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8/26/10: Roosevelt and the Heat Wave of 1896

Theodore Roosevelt served as New York City Police Commissioner from 1895-1897
Theodore Roosevelt served as New York City Police Commissioner from 1895-1897

By Doug Fabrizio

Salt Lake City, Utah – In 1896, New York experienced one of the worst natural disasters in American history. A heat wave oppressed the city. Outside, there were so many animal carcasses it was hard to keep the streets clear. Inside, temperatures reached 120 degrees, and some 1,300 people died. But a young police commissioner rose to the occasion, watering the streets and delivering ice to the poor. Thursday, historian Edward Kohn joins us to talk about Theodore Roosevelt and the birth of the progressive era.

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