An Analysis of the Historical Accuracy of James Cameron’s “Titanic”
             On the night of April 14, 1912, the great luxury liner, Titanic, struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. In less than three hours, the great ship sank taking with it the lives of 1,523 of its passengers and crew. Throughout maritime history, no other ship tragedy has affected so many generations and whose story has been retold time and time again. Over the years since her sinking, several movies have been produced to tell their versions of what happened during Titanic’s short voyage. No one can be sure of every event that transpired during the journey. Of all the movies produced since her sinking, James Cameron’s “Titanic” has been the most profitable. Take away the love story and several fictional characters and you would have a fairly accurate documentary of Titanic’s first and last voyage.
             The main characters of the love story in the movie Titanic are fictional. Rose, her mother, Cal Hockley and Lizzy Calvert are not listed on any of the passenger lists for the Titanic. There is a J. Dawson listed on the crew list as a trimmer but no Dawson appears on any of the third-class passenger lists. The characters are fictional but the dress and the manners they portray are keeping with the period. In 1912, there was a definite stratification of class. The dress and mannerisms of the very rich to the very poor are portrayed accurately in the movie. The real Titanic first class passenger list included millionaires such as American Colonel John Jacob Astor, IV, Isidor and Ida Straus, owners of Macy’s Department Store, the Wideners of Philadelphia who made their money in banking and railroads. Other notable passengers include the Countess of Rothes, Major Archibald Butt, military aide to President William Taft, William T. Snead, well-known editor, journalist, and s!
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