Lothrop Withington was a well-known American genealogist who was killed in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania on May 7, 1915.
Prior to his return home on the Lusitania's fateful last voyage, Withington had been in Kent at Canterbury, where he had discovered in the strong room of the Probate Registry a list of wills covering the period 1640/ 50.
He is said to have been the only person aside from the officials of the Registry aware of the existence of these documents.
Sensitive to their great value he decided to make a ‘Calendar’ of the Wills. He had not dealt with more than half of them on that occasion and whereas it was obvious he intended to return to complete the task his end came unexpectedly at sea on his return from the United States on the occasion of the sinking of the Lusitania.
