4. The General Slocum Disaster
This maritime disaster might not be as famous as the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912. but just 7 years earlier, it would be a disaster that was considered the deadliest in New York before the tragedy of 9/11, 2001. Built in 1891, the General Slocum was a popular sidewheel passenger ship chartered to take passengers up and down the East River.
On June 15, 1904, the ship was chartered by the St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church for $350.00 to take 1,358 passengers (plus crew) from the German-American community of the Lower East Side for their annual fun-filled day on the river. Sadly, only half an hour into the journey, a fire would break out, and in only 20 minutes, it would kill 957 people and injure 180. Sadly, most of the victims were women and children.
