July 18, 1986

On this day in history in 1986 the first close-up video of the Titanic wreckage was released to the public.

The Titanic before taking off on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912

The Maiden Voyage

The Titanic was launched on April 10, 1912. At the time it was the largest ocean liner that had ever been built at 900 feet long and 150 feet from the water to its highest point. It carried 2,200 people when it took off from Liverpool, England. Five days later the ocean liner struck an iceberg and sunk. More than 1,500 people died and the disaster became the deadliest sinking of a single ship at that time.

Discovering the Titanic

The remains of the Titanic were not discovered for almost 75 years after it sank. In 1985 the wreck was discovered by a Marine geologist, Robert Ballard, and the research foundation he worked with. The remains were found 350 miles southeast of Newfoundland and 13,000 feet below the surface on the ocean floor.

Robert Ballard (left), the Titanic on its maiden voyage (top right), footage of the Titanic wreckage (bottom right)

Footage of the Wreck

It was one year later when Ballard returned to the wrecked ship in a submersible so he could acquire photo footage. Along with the sub that brought him to the ship there was an additional robotic submarine that was used to explore the interior where their manned vessel could not go. Ballard was accompanied by two pilots, one who piloted his submersible, the Alvin, and the other who piloted the robotic sub, Jason Jr.

The men found evidence of lives cut off in a hurry with unopened champagne bottles and unopened safes. To honor those who died, the explorers agreed to leave everything they found undisturbed on the ocean floor. There were no traces of human remains, likely having been scavenged long ago by the creatures that lived in those ocean depths.