How many people died in the Lusitania sinking? How many survived? The following are the numbers from the passenger and crew lists on this site. You can also verify this by downloading the complete manifest in the downloads section of this site.
You also may be interested in the visualization of this data.
| Total | Survived | Died | Survival rate | |
| Saloon (First Class) | 290 | 113 | 177 | 39.0% |
| Second Cabin (Second Class) | 601 | 229 | 372 | 38.1% |
| Third Class | 370 | 134 | 236 | 36.2% |
| Deported Seamen (Third Class) | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.0% |
| Total Passengers | 1,264 | 476 | 788 | 37.7% |
| Stowaways | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.0% |
| Band | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60.0% |
| Deck Crew | 69 | 37 | 32 | 53.6% |
| Engineering Crew | 313 | 112 | 201 | 35.8% |
| Victualling Crew | 306 | 139 | 167 | 45.4% |
| Total Crew (including Band) | 693 | 291 | 402 | 42.0% |
| Total Complement (with stowaways) | 1,960 | 767 | 1,193 | 39.1% |
I have not yet done breakdown by nationality or age group, but those are worth considering for future updates. Accounting for the four survivors who died not long afterwards, this becomes:
| Total | Survived | Died | Survival rate | |
| Total Complement (with stowaways) | 1,960 | 763 | 1,197 | 38.9% |
From the lost, the following names are known to not have been on board:
R. A. Sterberg (Engineering Crew, same person as August Österberg)
Alexandra Munro (Saloon Passenger, did not sail)
Robert Ernest Foden is listed twice in the crew lists, but should only be listed once here. A. Trainor of the Engineering Crew has been identified as the same person as Thomas Pilcher.
The existence of John Neil Leach, a British mercenary spy working for the Germans, has been under scrutiny, but did exist as his relatives have contacted this site. If there ends up being more repetition in the list (particularly among the crew), then the overall total and numbers lost could be smaller than previously thought.
The often quoted number of 1,959 as total complement thus does not include the stowaways, which would bring the number up to 1,962.
From Hoehling/Hoehling:
159 Americans on board, 124 perished.
124 children on board, 94 perished, including 31 of 35 infants.
Worth noting is that the often quoted number of 1,195 lost is the “official” number (this site numbers 1,193 lost), and 1,198 (1,197 on this site) includes the stowaways. The sometimes quoted number of 1,201 would count the stowaways twice, and is, according to the available data, wrong.
Contact us if you know why else the figures are different, and what the numbers really should be.
Contributors:
Peter Engberg-Klarström, Sweden
Mike Poirier, USA
Hildo Thiel, The Netherlands
References:
Ballard, Robert D. and Spencer Dunmore. Exploring the Lusitania. Warner Books, 1995.
Cunard Confidentiality Report.
Hoehling, A. A. and Mary Hoehling. The Last Voyage of the Lusitania. Madison Books, 1956.
Layton, J. Kent. Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography of the Ship of Splendor. Lulu Press, 2007.
Mixed Claims Commission.
My Grandfather and his brother both lost their lives on this ship, both members of the crew Ormrod aged 40 and 41
My great grandfather lost his life on this ship he was a member of the crew Lewis age about 30
Have always been fascinated by this ship more than Titanic.They were both long before my time.Am reading ‘Dead Wake’ at the moment which gives a very detailed description of both the ship & the U20.Excellent read.
Would anyone be able to tell approximately how many Canadians died on the Lusitania?
I downloaded the Lusitania manifest from this site and it lists 365 passengers whose country is Canada. Of those, 216 are listed as lost, 147 as saved and another two were saved but subsequently died.
I learned while watching Ken Burns Public Television series on Ellis Island, that a number of the 3rd Class Passengers were Europeans who had been refused USA entry @ Ellis Island. Since they were not permitted to be a burden on the taxpayer, they were rejected either for health reasons, or poor job skills, & were being sent back.
My Father, Daniel Power, was only 15 when he joined the crew of the Lusitania as a Fireman, He survived and, I beleive, joined another ship, which I do not know the name of, this ship was also torpedoed, again he survived, This is all I know about his time in the Merchant Navy, Any information would be welcome.ffff
Were there any animals onboard the final voyage?
You might want to check your death count because I came up with a total of 1981
My grandmother’s fiancee was a soldier who died on the ship. I wish I knew his name.
Thanks for this website, there’s a lot of good info, the Lusitania interests me as much as the Titanic but for different reasons. I have no connection to either ship (my paternal great grandparents came from England in 1910 on the Saxonia) but have always been fascinated with these ships. In case anyone is interested, the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) recorded interviews with some Canadian survivors of the Lusitania back in 1965 & broadcast it in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the sinking. You can find it online on the CBC website, I think it was played again on the 100th anniversary. I listened to it the other day & it’s really interesting. Also, on YouTube, there’s a good movie called “Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea,” an English/German docu-drama, focusing on the relationship between Professor Ian Holbourn & Avis Dolphin, w/Holbourn narrating the movie. YouTube has been taking off movies left & right, but this one is on there along with “A Night to Remember,” the 1958 classic movie about the Titanic based on Walter Lord’s 1955 best-seller. I love that movie & think it’s much better than Cameron’s 1997 version (which is more of a love story). Just ordered “Dead Wake” by Erik Larson from the library, will be picking it up tomorrow, can’t wait to read it!
Wow…
my African grandfather worked as a stoker on the Lusitania but was transferred to another ship just before it was torpedoed. A lot of his African friends colleagues and countryman died on the Lusitania. An awful lot of Africans described above as “deported seaman, Third class” who fought in the first world war died and yet there is no memorial anywhere to recognise their service and their sacrafice. After the war they were all deported.
Now this is strange. My Great Uncle always said one of his aunts traveled on the Lusitania on the last voyage. He said that she got on a lifeboat but had to wade through waist deep water to reach the shore of southern Ireland. Problem being she is not the passenger list! I wonder how comprehensive the manifest is here? It seems odd that he would have got it so wrong.
I am trying to find out if they was a crewman in the Lusitania with the last name Healey. The statue in Cobh Ireland is identical to my girlfriends Dad. His family came from Cork. However, they never knew much about the great grandfather