On May 7, 1915, The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland. It took only 18 minutes to fully sink; causing the death of 1,198 people — including over 100 American civilians who drowned despite the American passengers making up two-thirds of those who survived the sinking . This event helped galvanize public opinion, especially within the United States, that Germany did not value neutral civilian life and helped increase support for entry into World War I with United States eventually declaring war two years later.