List of historic fires

Before the 20th century, fires were a major hazard to urban areas and the cause of massive amounts of damage to cities. Following is a list of major historical fires organized by date:

356 BC - Temple of Artemis burned by arson
c. 50 BC - Library of Alexandria burned by arson
64 - Great fire of Rome
1204 - Constantinople burned during three times during the Fourth Crusade
1613 - Globe Theatre burns due to mishap
1666 - Great Fire of London
1776 - New York City
1805 - Detroit
1812 - Moscow
1813 - Portsmouth, New Hampshire
1813 - Toronto, Ontario burned during the War of 1812
1814 - (What is now called) The White House burned by the British
1835 - Great Fire of New York
1871 - Great Chicago Fire
1871 - Peshtigo, Wisconsin destroyed in a firestorm
1872 - Boston, Massachusetts
1883 - Ponce, Puerto Rico
1889 - Seattle, Washington
1892 - St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
1901 - Jacksonville, Florida
1904 - Great Baltimore Fire
1904 - The steamship General Slocum, New York City
1906 - San Francisco earthquake and fire
1911 - Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire, New York City
1917 - The Halifax Explosion, largest man-made explosion before Hiroshima nuclear bomb
1933 - Reichstag fire caused by arson
1933 - Tillamook Burn
1937 - Hindenburg disaster
1942 - Cocoanut Grove Fire
1945 - Bombing of Dresden in World War II
1945 - Bombing of Tokyo in World War II
1945 - Atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II
1945 - Atomic bombing of Nagasaki in World War II
1967 - Apollo 1 burned during ground tests
1977 - Beverly Hills Supper Club kills 165 in Southgate, KY.
1987 - King's Cross fire
1991 - Kuwaiti oil fires following the Persian Gulf War
1991 - Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments
1993 - Branch Davidian compound burns
1998 - 1998 U.S. embassy bombings
2001 - September 11 Terrorist Attacks
2002 - Edinburgh Cowgate fire
2002 - Rodeo-Chediski fire
2003 - The Station nightclub fire

See also forest fire for a list of some of the most severe recorded forest fires.