White Star Line

The White Star Line was a British shipping company, formally the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, that operated from 1845 to 1934 and became famous for large, comfortable transatlantic liners rather than record speed. Its Olympic-class ships included Olympic, the ill-fated Titanic lost in 1912, and Britannic, sunk in 1916. Owned for a time by the American-controlled International Mercantile Marine, the line merged with rival Cunard in 1934 during the Depression. Its ships epitomize the ocean liner era.