112 Years Ago- Tragedy Struck

The PS General Slocum burned in the East River. Over a thousand people died in the single greatest loss of life in New York City in the last century. As I mentioned before, the loss of the General Slocum has largely been forgotten, probably more for reasons of class and ethnicity than anything else. There wasn't a John Jacob Astor IV on the Slocum.

Still, like the Titanic, people died, in part, because of unenforced and outdated safety regulations. In the case of the Slocum, corruption and venality played a part in the size of the death toll.