The SS Eastland Disaster

The man who was ready to kill himself, but instead rose to the occasion and did the right thing by jumping in and saving people, is such a poetically beautiful thing. He was ready to end his life, but then he had purpose, even if just for that moment, and he decided to live a little longer just to see it through. That is heroism.

Thank you for this. My great auntie survived the Eastland Disaster at age eight. She lived to be one month shy of 100 years old and was the last survivor alive at that time. My family is of Bohemian descent and my auntie lived in Cicero, the home of many passengers, for the whole of her life. I’m so grateful she survived.

When I inherited the family photos, I was startled to find one of the Eastland laying on its side in the Chicago River. It must have been taken by my great-grandfather, a barber on the South Side, and it looks like it was taken from a small river tour boat. Before it was salvaged, the site must have been a grisly view on such a tour.

Caitlin of Ask a mortician - `The Forgotten Disaster of the SS Eastland' did a great feature on this event

As a retired US Coast Guard Veteran.."Thank You" , for displaying the Coast Guard Officer cap in your background!

The SS Eastland is a forgotten tragedy that happened in the middle of Chicago. The RMS Empress of Ireland is another forgotten disaster. Sank in the St. Lawrence River in May 1914, and sank in 15 minutes.

As I recollect, there was a guy who showed up late to the Eastland and was unable to get on the ship. His name was George Halas. For those who do not recognize the name, he was a founding member of the National Football League and founder/owner/coach of the Chicago Bears. He is also a great trivia answer to the question: “Who did Babe Ruth replace in left field for the Yankees.”?

Good morning THG! There is a sub-story to the Eastland disaster worth looking into, that of Willie Novotny, a 7-year-old victim who was unidentified for a time as most of his family was also lost.

My grandmother, who was 12 at that time was (for reasons I don't know) on the dock that day, and witnessed the whole catastrophe. She always told me that it was a horrible sight than affected her for many years. Thank you, THG, for this particular episode!

As i have lived most of my life in Cicero Ill i heard many stories of the Eastland disaster. Including how much of the town of Cicero population had been lost in this accident. Since most of western electric employees lived in Cicero there was not a steet that didn't have at least one empty home that no one came home too. Growing up here it was hard not to talk to anyone that didn't say they lost a relative in the accident. It was hard to understand how rules that had been made to save lives at sea had been a part of the reason so many people died. And only feet from the dock on a calm warm day. I have in the past watch or read anything about the Eastland and a few actually did tell this part of the story. But none have told the story better then you did here in a short documentary. Though i did not lose any family to the tragedy. I will share this with a few people i still know that did. And yet again thank you for your hard work on a story that as you say. History that should be remembered.

THG: Makes video about SS Eastland. YT: Perhaps you’d like some context on Titanic.

I’ve seen a documentary on this one. Surprising how many such disaster as this are all but forgotten. As a Canadian, Empress of Ireland comes to mind.

Lifeboats for all has a fallacy as you actually need enough for twice the passengers and most sinking list heavily to one side making half the boat useless (SS Andrea Doria). Usually a sinking ship eventually capsizes. The Titanic was unusual in the she sank on an even keel.

Yeah this is a disaster this all but forgotten. Interesting at all the the disaster that was the Titanic ultimately led to this disaster. Almost like a live-action Poseidon Adventure.

Your empathy and poignant description of the disaster brought me to tears. You are gifted with a storyteller's power and an historian's understanding of the value of knowing our past.

My great-grandfather's sister (Mary Landsiedel) and her 6 year old daughter (Naomi) died on the ship. Naomi was pinned against the wall by a heavy chair but was swept away when her father (George) freed her. George managed to escape through a porthole. They were taken back to her home town of Philadelphia, PA for burial.

As a lifelong South Haven resident we taught about the Eastland disaster but never to this level of detail. Thank you, because it deserves to be remembered.

The rescue mission was further complicated by the fact that women's gowns were so heavy when wet that it made it harder to stay afloat, also many people didn't know how ro swim back then as now

Watched a program based on this years ago. Clearly, the Titanic gets all the attention. It's mostly forgotten in Chicago. The Grunge channel did talk about it a while ago.

I remember back in 1968 a nun telling my 6th grade class in the Catholic grade school (suburban Chicago) I was attending about the Eastland disaster. She pretty much left us all stunned especially when she told of the enormous loss of life.