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The History - Birth Of The Titans
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 The
enormity of these White Star liners would be like nothing ever seen.
Not only would the leading Cunard ships be a mere two thirds the size
of Olympic and Titanic, but building Olympic
and Titanic required Harland and Wolff to build special gantries
and convert the area that ordinarily accommodated the construction
of three ships. These berths would soon be fully occupied by two ships,
both nearly a sixth of a mile in length. The third sister, Gigantic,
subsequently renamed Britannic, was to be built at a later
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About five and a half months after final approval of the plans, in
December of 1908, construction began on Olympic. While work
proceeded swiftly on Olympic, three and a half months in
March of 1909, the keel of the second sister was laid. The construction
of Titanic was underway.
For over a year, nearly fifteen thousand workers at Harland Wolff
toiled as the two ships took form side by side in their berths until
October 10, 1910. Nearly two years after her construction began, Olympic
was launched. She was the largest moving object ever to be created
by human beings. Likewise, Titanic would be such, as she
would be slightly larger than Olympic. Moreover, Titanic
was to receive modifications and advancements based on experience
gained by Olympic's construction.
On May 31, 1911, Titanic was launched before thousands of
spectators, including American financier J.P. Morgan, the owner of
the White Star Line's parent companies International Mercantile Marine
and the Oceanic Steam Navigational Company. Bruce Ismay was also in
attendance, along with Lord Pirrie, his wife, and the mayor of Belfast.
At 12:13 p.m., Titanic was released into the River Lagan.
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 Later
that day, Harland and Wolff formally delivered Olympic to
the White Star Line. The Olympic set sail for Liverpool that
afternoon with Morgan and Ismay as proud passengers. While Titanic
was being completed, Olympic would eventually leave on her
maiden voyage and quickly capture the attention and applause of travelers.
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