Bottoms up
Titanic Survival Analysis
The RMS Titanic, one of the most iconic and tragic maritime disasters in history, continues to captivate the world's imagination over a century after its sinking. Launched as the epitome of luxury and engineering prowess, the Titanic was hailed as "unsinkable" before its maiden voyage in 1912. Fate had other plans, however. On the fateful night of April 14th, the ship collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic, leading to its catastrophic demise. The sinking of the Titanic resulted in the loss of over 1,500 lives and exposed the hubris of human endeavors against the forces of nature. Yet, amidst the tragedy, the story of the Titanic remains a testament to human courage, sacrifice, and the enduring lessons learned from its untimely end.
| Passenger class | Number on Board | Number of Survivors | Number Lost | Male | Female | Child |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Class | 329 | 199 | 130 | 175 | 144 | 6 |
| Second Class | 285 | 119 | 166 | 168 | 93 | 24 |
| Third Class | 710 | 174 | 536 | 462 | 165 | 79 |
| Crew | 899 | 214 | 685 | 862 | 23 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 2,223 | 706 | 1,517 | 1,667 | 425 | 109 |
Passengers by age
Looking at passengers by age shows a pretty typical distribution. There appears to be a roughly equal amount of young and old people but about double the number of males ages 20 - 30 years old. Since the crew is included in our data that would make sense for a steamship in 1912.
What is the relationship between passenger age and survival rate?
Understanding the relationship between age and survival rate can provide insights into the prioritization and rescue operations during the Titanic disaster. I hypothesized that younger passengers, especially children, might have had higher survival rates due to evacuation priorities. To visualize this, we can use a histogram to represent the age distribution of passengers along with their survival status. The x-axis represents the age groups, while the y-axis shows the count of passengers. Different colors are used to differentiate between those who survived and those who perished. The histogram reveals that children had higher survival rates, supporting our hypothesis that younger passengers were more likely to be rescued.
How does the fare paid relate to survival rates across different classes?
The fare paid by passengers can be an indicator of their socioeconomic status and access to resources. I hypothesized that passengers who paid higher fares, particularly those in first class, had higher survival rates.
To investigate this, we can use a strip plot to visualize the distribution of fares across different passenger classes and survival statuses. The x-axis represents the passenger class, while the y-axis shows the fare amount. Colors indicate survival status. This box plot clearly illustrates that higher fares are associated with higher survival rates, especially in the first class. This suggests that wealthier passengers had better access to lifeboats and safety measures.
Lifeboats on the Titanic
Stacked bar chart
A basic stacked bar graph looking at the distribution of passengers by lifeboat. This chart clearly shows the distribution of passengers in each boat but fails to capture how many lifeboats were underutilized.
Diverging bar chart
Coal fire theory
The sinking of the RMS Titanic may have been caused by an enormous fire on board, compounded by hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic.
While the cause of the disaster has long been attributed to the iceberg, fresh evidence has surfaced of a fire in the ship’s hull, which researchers say burned unnoticed for almost three weeks leading up to the collision.
Journalist Sean Molony, who has spent more than 30 years researching the sinking of the Titanic, studied photographs taken by the ship’s chief electrical engineers before it left Belfast shipyard.
Mr Malony said he was able to identify 30-foot-long black marks along the front right-hand side of the hull, just behind where the ship’s lining was pierced by the iceberg.
He said: “We are looking at the exact area where the iceberg stuck, and we appear to have a weakness or damage to the hull in that specific place, before she even left Belfast”. Experts subsequently confirmed the marks were likely to have been caused by a fire started in a three-story high fuel store behind one of the ship’s boiler rooms.