08 July 2016
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Great Fire of St John’s Newfoundland
The city of St John’s Newfoundland was destroyed by fire on 8 July 1892
On this day in history, 1892: St John’s Newfoundland is destroyed by fire. St John’s is sometimes said to be the oldest English established city in North America (John Cabot is reported to have sailed into the harbour on St John the Baptist’s Feast Day (24 June) 1497, the year he claimed Canada for the British). An unfortunate combination of events only encouraged the spread of the fire (a broken water supply pipe, high wind, and very dry weather in the weeks preceding the fire) and the timber buildings went up in smoke.
Click below to listen to an account of the Great Fire of St John’s Newfoundland, 1892
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