White Star Line - wikipedia White Star Line White Star Line Former type Partnership Industry Shipping, transportation Fate merged with Cunard Line Successor Cunard White Star Line Founded 1845 ( 1845 ) in Liverpool, England Defunct 1934 Area served Transatlantic Parent Ismay, Imrie and Co. Website www.cunard.co.uk The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packers, more commonly known as just White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company. Founded in 1845, the line operated a fleet of clipper ships that sailed between Britain and Australia. Today it is most famous for the innovative vessel Oceanic of 1870, and the Olympic class ocean liners, including the ill - fated RMS Titanic. In 1934, White Star merged with its chief rival, Cunard Line, which operated as Cunard - White Star Line until 1950. Cunard Line then operated as a separate entity until 2005 and is now part of Carnival Corporation & plc. As a lasting reminder of the White Star Line, modern Cunard ships use the term White Star Service to describe the level of customer care expected of the company. Contents 1 History 1.1 Early history 1.2 The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company 1.3 The White Star Line and migration 1.4 Olympic class ships 1.5 Interwar years 1.6 Cunard merger 2 White Star Line today 3 Fleet events 4 Notable captains 5 Fleet 5.1 1853 -- 1889 5.2 1890 -- 1899 5.3 1900 -- 1909 5.4 1910 -- 1919 5.5 1920 -- 1932 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links History Early history White Star Line flag The first company bearing the name White Star Line was founded in Liverpool, England, by John Pilkington and Henry Wilson in 1845. It focused on the UK -- Australia trade, which increased following the discovery of gold in Australia. The fleet initially consisted of the chartered sailing ships RMS Tayleur, Blue Jacket, White Star, Red Jacketu, Ellen, Ben Nevis, Emma, Mermaid and Iowa. Tayleur, the largest ship of its day, wrecked on its maiden voyage to Australia at Lambay Island, near Ireland, a disaster that haunted the company for years. In 1863, the company acquired its first steamship, Royal Standard. The original White Star Line merged with two other small lines, The Black Ball Line and The Eagle Line, to form a conglomerate, the Liverpool, Melbourne and Oriental Steam Navigation Company Limited. This did not prosper and White Star broke away. White Star concentrated on Liverpool to New York City services. Heavy investment in new ships was financed by borrowing, but the company 's bank, the Royal Bank of Liverpool, failed in October 1867. White Star was left with an incredible debt of £ 527,000 ( equivalent to £ 45,677,044 in 2015 ), and was forced into bankruptcy. The Oceanic steam Navigation company On 18 January 1868, Thomas Ismay, a director of the National Line, purchased the house flag, trade name and goodwill of the bankrupt company for £ 1,000 ( equivalent to £ 81,144 in 2015 ), with the intention of operating large ships on the North Atlantic service between Liverpool and New York. Ismay established the company 's headquarters at Albion House, Liverpool. Adriatic of 1871, ( 3,888 GRT ) Ismay was approached by Gustav Christian Schwabe, a prominent Liverpool merchant, and his nephew, the shipbuilder Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, during a game of billiards. Schwabe offered to finance the new line if Ismay had his ships built by Wolff 's company, Harland and Wolff. Ismay agreed, and a partnership with Harland and Wolff was established. The shipbuilders received their first orders on 30 July 1869. The agreement was that Harland and Wolff would build the ships at cost plus a fixed percentage and would not build any vessels for the White Star 's rivals. In 1870, William Imrie joined the managing company. As the first ship was being commissioned, Ismay formed the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company to operate the steamers under construction. Britannic and Germanic of 1874, ( 5,000 GRT ) White Star began with six ships of the Oceanic class : Oceanic ( I ), Atlantic, Baltic, and Republic, followed by the slightly larger Celtic and Adriatic. White Star began operating again in 1871 between New York and Liverpool ( with a call at Queenstown ). It has long been customary for many shipping lines to have a common theme for the names of their ships. White Star gave their ships names ending in - ic, such as Titanic. The line also