This is an I-Heart podcast.

This is Lee Habib, and this is our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people.

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A little known fact about the Titanic is that it was actually owned by an American, K.P. Morgan. Up next, a story about this

infamous ship through the eyes of two men who often don't come up in discussions about the ship.

The ship's wireless operators, William Hazelgrove, will tell the story, but to start us off,

here's a reading from Titanic

Survivor, Jack Thayer's autobiography. Let's get into the story.

Those were ordinary days, and into them had crept only gradually, the telephone, the talking

machine, the automobile, the airplane due to have soon

such a stimulating yet devastating effect upon civilization.

The morning paper had headlines no larger than half an inch in height.

These days were peaceful.

It seems to me that the disaster about to occur was the event which not only made the world

rub its eyes and awake, but woke it with a start, keeping it moving at a rapidly accelerating

pace ever since with less peace, satisfaction, and happiness.

To my mind, the world of today awoke, April 15th, 1912.

On the night Carpacia came into New York. It's thundering, it's lightning, rains coming down.

The dock in New York Harbor is just mobbed with people. Thousands of people

who don't know if their husband, wives, daughters, sons have made or not. And they see this

ship, emerging out of the darkness, brilliantly lit up. And it's met in the harbor by all

these reporters on boats. These reporters literally start throwing gubernates of money

...