168 people killed in Hartford circus fire 70 years ago this hour (July 6 1944)


Video: 'Hartford Circus Fire book trailer Final Edit'

(Thursday, July 6, 1944, at about 2:00 p.m. EWT) — An estimated 168 people died today in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Connecticut. Among the survivors was future actor Charles Nelson Reilly, then age 13.