adopted a buff - coloured funnel with a black top as a distinguishing feature for their ships, as well as a distinctive house flag, a red broad pennant with two tails, bearing a white five - pointed star. The first substantial loss for the company came only four years after its founding, occurring in 1873 with the sinking of the SS Atlantic and the loss of 535 lives near Halifax, Nova Scotia. While en route to New York from Liverpool amidst a vicious storm, the Atlantic attempted to make port at Halifax when a concern arose that the ship would run out of coal before reaching New York. However, when attempting to enter Halifax, she ran aground on the rocks and sank in shallow waters. Despite being so close to shore, a majority of the victims of the disaster drowned. The crew were blamed for serious navigational errors by the Canadian Inquiry, although a British Board of Trade investigation cleared the company of all extreme wrongdoing. Oceanic of 1899, ( 17,272 GRT ) During the late nineteenth century, White Star operated many famous ships, such as Britannic ( I ), Germanic, Teutonic, and Majestic ( I ). Several of these ships took the Blue Riband, awarded to the fastest ship to make the Atlantic crossing. In 1899, Thomas Ismay commissioned one of the most beautiful steam ships constructed during the nineteenth century, the Oceanic ( II ). She was the first ship to exceed the Great Eastern in length ( although not tonnage ). The building of this ship marked White Star Line 's departure from competition in speed with its rivals. Thereafter White Star concentrated on comfort and economy of operation instead. In the late nineteenth century, shipbuilders had discovered that when speed through water increased above about 20 knots ( 23 mph ; 37 km / h ), the required additional engine power increased in exponential proportion ; that is, each additional increment of speed required a progressively larger increase in engine power and fuel consumption. With the coal - fired reciprocating steam engines of the time, exceeding about 24 knots ( 28 mph ; 44 km / h ) required very high power and fuel consumption. For this reason, the White Star Line committed to comfort and reliability rather than to speed. For example, White Star 's Celtic cruised at 16 knots ( 18 mph ; 30 km / h ) with 14,000 horsepower, while Cunard 's Mauretania made 24 knots ( 28 mph ; 44 km / h ) with 68,000 horsepower. Adriatic of 1907 ( 24,541 GRT ), the largest of the Big Four Between 1901 and 1907, White Star brought `` The Big Four '' ( all around 24,000 tons ) into service : Celtic, Cedric, Baltic, and Adriatic. These ships carried massive numbers of passengers : 400 passengers in First and Second Class, and over 2,000 in Third Class. In addition, they had extremely large cargo capacities, up to 17,000 tons of general cargo. In 1902 White Star Line was absorbed into the International Mercantile Marine Co. ( IMM ), a large American shipping conglomerate. Bruce Ismay ceded control to IMM in the face of intense pressure from shareholders and J.P. Morgan, who threatened a rate war. IMM was dissolved in 1932. The White Star Line and migration In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, millions of people emigrated from Europe to Canada and the United States. White Star was among the first shipping lines to have passenger ships with inexpensive accommodation for third - class passengers, in addition to places for higher paying first - and second - class. The Oceanic - class liners of 1870 -- 1872 carried up to 1,000 third - class passengers, as did the vast majority of White Star 's ships thereafter. The White Star Line 's `` Big Four '', a quartet of revolutionary liners which had large passenger and freight capacities, had the largest carrying capacity for third - class passengers : Celtic of 1901, with capacity for 2,352 third - class passengers ; Cedric of 1903 and Baltic of 1904 each had a third - class carrying capacity of 2,000 ; the fourth ship, Adriatic of 1907, had a third - class carrying capacity of 1,900. White Star advertised extensively for emigrant passengers. When the Line began operations in 1870, the majority of their business in the emigration trade was centred on Great Britain, and Irish emigrants remained a chief source of income for much of the company 's history. From the start, a great deal of their business also came from Scandinavia, with Norway and Sweden being the largest areas of success. As the years passed, the