Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"However, on May 7, 1915, the sinking of the Lusitania prompted the United States to enter the fray, although not until 1917. . . . The 31,500-ton British passenger liner Lusitania was one such vessel making the crossing from New York Harbor to Liverpool with close to 2000 passengers and crew. . . . Only 20 minutes later the ship sank with 1198 passengers perishing, including 128 US citizens." [Furtado: 1001 Days]