Circus fire kills 168

Five Ringing Bros. officials and an employee were sentenced to prison in the Hartford, Conn., fire. Circus Vice President James A. Haley, who served eight months in prison, was eventually elected as a Democratic congressman from Florida. The James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa is named in his honor.

Above, Detective Lt. Thomas C. Barber visits the grave of Little Miss 1565, a curly-haired girl of about 6 who died in the 1944 fire. Barber said he sometimes found flowers left on the grave. After Barber died, a local florists' association took over decorating her grave, according to a 1980 Times story. The Connecticut State Library archives on the fire is located here. Note that the library gives the death toll as 167. Email me