The 1915 movie 'The Regeneration" also depicts a General Slocum type fire. Native New Yorker Raoul Walsh, who was about 17 at the time of the disaster, directed. The History Guy is a great channel and is wonderful to listen to.
Germans from Newark NJ and a German Church from Irvington NJ were on the ship on the night of the fire. Most of the congregation of the German Church from Irvington were lost. Thank you for covering this story.
This was a great summary. My Grandfather was Charles Henry Graf, as the family story goes his father was CHG and was a night watchman on the piers in NYC. He was an alcoholic unfortunately. His father was also CHG and came over from Germany with his brother. He married a girl he met on the boat on the way over. He opened a pub in NYC when he arrived. His brother was tall. I have no name for him. He didn't like it here and went back to Germany. We thought that was odd. Some of the sad history of the disaster may explain this. There were a couple Graf's on the boat that day. I think one was a child. Funny my main career as an adult was Firefighter and Fire Inspector. I am retired. I wasn't aware of the disaster before last year. Thanks for the history lesson.
This is such a tragic story, especially given that so many of the victims were just children. I had never heard of this tragedy until I came across it while searching Google for something different. So, I sent The History Guy a message and asked him if he could tell us the story and he immediately sent me a link to his video from 2017. Nice of him to be so responsive when I should have searched his page first. Thank you for telling us this important story that I am sure many people like myself knew nothing about. This is definitely a piece of history that should not be forgotten.
I had the same experience.... but I like the way Mr. History tells the story, and the way he is careful to explain the whole story, the initial sotry of the ships, the disaters AND its cosequences... like all historians say "Don't forget history so as to avodi it repeting itself... "
Oh dear, this is completely heart-wrenching! Unbelievable horror!!! . Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. These women and children, all those who suffered need to be remembered indeed!
The burning of the Slocum was dramatized in a Hollywood film, "Manhattan Melodrama" (1934) which was the first film starring Myrna Loy and William Powell (as well as Clark Gable), and was the film that drew the hiding John Dillinger out of his hiding place in Chicago, to his due.
That's a great movie. Gable and Powell are childhood friends who take different paths after the disaster, Gable becoming the gambler "Blackie" and Powell becoming a respectable NYS District Attny, if I recall the plot rightly.
Just found these videos. Love them. I have a suggestion for one. The Bath school disaster, Bath Michigan. No one outside of locals has ever heard of it and many locals haven't either.
@@jcksnghst I was thinking the same thing, but after reading about the captain's burns about his body I may have to reserve my blaming the captain and crew (28 of the 30 crew members survived!) I cried after reading how some mothers strapped their small children into the life jackets and threw them overboard; then watched as their children were pulled-under by the weight of the water-absorbing life jackets!
There is a very large Memorial at a.German Lutheran cemetery in Middle Village Queens I would take my wife shopping nearby and as she was,shopping, I would,drive through the cemetery reading the tombstone details,to my infant daughter, and translating the German into English. I was raised by my German Grandmother so I knew,enough German to read the monuments and tombstones which were all in German
Your work is brilliant. I've always loved history and especially love that you frequently teach about little known or mostly forgotten events. A suggestion for a worthy subject would be the 1966 Aberfan colliery disaster that devastated a community, particularly a school.
@@jamesfracasse8178 Not surprising. I remember on the outside decks of the old Staten Island Ferryboats, there were life preservers in the ceiling, held in place with lath. The straps would dangle down so that in case of a disaster they could be pulled down easily, that is if you were tall enough to reach them. Being they were virtually nailed into the roof, I can't imagine they were taken down for inspection very often either.
I was recently doing Genealogy for my wife's God Mother. I found that her father lost 4 young siblings on the General Slocum Disaster, his mother and two other brothers survived. I had never heard of it, So I googled it and low and behold I saw a story from The History Guy had the story I was great. Now I will know the whole story. Thanks.
Of all the videos you narrated, your pure grief translated in this better than any of the others, which is saying something. I actually cried listening to you. This video is a credit to your passion for the subject.
I often tear up at the end of every segment, your human focus is so heartfelt. We are not just people, but people travelling through history, as those who came before us.
Mr. "History Guy" Love your channel and the wonderfull way you remeber history, some great heath warming stories, some like "New York's worst maritine disaster" very sad.. but nevertheless all very interresting, instructional and deserving to be remebered. I have all my life been facinated with history and all naval marters, and so would like to sugeste for your apreciation two subjects that, if you have not already made and episode on, I think you may find suficiently interresting too. First, like the story above, a naval disaster... the sinking of the "Ocean Monarch" a ship that caugth fire after leaving Liverpool on the morning of 24 August 1848 on its way to Boston, USA. I find that story very interresting because of the people aboard the Frigate Afonso tha helped rescue the victims... and the other subejcte would be the facinating life of " Lord Thomas Cochrane". Again, love your channel, and I am always happy when you post a new episode.
