Pirrie Discusses Olympic Class Shipbuilding
William James Pirrie worked with White Star leadership to plan Olympic, Titanic and Britannic at Harland and Wolff.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
William James Pirrie Biography and Timeline
Follow William James Pirrie through 8 dated historical records for Great Britain.
William James Pirrie, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
8Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1907–1913Years on this page
1907
1908
Pirrie Expands Belfast Building Facilities
William James Pirrie oversaw investment in larger building berths and gantry facilities so Harland and Wolff could construct the ships.
Olympic Keel Laid at Harland Wolff
William James Pirrie's yard laid the keel of Olympic, the first ship in White Star's new class of large ocean liners.
1910
Olympic Hull Launched into Belfast Harbour
William James Pirrie presided over a shipbuilding programme that launched Olympic's hull before the vessel was fitted out for service.
1911
Titanic Hull Launches at Belfast Yard
William James Pirrie's Harland and Wolff shipyard launched Titanic on 31 May 1911 before months of fitting out.
1912
Pirrie Faces Reassessment of Sister Ship Safety
William James Pirrie's shipyard participated in reviewing the Olympic class after Titanic's sinking prompted demands for better safety measures.
1913
Olympic Receives Expanded Lifeboat Equipment
William James Pirrie's Belfast shipyard modified Olympic to carry more boats and improve survivability following Titanic's loss.
Olympic Gains Reinforced Internal Protection
Harland and Wolff introduced changes to Olympic's internal protection, including improvements to bulkheads and hull arrangements.
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.