25 March 1911
The Triangle Shirtwaist Company, occupying the top three floors of a ten-story building in
New York City, was consumed by fire.
One hundred and forty-seven people, mostly women and young girls working in sweatshop
conditions, lost their lives.
Approximately 50 died as they leapt from windows to the street; the others were burned or
trampled to death as they desperately
attempted to escape through stairway exits locked as a precaution against "the
interruption of work".