Category: Tragedies
Father and His Three Daughters Drown in Mississipi River
A quiet boat ride on the Mississippi River turned into a terrible family tragedy near Le Claire, Iowa, in August 1914. Thomas Thomas lived with…
22 Charred Bodies Taken From Passenger Train
The people of Sandford, Indiana, felt the blast before they understood what had happened. One moment, an accommodation passenger train was slowing along the Big…
14 Men Killed in Canton When Seven Boilers Exploded at the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company
In Canton, Ohio, 1910, a battery of seven boilers at the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company suddenly blew apart. The plant was left in…
2 Miners Mad with Fear in the Cross Mountain Mine
The Cross Mountain coal mine disaster was already a scene of grief, smoke, and exhaustion when rescuers made a terrible discovery: not all of the…
Twenty Men Killed When 1,000 Pounds of Dynamite Exploded Too Soon
In the spring of 1909, a stone quarry near South Bethlehem, New York, was being prepared for a blast so powerful it was expected to…
The Night Black Tom Island Blew Up
At 2:15 on a July morning in 1916, New York Harbor erupted. A series of explosions tore through munitions cars, barges, and warehouses near the…
Grim Discovery in the River at Walkerville
In the summer of 1909, the waterways around Michigan and Ontario were busy with steamers, river traffic, and the constant danger that came with life…
Suitcase Bomb Wrecks Chicago Federal Building Entrance
On September 4, 1918, as Chicago moved through another tense wartime afternoon, a blast tore through the Adams Street entrance of the city’s massive Federal…
Morristown Mother Forgives Son With Her Dying Breath
A tragic accident in Morristown, New Jersey, turned a child’s innocent words into a family’s lifelong sorrow. In 1904, four-year-old Otto Britting saw his father’s…
San Rafael Powder Factory Explosion Kills Four
A thunderous blast rolled across Point San Pedro on June 17, 1899, so loud that some who heard it first mistook the sound for a…
