The Carpathia was a transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in their Newcastle shipyards, United Kingdom, and launched on 6 August 1902. She sailed on her maiden voyage in May 1903 with Cunard Steamship Lines. The ocean liner is most famous for rescuing 703 people who survived in lifeboats after the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on the night of April 14, 1912.

The Carpathia was sailing from New York City when Captain Arthur Henry Rostron (1869 -1943) received distress signals from the RMS Titanic. Captain Rostron immediately set a course at full speed towards the Titanic's last known position more than 60 miles away. At 4 o'clock in the morning, the Carpathia arrived at the scene after working her way through dangerous ice fields and was able to save 703 people.

For his rescue work, Captain Rostron was awarded a silver cup and gold medal by survivors, the presentation made by Molly Brown. He was later a guest of President Taft at the White House and was presented with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor the United States Congress could confer upon him.

Carpathia was part of a convoy when she was torpedoed by a German U-boat on July 17, 1918 off the east coast of Ireland. 157 passengers and the surviving crew were rescued by the HMS Snowdrop the following day. American author and diver Clive Cussler found the wreck in 1999.