1966 60 years ago Historical Events October 17

The 23rd Street Fire in New York City kills 12 firefighters.

On October 17, in the year 1966, The 23rd Street Fire in New York City kills 12 firefighters. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of October 17, one of 597 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The 23rd Street Fire was an incident that took place in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on October 17, 1966. A group of firefighters from the New York City Fire Department responding to a fire at 7 East 22nd Street entered a building at 6 East 23rd Street as part of an effort to fight the fire. Twelve firefighters were killed after the floor collapsed, the largest loss of life in the department's history until the collapse of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks of 2001.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on October 17, 1966 (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 19 July 2026.

On This Date in History 597

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 17 Mitzi Gaynor, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 17 Toshiyuki Nishida, Japanese actor (born 1947)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 17 Andrew Schally, Polish-American endocrinologist (born 1926)
Historical Events 2023 Oct 17 An explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza kills hundreds of Palestinians during the Gaza war.
Historical Events 2019 Oct 17 Drug dealers in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico force the government to back down on an arrest.
Historical Events 2019 Oct 17 The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.
Notable Deaths 2019 Oct 17 Elijah Cummings, American politician and civil rights advocate (born 1951)
Historical Events 2018 Oct 17 The recreational use of cannabis is legalized in Canada.
Historical Events 2018 Oct 17 A mass shooting and bombing at Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea kills 21 people including the attacker and injures…
Historical Events 2017 Oct 17 Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capture the last foothold of the Islamic State of Iraq and the…
Notable Deaths 2017 Oct 17 Gord Downie, Canadian musician (born 1964)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 17 Danièle Delorme, French actress and producer (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 17 Howard Kendall, English footballer and manager (born 1946)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 17 Anne-Marie Lizin, Belgian lawyer and politician (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 17 Tom Smith, American businessman and politician (born 1947)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 17 Edwards Barham, American farmer and politician (born 1937)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 17 Masaru Emoto, Japanese author and activist (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 17 Tom Shaw, American bishop (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 17 Berndt von Staden, German diplomat, German Ambassador to the United States (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 17 Mother Antonia, American-Mexican nun and activist (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 17 Terry Fogerty, English rugby player and coach (born 1944)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 17 Arthur Maxwell House, Canadian neurologist and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador (born…
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 17 Lou Scheimer, American animator, producer, and voice actor, co-founded the Filmation Company (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 17 Rene Simpson, Canadian-American tennis player (born 1966)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 17 Milija Aleksic, English-South African footballer (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 17 Émile Allais, French skier (born 1912)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 17 Henry Friedlander, German-American historian and author (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 17 Stanford R. Ovshinsky, American scientist and businessman, co-founded Energy Conversion Devices (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 17 Kōji Wakamatsu, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2011 Oct 17 Carl Lindner, Jr., American businessman (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 17 Norma Fox Mazer, American author and educator (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 17 Vic Mizzy, American composer (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2008 Oct 17 Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2008 Oct 17 Levi Stubbs, American singer (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2008 Oct 17 Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 17 Joey Bishop, American actor and talk show host (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 17 Teresa Brewer, American singer (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 17 Suzy Covey, American scholar and academic (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 17 Daniel Emilfork, Chilean-French actor (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 17 Christopher Glenn, American journalist (born 1938)
Historical Events 2004 Oct 17 A fire that lasted over 15 hours destroyed almost one third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in…
Notable Deaths 2004 Oct 17 Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (born 1952)
Notable Births 2002 Oct 17 Matthew Knies, American professional ice hockey player
Notable Births 2002 Oct 17 Lily, Australian-South Korean singer
Notable Deaths 2002 Oct 17 Derek Bell, Irish harpist and composer (born 1935)
Historical Events 2001 Oct 17 Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi is assassinated by Hamdi Quran, a member of the PFLP, thus becoming the…
Notable Births 2001 Oct 17 Thomas Strudwick, British motorcycle road racer
Notable Deaths 2001 Oct 17 Jay Livingston, American singer-songwriter (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2001 Oct 17 Micheline Ostermeyer, French shot putter, discus thrower, and pianist (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2001 Oct 17 Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli historian, general, and politician, Tourism Minister of Israel (born 1926)

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

More on October 17

2019 the 17 october revolution starts in lebanon
2019

The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.

The 17 October Protests, commonly referred to as the 17 October Revolution or Hirak or Thawrah, were a series of civil protests in Lebanon that began after the Lebanese cabinet an…

The 17 October Revolution starts in Lebanon.

Browse Further

📅 All events on October 17 597 events 📖 All events in 1966 🏷 More Historical Events events
0

Comments 0

Sign in to join the discussion.