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more appealing because their grandeur would outmatch all the competition. The Titanic was one of three ships built under this plan: the Olympic was the first, Titanic was the second, and Britannic was the third. Britannic also met an untimely end: it hit a mine and sank in 1916 during World War I, while the Olympic remained in service until 1935. The White Star Line operated the ships, but they did not build them: all three ships were built in Belfast, Ireland by the firm Harland and Wolff. This company dispatched its most prominent employees for the construction of the grand ships, especially the Titanic, including their chairman Lord William James Pirrie (largely responsible for decisions regarding the number of lifeboats), his brother-in-law and designer Right Honorable Alexander Carlisle (who would leave the company over a dispute with Pirrie about the number of lifeboats), and Thomas Andrews, a shipbuilder and architect (who was on board for the maiden
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