The captain goes down with the ship The captain goes down with the ship "The captain goes down with the ship" is an idiom and maritime tradition that a sea captain holds ultimate responsibility for both his ship and everyone embarked on it, and that in an emergency, he will either save them or die trying. Although often connected to the sinking of RMS "Titanic" in 1912 and its captain, Edward J. Smith, the phrase precedes "Titanic" by at least 11 years. In most instances, the captain of the ship forgoes his own rapid departure of a ship in distress, and concentrates instead on saving other people.
Grand Staircase of the RMS Titanic Grand Staircase of the RMS Titanic The Grand Staircase is the name sometimes given to the large ornate staircases in the first-class section of the White Star Line liner RMS "Titanic", which sank following a collision with an iceberg in 1912. The staircase has been prominently featured in "Titanic" media and often recreated in film, making it one of the most recognizable features of the lost liner. Sited in the forward part of the ship, the Grand Staircase was the main communication between decks for First-Class passengers and the point of entry to numerous public rooms. It descended in seven