In August, 1807, a steamboat designed by Robert Fulton successfully completed the first round trip voyage from New York to Albany and back (Steamboats, par 1). This voyage started an obsession for advancement in steam travel that reached across the Atlantic and into the minds of the British people. Their quest to always out-do their competitors eventually led to the creation of one of the most famous steamboats of all time. The Titanic was the most luxurious ship that had ever been built. It could not compete with the speed of other steamships, however, so the English decided to compensate by creating the largest and most elaborate ship the world had ever seen (Sinking, par 3). The Titanic was financed by an American company, International Mercantile Marine, which purchased White Star Lines, the British marine company responsible for building the Titanic. The ship, however, was built totally with British technology, registered as a British ship, and manned by British officers (Sinking, par 2). The Titanic launched its first voyage from Southampton, England on the evening of April 14, 1912 (Sinking, par 1). It was traveling to New York when it struck an iceberg and sank, killing fifteen hundred people. The superiority of the Titanic will always be overshadowed, however, by the memory of one of the greatest disasters of all…