The Wreck of the Titan : Or, Futility - wikipedia The Wreck of the Titan : Or, Futility `` The Wreck of the Titan '' redirects here. For the Doctor Who audio drama, see The Wreck of the Titan ( audio drama ). The Wreck of the Titan : Or, Futility ( originally called Futility ) is an 1898 novella written by Morgan Robertson. The story features the fictional ocean liner Titan, which sinks in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg. Titan and its sinking have been noted to be very similar to the real - life passenger ship RMS Titanic, which sank fourteen years later. Following the sinking of the Titanic, the novel was reissued with some changes, particularly in the ship 's gross tonnage. Contents 1 Plot 2 Similarities to the Titanic 3 In popular media 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Plot The first half of Futility introduces the hero John Rowland. Rowland is a disgraced former US Navy officer. Now an alcoholic fallen to the lowest levels of society, he has been dismissed from the Navy and works as a deckhand on the Titan. One April night the ship hits an iceberg, sinking somewhat before the halfway point of the novel. The second half follows Rowland. He saves the young daughter of a former lover by jumping onto the iceberg with her. The pair find a lifeboat washed up on the iceberg, and are eventually rescued by a passing ship. But the girl is recovered by her mother and Rowland is arrested for her kidnapping. A sympathetic magistrate discharges him and rebukes the mother for being unsympathetic to her daughter 's savior. Rowland disappears from the world. In a brief final chapter covering several years, Rowland works his way up from homeless and anonymous fisherman to a desk job and finally, two years after passing his civil service exam, to `` a lucrative position under the Government, and as he seated himself at the desk in his office, could have been heard to remark : ' Now John Rowland, your future is your own. You have merely suffered in the past from a mistaken estimate of the importance of women and whisky. ' THE END '' ( 1898 edition at Google Books ). A later edition includes a coda. Rowland receives a letter from the mother, who congratulates him and pleads for him to visit her, and the girl who begs for him. ( External links : undated edition at titanic-titanic.com ) Similarities to the Titanic Although the novel was written before the RMS Titanic was even conceptualized, there are some uncanny similarities between both the fictional and real - life versions. Like the Titanic, the fictional ship sank in April in the North Atlantic, and there were not enough lifeboats for all the passengers. There are also similarities between the size ( 800 ft ( 244 m ) long for Titan versus 882 ft 9 in ( 269 m ) long for the Titanic ), speed ( 25 knots for Titan, 22.5 knots for Titanic ) and life - saving equipment. Similarities between the Titanic and the fictional Titan include : Similar names of the ships Both were described as the largest craft afloat and the greatest of the works of men The Titan was 800 feet long, displacing 75,000 tons ( up from 45,000 in the 1898 edition ). The Titanic was 882 feet long, displacing 46,000 tons. Described as `` unsinkable '' Had triple screw ( propeller ) Shortage of lifeboats The Titan carried `` as few as the law allowed '', 24 lifeboats, which could carry `` less than half '' of her total complement of 3,000. The Titanic carried only 16 lifeboats ( plus 4 Engelhardt folding lifeboats ). Struck an iceberg The Titan, moving at 25 knots, struck an iceberg on the starboard side on a night of April, in the North Atlantic, 400 nautical miles ( 740 km ; 460 mi ) from Newfoundland ( Terranova ). The Titanic, moving at 221⁄2 knots, struck an iceberg on the starboard side on the night of April 14, 1912, in the North Atlantic, 400 nautical miles ( 740 km ; 460 mi ) from Newfoundland ( Terranova ). Sinking The Titan sank, and the majority of her 2,500 passengers