8 oct 1871 año - Great Chicago Fire

Descripción:

A large 3-day fire in Chicago, IL.

There is no confirmation of the fire's origin, but the most prevailing tale was peddled by Chicago Tribune's Michael Ahern, who blamed Mrs. O'Leary's cow knocking over a lantern as the fire's catalyst. However, Ahern later admitted he had fabricated the story. Lawyer Richard Bales, who looked into the incident for evidence, suspected the perpetrator to be Daniel "Pegleg" Sullivan, the first to warn the city of the fire. Other theories include fires already existing around Chicago or a meteor impact.

What is known is that the fire started around the O'Leary family barn, and soon spread rapidly across the largely-wooden city, exacerbated by drought conditions. The fire burned until October 10, where rain combined with the effort from firefighters extinguished the last of the flames. Looters took advantage of the chaos until October 11, when martial law was declared in the city.

Casualties:
300 people
Thousands of buildings
$200 million in damage