RMS Majestic (1889): Difference between revisions

History
United Kingdom
Name	RMS Majestic
Namesake	Majestic (Big and impressive)
Owner	White Star Line
Operator	White Star Line
Port of registry	Liverpool, United Kingdom
Builder	Harland and Wolff yards in Belfast
Yard number	209
Launched	29 June 1889
Christened	not christened
Completed	22 March 1890
Maiden voyage	2 April 1890
Fate	Scrapped; began on 5 May 1914
General characteristics
Class and type	Teutonic class ocean liner
Tonnage	9,965 gross tons
Length	582 feet (177.8 m)
Beam	57.7 feet (17.6 m)
Propulsion	Two triple expansion engines powering two propellers.
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) (design service speed)
Capacity	1,490 Passengers: 300 First Class 190 Second Class 1,000 Third Class

RMS Majestic was a steamship built in 1890 for and operated by the White Star Line.

History

A product of

In 1895, Majestic was assigned a new captain named Edward Smith, later notable as the captain of Titanic. Smith served as Majestic's captain for nine years. When the Boer War started in 1899, Smith and Majestic were called upon to transport troops to Cape Colony. Two trips were made to South Africa, one in December, 1899 and one in February, 1900, both without incident. Another Titanic shipmate served under Smith aboard the Majestic; Charles Herbert Lightoller served as a deck officer for Smith. "Lights" - as he was nicknamed was to be the most senior officer of the Titanic to survive the sinking.

In 1902–1903, the ship underwent a refit, which included new boilers (and consequently taller twin funnels), after which she returned to the Liverpool-New York run. Smith left as captain in 1904 to take on the new Baltic, then the largest ship in the world. In 1905, Majestic suffered a fire in her bunker, but the damage was not significant. In 1907, White Star's main terminal was moved from Liverpool to Southampton and, on 26 June, Majestic sailed from these new facilities for the first time.

When the Olympic entered service in 1911, Teutonic was removed from the New York run and put on Canadian service with the Dominion Line. Likewise when Titanic came on the scene in 1912, Majestic was retired from White Star's New York service and designated as a reserve ship, biding her time at Birkenhead's Bidston Dock. When Titanic met her fate in April, 1912, Majestic was pressed back into service, filling the hole in the transatlantic schedule.

On 17 October 1913, she came to the rescue of the French

• RMS Majestic (1914)

References

• Historic information on the Majestic
• Majestic I on Titanic-Titanic.com

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Majestic (ship, 1890).

• White Star Line on Titanic-Titanic.com
• Majestic at the WSL History site