When the Titanic left on her first and only voyage in April 1912, about how many people were on board, passengers and crew together?
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Answer
About 2,200 people
Her lifeboats had room for only about 1,200 people, which was still more than the law of the time required.
How to estimate it
Ship size is measured in gross tons, a unit of internal volume, and Titanic measured 46,000. Liners of that era were crowded, with about 20 gross tons per person on board once crew are counted; modern cruise ships allow far more. 46,000 / 20 = 2,300. The ship was not full on her maiden voyage, and about 2,200 people were on board.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; UK National Archives
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