By convention, the birth date of a ship is the day her keel is laid. For Titanic, that began on 16 December 1908.
Her hull was launched on 31 May 1911. There was no christening. On that occasion, three flags were flown atop the Arrol gantry: The Union Jack, White Star’s red pennant, and the Stars and Stripes of her owner.
Titanic’s conception took place in the summer of 1907, at Downshire House—the home of Lord and Lady Pirrie in Belgrave Square, London. It was there that Ismay and Pirrie sketched the plans to build the three Olympic class ships to compete with Cunard for the transatlantic trade.