Chicago Marks 100th Anniversary Of Its Deadliest Disaster, The Eastland Shipwreck
On July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland, a steamship preparing for an excursion to Michigan City, Indiana, capsized in the Chicago River near LaSalle Street, with about 2,500 people on board. More than 840 people were killed, including 22 families, when they became trapped after the ship toppled on its side.