Chicago—June 19, 1913
1913 was a time when your hands might suddenly catch fire.
Arthur Herbert (2624 Lincoln Ave) takes his launch boat out for the first time since he bought it more than a year ago. After a tune up, he invites his wife and friends to join him for a cruise of Lake Michigan.
The boat explodes on the river near the Baltimore & Ohio bridge. George Brew spots the explosion and dives into the river to help. He rescues 9-year-old Gladys Herbert but drowns trying to save Mrs. Herbert.
Arthur Herbert, his wife, a friend, and Mr. Brew are killed. A 3-year-old boy, Leo Romberg—son of friends that the Herberts planned to pick up for the cruise—survives.
Also in the news
Five well-dressed men in their 20s rob William Galloway and J. Maylor on the main driveway to the Lincoln Park zoo. The men pulled their car over to ask for a match. As Maylor reached for a match, three men exited the car, and told him they wanted not a match but money. Galloway attempts to escape but is grabbed. They take $12.50 and a gold watch — and then speed away. Two of the men never left the car.
Eight-year-old Vernon Balon is washing paint off his hands in his father’s Oak Park paint store. The friction causes the cleaning solution to catch fire, burning Vernon’s hands and arms. His father puts out the fire with a coat but is also burned.
2:52pm (1 note)


