Key events happened on this day, June 15: Several events occurred worldwide on this day in the past. Right from over 1,000 died in a fire aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York’s East River to the Second Continental Congress voted unanimously to appoint George Washington head of the Continental Army in 1775.
Take a look at the key events held on June 15.
New York Steamboat disaster in 1904
In 1904, the PS General Slocum steamboat caught fire in New York’s East River. The boat was carrying over 1,300 passengers, mainly German-American families on a church outing. The fire spread rapidly through the wooden ship, and many lifeboats were inaccessible or unusable. Additionally, most life preservers were faulty, leading to widespread panic. Many passengers who were unable to swim, drowned. The disaster resulted as one of the worst maritime disasters in US history.
Nik Wallenda’s Niagara Falls tightrope walk in 2012