May 14, 2023

Looking to answer his rival, White Star chairman J. Bruce Ismay reportedly met with William Pirrie, who controlled the Belfast shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff, which constructed most of White Star’s vessels. The two men devised a plan to build a class of large liners that would be known for their comfort instead of their speed. It was eventually decided that three vessels would be constructed: the Olympic, the Titanic, and the Britannic.