Vanderbilt Gave His Life Vest

In 1915, American businessman and Gilded Age millionaire Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt was aboard RMS Lusitania when German submarine U-20 torpedoed it off Ireland. The liner sank within 18 minutes, and Vanderbilt helped others reach lifeboats before searching for a spare life vest for a young mother holding her baby. When he could not find a lifejacket, he fastened his own vest around her, despite knowing he could not swim and that all lifeboats were gone. The woman and her child survived, but 37-year-old Vanderbilt died alongside his valet, Ronald Denyer, and rescuers never recovered his body.

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