I've only recently found this channel, but already I am enthralled. I too am a history major, having graduated with my BA last year, and I had actually been considering attempting a project very similar to this myself, though most likely as a written blog. I may still do so; plenty of strange and forgotten history to go around. Since you mentioned being open to topics, might I put forward the Armagh Railway Disaster in Ireland on June 12, 1889. Some 80 passengers were killed and 260 more injured when their seaside-bound excursion train was forced to stop and be cut in half; the hill was too steep and the train overweight for what the engine could pull. The rear half of the train ran away down the hill back toward Armagh, only to collide with a regularly scheduled passenger train coming up behind the special; the railway used the "time interval system" of train dispatching at that time, meaning that rather than having signals protecting each length of railway line, trains would instead simply wait a designated period of time before following one another. One common mistake I have heard when talking about this disaster is the insinuation that the excursion train was not equipped with the then-new automatic vacuum brake, a type of braking system by which all of the brakes on the train could be controlled from the engine by creating and controlling a vacuum within the braking system. This is half-right, but often phrased in the wrong way; what the Great Northern Railway of Ireland (the operators of the Armagh line) used at the time was a more primitive non-automatic type of vacuum brake; unlike later braking systems of this sort, in which the brakes are held off by the vacuum and applied when said vacuum is eliminated, this system worked in almost exactly the opposite way, with the brakes being *applied* by the vacuum and remaining released when at normal atmospheric pressure. As such, when the train was split, the rear section was left with only the handbrake in the guard's van and small stones choked against the wheels. When the front section rolled back slightly and pushed against the rear section, it was as if the rear section had no brakes at all.
You honor me, sir. I'm glad the topic interests you. My specialization as a history student is primarily technological, industrial, and transportation history, with a particular personal passion for railways. You could easily do a whole series of episodes just on famous or historically influential railway disasters. Among a few I would particularly recommend are: Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, also called the Modane rail disaster, France, Dec. 12, 1917: The deadliest railway disaster in French history. The Three Mysteries of the Japanese National Railways, July-August 1949: The Shimoyama Incident, Tokyo, July 5; The Mitaka Derailment, Mitaka, Tokyo, July 15, and The Matsukawa Derailment, Fukushima Prefecture, August 17. Quintinshill Rail Disaster, Scotland, May 22, 1915. Regarded as the worst rail disaster in British history. Also, not necessarily railway related, but definitely worth a look for its sheer strangeness: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919.
Dear God!!! This was a no win, worst case scenario. Safety and maintenance are important lessons....so tragically learned. It puts my troubles in clear perspective. Another wonderful video. Thank you. 👍❤️🤗 BUNGA! BUNGA!
My family was on the Slocum. The only one that survived was my great aunt Edna Doering. Upon her death there was only one other survivor named Adel Whiterspoon (sp?). Only reason I'm alive is because my grandmother had the sniffles that day and had to stay home with a neighbor. My great grandfather was Pastor Gustov Doering from St. Marks who ran the Luthern Home orphanage
Great piece, on this horrific and terrifying, but sadly forgotten, story. One cannot ignore the anti-German sentiments that arose in 1914, enduring to this day, as the explanation for why this terrible tragedy has been ignored. So many children died a horrible death; forgotten now, because they were of German heritage. Thank you so much for remembering them.
Great videos. Thank you. I've also found a few good books on the subjects of your videos. I love history, especially the more obscure events/disasters. I just recently discovered you and can't wait to go through your video library to see more great vids and hopefully use them to find more great books. Thanks again and keep up the great work.
I must add that you have a really nice collection of bow ties. And thank you for your augmentation to the, up till now long forgotten snippets of past events, that encompass human endeavour
Decades ago I had a Lutheran Sunday school teacher-Etta Peterson, who was one of the Slocum survivors. Her tale was riveting, but not nearly as complete as yours. I was alway curious about the particulars. Thanks for a very interesting episode.
I'm english, born and raised in England, and even though no one in my family was affected by this disaster I still find this in New York's history very horrible, heart breaking and I'm disgusted by how there was such a lack of sense back then with safety and human preservation. Someone thought, and others agreed, that it would be a good idea to wire down the few lifeboats they had! I can't even put into words how angry I am about that along with all the other things that was neglected onboard the Gen Slocum. Thank you for uploading this video. Once again very well presented and explained.
John Watson Yes it was and yes it didn't have enough lifeboats for all on board although it met the legal requirements of the time, which the number of lifeboats were determined by the size of the ship. The problem was ships had got bigger and nobody had thought to update the law.
Sam Eyers Actually, the designer of the RMS Titanic wanted two lifeboats per davit, which would have been enough for every passenger onboard, but Andrews was voted down by the management on the grounds that it would be unsightly.
