imperator

"SS Imperator was an ocean liner built for the Hamburg America Line (Hamburg Amerikanische Paketfahrt Aktien Gesellschaft, or HAPAG), launched in 1912." "During World War I, the ship remained in port in Hamburg. After the war, she was briefly commissioned into the United States Navy as USS Imperator (ID-4080) and employed as a transport, returning American troops from Europe." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Imperator

This may be the arrival of the Imperator in New York Harbor on May 23, 1919. Among a group of 8 steamers that arrived that day bringing 34,000 troops back from Europe. query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F03EFD8163AE0...

The New-York tribune., June 01, 1919, Image 47 printed a photo of the Imperator with the caption: "The second largest ship in the world, the former German liner Imperator, which lay in the mud off Hamburg, for nearly five years, was one of eight transports to land 27,309 returning Yanks here last week - the biggest number to arrive in a single day." chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1919-06-01/ed-...

On June 20, 1919 the President-Elect Epitácio Pessoa of Brazil arrived on the Imperator in Hoboken, after he was transferred from the disabled French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc. Four destroyers acted as escort up the bay to Hoboken. New-York tribune., June 21, 1919, Page 13, col. 1-3 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1919-06-21/ed-... The date on a nearby photo of the Imperator is 6/20/19: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/30902527105/ So the photo shows possibly this scene. Pessoa, photographed at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/30902529945/

The Imperator in 1913: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/3532862307/

Other Bain/LOC photos of the IMPERATOR in New York harbor: www.flickr.com/search/?w=8623220@N02&q=imperator&...

NYT of August 29, 1913 query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C04E6DC113CE633A... indicates that the day before (August 28, 1913 as on the negative), there had been a fire in s storeroom and a young officer was killed

Swanq: Thanks. We'll add the date next time we update the record.

I was going to comment that back in the day, apparently fire was smokeless and the firefighters wore suits. But it appears this photographer came early to the fire. I guess its better than being late... Love the old photos!

June 1914. Here is a photo of Roosevelt with Harry Houdini on board: www.examiner.com/ny-in-new-york/houdini-and-theodore-roos... Roosevelt was recovering from malaria at the time and still had a bullet in his chest from an assassination attempt a couple years earlier. The Imperator was plagued by stability problems, fires, an overly complicated propulsion system, and a four year layup during WWI. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Imperator

The unstoppable TR occupied the royal (or imperial) suite on the German ship, Imperator, returning from a quickie trip to Europe. (The Imperator docked at Hoboken, NJ, on June 24, 1914.) Earlier in the year, Roosevelt had returned from an arduous trip through South America, where he had nearly died while exploring the Amazon jungle. New York Times interview with TR aboard the Imperator, June 24, 1914: query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D01E0DA1F39E6...

Wystan & Jim Rees, Thanks for the further information on Roosevelt's trip on the Imperator. We will add more detail to this description when we update the record.

woah! great shot!