List of disasters in Massachusetts by death toll explained

This is a list of disasters that have occurred in Massachusetts organized by death toll.

YearEventTypedata-sort-type="number"Death tollLocationSources
1918Spanish flu pandemicDisease28,870Statewide[1]
2020COVID-19 pandemicDisease20,872Statewide[2]
16931693 Boston yellow fever epidemicDisease3,100+Boston[3]
19111911 Eastern North America heat waveHeatwave1,110Statewide[4]
1633Massachusetts smallpox epidemicDisease1,000Statewide[5]
17211721 Boston smallpox outbreakDisease844Boston[6]
16771677–1678 Boston smallpox epidemicDisease750–1,000Boston[7]
1942Cocoanut Grove fireFire492Boston[8]
1898Sinking of the PortlandShipwreck193 to 245Gloucester[9]
1874Mill River Flood of 1874Flood139Williamsburg and Northampton[10]
1963Sinking of the USS ThresherSubmarine wreck129Cape Cod[11]
1884Sinking of the SS City of ColumbusShipwreck103Martha's Vineyard[12]
19531953 Worcester tornadoTornado94Worcester[13]
1973Delta Air Lines Flight 723Aviation accident89Boston[14]
1860Pemberton Mill collapseExplosion and building collapse88 to 145Lawrence[15] [16]
19381938 New England hurricaneHurricane88Statewide[17]
1875Precious Blood Church fireFire78Holyoke[18]
1960Eastern Air Lines Flight 375Aviation accident62Boston[19]
1905Grover Shoe Factory disasterExplosion and building collapse58Brockton[20]
1916Summer Street Bridge disasterStreetcar accident46Boston[21]
1956Sinking of the SS Andrea DoriaShipwreck46Nantucket[22]
1925Pickwick Club collapseBuilding collapse44Boston[23]
1927Sinking of the USS S-4Shipwreck40Provincetown[24]
1887Forest Hills disasterBridge collapse38Boston[25]
1911Septic score throat outbreakDisease38Boston[26]
1953USS Leyte explosionExplosion36Boston[27]
1871Great Revere train wreck of 1871Railway accident30Revere[28]
1872Great Boston Fire of 1872Fire30Boston[29]
1913Arcadia Hotel fireFire28Boston[30]
1946Mount Tom B-17 crashAviation accident25Holyoke[31]
1874Granite Mill fireFire23Fall River[32]
18901890 Quincy train wreckRailway accident23Quincy[33]
1958Northeast Airlines Flight 258Aviation accident23Nantucket[34]
1903United States Cartridge Company explosionExplosion22Lowell[35]
1915St. John's School fireFire21Peabody[36]
1919Great Molasses FloodFlood21Boston[37]
1928Preble Box Toe Company explosionExplosion20Lynn[38]
1878Wollaston disasterRailway accident19Quincy[39]
1908Great Chelsea fire of 1908Fire19Chelsea[40]
1945SS Silver Star Park and SS Mangore collisionShipwreck19New Bedford[41] [42]
19661966 Nantucket radar plane crashAviation Accident19Nantucket[43]
20122012–2013 flu seasonDisease18Statewide[44]
1905Baker Bridge train wreckRailway accident17Lincoln[45]
1910Morewood Lake Ice Company explosionExplosion17Pittsfield[46]
1942Garnet Hill crashAviation accident17Peru[47]
1944Sinking of the USS YF-415Shipwreck17Hingham[48]
18041804 New England hurricaneHurricane16Statewide
19651965 Nantucket radar plane crashAviation Accident16Nantucket[49]
1958Westover Air Force Base KC-135 crashAviation Accident15Chicopee[50]
19671967 Nantucket radar picket plane crashAviation Accident15Nantucket[51]
1984Beverly rooming house fireArson15Beverly[52]
1893Chester train wreckBridge collapse14Chester[53]
1928Beacon Oil explosionExplosion14Everett[54]
1867Hoosac Tunnel Central Shaft accidentTunnel collapse13Florida[55]
1906Amsden Building collapseBuilding collapse13Framingham[56] [57]
1941Strand Theatre fireFire13Brockton[58]
1942Melvin Hall fireFire13Lynn[59]
1956Swampscott train wreckRailway accident13Swampscott[60]
1966Everett train-truck crashRailway accident13Everett[61]
1890Boston tenement fireFire12Boston[62]
1952Camp Edwards plane collisionAviation accident12Mashpee[63]
1958Northeast Airlines Flight 285Aviation accident12New Bedford[64]
1886Deerfield railway accidentRailway accident11Deerfield[65]
1902Frank A. Palmer and Louise B. Crary collisionShipwreck11Gloucester[66]
1913Lawrence bathhouse tragedyDrowning11Lawrence[67]
1919Springfield Boys' Club Camp drowningsDrowning11East Otis[68]
1964January 1964 blizzardBlizzard11Statewide[69]
1966Paramount Hotel explosionExplosion11Boston[70]
1902Italian lodging house fireFire10Boston[71]
1944Mount Holyoke bomber crashAviation accident10South Hadley[72]
1973Worcester rooming house fireFire10Worcester[73]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Shea . Lois R. . Sudden, swift, silent, and deadly 80 years ago, flu ravaged New England . The Boston Globe . November 1, 1998.
