Bussey Bridge Disaster occurs.

At 7:20 a.m., all nine cars of a Boston & Providence commuter train derail and plummet down from an iron truss bridge that collapses near today’s 563 South Street. The first major railroad accident in the U.S. and the worst in Massachusetts history, it kills 38 people and injures more than 100. The accident is subsequently blamed on faulty workmanship and improper design of the bridge, which had been rebuilt in 1876. The incident prompts improved and increased inspection of local bridges.