans to directly operate worldwide exhibitions of the very successful Titanic Artifact Tour. After more than five years, the license agreement with the exhibition division of Clear Channel Communications Inc (NYSE:CCU) will come to an end on April 25th, 2004. RMS Titanic, the Salvor of the wreck of the Titanic, will once again conduct its own exhibitions after that date. Presently, the Company is finalizing contracts for new exhibition venues in North America, Europe and Asia. As part of the negotiated transition, ClearChannel has agreed to sell the five exhibitions designed and produced for the recovered Titanic artifacts to the Company for $600,000 over two years. The Company believes the replacement value of these unique exhibition assets could exceed more than $6,000,000.
Mr. Arnie Geller, President of RMS Titanic, Inc. said, "We want
to thank Clear Channel for its outstanding efforts over the years helping
us achieve record breaking attendance which now totals over 14 million visitors.
Our Company is very enthusiastic about re-embarking on management of the
exhibitions at this time as the public demand and fascination for Titanic
continues to grow. We have hired exceptionally qualified and experienced
personnel to successfully manage the design, marketing, and administration
of these future Titanic exhibitions." Mr. Geller added, "There
are many major market venues in the U.S. and abroad, that have expressed
interest in hosting the Titanic exhibit, and we expect to be able to continue
to tour the exhibits for several years to come."
TITANIC
SALVAGE COMPANY PETITIONS FOR RIGHT TO SELL SHIPWRECK'S ARTIFACTS(14
Feb 04, Virginian-Pilot) "In documents filed Friday in U.S. District
Court here, R.M.S. Titanic Inc. is asking that it be allowed to decide what
to do with the artifacts. But such approval would almost certainly come
with restrictions. Two federal judges previously have prohibited the company
from selling the artifacts or otherwise breaking up the set of 6,000 pieces,
which range from playing cards and lumps of coal to part of the ship's hull.
A list of every item was filed with the court. An appraiser estimated their
worth at $71,463,106. This is the first time anyone has attempted to put
a price tag on their value, and officials said the return at auction would
likely be much greater."
LAWYERS WANT LAWSUIT AGAINST TITANIC SALVAGE COMPANY LEADERS DISMISSED(30 Jan 04, Associated Press) "Lawyers asked a federal magistrate Thursday to throw out a lawsuit accusing the leaders of the Titanic salvage company of enriching themselves at stockholders' expense. "We ask this court to put an end to the meritless litigation filed against my clients," said Robert McFarland, an attorney for two of the defendants, RMS Titanic Inc. President Arnie Geller and Vice President Gerald Couture. McFarland said there is no evidence to support the lawsuit's claims of obstruction of justice and breach of corporate duty, which he called "spurious" and "baseless."Steven G. Storch, attorney for shareholder Lawrence D'Addario, argued that a jury should get to decide the case. Storch said company leaders engaged in self-serving deals to line their own pockets and knowingly defied a court order not to cut into the Titanic's hull to remove artifacts. "These defendants chafed at the idea of having to be under the supervision of the court," Storch told Miller. The defendants are seeking a summary judgment, in which the judge rules without the case going to trial."
TITANIC
LETTER UP FOR AUCTION(12Jan04, The Scotsman) "A letter from a passenger
on board the Titanic which has been used as a bookmark for years is expected
to fetch up to £20,000 at auction, an expert said today.The letter
was written on board the reputedly unsinkable liner's maiden voyage in 1912
on White Star Line RMS Titanic headed notepaper. The folded piece of A4
paper, complete with its original envelope, is to be auctioned by Tennants
of Leyburn, in North Yorkshire, and contains a letter written by first class
passenger Miss Alice Lennox-Conyngham.It was part of the last consignment
of mail from the Titanic before it set out from Queenstown in Ireland to
cross the North Atlantic, where it sank after hitting an iceberg"
RMS TITANIC
STRUCK FAUX-ICEBERG(12Jan04,Spoof.com)"Scientists have recently
discovered that when the helmsmen of the RMS Titanic struck what they thought
then was an iceberg, scientists know now that it was something entirely
different. It was, in fact, the well-known spoof writer, JJ Jogolo. JJ had
been monitoring our planet from his faux-iceberg for quite some time when
the tragedy occurred in 1914. He had decided to rest for the night and slept
through the proximity alarm that went off when the Titanic neared him."
Titanic's
Salvager Taking On Water? (10 Jan 04, Daily Press) "Billions of
underwater microbes eat at the steel RMS Titanic at the bottom of the north
Atlantic Ocean - removing, by some estimates, up to 800 pounds of metal
a day from the great ship. That's up from 200 pounds a day a few years ago.
But RMS Titanic Inc., the Atlanta-based company that's been legally designated
the salvager for the 1912 wreck site, has made no efforts to get court approval
to raise the actual vessel, beyond the mere artifacts it's allowed to bring
to the surface now. "The microorganisms eat the steel to get the iron
out of it, and as the new hungry microbes are born, the rate of destruction
keeps going up and up," said David Shuttle, a Pennsylvania resident,
company shareholder and trustee of the Titanic International Society. "We
need to tell the court that we're losing stuff that's significant for history."
The failure to press the courts on that issue is just one of a host of blunders
that the current management team of RMS Titanic has made in recent years,
Shuttle says. A group of dissident shareholders now suing the company says
the current management team knowingly defied a court order and cut into
the ship's hull to remove artifacts, hurting the ship's - and the company's
- integrity. "
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