Great Baltimore Fire and piers lining the north side of the old "Basin" (today's "Inner Harbor") of the Northwest Branch of the Baltimore Harbor and Patapsco River facing along Pratt Street. It is considered historically the third worst conflagration in an American city, surpassed only by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906. Other major urban disasters that were comparable (but not fires) were the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and most recently, Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico coast in August 2005. One reason for the fire's long duration involved
10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China The 10th anniversary celebrations of the People's Republic of China were held on October 1, 1959. The main event was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The preceding evening, a grand banquet with many international dignitaries had been organized. In Beijing, ten "great buildings" were constructed ahead of the celebrations. The most prominent of the ten was the Great Hall of the People. On September 28 and 29, 1959 a meeting of more than 10,000 people was held in the Great Hall of the People. Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi were present