company expanded its services into continental Europe, eventually tapping into the massive streams of emigrants from Italy, from the Slavic regions of Central Europe under the control of the Austro - Hungarian empire, and nations such as Romania and Bulgaria in southeastern Europe struggling with slowed economic growth and overpopulation. Also included was Europe 's massive population of Ashkenazi Jews from several areas of Eastern Europe generally known as the Pale of Settlement, a region within the Russian Empire designated under anti-Semitic governmental policies as the only area in which Jews were allowed to settle permanently. The Line eventually expanded their services of travel across all regions of Europe, spanning from the Iberian Peninsula to the Middle East. No exact figures are available, but White Star liners may have carried as many as two million emigrants to North America. As a means of competing with Cunard ( which had faster ships ), White Star gave their third - class facilities modest luxuries. These included division of steerage passengers into two areas of each vessel. In those days, most shipping lines ( Cunard, Hamburg - Amerika, and North German Lloyd among them ) housed their third - class passengers in large open - berthed dormitories usually located at the forward end of the vessel ; but the White Star Line strictly kept to the policy of dividing their third - class accommodations into two areas on each ship. Quarters for single men, usually found in old - fashioned open - berth dormitories, were located in the forward areas of the vessel ; these quarters differed greatly from those found on ships of other lines as they were much less crowded. Single women, married couples and families were berthed in private two -, four -, and six - berth cabins in the after areas of the vessel. The reasons are best explained in a secret investigation conducted by the U.S. Immigration Bureau. During the years when immigration to the United States was at its peak, American agent Anna Herkner disguised herself as a Bohemian immigrant and made three trans - Atlantic crossings on ships of three different lines to carry out an investigation of the conditions of steerage in secret. Although the actual report omits the names of the vessels she travelled on, records at Ellis Island reveal which ships she had included in her study : in 1905, she made a westbound crossing in steerage aboard the North German Lloyd line 's Friedrich Der Grosse, followed in 1907 by the Hamburg Amerika Line 's Pennsylvania, and finally, in 1909, she sailed aboard the White Star Line 's Cedric. Her report contrast `` old - type '' and `` new - type steerage '', recommending that the government should bring about transition to the latter. While aboard Friedrich Der Grosse and the Pennsylvania she witnessed stewards sexually assaulting female steerage passengers, a severe lack of medical care, and scarcely tolerable food provided to steerage passengers. Aboard Cedric, however, Herkner was surprised at how well she was treated and how well passengers were provided for. In her report, she described her cabin, which she shared with three other women, as private, comfortable, and clean. She noted that each cabin had a bell by which a steward could be summoned, features such as mirrors, hooks to hang clothing on, and private wash basins. The food was of better quality, and the open deck space allotted to steerage passengers was far greater than in the `` old - type '' steerage on the other two ships. Third - class accommodations on the White Star Line included dining rooms with linens and silverware -- and menu cards which had postcards on the back, so that emigrants could write to relatives back home and suggest that they, too, travel with White Star. Additionally, each ship also had a reading room and smoke room allotted to passengers in steerage. Olympic class ships Main article : Olympic - class ocean liner Titanic of 1912 ( 46,328 GRT ) The Cunard Line was the chief competitor to White Star. In response to Cunard 's Lusitania and Mauretania, White Star ordered the Olympic class liners : Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic. While Cunard was famed for the speed of their ships, the Olympic class were to be the biggest and most luxurious ships in the world. The Olympic was the only ship of this class that was profitable for White Star. Titanic sank on her maiden voyage, while Britannic was requisitioned by the