Sept. 1, 1985: Wreck of Titanic is found after 73 years

The wreck of the Titanic was found on Sept. 1, 1985 - a full 73 years after it sunk.

The ship was found on the North Atlantic ocean floor by a joint U.S. - French expedition. It was about 400 miles east of Newfoundland.

Recommended Videos



Searchers used an experimental unmanned submersible developed by the U.S. Navy to search the ocean for the ship.

The ship, named Argo, found one of Titanic's massive boilers, lying at a depth of about 13,000 feet.

Check out some of the amazing footage taken from the 1985 discovery below - and more recent expeditions at the bottom!

It was on April 14, 1912, that the RMS Titanic, called the unsinkable ship, hit an iceberg and sunk shortly after midnight (April 15) into the Atlantic.

The tragedy claimed the lives of 1,517 people.

On the night of April 14, the ship scraped an iceberg, tearing open six compartments. The ship's design was only made to withstand four compartments of flooding.

About ten minutes past midnight, on April 15, passengers were given lifeboats -- but there were only enough for about half of the people on board the ship.

At 2:20 a.m., the ship finally sank. It broke in half, and plunged to the ocean floor. About 705 people made it onto lifeboats.

Officials blamed the catastrophe on the captain and bridge crew -- all of them died.


About the Author

Ken Haddad has proudly been with WDIV/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters, and helps lead the WDIV Insider team. He's a big sports fan and is constantly sipping Lions Kool-Aid.

Recommended Videos