⚓ The SS Atlantic — White Star Line’s First Great Disaster (1873) ⚓ 🧐 Did you know? Before the Titanic tragedy in 1912, the White Star Line had already suffered a major loss. On April 1, 1873, the SS Atlantic struck rocks off Nova Scotia while en route to New York. Out of more than 950 passengers and crew, over 550 lives were lost, making it the deadliest transatlantic disaster of the 19th century. The Atlantic’s sinking served as a grim foreshadowing of what would later happen to the Titanic.