1887 139 years ago Historical Events September 5

A fire at the Theatre Royal, Exeter kills 186, making it the UK's deadliest ever building fire.

On September 5, in the year 1887, A fire at the Theatre Royal, Exeter kills 186, making it the UK's deadliest ever building fire. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of September 5, one of 493 recorded events on this date across all of history.

On 5 September 1887, a fire broke out in the backstage area of the Theatre Royal in Exeter, England, during the production of The Romany Rye. The fire caused panic throughout the theatre, with 186 people dying from a combination of the direct effects of smoke and flame, crushing and trampling, and trauma injuries from falling or jumping from the roof and balconies.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on September 5, 1887 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 21 June 2026.

On This Date in History 493

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 5 Rebecca Cheptegei, Ugandan athlete (born 1991)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 5 Herbie Flowers, English musician (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 5 Radha Charan Gupta, Indian historian of mathematics (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 5 Sérgio Mendes, Brazilian pianist and composer (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 5 Rich Homie Quan, American rapper (born 1990)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 5 Laurent Tirard, French film director and screenwriter (born 1967)
Historical Events 2022 Sep 5 Liz Truss is declared the winner of the UK Conservative Party leadership election, beating Rishi Sunak.
Historical Events 2022 Sep 5 At least 93 people die and 25 are missing after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Sichuan, China.
Historical Events 2021 Sep 5 The President of Guinea, Alpha Condé is captured by armed forces during a coup d'état.
Notable Deaths 2021 Sep 5 Sarah Harding, English singer, member of Girls Aloud (born 1981)
Selected Events 2020 Sep 5 California wildfires: A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party ignited the El Dorado Fire (pictured), burning for…
Notable Deaths 2019 Sep 5 Francisco Toledo, Mexican painter, sculptor, and graphic artist (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2018 Sep 5 Bhagwatikumar Sharma, Indian Gujarati writer and journalist (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2018 Sep 5 Beatriz Segall, Brazilian actress (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2017 Sep 5 Nicolaas Bloembergen, Dutch-American physicist and Nobel laureate (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2016 Sep 5 Hugh O'Brian, American actor (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2016 Sep 5 Phyllis Schlafly, American lawyer, writer, and political activist (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 5 Goh Eng Wah, Malaysian-Singaporean businessman, founded Eng Wah Global (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 5 Aadesh Shrivastava, Indian singer-songwriter (born 1964)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 5 Chester Stranczek, American baseball player and businessman (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 5 Bruce Morton, American journalist (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 5 Mara Neusel, German mathematician, author, and academic (born 1964)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 5 Edwin Bideau, American lawyer and politician (born 1950)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 5 Geoffrey Goodman, English pilot, journalist, and author (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 5 Isamu Jordan, American journalist and academic (born 1975)
Historical Events 2012 Sep 5 An accidental explosion at a Turkish Army ammunition store in Afyon, western Turkey kills 25 soldiers and wounds four…
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 5 Ian Dick, Australian cricketer and field hockey player (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 5 Victoria Fyodorova, Russian-American actress and author (born 1946)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 5 John Oaksey, English jockey and journalist (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2010 Sep 5 Hedley Beare, Australian author and academic (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2010 Sep 5 Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, Belgian-Dutch poet and painter (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2009 Sep 5 Gani Fawehinmi, Nigerian lawyer and activist (born 1938)
Notable Births 2007 Sep 5 Matthew Schaefer, Canadian ice hockey player
Notable Deaths 2007 Sep 5 Jennifer Dunn, American engineer and politician (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 2007 Sep 5 Paul Gillmor, American lawyer and politician (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2007 Sep 5 Thomas Hansen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1976)
Notable Deaths 2007 Sep 5 D. James Kennedy, American pastor and author (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2007 Sep 5 Nikos Nikolaidis, Greek director and screenwriter (born 1939)
Historical Events 2006 Sep 5 The Waziristan Accord is signed between the Government of Pakistan and local Taliban militants in North Waziristan,…
Historical Events 2005 Sep 5 Mandala Airlines Flight 091 crashes after takeoff from Polonia International Airport in Medan, Indonesia, killing 149.
Notable Deaths 2005 Sep 5 Roberto Viaux, Chilean general (born 1917)
Selected Events 2005 Sep 5 Mandala Airlines Flight 091 crashed shortly after take-off in Indonesia due to pilot error, killing 100 out of the 117…
Notable Deaths 2003 Sep 5 Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian-American singer and actress (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2002 Sep 5 David Todd Wilkinson, American cosmologist and astronomer (born 1935)
Notable Births 2001 Sep 5 Bukayo Saka, English footballer
Notable Births 2001 Sep 5 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Australian rugby league player
Notable Deaths 2001 Sep 5 Justin Wilson, American chef and author (born 1914)
Notable Deaths 2001 Sep 5 Vladimir Žerjavić, Croatian economist and academic (born 1912)
Notable Deaths 2000 Sep 5 Roy Fredericks, Guyanese cricketer and politician (born 1942)
Notable Births 1999 Sep 5 Filip Chytil, Czech ice hockey player

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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