and crew died ; only 13 survived. The Titanic sank, and 1,523 of her 2,200 passengers and crew died ; 705 survived. The Titan and Titanic both sank on a night in the month of April. After the Titanic 's sinking, some people credited Robertson with clairvoyance. Robertson denied this, claiming the similarities were explained by his extensive knowledge of shipbuilding and maritime trends. In popular media Walter Lord 's book A Night to Remember, relating the Titanic 's wreck, begins with a summary of Robertson 's novel. The novel can be found in some locations in the video game Titanic : Adventure Out of Time. The 2010 Doctor Who audio drama The Wreck of the Titan by Barnaby Edwards connects the writing of Futility to the Titanic story through time travel. The book was referenced in the game Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors Martin Gardner 's book The Wreck of the Titanic foretold ? ( 1986 ) The book was referenced in the television series `` One Step Beyond '', in season 1, episode 2, entitled `` Night of April 14th '', which aired January 27, 1959. In the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen fictional universe, the Titan serves as the Titanic 's fictional counterpart. See also List of fictional ships Synchronicity References Jump up ^ `` The Titanic - Futility ''. HistoryOnTheNet.com. Retrieved 2015 - 01 - 09. ^ Jump up to : Robertson, Morgan ( 1898 ). Futility. New York : M.F. Mansfield. Jump up ^ McCluskie, Tom ( 1998 ). Anatomy of the Titanic. PRC. p. 22. ISBN 1 - 85648 - 482 - 3. Jump up ^ McCluskie, Anatomy of the Titanic, p. 23 : Titanic 's top speed was 21 knots, with a flank speed of 23.5 knots Jump up ^ McCluskie, Anatomy of the Titanic, p. 120 Jump up ^ Mowbray, Jay Henry ( 1912 ). Sinking of the Titanic. Harrisburg, PA : The Minter Company. OCLC 9176732 Jump up ^ Hasan, Heba. `` Author ' Predicts ' Titanic Sinking, 14 Years Earlier ''. Time, April 14, 2012. Further reading Cocksey, Brian. `` The Titan & the Titanic ''. Light Eternal Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2011 - 08 - 07. Retrieved 2005 - 11 - 23. Rutman, Sharon ; Stevenson, Jay ( 1998 ). The Complete Idiot 's Guide to the Titanic. Alpha Books. ISBN 0 - 02 - 862712 - 1. Flavio Cenni. `` The Titanic before the Titanic ''. Retrieved 2009 - 01 - 13. External links Wikisource has original text related to this article : The Wreck of the Titan : Or, Futility Futility, Or the Wreck of the Titan public domain audiobook at LibriVox Online edition ( undated novella, as ' The Wreck of the Titan ' or ' Futility ' Online edition ( 250 - page novel, 1912 ) RMS Titanic First class facilities Second and Third class facilities Grand Staircase Musicians Sinking Alternative theories Changes in safety practices Legends and myths Lifeboats Lifeboat No. 1 British inquiry US inquiry Wreck of Titanic Maritime Memorial Act Deck officers Edward J. Smith ( Captain ) Henry Tingle Wilde ( Chief Officer ) William McMaster Murdoch ( First Officer ) Charles H. Lightoller ( Second Officer ) Herbert Pitman ( Third Officer ) Joseph G. Boxhall ( Fourth Officer ) Harold G. Lowe ( Fifth Officer ) James Paul Moody ( Sixth Officer ) Joseph Bell ( Machine Room Manager ) Crew members Frederick Barrett Harold Bride William Denton Cox Sid Daniels Alfred Frank Evans Frederick Fleet Luigi Gatti Robert Hichens Violet Jessop Charles Joughin Reginald Lee Evelyn Marsden William Mintram Jack Phillips George Symons Passengers Fatalities Allison family Thomas Andrews John Jacob Astor IV David John Bowen Archibald Butt Thomas Byles Roderick Chisholm Walter Donald Douglas Edith Corse Evans Annie Funk Jacques Futrelle Sidney Leslie Goodwin Benjamin Guggenheim John Harper Wallace Hartley Charles Melville Hays Edward Austin Kent Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche Francis Davis Millet Harry Markland Molson Michel Navratil Eino Viljami Panula W.T. Stead Ida Straus Isidor Straus John Borland Thayer Jr. Frank M. Warren, Sr. George