1896 Eastern North America heat wave
{{Short description|United States weather disaster}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
File:Peder Matthias Olsen (1849-1896) death certificate.png
The 1896 eastern North America heat wave was a 10-day heat wave in New York City, Boston, Newark and Chicago that killed about 1,500 people in August 1896.{{cite news |title=The Heat Wave Of 1896 And The Rise Of Roosevelt |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129127924&ft=1&f=1022 |work=NPR |date=August 11, 2010 |accessdate=2010-08-25 }}{{cite book |author=Edward P. Kohn |author-link=Edward P. Kohn |title=Hot Time in the Old Town: The Great Heat Wave of 1896 |year=2010 |publisher=Basic Books | url=https://archive.org/details/hottimeinoldtown0000kohn |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-465-01336-4 }}{{cite news |title=Prostration and Death |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/785717262.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+11%2C+1896&author=&pub=Boston+Daily+Globe+(1872-1922)&desc=PROSTRATION+AND+DEATH&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131155244/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/785717262.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+11,+1896&author=&pub=Boston+Daily+Globe+(1872-1922)&desc=PROSTRATION+AND+DEATH&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=August 12, 1896 |accessdate=2012-03-09 }}
History
There were ten days of temperatures at least {{convert|90|°F|°C|lk=on}} with high humidity and little breeze.{{cite news |title=Visitation of August, 1896, Caused 564 Deaths in the New York City Zone |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/08/09/archives/when-heat-waves-cost-many-lives-visitation-of-august-1896-caused.html |work=The New York Times |date=August 9, 1936 |accessdate=2010-08-30 | first=Henry E. | last=Armstrong}} The temperatures in New York did not drop below {{convert|72|°F|°C|lk=on}} at night, with three consecutive nights at {{convert|80|°F|°C|lk=on}} or above. It killed more than the New York City draft riots and the Great Chicago Fire combined. A majority of the deaths were of working-class men in their twenties who performed manual labor.
The New York City Public Works Commissioner ordered that his workers' shifts be modified so they would not be working during midday, and he had fire hydrants opened to cool people on the street. Theodore Roosevelt, then New York City Police Commissioner, distributed free ice from local police stations. After accidental deaths from people falling off the roofs they were sleeping on, the New York City Parks Department allowed people to sleep in parks overnight.
References
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External links
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Category:Heat waves in the United States
Category:1890s in New York (state)
Heat Wave, Eastern Norh America