Just over a year ago, in London, the Grenfell Tower Fire took the lives of 72 people who died in about as horrific a manor as can be -- fire. The fire spread rapidly up the building in the exterior cladding that was not legal in many parts of the world precisely because it would permit rapid fire spread. The engineers and designers knew, but the cost for the less dangerous cladding was higher and therefore they went with the cheaper and deadlier cladding. And many people groan about regulations as if they are all bad. These lessons are learned but ignored when profit is in question.
English? Okay. How about British generals in WWI acting like they were fighting Napoleon rushing German machine guns and killing off a generation a British lads?
Astoria Park Along Shore Boulevard just North of the Triboro Bridge , RFK Now has remembrance Plaque along the East River. Thank You History guy for the Constant reminders of our past.
What a terrible event. Those poor people on board. It is so important to remember these events and to appreciate why it is so important to carry out evacuation drills and have regular inspections of safety equipment.
Many of the Germans from Little Germany either moved uptown to German Yorkville or east into Ridgewood Queens. Others moved west to various states. My city in Connecticut has a street named Joshua Slocum Dock.
Your channel is wonderful. You teach history in a way that makes it real and relevant, certainly not the way it is usually taught. I apologize if you have already done this topic; however, the Peshtigo fire might be interesting for many of your fans.
I would add that the Eastland was possibly made worse, due to the Titanic, as they forced adding of lifeboats. Also, the Armory was used as a temporary morgue... The Armory was recently torn down - after spending the last years of it's life as Harpo Studios, where Oprah taped shows in Chicago
My father had neighbors (a father and son) who drowned in The Eastland Disaster, he vividly remembered hearing the family crying through the walls. Dad said it was a crying that couldn’t be consoled and the sound of it went right through your soul.
I am finding your short history lessons very enlightening and extremely well researched. Thank you bringing these "forgotten" life lessons back into the world of The "remembered".
I grew up in Middle Village, Queens County, where the former "Lutheran Cemetery"…now "All Faiths Cemetery"…has a memorial and several burials near Caldwell Ave. and 69th Street. I've been aware of the Slocum disaster for many years, but I'm curious…were they headed to Locust Point in The Bronx, or has a Nassau County community changed its name since then? It wouldn't be the first time (don't get me started on "Willet's Point…").
History Guy, we should make you the history teacher to the nation. After every new post, the on site teacher would give a quiz on your video lesson, because it deserves to be remembered.
@@sammolloy1 So I guess not much structure left. I hear chunks of coal still wash up sometimes onto the beach from her(converted to a Barge, lost in a storm).
Having recently listend to a "Stuff you missed in history class" podcast epesode on this, it was nice (if that is an apropriate word) to see the images and have a recap on this less comonly known subject. Thank you
Again, never knew a crumb of this. The man himself should therefore be commended for filling us in on, what is again essentially a dark chapter in the histort of NYC. So, let's take stock. When we climb aboard a ship nowadays, we do so off the back of many a loss of life, this one included. May we make that life therefore a worthwhile one, for those who never got the chance.RIP.
Hello History Guy!! I was wondering if you could do an episode about the guerilla warfare in civil war era southeast Missouri? I lived in Bollinger county for a while, and the local history was pretty fascinating to me. The town of Dallas (now Marble Hill) was taken back and forth by the north and south, and there were lots of 'Bushwhackers' and state militia running around the country side. One bushwhacker in particular was called Sam Hildibrand. I ran across his auto biography while researching, and it was pretty interesting. "Mingo Swamp" was interesting as well...Dinosaur bones were also found in Bollinger county in the 1940's... Anyways, THANK YOU! Love your channel!!!
I enjoy your videos immensely, and I learn a lot from them. Thank you for your efforts. You're absolutely right, history deserves to be remembered, all history. Have you considered recalling America's greatest mass hanging, the result of the 1862 Sioux Uprising in Minnesota? Not that it is an honorable event, rather that it is the closing act of shameful actions by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Perhaps less interesting, but also deserving of remembrance would be the 1876 explosion of the Washburn A Mill in Minneapolis, which had a great effect on the milling capacity of the Mill City and its safety precautions. I hope you might consider one or both of these events as something on which to focus your talents. Again, thanks for your excellent work. I look forward to more videos.
i have a boat in the waters near north brother. i often tell the story to my guests as we head to manhattan on a day cruise. one of these days(ive been saying this 20 years) im going to get a kyak and explore the island
Looking at Google Maps, the island looks completely abandoned. Quite an oddity considering it's only 1000 or so feet from the largest city in the country.
the fire marshal who passed the vessel. What was his fate? HUNG? He should have been. But LOL drunk passengers tried to take over the ship. That part almost made me spit my beer everywhere.
The company I work for actually used this vessel as an example of what could happen; Very interesting to learn about the vessel and what could be done to prevent situations like this again.
