On February 1959, nine experienced Russian hikers went missing while trekking in Russia’s Ural Mountains. They were ultimately all found dead in Dyatlov Pass with unusual injuries. The Soviet government at the time attributed the cause of death to a “compelling natural force.” But that hardy explains the bizarre frozen corpses that rescuers found. ItContinue reading “The Mystery of the Dyatlov Pass Incident”
Category Archives: Historical Disasters
The Forgotten USS Akron Airship Disaster
Most everyone knows of Germany’s Zeppelin the Hindenburg and its infamous destruction by fire in Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937. But few know that the United States also had an airship fleet of dirigibles at the same time. And one of its members, the USS Akron, met a tragic fate as well, just four yearsContinue reading “The Forgotten USS Akron Airship Disaster”
The Lost Spanish Treasure Fleets
The two biggest, treasure fleet wrecks happened in 1715 and 1733, just 18 years apart. Both were the result of fierce Caribbean hurricanes attacking Spanish bound fleets, loaded to the rafters with silver, gold, jewels, and other colonial treasure. Such treasure fleets were routine in the waters around Florida and Cuba. Nearly every year, fromContinue reading “The Lost Spanish Treasure Fleets”
America’s Chernobyl – Three Mile Island
The Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear incident is the closest the United States ever came to a Chernobyl or Fukushima-level nuclear disaster. In March 1979, a series of human and mechanical errors caused the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. It resulted in a partial meltdown of the reactor core, and a release of dangerousContinue reading “America’s Chernobyl – Three Mile Island”
California’s Vanishing Salton Sea
California’s largest lake is the man-made Salton Sea, a shallow, salt water lake in the middle of the southern California desert. It sits just north of the Mexican border. The Salton Sea lies in what used to be an ancient dry lake bed, only five feet higher than Death Valley. Today it is sadly vanishingContinue reading “California’s Vanishing Salton Sea”
The Irish Famine caused the 1st Immigrant Refugee Crisis
In Ireland, the Irish Famine is known simply as “THE HUNGER.” It began in 1845 when a potato blight spread through every farm in Ireland. and destroyed crops for the next 7 years.
The Deadliest Circus Train Wreck in History
One of the worst train wrecks in U.S. history happened with, of all things, a Circus Train. It was carrying over 400 performers when another train rear-ended it in the dead the night; and they burst into flames. The horrific tragedy happened to the famous Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus at Dutchman’s Curve near Hammond, Indiana on 22 June 1918. The circus train was stopped on the tracks for repairs. The circus train wreck killed 89 performers and roustabouts, and injured over 150 more. How could such a terrible disaster have occurred during the Golden Age of railroads?
The Worst Coal Mining Disasters in History
Two of the worst coal mining disasters in our history, one in U.S. and one in the UK, took place only six years apart – in West Virginia in 1907 and Wales in 1913. Let’s take a closer look at them both. December 6, 1907 – Fairmont Coal Company, Monongah, West Virginia – 361 DeadContinue reading “The Worst Coal Mining Disasters in History”
Chicago’s SS Eastland Disaster topped Titanic
In July of 1915 on the Chicago River, the SS Eastland, carrying over 2,500 passengers and crew headed for a Western Electric company picnic, suddenly listed to port and rolled over into the muddy river. 844 souls perished, more than on the Titanic or Lusitania; yet the SS Eastland is lost in history to most.
Jamaica’s Port Royal, the Wickedest Place on Earth, Sank into the Sea
During the 17th century, Jamaica’s Port Royal was the wealthiest, busiest, and most nefarious port in the new Americas. It was frequented by smugglers, pirates, prostitutes and all other unsavory types who roamed the Caribbean Sea.