Ocean Liner Era

The ocean liner era runs from roughly 1870 to 1960, when scheduled passenger steamers carried mail, migrants, and travelers across the oceans on fixed routes before jet aircraft displaced them. Companies such as Cunard, White Star, and the German lines competed for speed, taking the Blue Riband on the North Atlantic, and for size and luxury, producing ships from Titanic and Mauretania to Queen Mary and Normandie. The liners moved tens of millions of emigrants and shaped the great immigration-receiving ports.