July 6 1944 –
Fire broke out at a matinee performance of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Baily Circus, in Hartford, Connecticut, burning 168 people to death, and injuring an additional 250. The main tent had been waterproofed with wax thinned by gasoline. Said one of the Flying Wallendas, “I can never look down at a crowd again without smelling the flames and the burning flesh.”
I believe with thoughts like this, even I would give up showbiz.<
Among notable survivors, beside the Flying Wallendas, were Eunice Groark, first female lieutenant governor of Connecticut and Charles Nelson Reilly.
And so it goes
The Haus of Dcaligari 