The great Chicago fire destroyed up to three million library volumes

Evidence

On the night of Sunday 8 October 1871, a fire began in Chicago that would change the face of the city. … The fire, which raged unchecked through all of Monday, swept all of this away, along with 17,450 homes, rendering 95,000 people homeless. Almost incidental to this enormous human suffering were the losses to the libraries: contemporary estimates, incorporating fifty fine private libraries, suggested losses of up to 3 million volumes, and this may be conservative. — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 869

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 869
• XREF: connects to: Nazi book policy combined total destruction with systematic collection — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 754; The 1871 Chicago fire gave the city its first free public library — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 870

Broader Connections

• The 1871 Chicago fire gave the city its first free public library #expands (0.75) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 870