This Day in History for October 8 – Great Chicago Fire Begins and More

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1871 – The Great Chicago Fire begins and goes on to kill 250 people, leave 100,000 people homeless, and destroy thousands of buildings (More info)

1956 – The New York Yankees' Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in World Series history (More info)

1970 – In Paris, a Communist delegation rejects President Richard Nixon's peace proposal to end the Vietnam War as "a maneuver to deceive world opinion" (More info)

2001 – President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security (More info)

2005 – Thousands of people are killed by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in parts of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan (More info)