Professor Richard K. Lieberman: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

At the launch party of CUNY's 2011 Health in America calendar, Professor Richard K. Lieberman, director of the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, described the horrible details of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire that killed 146 mostly Italian and Jewish young females. This fire sparked public outrage over unsafe working conditions and led New York State to establish a Factory Investigating Commission, which toured factories throughout the state and recommended dozens of new laws to safeguard workers, 36 of which were ultimately passed.