Brooklyn Bridge stampede

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File:Bird's-Eye View of the Great Suspension Bridge, Connecting The Cities of New York and Brooklyn - From New York Looking South-East.jpg in 1883]]

The Brooklyn Bridge stampede occurred on May 30, 1883, the week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened. Twelve people died and 36 were seriously injured.{{cite web |title=Brooklyn Bridge, Fanfare and Fatalities: Topics in Chronicling America |url=https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-brooklyn-bridge |website=LOC Research Guides |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=25 February 2025}}

The stampede occurred on Memorial Day (which at the time was always observed on May 30David McCullough erroneously gives the date as May 31. David McCullough, The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge. p. 543.), and a large crowd flocked to the bridge, causing a pedestrian bottleneck. When a woman fell down the stairs, another woman screamed, inducing panic in the crowd.{{cite web |last1=McNamara |first1=Robert |title=Brooklyn Bridge Disaster |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/brooklyn-bridge-disaster-1773696 |publisher=ThoughtCo |access-date=25 February 2025}} According to the New York Times, "In a moment the whole stairway was packed with dead and dying men, women and children piled upon another in a writhing, struggling mass."{{cite web |last1=Frishberg |first1=Hannah |title="The Bridge Is Falling": The Story of the Brooklyn Bridge's Deadly Stampede |date=21 June 2016 |url=https://www.brownstoner.com/history/brooklyn-bridge-death-stampede-tragedy-1883/ |publisher=Brownstoner |access-date=25 February 2025}}