As torrents of freezing water gushed onto the Titanic, its male passengers selflessly shepherded women and children to the few available lifeboats in what was described as a typically British act of chivalry.
But although their gallantry was hailed as an example of a moral code shared by all mariners, a new study suggests the situation on board the Titanic, where female survivors outnumbered men three to one, was something of an exception.
Although convention dictates that men should step aside and put "women and children first", history shows that the male attitude is better summed up as "every man for himself".
Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden found that far from surrendering their lives so that others may live, most men respond to maritime disasters like the proverbial rats, and abandon the sinking ship as quickly as possible.
An analysis of 18 shipwrecks from 1852 to 2011 found that on average, 35 per cent of male passengers survive compared with just 19 per cent of women.
Crew members, who are supposed to put the passengers first, were the most likely to escape with their lives and only in nine cases did the captains go down with their ships, according to the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
Contrary to the notion of British gallantry, the results also showed that the survival rate among women on British ships was between 10 and 15 per cent lower than those from other countries.