Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

Quick Facts: Who was Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire?

Subject:

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

Known for:

The 1911 factory fire that killed 146 garment workers, sparking labor reforms.

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire occurred in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, a borough of New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911. The fire was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers—123 women and girls and 23 men—who died from either the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Italian and Jewish immigrants aged 14 to 23. The factory was located on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the Asch Building (later the Brown Building), which was built in 1901 and remains standing on the New York University (NYU) campus at 23–29 Washington Place, near Washington Square Park.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

The building has been designated a National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark. Because the doors to the stairwells and exits were locked—a common practice at the time to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and to reduce theft—many of the workers could not escape from the burning building and jumped from the high windows. There were no sprinklers in the building. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers. The Triangle Waist Company factory occupied the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the 10-story Asch Building on the northwest corner of Greene Street and Washington Place, just east of Washington Square Park, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Under the ownership of Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, the factory produced women's shirts, known as "shirtwaists". The factory normally employed about 500 workers, mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrant women and girls, who worked nine hours a day on weekdays plus seven hours on Saturdays, earning for their 52 hours of work between $7 and $12 a week, the equivalent of $242 to $415 a week in 2025 currency, or $5.04 to $8.65 per hour. The owners were said to have preferred hiring immigrant women over men because they would work for less and were less likely to unionize against them. Often, these women were poor and young, with little to no education and poor command of English. At approximately 4:40 pm on Saturday, March 25, 1911, as the workday was ending, a fire flared up in a scrap bin under one of the cutter's tables at the northeast corner of the 8th floor.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1901: 1901 Milestone — The factory was located on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the Asch Building (later the Brown Building), which was built in 1901 and remains standing on the New York University (NYU) campus at 23–29 Washington Place, near Washington Square Park.
2. 1911: 1911 Milestone — The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire occurred in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, a borough of New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911.
3. 2025: 2025 Milestone — The factory normally employed about 500 workers, mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrant women and girls, who worked nine hours a day on weekdays plus seven hours on Saturdays, earning for their 52 hours of work between $7 and $12 a week, the equivalent of $242 to $415 a week in 2025 currency, or $5.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

True or False: “The primary cause of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was determined to be an electrical malfunction in the sewing machines.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): The Fire Marshal concluded that the likely cause was the disposal of an unextinguished match or cigarette butt into a scrap bin.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• A. N. Sherwin-White — Historical peer (Born in 1911) (1911): British academic and ancient historian, specializing in Roman law and society.
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• Alfred Brendel — Historical peer (Died in 2025) (2025): Czech-born Austrian pianist, composer, and scholar renowned for Beethoven.

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