British government before she was fully fitted, and used as a hospital ship during World War I. Britannic hit an underwater mine, in the Kea Channel off the Greek island of Kea, and sank on the morning of 21 November 1916. Interwar years In 1922 the White Star Line gained Majestic and Homeric ; two former German liners which had been ceded to Britain as war reparations, ostensibly as a replacement for the war losses of Britannic and Oceanic. Majestic was then the world 's largest liner and became the company 's flagship. The two former German liners operated successfully alongside Olympic for an express service on the Southampton -- New York route until the Great Depression reduced demand after 1930. In 1927 the White Star Line was purchased by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company ( RMSPC ), making RMSPC the largest shipping group in the world. In 1928 a new Oceanic ( III ) was proposed and her keel was laid down that year at Harland and Wolff. The thousand foot long liner was to have been a motor ship propelled by the new diesel - electric propulsion system, but the ship was never completed due to financial issues. Oceanic 's keel was dismantled and the steel was used in two new smaller motor ships : Britannic ( III ) and Georgic. Both of these ships entered service by 1932 ; they were the last liners White Star had built. RMSPC ran into financial trouble, and was liquidated in 1932. A new company, Royal Mail Lines Limited, took over the ships of RMSPC and their subordinate lines including White Star. MV Georgic ; the last ship to be built for the White Star Line before the merger. Cunard merger Cunard - White Star Logo In 1933 White Star and Cunard were both in serious financial difficulties because of the Great Depression, falling passenger numbers and the advanced age of their fleets. Work was halted on Cunard 's new giant, Hull 534 ( later the Queen Mary ) in 1931 to save money. In 1933 the British government agreed to provide assistance to the two competitors on the condition that they merge their North Atlantic operations. The agreement was completed on 30 December 1933. The merger took place on 10 May 1934, creating Cunard - White Star Limited. White Star contributed ten ships to the new company while Cunard contributed 15 ships. Because of this, and since Hull 534 was Cunard 's ship, 62 % of the company was owned by Cunard 's shareholders and 38 % of the company was owned for the benefit of White Star 's creditors. White Star 's Australia and New Zealand services were not involved in the merger, but were separately disposed of to Shaw, Savill & Albion later in 1934. A year after this merger, Olympic, the last of her class, was removed from service. She was scrapped in 1937. In 1947 Cunard acquired the 38 % of Cunard White Star they did not already own, and on 31 December 1949 they acquired Cunard White Star 's assets and operations, and reverted to using the name `` Cunard '' on January 1, 1950. From the time of the 1934 merger, the house flags of both lines had been flown on all their ships, with each ship flying the flag of its original owner above the other, but from 1950, even Georgic and Britannic, the last surviving White Star liners, flew the Cunard house flag above the White Star burgee until they were each withdrawn from service, in 1956 and 1961 respectively. Just as the retiring of Cunard Line 's RMS Aquitania in 1949 marked the end of an era, so the retirement of the Britannic and therefore the last vestiges of the famous White Star Line was similarly noted worldwide. All other ships flew the Cunard flag over the White Star flag until late 1968. This was most likely because Nomadic remained in service with Cunard until November 4, 1968, and was sent to the breakers ' yard, only to be bought for use as a floating restaurant. After this, all remnants of White Star Line were retired. White Star Line today This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2010 ) Last surviving White Star ship, SS Nomadic, as she appeared in 2012, drydocked in Belfast, Northern Ireland The White Star Line 's Head Offices still exist in Liverpool, standing in James Street within sight of the more grandiose headquarters of their rivals, the Cunard Building. The building has a plaque commemorating the fact that the building was the head office of the White Star Line. J. Bruce Ismay, the chairman of the line who sailed on Titanic, had his office in the building. The White Star Line 's