I seem to remember a similar tragedy befalling a ship docked in Chicago at the time. I only recall that the tragedy produced a number of ghost stories regarding the downtown area.
It brought to mind the Eastland disaster in Chicago with the exception that it was stilled tied to the dock with a loss of life of 844. Both very tragic events.
I have seen a number, as of late, videos of yours that take place in early 1900s or have roots in that time period. Can you do a few videos about events during or in the periphery of World War I? Thanks you and keep the interesting videos coming.
Thanks for this important service! If you are taking suggestions for topics, please consider (a) the Iroquois Theater Fire and (b) the Triangle Fire, and the impact they had on improving public safety and strengthening victims' capacity to hold accountable those responsible.
Another great episode.Suggestion: The Lady Elgin, September, 1860, off Gross Point near Evanston, IL. Tied into the beginning of the Civil War, the heroism of Northwestern University students, and the U,S. Life Saving service. If you are ever in Evanston over a summer weekend, come up to the Gross Point Lighthouse.
Incredible and such an easily avoided tragedy. Although, it generally takes a horrific tragedy before safety considerations are developed. Such an example is the 1955 Lemans racing disaster.
My grandfather was a chef in little Germany at the time. His boss had given him tickets for that trip, but my grandfather left them at the restaurant in his apron pocket. My grandmother and my eldest uncle and aunt would have been on board had he not forgotten the tickets.
These stories are very difficult to hear. Unfortunately it shows that most times throughout history, people have to pay a high price in order for safer measures to be created for everyone else. Thank you for remembering these people who, in the end, did make traveling by boat safer.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I like that you remember the forgotten people of history. It speaks well of your character.
john van Zoest : Mr Van Zoest, I totally agree with your comment. Well said
He took most of his points from a famous book.
@@Slicker1138 So what? That's called researching the subject.
@@Slicker1138 Fr man he was studying
In a maritime tragedy that happened eight years before the Titanic.
The 1915 movie 'The Regeneration" also depicts a General Slocum type fire. Native New Yorker Raoul Walsh, who was about 17 at the time of the disaster, directed. The History Guy is a great channel and is wonderful to listen to.
Germans from Newark NJ and a German Church from Irvington NJ were on the ship on the night of the fire. Most of the congregation of the German Church from Irvington were lost. Thank you for covering this story.
This was a great summary. My Grandfather was Charles Henry Graf, as the family story goes his father was CHG and was a night watchman on the piers in NYC. He was an alcoholic unfortunately. His father was also CHG and came over from Germany with his brother. He married a girl he met on the boat on the way over. He opened a pub in NYC when he arrived. His brother was tall. I have no name for him. He didn't like it here and went back to Germany. We thought that was odd. Some of the sad history of the disaster may explain this. There were a couple Graf's on the boat that day. I think one was a child. Funny my main career as an adult was Firefighter and Fire Inspector. I am retired. I wasn't aware of the disaster before last year. Thanks for the history lesson.
Great episode. I'd heard of the General Slocum, but had none of the details. What a horrific, and ultimately preventable, disaster.
This is such a tragic story, especially given that so many of the victims were just children. I had never heard of this tragedy until I came across it while searching Google for something different. So, I sent The History Guy a message and asked him if he could tell us the story and he immediately sent me a link to his video from 2017. Nice of him to be so responsive when I should have searched his page first. Thank you for telling us this important story that I am sure many people like myself knew nothing about. This is definitely a piece of history that should not be forgotten.
I can't say that I enjoyed that at all - an enormously upsetting story.
That said, The History Guy did a wonderful job of telling the story.
@Joe Granchelli
You appear to have left a comment for someone else in response to my comment.
You might want to fix that.
Ian Macfarlane you’re correct, thank you
@@joegranchelli415 No problem - easily done. Take care ✌️
I had the same experience.... but I like the way Mr. History tells the story, and the way he is careful to explain the whole story, the initial sotry of the ships, the disaters AND its cosequences... like all historians say "Don't forget history so as to avodi it repeting itself... "
Oh dear, this is completely heart-wrenching! Unbelievable horror!!!
.
Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. These women and children, all those who suffered need to be remembered indeed!
The burning of the Slocum was dramatized in a Hollywood film, "Manhattan Melodrama" (1934) which was the first film starring Myrna Loy and William Powell (as well as Clark Gable), and was the film that drew the hiding John Dillinger out of his hiding place in Chicago, to his due.
That is a good piece of information to know.
Great knowledge 👍
Wow! That is very interesting!
Now. I need to look up John Dillinger. History is addicting.
That's a great movie. Gable and Powell are childhood friends who take different paths after the disaster, Gable becoming the gambler "Blackie" and Powell becoming a respectable NYS District Attny, if I recall the plot rightly.
Do they give out medals for history guys?! You deserve one. I have learned far more in 4 months with you then i did in 4 years of HS.
