| 1902 |
First designs submitted for the Lusitania and Mauretania, showing each ship with
only three funnels. |
|
| July 1903 |
Under lobbying by Cunard
chairman Lord Inverclyde, the British Government under Prime Minister
Balfour authorizes a loan of £2.6 million for the construction of
the Lusitania and Mauretania, providing that they
meet Admiralty specifications. This comes under threat of German
competition and monopolization of the North Atlantic by American
financier J. P. Morgan, who has already bought out Cunard's main
British rival, the White Star Line. The British Government also
agrees to pay Cunard an annual subsidy of £150 000 for
maintaining both ships in a state of war readiness, plus an additional
£68 000 to carry the mail. |
|
| 16 June 1904 |
Lusitania's
keel laid at John Brown & Clydebank, Yard no. 367. |
|
| 7 June 1906 |
Lusitania
launched and christened by Mary, Lady Inverclyde. |
|
| 27 July 1907 |
Lusitania
undergoes preliminary trials off Irish coast. |
|
| July - August
1907 |
Lusitania
goes through formal acceptance trials. Engineers discover that
high speed causes violent vibrations in the stern, forcing the stern
section to be refitted with stronger bracings. |
|
| 26 August 1907 |
Lusitania
delivered to Cunard. At the time she is the largest ship in the
world, with a gross tonnage of 31 550. |
|
| 7 - 13
September 1907 |
Maiden voyage from Liverpool,
England, Great Britain to New York, NY, United States. |
|
| October 1907 |
Lusitania
takes the Blue Riband from the Norddeutscher Lloyd Liner Kaiser Wilhelm II, ending Germany's
10 year streak of having the fastest ships on the Atlantic. The Lusitania averages 23.99 knots
westbound and 23.61 knots eastbound. |
|
| November 1907 |
Lusitania
loses the eastbound record to her sister Mauretania. Mauretania averages 23.69 knots. |
|
| May 1908 |
Lusitania
loses the westbound record to Mauretania. |
|
| July 1908 |
Lusitania
regains Blue Riband. |
|
| 1909 |
Lusitania
makes her fastest westbound crossing, averaging 25.85 knots. |
|
| September 1909 |
Lusitania
loses the Blue Riband permanently to Mauretania.
Mauretania averages
26.06 knots and will hold the record as fastest ship on the Atlantic
for the next 20 years. |
|
| 28 July 1914 |
Austria declares war against
Serbia, igniting the First World War. |
|
| 4 August 1914 |
Britain declares war
against Germany after Germany invades Belgium. |
|
| August 1914 |
Lusitania
considered for requisition as an auxiliary cruiser, but not taken over
because of her size and fuel consumption She remains on the
Liverpool - New York route. |
|
| November 1914 |
For reasons of economy, Lusitania's transatlantic crossings are reduced to one a month. Boiler room #4 is shut down and maximum speed is reduced to 21 knots. | |
| 4 February
1915 |
Germany declares all waters
around Great Britain and Ireland a war zone. All enemy shipping
found there after 18 February will be sunk. Captain Dow flies the
United States flag on the Lusitania
as protection against German submarines. |
|
| 10 February
1915 |
U.S. President Woodrow
Wilson formally protests to London that the use of neutral flags will
endanger neutral countries. He also says he will hold Germany to
"strict accountability" for any American lives lost. |
|
| Early
February 1915 |
British Admiralty issues orders
for British merchant ships to ram German submarines on sight.
Germany discovers these orders by 15 February. |
|
| 5 - 6 March
1915 |
HMS Laverlock and Louis attempt to escort Lusitania to Liverpool.
Cunard and Captain Dow, fearing a trap, do not divulge positions.
Dow steams Lusitania into
Liverpool without incident. |
|
| April 1915 |
Captain Dow claims sickness and Lusitania is reassigned to Captain
Turner. |
|
| 22 April 1915 |
Germany issues warning to its
embassy in the United States, telling Americans not to sail on British
ships or risk being attacked. Warning is not published in
newspapers until 1 May. |
|
| 30 April 1915 |
U-20
departs Emden, Germany, commanded by Kapitanleutnant Walther Schwieger. |
|
| 1 May 1915 |
Lusitania sails out of New York for the last time. Sailing delayed by a transfer of passengers from the Cameronia. A number of prominent passengers receive anonymous telegrams warning them not to sail. | |
| 5 May 1915 |
U-20
sinks 132-ton schooner Earl of Lathom
off the coast of Ireland. |
|
| 6 May 1915 |
Lusitania
sails into the war zone. Seamen's Charities fund concert takes
place in the saloon class lounge that night. U-20 sinks 16 000-ton steamer Candidate. |
|
| 7 May 1915 |
U-20
torpedoes and sinks Lusitania
off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland. Lusitania founders in 18 minutes
with horrific loss of life. Fishing boats, tramp steamers, and
Admiralty ships take survivors to Kinsale and Queenstown. |
|
| 8 May 1915 |
Anti-German riots break out all
over the world over the sinking and last for days. |
|
| 8 - 10 May
1915 |
Cork County coroner John J.
