Which event does this 1871 photograph show?

A fire in a barn spreads until it has burned out the centre of a great city (1871). The fire began in or near a barn on the evening of 8 October 1871 and burned for two days, destroying about nine square kilometres and leaving roughly a third of the city homeless. The story that a cow kicked over a lantern was invented by a reporter, who admitted it years later. Around 300 people died.

Which event does this 1871 photograph show?

A forest fire wipes out a lumber town and kills more people than any fire since (1871). The Peshtigo firestorm swept through northeastern Wisconsin on the night of 8 October 1871 and killed somewhere between 1,500 and 2,500 people, more than any other fire in American history. Survivors lived by standing neck deep in the river for hours. It happened the same night as the Chicago fire and was almost completely overshadowed by it.

Which event does this 1967 photograph show?

A revolutionary is captured in a ravine after his guerrilla campaign collapses (1967). Che Guevara was captured in a ravine in Bolivia on 8 October 1967, wounded and with a rifle that had been shot out of action. His band was down to a handful of men and had no local support. He was shot the following day in a schoolhouse, and his hands were cut off so his fingerprints could prove his identity.

Which event does this 1970 photograph show?

A novelist wins the Nobel Prize and dares not travel to collect it (1970). Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on 8 October 1970. He did not go to Stockholm, because he was certain the Soviet authorities would not let him back in. He finally accepted the medal in 1974, after they had arrested him, stripped his citizenship and flown him out of the country against his will.

Which event does this 1918 photograph show?

A conscientious objector turned corporal captures 132 men almost single-handed (1918). Alvin York had asked to be excused from fighting on religious grounds and been refused. On 8 October 1918 in the Argonne his patrol was pinned down, and he worked his way along a German machine gun line with a rifle and a pistol. He and seven other survivors came back with 132 prisoners. He spent the rest of his life uncomfortable about being made a hero.

What happened on October 8? the Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire and 3 more

What happened on October 8

All 5 specimens from this file, spanning 1871 to 1970, with the story behind each photograph.

Reveal the full answer key

Disaster · 1871

A fire in a barn spreads until it has burned out the centre of a great city

The fire began in or near a barn on the evening of 8 October 1871 and burned for two days, destroying about nine square kilometres and leaving roughly a third of the city homeless. The story that a cow kicked over a lantern was invented by a reporter, who admitted it years later. Around 300 people died.
Disaster · 1871

A forest fire wipes out a lumber town and kills more people than any fire since

The Peshtigo firestorm swept through northeastern Wisconsin on the night of 8 October 1871 and killed somewhere between 1,500 and 2,500 people, more than any other fire in American history. Survivors lived by standing neck deep in the river for hours. It happened the same night as the Chicago fire and was almost completely overshadowed by it.
History · 1967

A revolutionary is captured in a ravine after his guerrilla campaign collapses

Che Guevara was captured in a ravine in Bolivia on 8 October 1967, wounded and with a rifle that had been shot out of action. His band was down to a handful of men and had no local support. He was shot the following day in a schoolhouse, and his hands were cut off so his fingerprints could prove his identity.
Literature · 1970

A novelist wins the Nobel Prize and dares not travel to collect it

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on 8 October 1970. He did not go to Stockholm, because he was certain the Soviet authorities would not let him back in. He finally accepted the medal in 1974, after they had arrested him, stripped his citizenship and flown him out of the country against his will.
Conflict · 1918

A conscientious objector turned corporal captures 132 men almost single-handed

Alvin York had asked to be excused from fighting on religious grounds and been refused. On 8 October 1918 in the Argonne his patrol was pinned down, and he worked his way along a German machine gun line with a rifle and a pistol. He and seven other survivors came back with 132 prisoners. He spent the rest of his life uncomfortable about being made a hero.