Thank you very much for this . It’s a shame that I don’t know about this until today . I’m a New Yorker heart and soul ❤️
Just found these videos. Love them. I have a suggestion for one. The Bath school disaster, Bath Michigan. No one outside of locals has ever heard of it and many locals haven't either.
muttmom5 I remember
I've actually read about that incident.However,unlike those other disasters which were tragic accidents,that was an act of pure,unmitigated evil.
@@johndavis9432 my gut tells me that this was too.
@@jcksnghst I was thinking the same thing, but after reading about the captain's burns about his body I may have to reserve my blaming the captain and crew (28 of the 30 crew members survived!)
I cried after reading how some mothers strapped their small children into the life jackets and threw them overboard; then watched as their children were pulled-under by the weight of the water-absorbing life jackets!
Thank you for this account. I had no idea and I've lived in NYC all my life. Those poor people. Bless you for remembering them. 🌹🕯
There is a very large Memorial at a.German Lutheran cemetery in Middle Village Queens
I would take my wife shopping nearby and as she was,shopping, I would,drive through the cemetery reading the tombstone details,to my infant daughter, and translating the German into English. I was raised by my German Grandmother so I knew,enough German to read the monuments and tombstones which were all in German
You remind us that the "good old days" were often not so good.
Your work is brilliant. I've always loved history and especially love that you frequently teach about little known or mostly forgotten events.
A suggestion for a worthy subject would be the 1966 Aberfan colliery disaster that devastated a community, particularly a school.
1:45 Perhaps the Fire Marshal should have been charged for negligence as well. He obviously did not inspect the fire equipment very closely.
True, also why were the life belts left out in the open to the elements.
@@jamesfracasse8178 Not surprising. I remember on the outside decks of the old Staten Island Ferryboats, there were life preservers in the ceiling, held in place with lath. The straps would dangle down so that in case of a disaster they could be pulled down easily, that is if you were tall enough to reach them. Being they were virtually nailed into the roof, I can't imagine they were taken down for inspection very often either.
Nowdays that would surelly happen... back then.. oh well
Absolutely love your channel. Recently praised it on Facebook! I'm a History Guy fan boy. LOL
Aren’t we all?
Thank you for helping us remember this tragedy.
I was not aware of it.
I was recently doing Genealogy for my wife's God Mother. I found that her father lost 4 young siblings on the General Slocum Disaster, his mother and two other brothers survived. I had never heard of it, So I googled it and low and behold I saw a story from The History Guy had the story I was great. Now I will know the whole story. Thanks.
Back in 1904, my mom's Grandfather lost 3/4s of his family and I never knew any of her side so this hits home to me
Awesome episode! All of your videos are very well done though. Please never stop 🙏
Of all the videos you narrated, your pure grief translated in this better than any of the others, which is saying something. I actually cried listening to you. This video is a credit to your passion for the subject.
You are a great storyteller. It brought tears to my eyes.
I often tear up at the end of every segment, your human focus is so heartfelt. We are not just people, but people travelling through history, as those who came before us.
Mr. "History Guy" Love your channel and the wonderfull way you remeber history, some great heath warming stories, some like "New York's worst maritine disaster" very sad.. but nevertheless all very interresting, instructional and deserving to be remebered. I have all my life been facinated with history and all naval marters, and so would like to sugeste for your apreciation two subjects that, if you have not already made and episode on, I think you may find suficiently interresting too. First, like the story above, a naval disaster... the sinking of the "Ocean Monarch" a ship that caugth fire after leaving Liverpool on the morning of 24 August 1848 on its way to Boston, USA. I find that story very interresting because of the people aboard the Frigate Afonso tha helped rescue the victims... and the other subejcte would be the facinating life of " Lord Thomas Cochrane". Again, love your channel, and I am always happy when you post a new episode.
I'm slowly getting to all your videos. you variety of subjects is really quite refreshing, and as you say deserve to be remembered. Thank you sir.
I've only recently found this channel, but already I am enthralled. I too am a history major, having graduated with my BA last year, and I had actually been considering attempting a project very similar to this myself, though most likely as a written blog. I may still do so; plenty of strange and forgotten history to go around.
Since you mentioned being open to topics, might I put forward the Armagh Railway Disaster in Ireland on June 12, 1889. Some 80 passengers were killed and 260 more injured when their seaside-bound excursion train was forced to stop and be cut in half; the hill was too steep and the train overweight for what the engine could pull. The rear half of the train ran away down the hill back toward Armagh, only to collide with a regularly scheduled passenger train coming up behind the special; the railway used the "time interval system" of train dispatching at that time, meaning that rather than having signals protecting each length of railway line, trains would instead simply wait a designated period of time before following one another.
