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Chicago

People who know nothing else about Chicago’s Great Conflagration have heard of Mrs. O’Leary and her famous cow. But the disaster's real origins are more complicated. 

Editor’s Note: On October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed close to three square miles of the city, claimed an estimated 300 lives, and left some 90,000 homeless.

Built for speed, with light hull and heavy superstructure, the tall Eastland was unstable. On a sunny Saturday in July, thousands crowded aboard for what turned out to be an excursion to death

More than any world’s fair before or since, the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893 had a lasting effect on its visitors, the taste of the times, and the lusty community that brought it forth

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