5. The 1920 Wall Street Dynamite Attack
Mass-casualty terrorist bombings are by no means a modern phenomenon. Nearly 100 years ago, a horse-drawn wagon pulled up outside JP Morgan bank on Wall Street. In its back was a large bomb and 225 kilograms (500 lb) of small iron weights. At 12:01 PM, the timer hit zero. The resulting blast was felt across the city.
The force of explosion threw the iron weights in all directions at high velocity. The shrapnel tore through cars, windows, walls, and people’s bodies like they were paper, immediately causing 30 deaths. The ground shook so much that a trolley car was derailed over two blocks away. Glass cascaded down from shattered windows, causing multiple injuries far below. Eight more people would later die in the hospital. The JP Morgan bank was almost completely destroyed. For a long time, no one had any idea who did it.
Although their bomb had shaken American capitalism to its core, injured hundreds, and killed 38 people (plus one unfortunate horse), the perpetrators never took responsibility. It wasn’t until 24 years later, in 1944, that the FBI concluded the same Italian anarchists behind the 1919 bombings were likely responsible. No one was ever charged.
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