Molasses Flood occurs.

At 12:30 p.m., a 50-foot high, 90-foot diameter tank containing 2.2 million gallons of molasses collapse at today’s 529 Commercial Street. It results in a 15-foot high wave of molasses, traveling at 35 mph, that subsequently spreads from Charter Street to Boston Harbor, kills 21 people, injures more than 150, and destroys homes and other buildings. According to the Boston Post, “Horses were blown about like chips, houses torn asunder, and the heavy section of the Elevated railroad structure smashed like an eggshell.” Anarchists suspected of sabotaging the tank are initially are blamed for disaster, which is subsequently attributed to expansion of the molasses due to unusually warm weather and shoddy construction of the tank. Its owner is found negligent in civil court and ordered to pay a settlement of $628,000 (the equivalent of more than $60 million today), but no criminal charges are ever brought.