The Eastland Disaster: The Ship That Capsized at the Dock and Drowned 844 in the Chicago River
On July 24, 1915, the excursion steamer Eastland rolled onto its side while still tied to a wharf in downtown Chicago, drowning 844 people within arm’s reach of dry land. It remains the deadliest single shipwreck in Great Lakes history — and almost no one remembers it. This is the story of the ship that killed its passengers before it ever left the dock.