Great Chicago Fire Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to Tuesday, October 10, 1871. The fire killed up to 300 people, destroyed roughly of Chicago, Illinois, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. The fire began in a neighborhood southwest of the city center. A long period of hot, dry, windy conditions, and the wooden construction prevalent in the city lead to a conflagration. The fire leapt the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago, and then leapt the main branch of the river consuming the near north
George Stanhope, 8th Earl of Chesterfield George Stanhope, 8th Earl of Chesterfield George Philip Stanhope (29 November 1822 – 19 October 1883) was the 8th Earl of Chesterfield, succeeding to the title on the death of his third cousin, the 7th Earl, in 1871. He was the son of George Charles Stanhope and Jane Galbraith. Stanhope married, firstly, Marianne Roche, daughter of William Roche, on 8 April 1856. Secondly, he married Catherine Jane Jarvis Bond, daughter of John Hildebrand Bond, on 7 March 1877. Thirdly, he married Agnes Payne, daughter of James Payne, on 7 December 1882. In 1841 George Philip Stanhope, 8th Earl of Chesterfield