On July 6, 1944, the Big Top suddenly caught fire at a Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey circus performance in
Hartford, Connecticut. This inferno killed 169 people, mostly women and children, and injured more than 550 others. Henry S. Cohn and David Bollier tell the story of this catastrophic circus fire and its remarkable legal aftermath.
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Background Information
First settled in 1637, Hartford is the largest inland city in Connecticut and the second largest city on the Connecticut River.