“October 8th, 1871. On this day in 1871, flames spark in the Chicago barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary,
gniting a 2-day blaze that kills between 200 and 300 people, destroys 17,450 buildings,
leaves 100,000 homeless and causes an estimated $200 million (in 1871 dollars; $3 billion in 2007 dollars) in damages.”