Today marks the 103rd anniversary of the Halifax Explosion, the biggest manmade blast before the atomic bomb – one-fifth the power of the A-Bomb, as calculated by J. Robert Oppenheimer, its architect.
A few days earlier a crew in Gravesend Bay, NY, loaded 6 million pounds of high explosives, 13 times the weight of the Statue of Liberty, on a creaky ship heading for World War I. But it collided en route with a ship in Halifax, a lively port city, then started burning.
At 9:04.35 am, in 1/15th of a second, it leveled half the city, killing 1,600 people instantly, and injuring 9,000 more. With the wires down, and train tracks clogged by a record snowstorm coming in, how many could they save?
Incredible tales emerged from the rubble of strangers risking their own lives to save strangers. 6 years after the U.S. Speaker of the House had advocated annexing Canada, Boston sent 2 trains, 2 ships, 100 doctors, 300 nurses, and $1 million of supplies – or $20M today. Working together, they saved all but 400 of the 9,000 wounded, a stunning success, transforming Canada and the U.S. from ancient adversaries to allies. To this day Nova Scotia sends its best Christmas tree to Boston Common to thank the city for saving so many.
It is the subject of my book, The Great Halifax Explosion. Here’s my interview with NPR’s Steve Innskeep @NPRinskeep
And my longer talk at the National Writers Series.
https://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/post/national-writers-series-evening-john-u-bacon-0
Hope you get a chance to listen and read about one of the most amazing stories you’ve probably never heard about before.
“John U. Bacon, a superbly talented historian and story teller, has rescued from obscurity an astonishing episode of horror and heroism.”
— GEORGE F. WILL, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist
“Absorbing from first page to last. With deep research and evocative writing, John U. Bacon has brought back to life this devastating wartime event and illuminated its lasting meaning.”
— DAVID MARANISS, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Once in a Great City
“A vivid reconstruction of history that turns out to have been in great measure forgotten even by those who thought they already knew all about it. The telling of the story is spectacularly cinematic.”
– David Frum, The Atlantic
Thanks so much for your book. I visited Halifax and was amazed that I had never heard of this catastrophic event. Your book not only described how and why, but put it in historical context. A wonderful read.
Looking forward to your analysis of the 2020 football season and way forward for U of M.
Greatly enjoyed reading the book. As Lynn said, it is surprising that the event was not well-known considering the magnitude of the tragedy.