  2. Web site: COVID-19 Response Reporting . Massachusetts Department of Public Health . January 13, 2022.
  3. Web site: 1693 — June 17 start, Yellow Fever, Boston, British fleet arrival from Martinique[1]—<10?]. 17 June 1693 . 12 May 2020.
  4. News: Aldrich . Ian . Natural Disasters: New England Numbers . 16 February 2022 . Yankee Magazine . March 24, 2010.
  5. Web site: 1633–34 — Smallpox Epidemic, New England Natives, Plymouth Colonists, MA –>1000. usdeadlyevents.com. January 1632 . 13 May 2020.
  6. Book: American Medical Biographies . The Norman, Remington Company . 134 . Howard . Kelly, M.D. . Walter . Burrage, M.D. . 1920 . 15 June 2019.
  7. Web site: 1677–1678 — Smallpox Epidemic, Massachusetts Bay Colony, esp. Boston & vic. –750-1,000. usdeadlyevents. January 1676 . 17 May 2020.
  8. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2017/fall/cocoanut-grove Daniel J. Fleming, "The Cocoanut Grove Revisited: U.S. Navy Records Document How 492 Died in a Deadly Nightclub Fire 75 Years Ago." Prologue Magazine, Fall 2017, Vol. 49, No. 3
  9. Web site: Passenger and Crew Lost with the Steamship Portland. Maritime Heritage. Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 26 October 2014. 5 January 2009.
  10. Web site: Passenger and Crew Lost with the Steamship Portland. Maritime Heritage. Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 26 October 2014. 5 January 2009.
  11. Web site: Peril in the depths – the world's worst submarine disasters . Duddu. Praveen. Navaltechnology.com . 6 March 2014 . 7 August 2018 .
  12. Book: King, Irving H.. The Coast Guard Expands, 1865–1915: New Roles, New Frontiers. 1996. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. 978-1-55750-458-6. registration.
  13. Web site: The 25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes. National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. 24 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110515204603/http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html. 15 May 2011 . live.
  14. News: Burden. Leanne. Tuite. Lisa. 2012-08-01. Flight 723: Boston's worst plane crash in history. The Boston Globe. 2020-08-15.
  15. Web site: Date . Terry . The walls trembled, then fell: Lessons from the Pemberton disaster . The Eagle Tribune . 25 July 2021.
  16. News: THE FALL OF THE PEMBERTON MILL. . . April 18, 1886 .
  17. News: R. A. . Scotti . Sudden Sea — The Great Hurricane of 1938 . Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 2003 . November 30, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070102010929/http://www.workingwaterfront.com/review.asp?storyID=20060436 . January 2, 2007.
  18. Web site: Fire at Precious Blood. Corbeil. Art. 2000. HolyokeMass.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107145858/http://www.holyokemass.com/pb_fire/corbiel.html. November 7, 2017.
  19. News: Reints . Renae . Throwback Thursday: The Worst Bird Strike in U.S. History . 16 February 2022 . Boston Magazine . October 5, 2017.
  20. News: Fifty-eighth Brockton Victim Dead . April 16, 1905 . The New York Times.
  21. News: STREET CAR PLUNGE 46 DROWNED: 'WORST TRAGEDY IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY' (And the one Boston completely forgot) . Boston Globe . October 29, 1916 . Eric . Moskowitz . November 7, 2016.
  22. Web site: PBS Online – Lost Liners – Comparison Chart. PBS.
  23. News: Disaster Probe Again Delayed . The Boston Daily Globe . July 10, 1925.
  24. News: Hoppe . Jon . Anatomy of a Tragedy: The Sinking of the USS S-4 . 16 February 2022 . U.S. Naval Institute . October 29, 2015.
  25. News: Bussey Bridge Disaster: Feature News Account. Boston Daily Globe. March 15, 1887. Jamaica Historical Society.
  26. Book: Vaughan . Victor C. . Respiratory infections . 1922 . C. V. Mosby Company . St. Louis . 124 . 9 March 2024.
  27. News: Sabotage Hunted in Carrier Blast; Toll Rises to 36 Dead and 40 Hurt . The New York Times . October 18, 1953.
  28. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1871-08-30/ed-1/seq-10/#date1=08%2F26%2F1871&index=16&date2=08%2F31%2F1871&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=revere+Revere&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=Revere&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1 The New York Herald August 30, 1871 page 10 lists 30 fatalities
  29. Web site: The Great Boston Fire of 1872 – New England Historical Society. www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com. en-US. October 26, 2018. March 9, 2016.
