Did a Cow Really Cause the Great Chicago Fire of 1871? mentalfloss.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mentalfloss.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Over a century after the disastrous blaze, an Irish milkmaid, Catherine O’Leary, and her cow were proven innocent, a scapegoat in the blaze, the Great Chicago Fire, that killed 300 people.