Southampton

Southampton () is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest. It lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water at the confluence of the River Test and River Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to the south of the urban area. The local authority is Southampton City Council, which is a unitary authority.

Significant employers in Southampton include the University of Southampton, the Ford Transit factory, Ordnance Survey, the BBC through Radio Solent and South Today, the NHS and one of the largest commercial ports in Europe. The city represents the core of the Greater Southampton region, and the town itself has an estimated population of 234,600 (MYE 2008). The city's name is sometimes abbreviated in writing to "So'ton" or "Soton", and a resident of Southampton is called a Category: :Category - :People from Southampton|Sotonian. Southampton is noted for its association with the , the Spitfire and more recently a number of the largest cruise ships in the world.

The Mayflower was the famous ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from Southampton, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States (which would become the capital of Plymouth Colony), in 1620. There were 102 passengers and a crew of 25?30.

The vessel left England on September 6 (Old Style)/September 16 (New Style),As England used the Julian Calendar and mainland Europe used the modern Gregorian Calendar at this time, dates were frequently recorded in both calendars. Here we continue the practice to avoid confusion, listing the Old Style (Julian) date, followed by the New Style (Gregorian) date. and after a gruelling 66-day journey marked by disease, which claimed two lives, the ship dropped anchor inside the hook tip of Cape Cod (Provincetown Harbor) on November 11/November 21. The Mayflower was originally destined for the mouth of the Hudson River, near present-day New York City, at the northern edge of England's Virginia colony, which itself was established with the 1607 Jamestown Settlement.

However, the Mayflower went off course as the winter approached, and remained in Cape Cod Bay. On March 21/28 1621, all surviving passengers, who had inhabited the ship during the winter, moved ashore at Plymouth, and on April 5/15, the Mayflower, a privately commissioned vessel, returned to England. In 1623, a year after the death of captain Christopher Jones, the Mayflower was most likely dismantled for scrap lumber in Rotherhithe, London.

The Mayflower has a famous place in American history as a symbol of early European colonization of the future US. With their religion oppressed by the English Church and government,Philbrick, pp. 4-5 the small party of religious Puritan separatists who comprised about half of the passengers on the ship desired a life where they could practice their religion freely. This symbol of religious freedom resonates in US society and the story of the Mayflower is a staple of any American history textbook. Americans whose roots are traceable back to New England often believe themselves to be descended from Mayflower passengers.

The main record for the voyage of the Mayflower and the disposition of the Plymouth Colony comes from William Bradford who was a guiding force and later the governor of the colony.

Category: Image - :Cape cod bay.jpg|thumb|Mayflower arrived inside the tip of Cape Cod fishhook, 11 November/21 November 1620 (satellite photo, 1997)

The 'RMS Titanic''' was an Olympic-class passenger liner owned by British shipping company White Star Line and built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland. At the time of her construction, she was the largest passenger steamship in the world.

Shortly before midnight on 14 April 1912, four days into the ships maiden voyage, Titanic hit an iceberg and sank two hours and forty minutes later, early on 15 April 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. The high casualty rate was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard. The ship had a total lifeboat capacity of 1,178 people, although her maximum capacity was 3,547. A disproportionate number of men died due to the women-and-children-first protocol that was followed.

The Titanic was designed by some of the most experienced engineers, and used some of the most advanced technology available at the time. It was popularly believed to have been unsinkable.Richard Howells The Myth of the Titanic, ISBN 0333725972 It was a great shock to many that, despite the extensive safety features, the Titanic sank. The frenzy on the part of the media about Titanic famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes to maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck have contributed to the continuing interest in, and notoriety of, the Titanic.