8 October 1871
Waning Crescent, 28% lit
Two fires, one night
The night Chicago burned, a far deadlier fire was destroying Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and almost nobody has heard of it.
Peshtigo killed somewhere north of 1,200 people to Chicago's 300, on the same evening, under the same 27% waning crescent. Chicago had the telegraph offices and the newspapers.
- Date
- 8 October 1871
- Moon computed for
- 21:00 local time, UTC−5:50
- Phase
- Waning Crescent
- Illuminated
- 28%
Source: National Weather Service historical summary