EastlandThe SS Eastland docked Career Name: Eastland Owner: Michigan Steamship Company Route: South Haven, Michigan to Chicago, Illinois route Ordered: October 1902 Builder: Jenks Ship Building Company Launched: May 6, 1903 Christened: May 1903 by Francis Elizabeth Stufflebeam Maiden voyage: July 16, 1903 Nickname: "Speed queen of the Great Lakes" Fate: Sold in 1905 to the Michigan Transportation Company Career Name: Eastland Owner: Michigan Transportation Company Operator: Chicago-South Haven Line Route: South Haven – Chicago route Fate: Sold August 5, 1906 to the Lake Shore Navigation Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Career Name: Eastland Owner: Lake Shore Navigation Company of Cleveland, Ohio Route: Cleveland-Cedar Point route Fate: Sold in 1909 to the Eastland Navigation Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Career Name: Eastland Owner: Eastland Navigation Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Passengers being rescued from the hull of the Eastland by the tugboat Kenosha in the Chicago RiverThe Eastland being righted following the disasterIn 1915, the new federal Seamen's Act had been passed because of the RMS Titanic disaster. Despite stories to the contrary, there is no reliable evidence that Jack Benny was on board the Eastland or scheduled to be on the excursion; possibly the basis for this report was that the Eastland was a training vessel during World War I and Jack Benny received his training on the Great Lakes naval base, where the Eastland was stationed.