On a hot summer day, 7000 people gathered at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s traveling circus in Hartford, Connecticut, for what was sure to be a spectacle.  Little did any of the patrons know just how memorable that day was going to be and how absolutely tragic!  Join Hav this week as he covers this disastrous event and discusses many attendees who were forced to make split decisions not knowing what their fate truly held for them.  This is a tough one but I hope you enjoy this week’s episode (as much as one could enjoy it….)

Written by: Hav Martinez

Research by: Hav Martinez

Produced and Edited by: Hav Martinez

Episode Co-Host: Jackie

Music By: Skane

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Primary References:

1. O’Nan, Stewart. The Circus Fire: A True Story of an AmericanTragedy. 2000

2. https://www.circusfire1944.com/

3. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1942/08/05/85043468.pdf

4. https://www.guilfordfire.com/single-post/remembering-the-tragic-hartford-circus-fire-77-years-later

5. https://www.nytimes.com/1942/08/05/archives/fifty-animals-die-in-fire-at-circus-ringling-menagerie-burns-in.html

6. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-rich-tragic-history-of-daredevil-wallendas/

7. https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-of-us-prosperity-during-world-war-ii/

8. https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1991/rt9103/910310/03100173.htm

9. https://youthjournalism.org/inferno-under-big-top-survivors/

10.https://www.circusesandsideshows.com/circuses/ringlingbrosbbcircus.html

11.  https://connecticuthistory.org/hartford-circus-fire-the-tents-on-fire-who-knew/

12.  https://www.hartfordhistory.net/circusfire.html

13.  https://toomuchbrudders.com/2020/07/03/the-hartford-circus-fire/

14.  https://dnadoeproject.org/case/hartford-circus-fire-victims/

15.  https://blog.qrfs.com/294-the-deadliest-fires-in-u-s-history-lessons-learned-from-the-hartford-circus-fire/

16.  https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2024-07-01/80-years-ago-a-gas-soaked-roof-and-wwii-created-a-perfect-storm-for-the-hartford-circus-tragedy17.  https://www.thestacksreader.com/the-little-girl-in-grave-1565/