One common mistake I have heard when talking about this disaster is the insinuation that the excursion train was not equipped with the then-new automatic vacuum brake, a type of braking system by which all of the brakes on the train could be controlled from the engine by creating and controlling a vacuum within the braking system. This is half-right, but often phrased in the wrong way; what the Great Northern Railway of Ireland (the operators of the Armagh line) used at the time was a more primitive non-automatic type of vacuum brake; unlike later braking systems of this sort, in which the brakes are held off by the vacuum and applied when said vacuum is eliminated, this system worked in almost exactly the opposite way, with the brakes being *applied* by the vacuum and remaining released when at normal atmospheric pressure. As such, when the train was split, the rear section was left with only the handbrake in the guard's van and small stones choked against the wheels. When the front section rolled back slightly and pushed against the rear section, it was as if the rear section had no brakes at all.
sirrliv thanks! I will look into the railway disaster as a topic. Please link your blog when it is ready- I would love to see it!
You honor me, sir. I'm glad the topic interests you. My specialization as a history student is primarily technological, industrial, and transportation history, with a particular personal passion for railways. You could easily do a whole series of episodes just on famous or historically influential railway disasters. Among a few I would particularly recommend are:
Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, also called the Modane rail disaster, France, Dec. 12, 1917: The deadliest railway disaster in French history.
The Three Mysteries of the Japanese National Railways, July-August 1949: The Shimoyama Incident, Tokyo, July 5; The Mitaka Derailment, Mitaka, Tokyo, July 15, and The Matsukawa Derailment, Fukushima Prefecture, August 17.
Quintinshill Rail Disaster, Scotland, May 22, 1915. Regarded as the worst rail disaster in British history.
Also, not necessarily railway related, but definitely worth a look for its sheer strangeness: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919.
Dear God!!! This was a no win, worst case scenario. Safety and maintenance are important lessons....so tragically learned. It puts my troubles in clear perspective. Another wonderful video. Thank you. 👍❤️🤗 BUNGA! BUNGA!
Thank you sir. I had just left a suggestion to you if you had done an episode on this very little known New York disaster. Thank you for what you do..
With over 1000 deaths it’s surprising how little it’s known. It should be.
My family was on the Slocum. The only one that survived was my great aunt Edna Doering. Upon her death there was only one other survivor named Adel Whiterspoon (sp?). Only reason I'm alive is because my grandmother had the sniffles that day and had to stay home with a neighbor. My great grandfather was Pastor Gustov Doering from St. Marks who ran the Luthern Home orphanage
Boy this story brought tears to my eyes thank you for sharing it
I really like how you remember such events. Such events are the history that make us who we are.
Great piece, on this horrific and terrifying, but sadly forgotten, story. One cannot ignore the anti-German sentiments that arose in 1914, enduring to this day, as the explanation for why this terrible tragedy has been ignored. So many children died a horrible death; forgotten now, because they were of German heritage. Thank you so much for remembering them.
Its great to see your subscriber count growing steadily. Thank you for the informative, high quality videos!
Great videos. Thank you. I've also found a few good books on the subjects of your videos. I love history, especially the more obscure events/disasters. I just recently discovered you and can't wait to go through your video library to see more great vids and hopefully use them to find more great books. Thanks again and keep up the great work.
I live like 2blocks away from Tompkins Square Park I gotta seek out that memorial now
Take a photo and post it.
Cheers
I bet they try to have it removed because it refers to the German children as "fair". They'll say it's white supremacist and racist.
I must add that you have a really nice collection of bow ties. And thank you for your augmentation to the, up till now long forgotten snippets of past events, that encompass human endeavour
Hands down the best channel on you tube.
I know we learn from disasters, but one does wish that we'd learn to be proactive and think ahead to prevent them.
Thank you for this!
I do remember this story from a US history class. Thanks for the great presentation, and RIP to all affected.
This is what i love about UA-cam, the best part of it. Not the Logang whatever crap. Just found this channel and gonna spend my sunday watching.
Decades ago I had a Lutheran Sunday school teacher-Etta Peterson, who was one of the Slocum survivors. Her tale was riveting, but not nearly as complete as yours. I was alway curious about the particulars. Thanks for a very interesting episode.
I'm english, born and raised in England, and even though no one in my family was affected by this disaster I still find this in New York's history very horrible, heart breaking and I'm disgusted by how there was such a lack of sense back then with safety and human preservation. Someone thought, and others agreed, that it would be a good idea to wire down the few lifeboats they had! I can't even put into words how angry I am about that along with all the other things that was neglected onboard the Gen Slocum. Thank you for uploading this video. Once again very well presented and explained.
Disgusted by NY lack of safety and lifeboats back then? Wasn’t the Titanic a British ship?
John Watson Yes it was and yes it didn't have enough lifeboats for all on board although it met the legal requirements of the time, which the number of lifeboats were determined by the size of the ship. The problem was ships had got bigger and nobody had thought to update the law.
