On this day, Dec. 24, in 1851, a major fire broke out at the Library of Congress, destroying about two-thirds of the library’s collections. Most of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library was destroyed in the blaze.
At the time, the library held 55,000 volumes; about 35,000 volumes were lost to the fire.
The fire originated in the library’s main room at about 7:30 a.m. An architect reported three days later that the fire was caused by faulty chimney flues.
Congress quickly apportioned funds for reconstruction and to replace lost books.
Today, the Library of Congress has more than 140 million items in its collections.
Emily Babay
