April 23, 1940 1940 – The Rhythm Night Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 [View all]

The Rhythm Club fire aka The Natchez Dance Hall Holocaust was a fire in Natchez, Mississippi, United States on the night of April 23, 1940 that killed 209 people and severely injured many others.[1][2] Hundreds of people became trapped inside the one-story steel-clad wooden building. The victims were mostly African Americans.

The dance hall, which was once a church and converted blacksmith shop, was located in a one-story frame building at 1 St. Catherine Street, blocks from the city's business district. At the time, this was the second most deadly building fire in the history of the nation. It is now ranked as the fourth deadliest assembly and club fire in U.S. history.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_Night_Club_fire