On This Day: Freighter Explosion Kills 600 in Texas City

1972

The History of today shows some interesting results pertaining to the shipping industry. The 16th of April has been an eventful day for the shipping industry all through history. Here are some of the major events that happened on 16th April.

  1. In 1912, as crowds gathered outside its New York City offices, the White Star Line denied that it was with holding information on the sinking of RMS Titanic.
  2. In 1947, a fire aboard the French freighter Grandcamp in the Texas City, Texas, port on Galveston Bay ignited ammonium nitrate and other explosive materials in the ship’s hold, causing a massive blast that destroyed much of the city and killed nearly 600 people.
  3. In 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” while imprisoned in Alabama for protesting segregation.
  4. In 1972, Apollo 16 blasted off on an 11-day moon mission with three astronauts aboard.
  5. In 1991, the first Jewish settlement under the Israeli government opened in the occupied territories, defying a U.S. request to stop settlement activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
  6. In 2011, a vicious rash of tornadoes tore through 14 U.S. states, leaving more than 40 people dead and many others homeless.

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Source: UPI