The Texas City Disaster was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history. The incident took place on April 16, 1947, and began with a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp which was docked in the Port of Texas City. The fire detonated approximately 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate and the resulting chain reaction of fires and explosions killed at least 581 people, including all but one member of the Texas City fire department. These events also triggered the first ever class action lawsuit against the United States government, under the then-recently enacted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), on behalf of 8,485 victims.
Read more about Texas City Disaster: Ships, Explosions, Scale of The Disaster, Firefighting Casualties, Reactions and Rebuilding, Legal Case, Photo Gallery
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“I not only rejoice, but congratulate my beloved country Texas is reannexed, and the safety, prosperity, and the greatest interest of the whole Union is secured by this ... great and important national act.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“The city is all right. To live in one
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Or sing and dance all night and see sunrise
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—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
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—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)