The Titanic Didn’t Sink

This theory, popularized by Robin Gardiner’s 1998 book, Titanic: The Ship That Never Sank?, posits that it was the Titanic’s sister ship, the Olympic, that fell to the bottom of the Atlantic on April 15, 1912 — not the Titanic — as part of an insurance scam. Go with it: trouble began when the Olympic, which was virtually identical to the Titanic, crashed into the Royal Navy Warship HMS Hawke in 1911 and White Star Line, owner of the twin ships, was found to be at fault for the collision. You don’t need J.P. Morgan’s credentials to know what that means: money loss. The theory goes that to make up for the financial hit, White Star Line (owned by Morgan) patched up its damaged goods, sent the vessel out disguised as the Titanic, and orchestrated its sinking for an insurance payout that would more than make up for its previous money drain — especially since the real Titanic, a shiny new ship, would be up and running in the aftermath. You can sort through the fishy details at your leisure, but consider this in the meantime: Morgan was supposed to board the Titanic for its maiden voyage, but conveniently canceled those plans.