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Lecturer Jim Gibbons dives into the tragic events in July, 1956 when the SS Andrea Doria collided with a Swedish ship and put 1,600 lives in peril, rocking maritime history. Registration required.
It is 11:10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25, 1956. A heavy fog has settled over the North Atlantic, 45 miles south of the island of Nantucket. The Italian passenger liner, the SS Andrea Doria, is heading westbound, relying on its radar screens to cut its way through the thick fog of the evening.
Little does its captain realize, there is eminent danger that lies directly ahead. The Swedish passenger liner, the MS Stockholm, is heading eastbound directly towards them!
Hidden from their view by the thick fog, both passenger liners are now heading for a tragic encounter at speeds too fast to avoid the ultimate collision.
After being smashed 30 feet into its starboard side, the Andrea Doria pulls loose, lists sharply, and starts to sink to the bottom of the ocean, endangering the lives of all on board. The result was the loss of 46 passengers and crew members on the SS Andrea Doria and 5 crew members on the MS Stockholm.
Many of the 1,660 passengers rescued from the capsizing Andrea Doria also had to fight their way off the sinking ship, facing the tremendous odds, without the use of lifeboats.
Lecturer Jim Gibbons will present the story of “The Sinking of the SS Andrea Doria" and how it collided in a thick fog with the MS Stockholm. Gibbons will take you through that terrible night of extreme tragedy that rocked maritime history!
Registration is required. To register, click on the REGISTER button on this page.
This program will take place online; you will receive an email confirmation with the link when you register. Click that link at the start time to join us.
The Fremont Public Library District encompasses parts of Mundelein, Grayslake, Hawthorn Woods, Libertyville, Round Lake, Round Lake Park, and Wauconda. To find out if you live in our district, please call 847-566-8702. We honor library cards from any other public library in Illinois as well as a few from southern Wisconsin. The library is located in Mundelein, half a mile north of Rte.176 on Midlothian Road.
