SS Californian was a British steamship operated by the Leyland Line. She is best known for her controversial role in the Titanic disaster of 1912, as she is believed to have been the nearest ship to Titanic when it struck an iceberg and sank. Although her crew observed distress rockets, no rescue attempt was made at the time. Subsequent American and British investigations concluded that a faster response might have saved many lives and strongly criticized Captain Stanley Lord for his inaction. Lord spent the rest of his life disputing these findings. A later review in 1992 concluded that, while Californian should have responded, it is unlikely that any action could have significantly changed the outcome beyond rescuing survivors already in lifeboats. During World War I, Californian served as a transport ship and was sunk in the Mediterranean in 1915 after attacks by German submarines.
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