1896 Eastern North America heat wave
The 1896 Eastern North America heat wave was a 10-day heat wave in New York City, Boston, Newark, New Jersey and Chicago that killed about 1,500 people in August 1896.[1][2][3]
History
There were 11 days of temperatures above 90 °F (32 °C) with 90 percent humidity and little breeze.[4] The temperatures did not drop at night.[1] It caused more deaths than the 1863 New York City draft riots or the 1871 Great Chicago Fire.[2] A majority of the deaths were of working-class men in their twenties that performed manual labor.
In New York City, while a majority of the government departments were slow to act in relieving the suffering of the citizens, a few did attempt to do so. The City Public Works commissioner ordered that his worker's shifts be modified so they would not work during the hottest part of the day, and had fire hydrants opened to cool the hot pavements of the street. In the Police Department, Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt organized an impromptu program of distributing free ice from police stations. After accidental deaths from people falling off the roofs they were sleeping on, the Parks Department was eventually persuaded to allow people to sleep in parks overnight so that they could escape the baking tenements.[1][2]
References
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