Today in History

On July 25, 1956, while sailing off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts bound for New York City, the SS Andrea Doria collided with the eastward-bound SS Stockholm of the Swedish-American Line in what was to become one of history's most famous maritime disasters. Struck in the side, the position (list) of the mortally wounded ship left half of Andrea Doria's lifeboats unusable, which might have resulted in significant loss of life, but improvements in communications and rapid responses by other ships averted a disaster similar in scale to the Titanic disaster of 1912. Most passengers and crew survived. The evacuated luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning.
The incident and the aftermath were heavily covered by the news media. While the rescue efforts were both successful and commendable, the cause of the collision and the capsizing and sinking of the Andrea Doria afterward generated much interest in the media, and many lawsuits. The Andrea Doria was the last major transatlantic passenger vessel to sink before airplanes became the preferred method of travel.