50 years later, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald lives on in fascination with the maritime disaster

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Monday is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior, marking a half-century of fascination with one of the most infamous nautical disasters in American history.

What happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald

The ship, named after the president of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, began her life as a carrier, transporting people and cargo across the lake. She launched on June 8, 1958, and remained the largest ship on the lake for 13 years, spanning 729 feet and weighing more than 13,000 tons.

On Nov. 9, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald was to transport a load of taconite from Superior, Wisconsin, to Zug Island, Detroit, Michigan.

As a particularly violent storm rolled over the lake in the night, another ship carrying a similar load, ab