Black man saves rescues 32 from a steamboat sinking in the Mississippi.

M.E. Norman (left) Tom Lee (right)

M.E. Norman was one of two ships used to provide a sightseeing tour for a convention of the American Society of Civil Engineers in Tennessee. As the ship approached in the Mississippi River, it began listing to both sides, then capsized and sank rapidly.

Tom Lee, a black riverworker, acted with little regard for his own safety and instead for the safety of the sinking crew, using the small motorboat called Zev to rescue 32 passengers from the river.

His heroic work will hopefully be remembered throughout history.