Today in History: The Eastland Capsizes

On this day (July 24) in 1915, the passenger ship, SS Eastland, capsized at dock. The ship had been chartered to transport Western Electric employees to a picnic—a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of the employees to travel in a major passenger ship. The Eastland had been retrofitted with lifeboats in compliance with the Seamen’s Act (which was a response to the sinking of the Titanic). Unfortunately, the lifeboats made the Eastland extremely top heavy. With 2,572 passengers on board (most on the upper decks), the ship began to list to port. The crew tried to compensate with water in the ballast tank but something encouraged the passengers to race to the port side and the Eastland went over. 844 passengers and 4 crew members died. Western Electric donated $100,000 to relief and recovery efforts for the victims (slightly more than $100 per victim).