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Galveston Hurricane
On September 8, 1900 a devastating hurricane struck Galveston. Galveston is an island off the coast of Texas and had no idea what was coming their way. The hurricane killed over seven thousand people and destroyed over 3,600 homes and buildings. The storm had a 15.7 feet storm surge which almost doubled the height of the island leaving it underwater. The hurricane was the deadliest storm in history of the United States including hurricane Katrina and the San Francisco earthquake. -
San Francisco Earthquake
At 5:12 a.m., on April 18, 1906, sleeping residents were rocked by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake. The trembling was so intense that it ruptured hundreds of miles along the San Andreas Fault. Adding to mysteries of the natural disaster, fires erupted throughout town. Streets would rise, then fall, then rise again. It seemed, to one eyewitness, that the earth was breathing. The devastated city burned for three more days. Historian’s estimate a total of three thousand people died. -
Springfield Race Riot
The race riot of 1908 was when black men killed and were abusing white citizens. The white citizens of Springfield were enraged by this. A mob formed and went down to the local police station demanding that Sheriff Charles Werner let the few black prisoners out so they could beat them and make them “pay” for what they had done. The Sheriff helped them escape with the help of a restaurant owner in Bloomington. The people in the mob were enraged. They found out who helped them escape and went an -
Sinking of the Lusitania
On May 15th, 1915, the Germans torpedoed down the Britain ship the Lusitania. This was at a time when the British and Germans were trying to blockade each other from using the Atlantic as a passage way for goods for the war. World War I had already started, but by sinking this ship, with U.S. civilians on it, killing 128 of them, it triggered our entry to the war. It is still a debate on who fault it was that the ship blew up. It killed 1,198 people of the 1,959 on board. -
Influenza Pandemic
In 1918-1919 the world broke out in Spanish flu. More people died that one year than in world war one. It was a disaster that affected every one, stores had to be closed, funerals where shortened to only 15 minutes, it became a law to wear a gauze mask in public. By the time the influenza pandemic was over 50 million to 100 million were dead. -
Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox scandal was mainly about how a group of gamblers thought it would be a good idea to fix the 1919 World Series so they could make their fortunes. The attendance that year was predicted to be its highest, so they knew it would be there chance. They put half of a million dollars on the Reds to win and they gave the players $100,000 for them to split. The Reds won the 1919 World Series and the gamblers won big. The next year the players were indicted and banned for life. -
Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping
On March 1st 1932 at around 9 p.m. Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. was kidnapped was only 20 months old when he and the son of the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh. There was a total of 13 ransom notes in this case. On May 12, 1932, the body of the kidnapped baby was accidentally found, partly buried, and badly decomposed, about four and a half miles southeast of the Lindbergh home, 45 feet from the highway, near Mount Rose, New Jersey. The discovery was made by William Allen, a truck driver. -
Hindenburg Disaster
The Hindenburg was a German zeppelin created in 1931 in Friedrichshafen, Germany this giant machine weighed exactly 242 tons and had a length of 803.8 feet and was powered by the highly flammable gas hydrogen. It was created by the Luftschiffban Zeplin Company. It was very large in passenger storage for a zeppelin. It was making a trip from Germany to Rio de Janeiro as it docked in Lakehurst New Jersey it suddenly caught fire starting in the 4th cell of the ship and spreading to the rest quickly -
War of the Worlds Broadcast
The War of the Worlds radio Broadcast occurred on the night of October 30, 1938 by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater. It caused a nationwide panic when listeners missed the introduction stating that it was only a dramatization and total fiction. People were so afraid that they packed roads, hid in cellars, tried to evacuate, and even wrapped wet towels around their heads to protect from poisonous Martian gasses. It brought Orson Welles international fame. -
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse
