List of historic fires
Before the
20th century, fires were a major hazard to urban areas and the cause of massive amounts of damage to cities. Following is a list of major historical fires organized by date:
- 356 BC - Temple of Artemis burned by arson
- c. 50 BC - Library of Alexandria burned by arson
- 64 - Great fire of Rome
- 1204 - Constantinople burned three times during the Fourth Crusade
- 1613 - Globe Theatre burns due to mishap
- 1666 - Great Fire of London
- 1776 - New York City
- 1805 - Detroit
- 1812 - Moscow
- 1813 - Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- 1813 - Toronto, Ontario burned during the War of 1812
- 1814 - (What is now called) The White House burned by the British
- 1835 - Great Fire of New York
- 1871 - Great Chicago Fire
- 1871 - Peshtigo, Wisconsin destroyed in a firestorm
- 1872 - Boston, Massachusetts
- 1883 - Ponce, Puerto Rico
- 1889 - Seattle, Washington
- 1892 - St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
- 1901 - Jacksonville, Florida
- 1904 - Great Baltimore Fire
- 1904 - The steamship General Slocum, New York City
- 1904 - Great Toronto Fire
- 1906 - San Francisco earthquake and fire
- 1911 - Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire, New York City
- 1917 - The Halifax Explosion, largest man-made explosion before Hiroshima nuclear bomb
- 1933 - Reichstag fire caused by arson
- 1933 - Tillamook Burn
- 1937 - Hindenburg disaster
- 1942 - Cocoanut Grove Fire
- 1945 - Bombing of Dresden in World War II
- 1945 - Bombing of Tokyo in World War II
- 1945 - Atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II
- 1945 - Atomic bombing of Nagasaki in World War II
- 1947 - Texas City Disaster, two ships blow up, igniting chemical works, 460 - 600 killed
- 1967 - Apollo 1 burned during ground tests
- 1977 - Beverly Hills Supper Club kills 165 in Southgate, KY.
- 1987 - King's Cross fire
- 1991 - Kuwaiti oil fires following the Persian Gulf War
- 1991 - Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments
- 1993 - Branch Davidian compound burns
- 1998 - 1998 U.S. embassy bombings
- 2001 - September 11 Terrorist Attacks
- 2002 - Edinburgh Cowgate fire
- 2002 - Rodeo-Chediski fire
- 2003 - The Station nightclub fire
- 2003 - Patrice Lumumba People's Friendship University, Moscow
See also
forest fire for a list of some of the most severe recorded forest fires.