Sam Eyers Actually, the designer of the RMS Titanic wanted two lifeboats per davit, which would have been enough for every passenger onboard, but Andrews was voted down by the management on the grounds that it would be unsightly.
Just over a year ago, in London, the Grenfell Tower Fire took the lives of 72 people who died in about as horrific a manor as can be -- fire. The fire spread rapidly up the building in the exterior cladding that was not legal in many parts of the world precisely because it would permit rapid fire spread. The engineers and designers knew, but the cost for the less dangerous cladding was higher and therefore they went with the cheaper and deadlier cladding. And many people groan about regulations as if they are all bad. These lessons are learned but ignored when profit is in question.
English? Okay. How about British generals in WWI acting like they were fighting Napoleon rushing German machine guns and killing off a generation a British lads?
Just found your channel!
Absolutely love it and will be sharing with my history buff fans.
Great storytelling!
I enjoyed your presentation of the general slocum. I had forgotten about it.
Astoria Park Along Shore Boulevard just North of the Triboro Bridge , RFK Now has remembrance Plaque along the East River. Thank You History guy for the Constant reminders of our past.
What a terrible event. Those poor people on board. It is so important to remember these events and to appreciate why it is so important to carry out evacuation drills and have regular inspections of safety equipment.
Many of the Germans from Little Germany either moved uptown to German Yorkville or east into Ridgewood Queens. Others moved west to various states. My city in Connecticut has a street named Joshua Slocum Dock.
Your channel is wonderful. You teach history in a way that makes it real and relevant, certainly not the way it is usually taught. I apologize if you have already done this topic; however, the Peshtigo fire might be interesting for many of your fans.
Never knew about the details. How horrific. Although sad and tragic, appreciate you sharing this. Going to read up on this event
Bravo. Another great piece of history as you say "deserves to be remembered "
Love these vids.
Thanks for all your videos History Guy.
Your passion for history is fantastic!
You should do one on the SS Eastland, which capsized in the Chicago River in 1915.
That and the Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire that took place on October 8, 1871. The very same night as the Great Chicago Fire.
There is a theory that both the Chicago fire AND the Pestgo fire were caused by a meteor shower that had been occurring during the time
Agreed< had noted there was nothing on the Eastland...
I would add that the Eastland was possibly made worse, due to the Titanic, as they forced adding of lifeboats. Also, the Armory was used as a temporary morgue... The Armory was recently torn down - after spending the last years of it's life as Harpo Studios, where Oprah taped shows in Chicago
My father had neighbors (a father and son) who drowned in The Eastland Disaster, he vividly remembered hearing the family crying through the walls. Dad said it was a crying that couldn’t be consoled and the sound of it went right through your soul.
I am finding your short history lessons very enlightening and extremely well researched. Thank you bringing these "forgotten" life lessons back into the world of The "remembered".
Just found and fell in love with this site today. You should do one on the SS Eastland which seems strangely similar.
It is surprisingly similar in some ways. Yes, I do plan to do an episode of the Eastland disaster.
Always we narrated! Awesome site, Thanks!
I grew up in Middle Village, Queens County, where the former "Lutheran Cemetery"…now "All Faiths Cemetery"…has a memorial and several burials near Caldwell Ave. and 69th Street.
I've been aware of the Slocum disaster for many years, but I'm curious…were they headed to Locust Point in The Bronx, or has a Nassau County community changed its name since then? It wouldn't be the first time (don't get me started on "Willet's Point…").
Thank you for this. Never heard about it before now
Thank you for another interesting video. I had never heard of this fire.
History Guy, we should make you the history teacher to the nation. After every new post, the on site teacher would give a quiz on your video lesson, because it deserves to be remembered.
An amazing story and one of which I wasn't aware.
Author Clive Cussler and NUMA found her remains several years ago after it was transformed into a barge and sank. Such a sad story
I've read almost all of Cussler's books and admire his work in maritime salvage.
Gary Schmidt im a hard core fan too...love his work.
Her remains are in Corsons Inlet.
...they think. Some scraps of metal and some coal or coke. The wreck was dynamited in 1912 as a navigation hazard.
@@sammolloy1 So I guess not much structure left. I hear chunks of coal still wash up sometimes onto the beach from her(converted to a Barge, lost in a storm).
Having recently listend to a "Stuff you missed in history class" podcast epesode on this, it was nice (if that is an apropriate word) to see the images and have a recap on this less comonly known subject. Thank you
I appreciate your videos. I love your suits as well.
Again, never knew a crumb of this. The man himself should therefore be commended for filling us in on, what is again essentially a dark chapter in the histort of NYC.
So, let's take stock. When we climb aboard a ship nowadays, we do so off the back of many a loss of life, this one included. May we make that life therefore a worthwhile one, for those who never got the chance.RIP.
