Ten days after the sinking on April 25, 1912, a group of women formed a committee to raise money for a memorial to honor the sacrifice, with a limit of $1 per person.

Before the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was built, the memorial was removed and placed in storage for two years.

It is sited near 4th and P Street SW near Fort Lesley J. McNair and across the Washington Channel from East Potomac Park.

The centerpiece of the memorial depicts a partly clad male figure with arms outstretched standing on a square base.

The base is flanked by a square exedra, created by architect Henry Bacon, which encloses a small, raised platform.

Ten days after the sinking on April 25, 1912, an association of prominent women created the Committee of One Hundred to erect a memorial to honor the men who gave up their spot on a lifeboat.

[1][2] The women began a fundraising campaign for a memorial they pictured to include a large arch in a prominent place.

Her design dropped the plans for an arch in favor of a 15 foot (4.6 m) tall statue of a nude man with his arms outstretched.

Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson led the ceremony with a comment that Whitney's design of a man with his arms outstretched was reminiscent of Jesus' sacrifice by crucifixion.

U.S. Representative Robert Luce praised the design and told the audience the memorial was "an enduring symbol of a characteristic of human nature that should be an inspiration for generations to come.

[10] His speech was followed by the wife of Senator James W. Wadsworth Jr. officially handing over ownership of the memorial to the United States.

As it was unveiled, the United States Marine Band played the national anthem and a sailor hoisted a flag above the statue.

[11] In 1966, the memorial was moved from its original location near the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway due to the construction of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

[6] Beginning in 1978, a group of men mostly involved in local news operations began meeting at the memorial on each anniversary of the sinking.

[16][12] It is one of five prominent outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. made by women, and is a rare religious-themed work representing a non-religious subject.