Today marks the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. The Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-Boat around 14:11, and sank in 18 minutes. The torpedo hit the starboard side of the ship just below the bridge, causing a list that made it difficult to launch the lifeboats safely. Out of 48 lifeboats, more than enough for all of the 1,960 people on board, only 6 were launched.
In total, 1,197 were lost, including Sault Ste. Marie resident Gustav Nyblom. Nyblom was a metallurgist for Algoma Steel who had recently accepted a job at the London offices of the Great Lakes Corporation. He had been employed for three years in the Sault and was living at 138 East Street at the time of his departure on the ill fated ship.
Of all the deceased, only 289 bodies were recovered. Nyblom's was one of them, and his remains were brought back to his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden where a funeral was held. A description of the funeral was published in the Swedish newspaper Svenskbladet, and translated for the Sault Daily Star by local business owner Andrew Virene, who had become friends with Nyblom through the Sault Ste. Marie Scandinavian Mission.
Gustav Nyblom wasn't the only resident of the Sault who lost their life in a famous maritime disaster. Ernst Adolf Sjöstedt, another Swedish immigrant and Algoma Steel metallurgist, tragically lost his life in the sinking of the RMS Titanic, just three years prior. Sjöstedt came to Canada in 1890, and to the Sault in 1899 to work for Algoma Steel. A brilliant chemist and inventor; he developed the Sjöstedt smelting furnace and the Sjöstedt sulphur roaster. He had been in Sweden on commission from the Canadian government to study methods of copper-sulphite ore extraction and electric iron melting and was returning home to Sault Ste. Marie. Both Sjöstedt and his metallurgy report were lost in the disaster.
Today marks the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. The Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-Boat around 14:11, and sank in 18 minutes. The torpedo hit the starboard side of the ship just below the bridge, causing a list that made it difficult to launch the lifeboats safely. Out of 48 lifeboats, more than enough for all of the 1,960 people on board, only 6 were launched.
In total, 1,197 were lost, including Sault Ste. Marie resident Gustav Nyblom. Nyblom was a metallurgist for Algoma Steel who had recently accepted a job at the London offices of the Great Lakes Corporation. He had been employed for three years in the Sault and was living at 138 East Street at the time of his departure on the ill fated ship.
Of all the deceased, only 289 bodies were recovered. Nyblom's was one of them, and his remains were brought back to his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden where a funeral was held. A description of the funeral was published in the Swedish newspaper Svenskbladet, and translated for the Sault Daily Star by local business owner Andrew Virene, who had become friends with Nyblom through the Sault Ste. Marie Scandinavian Mission.
Gustav Nyblom wasn't the only resident of the Sault who lost their life in a famous maritime disaster. Ernst Adolf Sjöstedt, another Swedish immigrant and Algoma Steel metallurgist, tragically lost his life in the sinking of the RMS Titanic, just three years prior. Sjöstedt came to Canada in 1890, and to the Sault in 1899 to work for Algoma Steel. A brilliant chemist and inventor; he developed the Sjöstedt smelting furnace and the Sjöstedt sulphur roaster. He had been in Sweden on commission from the Canadian government to study methods of copper-sulphite ore extraction and electric iron melting and was returning home to Sault Ste. Marie. Both Sjöstedt and his metallurgy report were lost in the disaster.