Timeline of critical events

Titanic - Timeline

Date	Time	Details
29th July 1908		The design for the Titanic was approved.
31st March 1909		The keel of Titanic was laid
31st May 1911	12 noon	The hull of Titanic was successfully launched
January 1912		Sixteen wooden lifeboats were fitted on board the Titanic
31st March 1912		The fitting of Titanic was completed
2nd April 1912	6:00	Titanic began sea trials
3rd April 1912		Titanic arrived in Southampton
10th April 1912	9:30-11:30 a.m.	Passengers arrived in Southampton and began boarding the ship.
10th April 1912	Noon	The Titanic set sail and began her maiden voyage.
10th April 1912	18:30	Titanic reached Cherbourg, France and picked up more passengers
11th April 1912	11.30 am	Titanic reached Queenstown, Ireland
12th, 13th April  1912		The Titanic sailed through calm waters.
14th April 1912		Throughout the day seven iceberg warnings were received
14th April 1912	11:40 p.m.	Lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg dead ahead. The iceberg struck the Titanic on the starboard (right) side of her bow.
14th April 1912	11:50 p.m.	Water had poured in and risen 14 feet in the front part of the ship
15th April 1912	12:00 a.m.	The captain was told the ship can only stay afloat for a couple of hours. He gave the order to call for help over the radio.
15th April 1912	12:05 a.m.	The orders was given to uncover the lifeboats and to get passengers and crew ready on deck. There was only room in the lifeboats for half of the estimated 2,227 on board.
15th April 1912	12:25 a.m.	The lifeboats began being loaded with women and children first. The Carpathia, southeast of the Titanic by about 58 miles, picked up the distress call and began sailing to rescue passengers.
15th April 1912	12:45 a.m.	The first lifeboat was safely lowered away. Although it could carry 65 people, it left with only 28 on board. The first distress rocket was fired. Eight rockets were fired the whole night.
15th April 1912	2:05 a.m.	The last lifeboat left the ship. There were now over 1,500 people left on the ship. The tilt of Titanic's deck grew steeper and steeper.
15th April 1912	2.17 am	The last radio message was sent. The captain announced 'Every man for himself'
15th April 1912	2:20 a.m.	The Titanic's broken off stern settled back into the water, becoming more level for a few moments. Slowly it filled with water and tilted its end high into the air before sinking into the sea. People in the water slowly froze to death.
15th April 1912	3.30 am	Carpathia's rockets were spotted by the survivors
15th April 1912	4:10 a.m.	The first lifeboat was picked up by the Carpathia.
15th April 1912	8:50 a.m.	The Carpathia left the area bound for New York. She had on board 705 survivors of the Titanic disaster
18th April 1912	9:00 p.m.	The Carpathia arrived in New York.
19th April to 25th May		American enquiry into the disaster was held

this timeline was taken from the following website:

History Net, Titanic timeline