The RMS Titanic was a British passenger ship. She sank during her first trip at sea.Before she sailed, many people thought it would be almost impossible for ships of this design to sink.

At 11:40 PM on 14 April 1912, during the Titanic's first trip, she hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. The iceberg broke the Titanic's hull (bottom), letting water into the ship. The Titanic sank two hours and forty minutes later at 2:20 AM on 15 April.

As she sank, the Titanic split in two. The wreck killed over 1,500 people. Only around 705 people survived. It was one of the worst shipwrecks that was not during a war. One reason so many people died was because the ship did not have enough lifeboats for the numbers of passengers. 

Wallace Henry Hartley (2 June 1878 – 15 April 1912) was an English violinist and bandleader on the RMS Titanic. He became famous for leading the eight member band as the ship sank. He died in the sinking. After the Titanic hit the iceberg, Hartley and his fellow band members started playing music to help keep the passengers calm as the crew loaded the lifeboats. Many of the survivors said that he and the band continued to play until the very end. A newspaper at the time reported "the part played by the orchestra on board the Titanic in her last dreadful moments will rank among the noblest in the annals of heroism at sea." 

The hymn that some say might have been played was 'Nearer my God to thee'. Here are three versions of it. One tells you a bit about Hartley. The second is an orchestral version led by the violinist and conductor Andre Previn - listen out for the brass players playing a section. The final version is the hymn sung by a male choir who sing acapella; there are no instruments, just voices.