JANUARY 19, 2009

A history of violence

DATABASE GenDisasters

GenDisasters is a macabre database of “events that touched our ancestors’ lives,” which you can use to determine your forefathers’ proximity to North America’s biggest, baddest disasters.

The site’s archivists have collected newspaper accounts of 9,800-plus catastrophes from around the U.S. and Canada; they date back to 1755, and they’re searchable by state. Read about floods, fires, tornadoes, horse-and-buggy accidents — which were more serious than you might imagine — and every variety of maritime catastrophe. N.B.: If you think of San Francisco as the nation’s earthquake capital, be sure to read about the earthquake that devastated Charleston, South Carolina, in 1886.

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GenDisasters