London offices, named Oceanic House, still exist today. They are just a street off Trafalgar Square, and one can still see the name on the building over the entrances. The Southampton offices still exist, now known as Canute Chambers, they are situated in Canute Road. The French passenger tender Nomadic, the last surviving vessel of the White Star Line, was purchased by the Northern Ireland Department for Social Development in January 2006. She has since been returned to Belfast, where she has been fully restored to her original and elegant 1912 appearance under the auspices of the Nomadic Preservation Society along with the assistance of her original builders, Harland and Wolff. She is intended to serve as the centerpiece of a museum dedicated to the history of Atlantic steam, the White Star Line, and its most famous ship, the Titanic. The historic Nomadic was opened ceremoniously to the public on 6 January 2013. Cunard Line itself has, since 1995, introduced White Star Service as the brand of services on their ships RMS Queen Mary 2, MS Queen Victoria and the MS Queen Elizabeth. The company has also created the White Star Academy, an in - house programme for preparing new crew members for Cunard ships. The White Star flag is raised on all Cunard ships and on the Nomadic in Belfast, Northern Ireland every 15 April in memory of the Titanic disaster. Fleet events On 21 January 1854 Tayleur wrecked off Lambay Island, with the loss of 380 lives, out of 652 on board. In 1873 Atlantic was wrecked near Halifax, costing 535 lives. In 1893 Naronic vanished on the Atlantic Ocean with 74 crew after departing Liverpool for New York. Wreckage found included deck spars and at least two lifeboats, but no trace of her crew. Her wreck has never been found. In 1907 Suevic ran aground off the southwest coast of England, but in the largest rescue of its kind, all 597 persons ( 456 passengers + 141 crew ) were rescued. The ship was later deliberately broken in two, with the stern half being rebuilt with a new bow. In 1909 the Republic foundered off the New England coast after a collision with the Italian liner Florida. Four lives were lost in the collision and the ship remained afloat for over 39 hours before foundering. The remaining passengers were rescued. In September 1911 Olympic was involved in a collision with the warship HMS Hawke in the Solent, badly damaging both ships. On 14 -- 15 April 1912 Titanic was lost after colliding with an iceberg, taking 1,502 passengers and crew with her. The first White Star ship lost during World War I was Arabic, torpedoed off the Old Head of Kinsale Ireland on 19 August 1915 killing 44. In 1915 the Ionic was narrowly missed by a German torpedo in the Mediterranean Sea. No lives were lost. On 28 June 1915 the Armenian, a vessel built for the Leyland Line but leased to the White Star Line, was sunk by a torpedo fired by SM U-24 20 miles off the coast of Cornwall, carrying a cargo of 1,400 mules. 29 crew and all the mules were lost. On 3 May 1915 the former Germanic ( then in service as a Turkish troop transport ) was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS E14. The ship survived the attack with no fatalities. In May 1916 Ceramic was narrowly missed by two torpedoes from unidentified U-boat in Mediterranean Sea. In 1916 the Cymric was torpedoed three times and sunk off the southern coast of Ireland by U-20, noted as the same submarine responsible for the tragic sinking of the Lusitania the year before. Five lives were lost and the ship stayed afloat for almost three days before foundering. On 21 November 1916, the second sister ship of Titanic, HMHS Britannic, was lost after striking a mine laid by U-73 in the Kea Channel of the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece. It sank in 57 minutes with the loss of 30 lives and was the largest vessel sunk in the war. On 25 January 1917 Laurentic struck two mines laid by U-80 and sank with a loss of 354 lives. In May 1917 Afric was torpedoed and sunk by UC - 66, in English Channel, killing 22 crew members. In June 1917 Ceramic was narrowly missed by one torpedo from unidentified U-boat in English Channel. In August 1917 Delphic was torpedoed 135 miles off Bishop Rock by German U-boat UC - 72 and sank with the loss of five lives. On 12 May 1918, Olympic rammed and sank the U-boat U-103 which had tried, and failed, to torpedo it. The torpedo actually struck Olympic but failed to detonate. However, several bow plates on