The RMS Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat (submarine) on Friday, May 7, 1915, eleven miles off of the coast of Ireland. Among the dead were at least 120 Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania helped to turn public opinion against Germany in America. The United States formally entered WWI two years later.
The original caption on this photograph reads; Edward Williams, one of a family of six on Lusitania. He and one sister were saved, mother and four children lost.
