M.E. Norman was a 113 feet (34.4 m)-long sternwheel steamboat

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

 operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

On May 8, 1925, the M.E. Norman sank after an explosion. Tom Lee, an African-American riverworker, saved the lives of 32 passengers.

Sinking of the boat

In a freak accident, the M.E. Norman sank on May 8, 1925, near Cow Island Bend in Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, drowning 23 people. The passengers were engineers with their families who were attending a convention in Memphis.

One man rescues 32 lives

Tom Lee

Tom Lee Park

Tom Lee Park is a city park located to the immediate west of downtown Memphis, Tennessee, overlooking the Mississippi River. Encompassing about 30 acres parallel to the Mississippi River for about one mile , it offers panoramic views of the Mississippi River and the shores of Arkansas on the...

, an African-American riverworker, was personally credited with using a small rowboat to save the lives of 32 passengers. He acted with no regard for his own safety, continuing to search after night fell. Because of his efforts, only 23 people died.

Tom Lee Park

Tom Lee Park

Tom Lee Park is a city park located to the immediate west of downtown Memphis, Tennessee, overlooking the Mississippi River. Encompassing about 30 acres parallel to the Mississippi River for about one mile , it offers panoramic views of the Mississippi River and the shores of Arkansas on the...

 in Memphis, Tennessee is named in his honor. In October 2006, a bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

sculpture was erected in the park to commemorate the event and to honor the civil hero.