Dennick Wick George Dunton Widener Harry Elkins Widener Duane Williams George Henry Wright Survivors ( last living ) Rhoda Abbott Trevor Allison Lillian Asplund Madeleine Astor Ruth Becker Lawrence Beesley Karl Behr Dickinson Bishop Mauritz Håkan Björnström - Steffansson Elsie Bowerman Francis Browne Margaret `` Molly '' Brown Daniel Buckley Alden Caldwell Helen Churchill Candee Charlotte Drake Cardeza Lucile Carter Gladys Cherry Millvina Dean Margaret Devaney Sir Cosmo Duff - Gordon Lucy, Lady Duff - Gordon Ethel Flora Fortune Dorothy Gibson Archibald Gracie IV Frank John William Goldsmith Edith Haisman Henry S. Harper Eva Hart Margaret Bechstein Hays Masabumi Hosono J. Bruce Ismay Eleanor Ileen Johnson Louise Laroche Louise Kink Margaret Mannion Michel Marcel Navratil Alfred Nourney Arthur Godfrey Peuchen Winnifred Quick Marjorie Newell Robb Edith Rosenbaum Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes Emily Ryerson Beatrice Sandström Frederic Kimber Seward Eloise Hughes Smith Jack Thayer Marian Thayer Barbara West Ella Holmes White R. Norris Williams Marie Grice Young Monuments and memorials General Memorials and monuments to the RMS Titanic Australia Bandstand ( Ballarat ) United Kingdom Engine Room Heroes ( Liverpool ) Engineers ( Southampton ) Musicians ( Southampton ) Titanic ( Belfast ) Orchestra ( Liverpool ) United States Straus Park ( New York City ) Titanic ( New York City ) Titanic ( Washington, D.C. ) Butt - Millet Memorial Fountain ( Washington, D.C. ) Popular culture Books The Wreck of the Titan : Or, Futility ( 1898 ) A Night to Remember ( book ) Polar the Titanic Bear Films Saved from the Titanic ( 1912 ) In Nacht und Eis ( 1912 ) Atlantic ( 1929 ) Titanic ( 1943 ) Titanic ( 1953 ) A Night to Remember ( 1958 ) The Unsinkable Molly Brown ( 1964 ) Raise the Titanic ( 1980 ) Secrets of the Titanic ( 1986 ) Titanica ( 1992 ) Titanic ( 1997 ) The Legend of the Titanic ( 1999 ) Titanic : The Legend Goes On ( 2000 ) Ghosts of the Abyss ( 2003 ) Tentacolino ( 2004 ) Titanic II ( 2010 ) Television S.O.S. Titanic ( 1979 ) Titanic : The Complete Story ( 1994 ) Titanic ( 1996 ) No Greater Love ( 1996 ) `` A Flight to Remember '' ( Futurama ) ( 1999 ) Titanic ( 2012 ) Titanic : Blood and Steel ( 2012 ) Saving the Titanic ( 2012 ) Music `` The Titanic ( It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down ) '' ( folk song ) The Sinking of the Titanic ( music composition ) Titanic ( musical ) The Unsinkable Molly Brown ( musical ) `` My Heart Will Go On '' ( Celine Dion song ) `` Nearer, My God, to Thee '' ( song ) Video games Titanic : Adventure Out of Time ( 1996 ) Titanic : Honor and Glory ( TBA ) Museums and exhibitions SeaCity Museum ( Southampton ) Titanic Museum ( Branson, Missouri ) Titanic Museum ( Pigeon Forge, Tennessee ) Maritime Museum of the Atlantic ( Halifax ) Titanic Belfast Places Titanic ( Canada ) Titanic Canyon Titanic Quarter, Belfast Cape Race, Newfoundland Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia Mount Olivet Cemetery ( Halifax ) Related Ships RMS Olympic RMS Carpathia HMHS Britannic CS Mackay - Bennett SS Californian Replica Titanic Titanic II Others White Star Line David Blair Arthur Rostron Stanley Lord Titanic Historical Society Encyclopedia Titanica Halomonas titanicae Women and children first SOS CQD Robert Ballard Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Wreck_of_the_Titan:_Or,_Futility&oldid=853781065 '' Categories : American novellas RMS Titanic Coincidence 1898 American novels Novels set on ships Hidden categories : Articles with LibriVox links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Azərbaycanca Deutsch Español Français Galego Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Magyar Nederlands Português Suomi Українська 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 6 August 2018, at 23 : 21 ( UTC ). 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Question: when was the wreck of the titan written
Answer: 1898