The Lusitania Resource

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Welcome to The Lusitania Resource!

Here you will find facts and history about the British passenger ship RMS Lusitania, her sinking, well as the biographies of passenger and crew on board when the German submarine U-20 torpedoed and sank her on 7 May 1915.

2026 – Lusitania 111 Year Sinking Anniversary

7 May 2026 marks the 111th anniversary of the Lusitania sinking. While I have been unable to attend events in person (though I hope to again in the near future), some information about the 2026 events will be below.

Also, in case you missed it, the wonderful researchers J. Kent Layton, Mike Poirier, Tad Fitch, and Stuart Williamson did a live panel on the Steam and Splendor Network on YouTube, and you can watch the video in the box to the left.

I am super grateful to all of you–visitors, contributors, and researchers–who have allowed this site to grow over the decades into an online encyclopedia that has far exceeded my own expectations. I never could have built up this site without all of you, and your continued support makes all of this possible.

I started this website as a student, and unfortunately now as a mid-career professional, personal and professional responsibilities means the website has to take a backseat. I hope to one day bring on a web and database organizer and designer to fix up all the issues with the site and finally get around to the updates and corrections for the site.

Please, let us continue to honor the RMS Lusitania and her passengers and crew, and may we never forget the horrific lessons of war. Thank you.

Kinsale Commemoration 2026

The Lusitania Museum and Old Head Signal Tower

Thursday, 7 May 2026
Lusitania Memorial Garden, Old Head
111th Anniversary Commemoration
2:00pm

St. Multose Church & Graveyard, Kinsale
Annual Commemoration Prayers
6:00 PM

More details can be found on the museum’s Facebook post.

Lusitania memorial at Kinsale
Lusitania memorial at Kinsale

Liverpool Commemoration 2026

As always, there is a commemoration at the Museum of Liverpool at Pier Head, Liverpool, United Kingdom on 7 May.

Lusitania propeller where the commemoration will be held

Absent Lives, a Lusitania novel, now on sale!

Absent Lives, a novel inspired by the lives of Cyril and Anita Pells is now available! The author, Rebecca Pells, has been researching the background for her novel for ten years, and her book is now available for all to read as of 28 April 2026. You can purchase your copy wherever you can buy books, but you can also purchase through my affiliate link here.

Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography Volume 2 out now!

The long-awaited Volume 2 of Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography is now available for purchase! This several-years-long labor of love is now available for all to read, having been released on 17 April 2025. One of our website’s frequent contributors, Michael Poirier, is a contributing author, and this is very exciting news! Please head over to the book’s page on Atlantic Liners to purchase your copy today!

Fast Facts

The RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20 on 7 May 1915, becoming a casualty of World War I. 128 American civilians died in the attack, turning American opinion against Germany, making the sinking a turning point of the war. However, the United States would not declare war on Germany and enter World War I until April 1917.

  • Date attacked: 7 May 1915
  • Duration of sinking: 18 minutes
  • People aboard: 1,960*
  • Survivors: 767* (4 died in subsequent months)
  • Victims: 1,193 (per this site) + 4 survivors who died soon thereafter = 1,197*
  • Americans killed: 128* (officially)
  • Passenger ship carrying war materiel for the British Army when she was attacked and sunk
  • Wreck location:  51°25′N 8°33′W, ~300 feet (91 meters) underwater, ~11 miles (18 km) south of the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland

*Numbers for passengers and crew subject to revision as names are cross-checked and confirmed by family members and researchers.

Other fast facts:

  • Gross tonnage: 31,550
  • Length overall: 787 feet / 239.8 meters
  • Beam: 87 feet 6 inches / 26.7 meters
  • Draft: 33 feet 6 inches / 10.2 meters
  • Top speed: 26.35 knots

Read more at “Lusitania Facts and Figures“

Sticky Posts

Lusitania Passengers and Crew

Final Crossing (#202), departing New York City on 1 May 1915

Read more at “People“

From the Lusitania Blog…

Read more from the blog

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Dedication

This site is dedicated to the RMS Lusitania
and all those who built and those who sailed on her.

Dedication to those who built and those who sailed aboard Lusitania

 

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