Titanic: 'no lives lost'

Getting accurate news quickly in 1912 was not easy, even using technological advances such as the telegraph. The press shared the public view that the Titanic was unsinkable so many headlines following the tragedy proved grossly optimistic. ‘Everyone safe,’ reported the Daily Mirror; ‘No lives lost,’ said the Daily Mail.

The Daily News, 16 April 1912		Daily Mirror, 16 April 1912
The British Library gratefully acknowledges the John Frost Newspaper Archive for permission to reproduce these front pages.

The cruel reality was clearer in other newspapers such as The Daily News, which stated, ‘Titanic goes down off Cape Race… Many lives lost’. Appeals for the victims’ families brought a huge response. The Daily Mail raised £59,000 (£3.5 million today) and the Daily Telegraph’s fund totalled £28,000.