The White Star Line

The story of the short-lived Liverpool shipping line, whose ships were some of the most luxurious afloat, and which included the Titanic, Olympic and Britannic.

MARITIME HISTORY. The White Star Line was one of the most illustrious and controversial names in the history of passenger shipping. Its origins lay in Liverpool in the early 19th century, chartering sailing ships to Australia, but financial difficulties led to its takeover by Thomas Ismay in the 1860s. The company grew quickly to dominate the North Atlantic route, with famous ships such as Britannic and Germanic taking the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing several times in the late 19th century. At the turn of the century the company established an unrivaled standard of luxury in its new quartet of ships known as the Big Four, which led to the construction of the Olympic Class, which included Titanic. Despite the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the Olympic had a long and successful career as the flagship of the White Star Line before the financial pressures of the Depression in the 1930s forced the merger of White Star with its rival Cunard.

William H. Miller, 'Mr Ocean Liner', looks back at the great ships owned and operated by Cunard-White Star during the 1930s.

Winner, Dartmouth Book Award for Non-Fiction, Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing, and Next Generation Indie Book Award, Historical Non-Fiction It's a cold April night on the high seas. A ship steams quickly towards port. Aboard are wealthy passengers enjoying their luxurious accommodations. In the holds below, steerage passengers sit in crowded berths, excited about starting a new life in a new world. In the bridge above, the Captain retires for the evening. The lookouts think they see something ahead. Too late, they warn the bridge... This was the fate of the SS Atlantic, the second ship built by the White Star Line for its new fleet. Built forty-two years before the RMS Titanic, the Atlantic had successfully completed eighteen crossings before it ran aground off the coast of Nova Scotia on April 1, 1873, killing 562 of the 952 onboard. It was the worst trans-Atlantic marine disaster of the 19th century, yet, until now, the full story has never been told.

Om selskabet White Star Line's skibsulykker 1864-1941

The Ismay Line charts the rise and fall of one of the most eminent British shipping companies - and tells the story of the family behind it. The founder of the White Star Line, T H Ismay, pioneered a revolutionary design of iron steamships, built for him by Harland & Wolff of Belfast. By the time of his death in 1899 he had become the most successful steamship owner in the world. He was succeeded by his son, Bruce Ismay, who in April 1912 was aboard his latest ship, Titanic, when it collided with an iceberg on its maiden voyage. Ismay survived by boarding the last lifeboat to leave the starboard side of the sinking liner: and thus began one of the greatest witch-hunts of modern times. The Ismay Line draws on many previously unpublished family diaries and correspondence and offers a robust defence of Bruce Ismay's conduct. Originally published in 1961, the book has been out of print for many years and is now a sought-after collector's item.