abstract:RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner, holder of the Blue Riband and briefly the world's biggest ship. She was launched by the Cunard Line in 1907, at a time of fierce competition for the North Atlantic trade.
The stated reason was the pressure of the tense international situation - a German U-boat's torpedoing of the RMSLusitania in May of that year cost 139 American lives - but many reporters suspected Wilson had simply got tired of them.