Olympic were dented from the collision with the U-boat. Later, while Olympic was in Dry Dock, a large circular - shaped dent was found in the side of her hull, appearing to be the same size as the head of the standard torpedoes used by the German U-Boats. On 19 -- 20 July 1918 Justicia ( owned by the British Government and managed by White Star ) was torpedoed twice by U-46 but she remained afloat. Later in the same day, she was torpedoed two more times by U-46 and again managed to stay afloat. The next morning, as she was towed by HMS Sonia, she was torpedoed two more times by U-124 and finally sank, killing 16 crew members. In September 1918 Persic was torpedoed by U-87 off of the Isles of Scilly, but was able to limp off and outrun the sub. She was towed in and repaired, resuming service. In October 1917 RMS Celtic ran up on a mine laid by U-88 near Cobh, Ireland, killing 17. She was repaired and put back into military service. In June 1918, she was torpedoed by UB - 77 in the Irish Sea, killing seven. Once again, she was able to escape the sub and limp into port with her own steam. She was repaired and once again put back into service, serving through the remainder of the war without incident. On 15 May 1934, while steaming in a fog, Olympic rammed the Lightship Nantucket, sinking it and killing seven of the crew. In November 1940 Laurentic was torpedoed and sunk by U-99 off Northern Ireland with the loss of 49 lives. Notable captains This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2010 ) Commodore Sir Bertram Fox Hayes KCMG DSO RD RNR -- Commodore, White Star Line Captain Digby Murray, Commodore, best known as captain of Republic and Atlantic. Captain J.B. Ranson OBE of Baltic. Captain Edward J. Smith RD RNR of Titanic. Captain Charles Bartlett CB CBE RD RNR of Britannic, one of the sister ships of Titanic. Captain Herbert J. Haddock CB RNR of the Oceanic, Olympic, and -- for a few days before her departure -- Titanic. Captain Eustace R. White has commanded Bovic, Baltic, Belgic, Nomadic, Homeric, Olympic, and Majestic. One of the first commanders to talk over ship to shore radio from mid-Atlantic. Captain Miles has commanded Arabic, Afric, Celtic. Fleet 1853 -- 1889 Ship Built White Star service GRT Notes Image Red Jacket 1853 1853 -- 1878 2,305 White Star 1854 1854 - 1867 2,340 Blue Jacket 1854 1854 -- 1869 1,790 Tayleur 1854 1854 4,000 Sank on her maiden voyage Oceanic 1870 1870 -- 1895 3,707 Atlantic 1871 1871 -- 1873 3,707 Baltic 1871 1871 -- 1889 2,122 Tropic 1871 1871 -- 1873 2,122 Asiatic 1871 1871 - 1873 2,122 Republic 1872 1872 - 1889 3,984 Adriatic 1872 1872 -- 1899 3,888 Celtic 1872 1872 - 1893 1,867 Traffic 1872 1872 -- 1896 155 Tender Belgic 1873 1873 -- 1888 2,652 Gaelic 1873 1873 -- 1896 2,685 Britannic 1874 1874 -- 1903 5,004 Germanic 1875 1875 -- 1903 5,008 Arabic 1883 1881 -- 1890 4,368 Coptic 1881 1881 -- 1908 4,448 Doric 1883 1883 -- 1906 4,784 Ionic 1883 1883 -- 1900 4,753 Belgic 1885 1885 -- 1903 4,212 Gaelic 1885 1885 -- 1905 4,206 Cufic 1885 1885 -- 1901 4,639 Runic 1889 1889 -- 1895 5,043 Teutonic 1889 1889 -- 1921 9,984 1890 -- 1899 Ship Built White Star service GRT Notes Image Majestic 1890 1890 -- 1914 9,965 Nomadic 1891 1891 -- 1903 5,749 Tauric 1891 1891 -- 1929 5,728 Magnetic 1891 1891 -- 1932 619 Naronic 1892 1892 -- 1893 6,594 Bovic 1892 1892 -- 1922 6,583 Gothic 1893 1893 -- 1906 7,755 Cevic 1894 1894 -- 1914 8,301 Pontic 1894 1894 -- 1930 394 Georgic 1895 1895 -- 1916 10,077 Delphic 1897 1897 -- 1917 8,273 Cymric 1898 1898 -- 1916 13,096 Afric 1898 1899 -- 1917 11,948 Medic 1899 1892 -- 1921 11,973 Persic 1899 1899 -- 1935 11,973 Oceanic 1899 1899 -- 1914 17,272 1900 -- 1909 Ship Built White Star service GRT Notes Image Runic 1900 1900 -- 1930 12,482 Suevic 1900 1900 -- 1928 12,531 Celtic 1901 1901 -- 1928 21,035 Athenic 1902 1902 -- 1928 12,345 Corinthic 1902 1902 -- 1931 12,367 Ionic 1903 1903 -- 1934 12,352 Cedric 1903 1903 -- 1931 21,073 Victorian 1895 1903 -- 1904 8,825 Armenian 1895 1903 -- 1915 8,825 Arabic 1903 1903 -- 1915 15,801 Romanic 1898 1903 -- 1912 11,394 Cretic 1903 1903 -- 1904 13,507 Republic 1903 1903 -- 1909 15,400 Canopic 1900 1904 -- 1925 12,268 Cufic 1895 1904 -- 1923 8,249 Baltic 1904 1904 -- 1933 23,876 Gallic 1894 1907 -- 1913 12,352 Adriatic 1907 1907 -- 1935 24,541 Laurentic 1908 1908 -- 1917 14,892 Megantic 1909 1909 -- 1933 14,878 1910 -- 1919 Ship Built White Star service GRT Notes Image Zealandic 1911 1911 -- 1926 8,090 Nomadic 