  30. News: Record Toll in Fire Victims . 21 November 2021 . The Boston Daily Globe . December 4, 1913.
  31. News: 25 Bodies Found in Bomber Crash . The New York Times . July 11, 1946.
  32. News: 23 Killed---26 Wounded . 27 August 2022 . The Pilot . September 26, 1874.
  33. Book: Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners . Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners 1890 . 1890 . 113–135 . 18 February 2022.
  34. News: Walsh . Robert . Air Safety Probe Demanded for N.E.: Nantucket Crash Toll Rises to 23; 11 Survive . The Boston Daily Globe . August 17, 1958.
  35. News: Makes 22 Lives Lost . The Boston Daily Globe . September 25, 1903.
  36. Web site: BURKE. ALAN. October 27, 2015. Suffer the little children: Remembering the 21 who died in the St. John's fire 100 years ago. 2021-09-10. Salem News. en.
  37. Web site: Why the Great Molasses Flood Was So Deadly . Sohn . Emily . January 15, 2019 . The History Channel . A&E Television Networks . en . January 16, 2019.
  38. News: John Coleman Dies, 20th in Lynn Blast . The Boston Daily Globe . November 25, 1928.
  39. Book: Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners Volume 11, Part 1880 . 1880 . 186–187 . 19 February 2022.
  40. News: Great Chelsea Fire of 1908. 22 October 2014. Celebrate Boston.
  41. News: 19 Dead, 3 Missing in Ship Collision . The New York Times . April 14, 1945.
  42. Book: Barry . William R. . Chisholm . Doug . Parsons . Beth . Age Shall Not Weary Them: Saskatchewan Remembers Its War Dead . 2005 . People Places Pub..
  43. News: 19 Lost in Crash of Radar Plane . The Boston Globe . November 12, 1966.
  44. News: Boston declares flu emergency; 18 dead statewide from outbreak . The Berkshire Eagle . January 9, 2013.
  45. News: Rear-End Collision Brings Deaths to 17 . The Boston Daily Globe . November 27, 1905.
  46. News: 17th Victim of Explosion . The Boston Daily Globe . December 30, 1910.
  47. News: 17 Die in Army Plane Crash . The Boston Globe . August 17, 1942.
  48. Web site: USS YF-415 . Northern Atlantic Dive Expeditions . 6 April 2020.
  49. News: 9 Airmen Perish in Plane Ditching . The New York Times . July 13, 1965.
  50. News: Jet Tanker Crashes; 15 Killed . The Boston Daily Globe . June 27, 1958.
  51. News: Jenner, Edward . Plane Crash Off Nantucket Kills 15--1 Survivor . The Boston Globe . April 26, 1967.
  52. News: July Fire in Beverly Claims 15th Victim . The Boston Globe . August 8, 1984.
  53. News: List of Dead Numbers 14 . The Boston Daily Globe . September 4, 1893.
  54. News: Ask Beacon Plant Permit Be Revoked . The Boston Daily Globe . March 13, 1928.
  55. Web site: The Hoosac Tunnel Disaster of 1867. 2014-10-18. New England Historical Society. en-US. 2019-06-14.
  56. News: Only One is Now Missing . The Boston Daily Globe . July 26, 1906.
  57. News: Chester Nicholson Dead . The Boston Daily Globe . November 14, 1908.
  58. News: Herlihy's Death 13th From Brockton Fire . The Boston Daily Globe . March 13, 1941.
  59. News: Monahan, James . Probe Ordered of Lynn Blaze Which Killed 13 . The Boston Daily Globe . January 21, 1942.
  60. News: Linscott . Seymour . Probe 13-Death Wreck: B & M Blames Dead Budd Liner Engineer . The Boston Daily Globe . February 29, 1956.
  61. News: Everett Rail Crash Claims 13th Victim . The Boston Daily Globe . February 6, 1967.
  62. News: Victims of a Death Trap . The New York Times . February 3, 1890.
  63. News: Planes Crash Aloft; 12 in Air Force Die . The New York Times . April 10, 1952.
  64. News: 12th Crash Victim Dies . The New York Times . September 25, 1957.
  65. Book: Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners . Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners 1887 . 1887 . 64–68 . 18 February 2022.
  66. News: 11 Dead, 10 Saved . The Boston Daily Globe . December 23, 1902.
  67. News: Volger . Mark E. . The day 'many happy homes were made silent and sorrowful' . 20 February 2022 . The Eagle-Tribune . June 30, 2013.
  68. News: Eleven Boys Are Drowned At One Picnic . 9 March 2024 . The Boston Globe . July 26, 1919.
  69. News: New England Digs Out, Counts 31 Dead, Millions Spent . The Boston Daily Globe . January 15, 1964.
  70. News: Turner . R. L. . Gas Leak Blamed For Hub Blast . The Boston Globe . May 20, 1966.
  71. News: Fire Kills Ten Italians in Boston. . The New York Times. January 30, 1902.
  72. News: New England Digs Out, Counts 31 Dead, Millions Spent . The Boston Daily Globe . January 15, 1964.
  73. News: 10th victim found from Worcester guest house fire . The Boston Globe . July 16, 1973.

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