September 6: The Great London Fire

Today in 1666, the aftermath of the great London fire of September 2-5 revealed as many as 70,000 of the city's 80,000 homes destroyed. Though immediate loss of life had been minimal, famine and disease followed in the months afterward, amid fears that the fire was set by papists or foreigners now preparing to invade England. The aristocracy feared revolution, and many - like the founding Quaker George Fox - believed the disaster spelled the coming of Armageddon.