Again, this is a myth that we can put squarely at Cameron’s door. His 1997 film implies that the social makeup of the Titanic’s guests boiled down entirely to the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, with Winslet’s cohort representing the world’s richest and DiCaprio and his companions representing the very poorest in society.

Simplifying the tragedy, this type of retelling leaves a gap in the picture. It focuses on the enormous gulf between passengers like John Jacob Astor IV, the wealthiest man on the Titanic, with a personal fortune of $80 million (£152bn/$200bn in today’s money), and the third-class emigrants desperately seeking a better life in the US.

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Separating Titanic facts from fiction for the true tragic story