Everybody has heard of the Titanic and all the people who perished in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, of course.

The question is, have you ever heard of the Empress of Ireland?

In one of the worst ship disasters in history, the British liner Empress of Ireland, carrying 1,477 passengers and crew, collides with the Norwegian freighter Storstad in the gulf of Canada's St. Lawrence River. The Storstad penetrated 15 feet into the Empress of Ireland's starboard side, and the vessel sunk within 14 minutes, drowning 1,012 of its passengers and crew.

You would have if you read Clive Cussler.