Horgan opens first inquest into the Lusitania
disaster. Admiralty attempts to thwart the inquiry arrive too
late to be of any effect. |
|
| 10 May 1915 |
Mass funeral held for Lusitania victims outside of
Queenstown. |
|
| 12 May 1915 |
U-20
breaks radio silence and takes credit for sinking Lusitania. |
|
| 13 May 1915 |
British Prime Minister Asquith
announces internment of enemy aliens. U-20 ordered to report to Wilhelmshaven instead of the home base of Emde<>n. First American note sent to Germany. |
|
| 8 June 1915 |
U.S. Secretary of State
William Jennings Bryan resigns in protest, claiming that the United
States is taking a pro-Allied
stance in handling the Lusitania
affair while claiming neutrality. Robert Lansing installed as
acting Secretary of State. |
|
| 9 June 1915 |
Lansing dispatches second
American note to Germany, requesting Germany to respect the rights of
Americans to travel on belligerent ships of their choice. |
|
| 15 June - 1
July 1915 |
Mersey conducts an official
Inquiry into the sinking. Report published on 17 July places
blame solely on Germany. |
|
| 16 January
1917 |
Zimmerman Telegram sent by
Germany to Mexico and decoded by Britain. |
|
| 31 January
1917 |
Germany announces that she will
resume unrestricted submarine warfare. |
|
| 24 February
1917 |
Zimmerman Telegram forwarded to
U.S. President Wilson. |
|
| 25 February
1917 |
Cunarder Laconia torpedoed by U-50 with a loss of 12 lives,
including 2 Americans. |
|
| 17 March 1917 |
Three American frieghters, City of Memphis, Vigilancia, and Illinois, are torpedoed with a loss
of 24 American lives. |
|
| 6 April 1917 |
United States declares war
against Germany. |
|
| 1918 |
Judge Julius Mayer conducts
hearings for civil lawsuits in New York City. His report is
published on 23 August 1918, absolves Captain Turner and the Cunard
Company from blame. |
|
| 11 November
1918 |
World War I ends. |
|
| 1919 |
Germany is forced to surrender
the Imperator to Cunard as a
replacement for the Lusitania.
The Imperator will become the
Berengaria. |
|
| 1935 |
A Glasgow-based consortium
locates the wreck of the Lusitania
with early echo-sounding equipment. Jim Jarrat, in a heavy diving suit, becomes the first man to dive to the wreck. He claims that the wreck is lying on her port side, exposing point of torpedo impact. Rumors circulate that the Royal Navy is conducting blasting operations on the Lusitania wreck in order to remove any evidence of munitions in the wreck. |
|
| 1953 |
Divers discover that the wreck
is actually lying on her starboard side, concealing the point of
torpedo impact. |
|
| 1960s |
U.S. Navy diver John Light makes
42 dives to the Lusitania
wreck and reports that the bow of the wreck had been severed by an
internal explosion, a claim refuted by later divers. |
|
| 1967 |
Light buys the wreck of the Lusitania from the British War
Risks Association. |
|
| January 1968 |
Greg Bemis and partners buy
salvage rights from Light. |
|
| September -
October 1982 |
Oceaneering International
conducts salvage expeditions to the wreck of the Lusitania. Ireland attempts
ot claim artifacts as national treasures. Court rules in favor of
Oceaneering International. |
|
| 1983 |
Oceaneering International plans
to return to the wreck to document the cargo hold, but expedition falls
through. |
|
| July - August
1993 |
Dr. Robert D. Ballard mounts an
expedition to the Lusitania
wreck. His team discovers that the magazine is undamaged and
rules out ammunition as a source of the second explosion. Ballard
hypothesizes that the second explosion was caused by a coal dust
explosion. |
|
| 1994 |
Gary Gentile dives to the
wreck. His team claims to have found lead containers containing
lost paintings transported by Sir Hugh Lane. Ireland places a
Heritage Protection Order on the wreck shortly afterwards. |