Chicago Fire

One of the greatest disasters ever to strike the United States occurred in 1871. That year, a fire killed 300 people and left thousands homeless as it destroyed three square miles of Chicago. It was believed for many years that the fire -- which has come to be known as the Great Chicago Fire -- started when Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern in the barn. That theory appears to have had its origin in the October 9 issue of the Chicago Evening Journal, which reported that "the fire broke out on the corner of DeKoven and Twelfth streets, at about 9 o'clock on Sunday evening, being caused by a cow kicking over a lamp in a stable in which a woman was milking." Illustrations that accompanied that story or appeared soon after also painted Mrs. O'Leary as the cause. And a song made popular at the time…

Hot  Time in The Old Town Tonight

"One dark night, when we were all in bed,
Mrs. O' Leary lit a lantern in the shed,
And when the cow kicked it over, it winked its eye and said,
There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight."

… immortalized Mrs. O'Leary as the cause.

But, as it turns out, modern historians believe Mrs. O'Leary, a poor Irish immigrant, was simply a scapegoat. Historian Richard Bales has examined many pieces of evidence -- including county documents, land records, and transcripts of the investigation that followed the fire -- to make a solid case for Mrs. O'Leary's (and her cow's) innocence.

A very interesting website,  Did the Cow Do It? presents evidence about who could have really started the Fire. Suspects include

  •  Mrs. O'Leary or her cow
  •  Daniel "Peg Leg" Sullivan? 
  •  Dennis Regan?
  •  Peg Leg Sullivan and Dennis Regan together.
  • A visitor to the McLaughlin house party that night.
  • Could the fire have been a total accident?

    A number of other interesting possibilities not covered in "Did the Cow Do It?" have been suggested. Those include that the firefighters were drunk that night and that a a comet could have triggered the fire.