October 08

  • 1871 The Great Fire of Chicago broke out, reputedly in Mrs O’Leary’s barn, when a cow upset a lantern. Over three days c. 300 lives were lost and over 100,000 residents left homeless.
  • 1974 Seán MacBride became the first Irish citizen to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.
  • 1967 Clement Attlee (84), Labour prime minister of the United Kingdom (1945–51) and leader of the Labour Party (1935–55), the longest-ever serving leader of that party, died.