I just upvote these videos before I watch them and it's never the wrong choice
Wow, that is a sad story. Thanks.
Hello History Guy!! I was wondering if you could do an episode about the guerilla warfare in civil war era southeast Missouri? I lived in Bollinger county for a while, and the local history was pretty fascinating to me. The town of Dallas (now Marble Hill) was taken back and forth by the north and south, and there were lots of 'Bushwhackers' and state militia running around the country side. One bushwhacker in particular was called Sam Hildibrand. I ran across his auto biography while researching, and it was pretty interesting. "Mingo Swamp" was interesting as well...Dinosaur bones were also found in Bollinger county in the 1940's... Anyways, THANK YOU! Love your channel!!!
I enjoy your videos immensely, and I learn a lot from them. Thank you for your efforts. You're absolutely right, history deserves to be remembered, all history. Have you considered recalling America's greatest mass hanging, the result of the 1862 Sioux Uprising in Minnesota? Not that it is an honorable event, rather that it is the closing act of shameful actions by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Perhaps less interesting, but also deserving of remembrance would be the 1876 explosion of the Washburn A Mill in Minneapolis, which had a great effect on the milling capacity of the Mill City and its safety precautions. I hope you might consider one or both of these events as something on which to focus your talents. Again, thanks for your excellent work. I look forward to more videos.
The first History Guy episode I ever watched, I love it
Join the party!
Loved this so much ty
Thank you! I love this channel
i have a boat in the waters near north brother. i often tell the story to my guests as we head to manhattan on a day cruise. one of these days(ive been saying this 20 years) im going to get a kyak and explore the island
Kayaks are fun your part of the water. Or so it feels.
Looking at Google Maps, the island looks completely abandoned. Quite an oddity considering it's only 1000 or so feet from the largest city in the country.
I believe the island is now a bird sanctuary and is off limits to the public - trespass at your own risk.
I remember reading about this years ago, very sad.
the fire marshal who passed the vessel. What was his fate? HUNG? He should have been. But LOL drunk passengers tried to take over the ship. That part almost made me spit my beer everywhere.
The company I work for actually used this vessel as an example of what could happen; Very interesting to learn about the vessel and what could be done to prevent situations like this again.
I seem to remember a similar tragedy befalling a ship docked in Chicago at the time. I only recall that the tragedy produced a number of ghost stories regarding the downtown area.
It brought to mind the Eastland disaster in Chicago with the exception that it was stilled tied to the dock with a loss of life of 844. Both very tragic events.
Heart wrenching
Please present a video on the Sutro Baths of San Francisco, 1890-1966. Most people, even the majority in San Francisco don't know about this place.
I have seen a number, as of late, videos of yours that take place in early 1900s or have roots in that time period. Can you do a few videos about events during or in the periphery of World War I?
Thanks you and keep the interesting videos coming.
Thank you for remembering. Danke.
Thanks for this important service! If you are taking suggestions for topics, please consider (a) the Iroquois Theater Fire and (b) the Triangle Fire, and the impact they had on improving public safety and strengthening victims' capacity to hold accountable those responsible.
Great forgotten story. Wow. I never heard of that part of history 👍
Another great episode.Suggestion: The Lady Elgin, September, 1860, off Gross Point near Evanston, IL. Tied into the beginning of the Civil War, the heroism of Northwestern University students, and the U,S. Life Saving service. If you are ever in Evanston over a summer weekend, come up to the Gross Point Lighthouse.
Please keep the vids coming!
Incredible and such an easily avoided tragedy. Although, it generally takes a horrific tragedy before safety considerations are developed. Such an example is the 1955 Lemans racing disaster.
My grandfather was a chef in little Germany at the time. His boss had given him tickets for that trip, but my grandfather left them at the restaurant in his apron pocket. My grandmother and my eldest uncle and aunt would have been on board had he not forgotten the tickets.
That's a horror I cant begin to imagine.
You should do one on the wreck of the Eastland on the Chicago river. It was the worst disaster on any of the Great Lakes.
Maybe Operation Hannibal. This not only had the ship disaster with the greatest loss of life. It also had the seconded greatest tragedy at sea.
That has been on my list a while- although it is a challenge to tell anything from the German perspective in WWII.
And in full view from either side of the East River :'(
Such a sad bit of history, but at least some good came out of it. May their souls rest in peace.
The S.S. Atlantic is an important one to remember. It was the largest loss of life until the Titanic sank.
These stories are very difficult to hear. Unfortunately it shows that most times throughout history, people have to pay a high price in order for safer measures to be created for everyone else. Thank you for remembering these people who, in the end, did make traveling by boat safer.
The telephone exchange in my hometown was "Slocum" . I always wondered who that was.
Wow! I have never heard of this before. What a tragedy!.
The nautical music group The Longest Johns have a song, "Downed and Drowned", which includes this among the ships mentioned.