Lothrop Withington

Lothrop Withington (January 31, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American genealogist, historian, and book editor who was killed in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.

Early life Lothrop Withington was born on January 31, 1856, in Newburyport, Massachusetts, to Elizabeth (née Little) and Nathan Noyes Withington. His father wrote for the Newburyport Herald. His grandfather was Leonard Withington, a pastor. Withington graduated from the Putnam Free School in 1872. As a schoolboy, he learned printing and worked for the Newburyport Herald and the United States Government Publishing Office in Washington, D.C. His grandnephew (a brother's grandson) was Lothrop Withington Jr., the progenitor of goldfish swallowing. He sent a postcard to the English genealogist, George Sherwood saying "Will come by the ‘Lusitania’, subject to Kaiser Wilhelm’s consent".