Titanic menu sold online

A menu for the last luncheon served to first-class passengers sold for $88,000 at an online auction.

The menu was saved by Abraham Lincoln Salomon, one of the passengers who escaped in the "money boat" that was filled with wealthy people.

Titanic Lifeboat No 1 was the fourth lifeboat launched from Titanic at 1am on 14 April 1912. Although it had the capacity to hold 40 people, there were only 12 onboard and most of those were men even though the captain made it clear that women and children go first.

First Officer Murdoch allowed five passengers and seven crew to board Boat No 1.  They were Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, a prominent Scottish landowner and sportsman, his wife Lady Duff Gordon, her secretary Mabel Francatelli, Abraham Salomon and CE Henry Stengel.

Sir Cosmo

When it was discovered that Boat No 1 could hold 40 people yet only 12 were onboard, rumours started to circulate in the press that Sir Cosmo had bribed the crew not to rescue those drowning in the water and dubbed it "the money boat."

Split into three sections - first, second and third, first-class had the advantage of being closer to the top deck where lifeboats were being deployed and a gate separating second and third class sections remained locked.  

Because of the captain's "women and children first" rule, 1,347 men perished, 103 women and 53 children.

Passenger deaths by class - 130 first-class, 166 second-class and 536 third-class.

Of the 899 crew members, 685 died.

Captain EJ Smith who went down with his ship

When the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia capsized and sank in January 2012, 32 lives were lost. But Captain Francesco Schettino had no concept of the "women and children first" rule.  He made sure he was one of the first to abandon ship.