1911 1911 -- 1925 1,273 Tender Traffic 1911 1911 -- 1927 675 Tender Olympic 1911 1911 -- 1935 45,324 Belgic 1913 1911 -- 1913 9,748 Titanic 1912 1912 46,328 Sank on her maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg Ceramic 1912 1913 -- 1934 18,400 Vaderland 1910 1914 -- 1917 11,899 Lapland 1909 1914 -- 1920 17,540 Britannic 1914 1915 -- 1916 48,158 Sank after striking a mine Belgic 1914 1917 -- 1923 27,132 Justicia 1914 1917 -- 1918 32,234 Vedic 1918 1918 -- 1934 9,302 Bardic 1918 1919 -- 1925 9,332 1920 -- 1932 Ship Built White Star service GRT Notes Image Gallic 1918 1920 -- 1933 11,905 Mobile 1909 1920 -- 1920 16,960 Arabic 1909 1920 -- 1931 16,786 Homeric 1913 1922 -- 1935 35,000 Haverford 1901 1921 -- 1925 11,635 Poland 1897 1922 -- 1925 8,282 Majestic 1914 1922 -- 1936 56,551 Pittsburgh 1922 1922 -- 1925 16,322 Doric 1923 1923 -- 1935 16,484 Delphic 1918 1925 -- 1933 8,002 Albertic 1920 1927 -- 1934 18,940 Calgaric 1918 1927 -- 1934 16,063 Laurentic 1927 1927 -- 1940 18,724 Britannic 1929 1929 -- 1949 26,943 Georgic 1932 1932 -- 1949 27,759 See also United Kingdom portal Nautical portal Companies portal List of White Star Line ships ( Complete list ) References Jump up ^ `` www.thecunarders.co.uk is coming soon ! '' ( in Ukrainian ). Thecunarders.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2013. Jump up ^ Bourke, Edward J ( 2003 ). Bound for Australia. p. 18. ISBN 0 - 9523027 - 3 - X. ^ Jump up to : UK Consumer Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Gregory Clark ( 2016 ), `` The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present ( New Series ) '', MeasuringWorth.com. Jump up ^ Barczewski, Stephanie ( 2006 ). Titanic : A Night Remembered. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 213. ISBN 1 - 85285 - 500 - 2. Retrieved 27 March 2008. Jump up ^ Greg Cochkanoff and Bob Chaulk, SS Atlantic : The White Star Line 's First Disaster at Sea, ( Goose Lane Editions, Fredericton, 2009 ) p. 99. Jump up ^ `` Steerage conditions, importation and harboring of women for immoral purposes, immigrant homes and aid societies, immigrant banks... : United States. Immigration Commission ( 1907 -- 1910 ) ''. Archive.org. 10 March 2001. Retrieved 18 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Steerage conditions, importation and harboring of women for immoral purposes, immigrant homes and aid societies, immigrant banks... : United States. Immigration Commission ( 1907 -- 1910 ) ''. Archive.org. 10 March 2001. Retrieved 18 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Fact file -- PortCities Southampton ''. Plimsoll.org. Retrieved 17 July 2009. Jump up ^ `` The Royal Mail Story : The Kylsant years ''. Users.on.net. Retrieved 17 July 2009. Jump up ^ `` The Royal Mail Story : Royal Mail Lines, Ltd ''. Users.on.net. Retrieved 17 July 2009. Jump up ^ `` Georgic ''. Chris ' Cunard Page. Retrieved 17 February 2010. Jump up ^ `` Britannic ''. Chris ' Cunard Page. Retrieved 17 February 2010. Jump up ^ Anderson, Roy ( 1964 ). White Star. Prescot, England : T. Stephenson & Sons Ltd. p. 181. Jump up ^ `` White Star Service -- Cunard Cruise Line ''. Cunard. Jump up ^ Greg Cochkanoff and Bob Chaulk, SS Atlantic : The White Star Line 's First Disaster at Sea, ( Goose Lane Editions, Fredericton, 2009 ) p. 163. Jump up ^ `` Hospital ship Britannic -- Ships hit by U-boats -- German and Austrian U-boats of World War One -- Kaiserliche Marine ''. uboat.net. Jump up ^ Love, Bob ( 2006 ), `` Sixth Day '', Destiny 's Voyage : SS Atlantic, the Titanic of 1873, AuthorHouse, pp. 256 -- 257, ISBN 1425930395 Jump up ^ Lloyds register 1860 Further reading The ship 's list History of the White Star Line Red duster page on the White Star Line Brief company overview Info on the original financing deal Chirnside, Mark ( 2016 ). The ' Big Four ' of the White Star Fleet : Celtic, Cedric, Baltic & Adriatic. Stroud, Gloucestershire : The History Press. ISBN 9780750965972. Gardiner, Robin, History of the White Star Line, Ian Allan Publishing 2002. ISBN 0 - 7110 - 2809 - 5 Oldham, Wilton J., The Ismay Line : The White Star Line, and the Ismay family story, The Journal of Commerce, Liverpool, 1961 `` A Nice Quiet Life '' by Alfred H Burlinson, an engineer who served on the Olympic, the Megantic, and Britanic ( 1 ) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to White Star Line. White Star Line on Titanic-Titanic.com Final Demise of White Star Line Vessels Brief history of the White Star Line -- from TDTSC MN White Star Line discussion forum at TDTSC White Star Line Historical Documents, Brochures, Menus, passenger lists etc. White Star Line History website Cunard - White Star Line on Chris ' Cunard page White Star Line ships Surviving ships Nomadic ( 1911 ) Planned Olympic ( order cancelled ) Oceanic ( never completed ) Former ships Red Jacket ( 1853 ) Blue Jacket ( 1854 ) Tayleur ( 1854 ) Oceanic ( 1870 ) Atlantic ( 1871 ) Baltic ( 1871 ) Tropic ( 1871 ) Asiatic ( 1871 ) Republic ( 1872 ) Adriatic ( 1872 ) Celtic ( 1872 ) Traffic ( 1872 ) Gaelic ( 1872 ) Belgic ( 1873 ) Britannic ( 1874 ) Germanic ( 1875 ) Arabic ( 1881 ) Coptic ( 1881 ) Ionic ( 1883 ) Doric ( 1883 ) Belgic ( 1885 ) Gaelic ( 1885 ) Cufic ( 1888 ) Runic ( 1889 ) Teutonic ( 1889 ) Majestic ( 1890 ) Tauric ( 1891 ) Magnetic ( 1891 ) Nomadic ( 1891 ) Naronic ( 1892 ) Bovic ( 1892 ) Gothic ( 1893 ) Cevic ( 1894 ) Pontic ( 1894 ) Georgic ( 1895 ) Delphic ( 1897 ) Cymric ( 1898 ) Afric ( 1899 ) Medic ( 1899 ) Persic ( 1899 ) Oceanic Runic ( 1900 ) Suevic ( 1901 ) Celtic ( 1901 ) Athenic ( 1902 ) Corinthic ( 1902 ) Ionic ( 1903 ) Cedric ( 1903 ) Victorian ( 1903 ) Armenian ( 1903 ) Arabic ( 1903 ) Romanic ( 1903 ) Cretic ( 1903 ) Republic ( 1903 ) Canopic ( 1904 ) Cufic ( 1904 ) Baltic ( 1904 ) Tropic ( 1904 ) Gallic ( 1907 ) Adriatic ( 1907 ) Laurentic ( 1909 ) Megantic ( 1909 ) Zeeland ( 1910 ) Traffic ( 1911 ) Olympic ( 1911 ) Belgic ( 1911 ) Zealandic ( 1911 ) Titanic ( 1912 ) Ceramic ( 1913 ) Lapland ( 1914 ) Britannic ( 1914 ) Belgic ( 1917 ) Justicia ( 1918 ) Vedic ( 1918 ) Bardic ( 1919 ) Gallic ( 1920 ) Mobile ( 1920 ) Arabic ( 1920 ) Homeric ( 1920 ) Haverford ( 1921 ) Poland ( 1922 ) Majestic ( 1922 ) Pittsburgh ( 1922 ) Doric ( 1923 ) Delphic ( 1925 ) Regina ( 1925 ) Albertic ( 1927 ) Calgaric ( 1927 ) Laurentic ( 1927 ) Britannic ( 1929 ) Georgic ( 1931 ) Ships of the Cunard Line Current fleet 2004 RMS Queen Mary 2 2007 MS Queen Victoria 2010 MS Queen Elizabeth Former ships 1840 -- 1994 1840 RMS Britannia 1856 RMS Persia 1865 SS Java 1862 RMS Scotia 1870 SS Abyssinia 1870 SS Parthia 1878 SS Aleppo 1881 SS Servia 1881 SS Catalonia 1882 RMS Aurania 1884 RMS Etruria 1884 RMS Umbria 1892 RMS Campania 1893 RMS Lucania 1898 SS Ultonia 1899 SS Ivernia 1899 RMS Saxonia 1903 RMS Carpathia 1904 RMS Slavonia 1905 RMS Carmania 1905 RMS Caronia 1907 RMS Lusitania 1907 RMS Mauretania 1910 RMS Franconia 1911 RMS Albania 1912 RMS Laconia 1913 RMS Alaunia 1913 RMS Aquitania 1914 SS Orduna 1918 SS Empire Barracuda 1920 RMS Lancastria 1920 RMS Samaria 1921 RMS Antonia 1921 RMS Ausonia 1921 RMS Andania 1921 RMS Scythia 1922 RMS Andania 1922 RMS Berengaria 1922 RMS Franconia 1922 RMS Laconia 1922 RMS Majestic 1923 RMS Ascania 1924 RMS Aurania 1924 SS Letitia 1925 RMS Carinthia 1927 SS Laurentic 1929 MV Britannic 1934 MV Georgic 1934 RMS Olympic 1936 RMS Queen Mary 1939 RMS Mauretania 1939 SS Pasteur 1939 MV Empire Audacity 1940 RMS Queen Elizabeth 1943 SS Empire Battleaxe 1943 SS Empire Broadsword 1943 SS Valacia 1945 MV Empire Ettrick 1947 RMS Media 1947 RMS Parthia 1949 RMS Caronia 1954 RMS Saxonia 1955 RMS Ivernia 1956 RMS Carinthia 1957 RMS Sylvania 1969 MS Queen Elizabeth 2 1971 MS Cunard Adventurer 1972 MS Cunard Ambassador 1975 MS Cunard Countess 1976 MS Cunard Princess 1980 SS Atlantic Conveyor 1983 MS Sagafjord 1983 MS Caronia 1994 MS Royal Viking Sun Years indicate year of entry into Cunard service. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Star_Line&oldid=801231690 '' Categories : White Star Line Defunct companies based in Liverpool Companies established in 1845 Companies disestablished in 1934 Defunct cruise lines Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom Transatlantic shipping companies Hidden categories : CS1 Ukrainian - language sources ( uk ) EngvarB from July 2013 Use dmy dates from July 2013 Pages using deprecated image syntax All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2015 Articles needing additional references from January 2010 All articles needing additional references Articles with unsourced statements from August 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Azərbaycanca Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Français Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Қазақша Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 18 September 2017, at 13 : 55. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did the white star line go out of business
Answer: 1934