 Titanic was the world's largest passenger liner at its launch in 1911 from Belfast, Northern Ireland. More than 2,000 people were on board and the ship was fitted with such modern luxuries as electric lights. It began its maiden voyage from Southampton, England on the 10th of April, 1912, under the command of Captain Edward Smith and bound for New York in the United States. There were also two Marconi radios that transmitted messages for passengers. The radios were manned by Jack Phillips and Harold Bride. Marconi operators used the Distress Signal CQD. This was sent by Phillips after Titanic hit an iceberg on the 14th of April. However, the Distress Signal SOS had been agreed at the 1906 International Radio Telegraph Conference of ITU, after a while Bride suggested that Phillips should try that signal too. But the radio operator on the nearest ship, the Californian, had gone to bed and never heard the signals. Titanic sank in the early hours of the 15th of April, 1912. Two-thirds of those on board died, including Captain Smith and Jack Phillips. Harold Bride survived and was taken to New York, where he was greeted by Marconi himself. As well as standard emergency signals, the tragedy highlighted the importance of 24-hour operation of radios. This rule was established a few months later at ITU's 1912 International Radio Telegraph Conference, and ships were told to maintain radio silence at specific times to listen for distress calls.