When the White Star Line’s "unsinkable" transatlantic liner RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 15, 1912, she sank with the loss of 1,503 lives; 705 survived the disaster. From that fateful day when the pride of the British merchant marine plumbed the icy depths of the North Atlantic, Titanic has become the most celebrated of maritime disasters and has spawned hundreds of books and two major films.