In 1860, the Lady Elgin was rammed by the Augusta and sank in Lake Michigan near Evanston, Illinois. A ministerial student named Edward Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue passengers. In the process, his health was permanently damaged. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever thanked him.

Source: Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History, Ballard C. Campbell