The SS United States is an historic ocean liner that is the fastest passenger ship ever built, and the largest ever made in the United States. Originally launched in 1952 and serving until 1969, the retired ship is now under tow on its final voyage to Mobile, Alabama to undergo preservation for plans to turn it into an artificial reef off the Florida coast. Our intrepid researchers at the Family History Center on Ellis Island have combed through the manifests to share the names of some of the ship’s most famous passengers.

During its years of service, SS United States carried a veritable who’s who of the mid-twentieth century including John F. Kennedy & Jackie O, Harry S. Truman, Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly & Prince Rainer, Salvador Dali, Haile Selassie, Greta Garbo, and many others across the world’s oceans. These passenger manifests can be found in the Foundation’s Passenger Search database online and at the Family History Center on Ellis Island.

The captain selected to command the ship during its maiden voyage which started on July 3rd, 1952 from New York to Southampton, England was Hans “Harry” Manning, a seasoned veteran. Manning was an Ellis Island immigrant himself. He and his mother immigrated in 1910 aboard Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm from Germany.

The origin of SS United States dates back to 1945 when designer and engineer William Gibbs won a contract to build an ocean liner capable of being converted into a fast troop transport for the United States military. Gibbs himself dreamed of building an American “superliner,” far grander than anything the Germans or British had built. He now had that opportunity.

Construction began on February 8, 1950, at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. Accommodations aboard the ship were furnished with both Art Deco and Mid Century Modern designs. Details in the first and cabin class rooms were elegant, but more spartan than on European counterpart ocean liners. Still, tourist-class rooms, which were primarily utilized by immigrant passengers, were superior to any other ship.

Beyond the accommodations, what drew passengers to SS United States was its speed. Its top speed was classified for years, in fact, the ship was never allowed to fully test how fast it could go. The maximum recorded speed for the ship was 38.32knt during trials on June 10, 1952.

The design and speed of the ship attracted many Hollywood stars like Milton Berle, who was on the ship’s first voyage back to New York on July 15, 1952. During this voyage, SS United States broke the speed record for crossing the Atlantic (known as the Blue Riband) a record she still holds to this day: 3 days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes.

Another Hollywood star who sailed on the SS United States was Grace Kelly who arrived in New York from France on September 11, 1956. She was accompanied by her husband Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Arguably, the SS United States’ most famous passengers were then-Senator from Massachusetts John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline. JFK, who would go on to become the nation’s 35th president, arrived from Southampton, England on October 11, 1955.

Other famous passengers included Salvador Dali, Haile Selassie, Marlon Brando, Greta Garbo, Alfred Steele, Joan Crawford, and many more.

The ship can also be seen in many feature films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Sabrina, West Side Story, Die! Die! My Darling!, and is integral to the plot of Walt Disney’s 1962 film, Bon Voyage.