On November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during a severe storm. The freighter was transporting iron ore when it disappeared from radar at around 7:10 PM. The ship was being followed by the Arthur M. Anderson, which had been tracking its movements by radar and last communicated with the Fitzgerald just before it vanished.
All 29 crew members aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald died in the incident. No distress signal was sent, indicating that the sinking happened very quickly.
ABC News reported: “‘The legend lives on’: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald still resonates 50 years later
Spend enough time along the shores of Lake Superior and it won’t be long before there’s some reminder of what happened ‘when the gales of November came early.’
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the largest and most famous of the estimated 6,500 ships that have gone down in the Great Lakes. But the Fitzgerald is remembered while the others are forgotten, thanks in large part to Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 haunting folk ballad that became a surprise hit.
The Fitzgerald, a 730-foot long freighter named after a Milwaukee insurance company executive, went down in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. All 29 men on board died.”
The ship was known as “the Fitz” and held the title of largest vessel on the Great Lakes when it launched in 1958 until 1971. On its final trip, it left Superior, Wisconsin on November 9, carrying about 26,000 tons of iron ore to Zug Island near Detroit.
Remembrances for those lost continue to appear on social media platforms such as Twitter/X each year on this date.
The story has remained prominent due to ongoing interest and tributes like Gordon Lightfoot’s song released in 1976.