In November 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed due to a combination of high winds and poor construction. Nobody died in this accident, except for a dog names Tubby. Many people were scared, as they exited the bridge. Since the accident the bridge has been rebuilt. It is sturdy, and more reliable. The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened on July 1, 1940. It received its nickname "Galloping Gertie" due to the vertical movement of the deck observed by construction workers during windy con -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion began on April 17th 1961 and ended on April 19th 1961. On April 15th there was a mishap but then quickly failed. The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an attack on the Cubans that took place on the Bay of Pigs in Cuba against the United States. This also took place not long after John F. Kennedy had just become president. The attack first began with an air raid which then killed 7 people. With that, the Navy planes were consequently shut down. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a nuclear threat that was between the US and USSR that begin on October 18th 1962. The Soviet Union’s missiles could only hit Europe, while the US’s missiles could hit any where in the USSR. The USSR asked Cuba if they could place missiles on their island so they could fire back if they were fired upon. Cuba agreed to let the USSR put the missiles on the island to help defend the island. Finally after a lot of commutation the USSR returned the missiles to the USSR. -
President Kennedy is Assassinated
JFK roles down Elm Street in his presidential limo. The top of the limo is open, exposing the president, something not seen today. Lee Harvey Oswald sits in his snipers nest and fires three bullets at JFK. The first misses but the second one hits him in the neck. He holds him arms up in a dramatic fashion to express his pain. The third hits JFK in the back of the head and explodes out the front of his forehead. The blow sends gore, brain, and blood all over the back cabin of the limo. -
Freedom Summer Murders
The Freedom Summer case took place in Mississippi during the time of 1964. This was a situation where people acted brutally towards blacks; they were killed, very violently, leaving behind the people that had loved them. The killed had been innocent; there had been no specific thing that they had done wrong, only the fact that they were black—ergo, different, just sticking up for their race. Protesting was a major part of the event. Several were killed. If not killed, injured or put into jail. -
Watergate Scandal
The Watergate Scandal was a burglary done by five men by the name of James, Bernard, Eugenio, Frank, and Vigillo with the help of the president at the time, which was Richard M. Nixon. These guys tried breaking in and also tried to hotwire the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC. This tragic scene leads to President Nixon getting impeached, but instead he decided to resign from office himself. This happened between 1972-1974. -
Three Mile Island
On March 28, 1978 at 4:00 A.M. the non-nuclear part of Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, PA, started to overheat due to a failure in the main water feed valve. This caused the core to overheat and start a meltdown in the facility. This accident though led to no injures or deaths changed the way that we inspect and operate nuclear power plants today. -
Eruption of Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. “The May 18, 1980 eruption was the most economically destructive volcanic event in US history”. The eruption was triggered by an earthquake. This caused the famous eruption. The summit of the volcano even dropped 1,314 feet after the eruption. It also destroyed forests, and made lodges close down -- which ended up losing money. There was an ash cloud that formed as a result of the eruption that rose and circled the earth. -
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
On March 24, 1989 there was a terrible accident. The Exxon Valdez vessel was floating on sea, but there was a chunk of ice in its path. So in an attempt to avoid the ice, the ship traveled outside of the shipping lanes. While trying to go back to the shipping lane, for unknown reasons, the ship hit land. The ship ended up spilling 11 million gallons of oil. Approximately 1,300 miles of the area was covered in oil. Clean-up started, but still by 2001, there was about 20 acres oiled. It was the la -
Branch Davidian Arrest
On Feb 28 1993 the ATF decided to arrest David Koresh on charges of firearm violations. They sent 76 armed officers to arrest him when the officers entered a shot was fired, it is unknown who fired the shot but in the firefight 6 Davidians and 4 ATF officers were killed. The FBI kept the building under siege for about 2 months. The FBI then used tanks armed with tear gas to enter the compound, when the tanks broke down the wall several fires began simultaneously 80 followers were killed 22 kids. -
Oklahoma City Bombing
On April 19, 1995 A bomb ripped through the murrah building. This event killed a total of 168 people including 19 children. This bomb caused 68.5 million dollars worth in damage
