Historical Context
On September 16, 1920, at exactly 12:01pm, a bomb carried in a horse carriage - approximately 100 pounds (45kg) of dynamite - exploded outside the J.P. Morgan building at 23 Wall Street. The bomb killed 30 people instantly and a further 8 died of their injuries later on.
The driver of the wagon managed to escape, and this greatly complicated efforts to find the perpetrators. Investigators initially thought it might have been an accident, given the lack of specific target, and given that most of the dead were young people working jobs such as messenger and stenographer.
The FBI was never able to decisively say who carried out the bombing. Today, historians and investigators believe it was the work of anarchists, who had been responsible for a series of attacks across America in 1919. It was believed that a group called the Galleanists, Italian anarchists who followed Luigi Galleani, were responsible. He had recently been deported and it is speculated the bombing may have been in retaliation for that.
Photo Info
Photographer: Unknown
Date taken: September 16, 1920
Location taken: NYC, New York, USA
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Related Events
- 1920-09-16 The "Wall Street bombing" occurs at 12:01 when a horse-drawn wagon explodes on Wall Street, New York, killing 38 and injuring 143
