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Events/Disaster · 1913

Senghenydd colliery disaster

Disaster, 14 October 1913, United Kingdom.

What happened

An explosion at the Universal Colliery killed 439 miners. It was the worst mining disaster in the history of the British coalfields. A Government inquiry followed.1,2,3

Why it matters

It led to tighter mine safety enforcement in Britain.1,2,3

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. Bulli Colliery explosion

    It followed a strike that ended in February 1887, and the inquiry blamed lax safety practice by both management and miners.4,5

  2. Dudley Colliery explosion

    The regulator describes the mine as dry and dusty, with 292 workers.6,7

  3. Greta Colliery fire

    The regulator uses it as a case study; seven earlier gob fires there had not killed anyone.8,9

  4. Courrieres mine disaster

    Courrieres mine disaster. Wikidata records 1099 deaths.10

  5. Peak year for US coal mining deaths

    The figure shows the scale of the safety problem before federal regulation.11,12

  6. Senghenydd colliery disaster

    It led to tighter mine safety enforcement in Britain.1,2,3

  7. Mineral Leasing Act

    The BLM says that since 1920 the federal government has leased fuels and certain other minerals, while locatable minerals stay under the 1872 Mining Law.13,14

  8. Mother Jones dies

    Mother Jones dies (date from Wikidata).15

Open the full timeline

Where next

Events

An example ofGresford colliery explosionGresford killed 265 in 1934, and its inquiry findings were debated in Parliament in 1937.16ExamplesCoal Mines Act 1911Senghenydd killed 439 miners two years after the 1911 Act, the worst in British coalfields.1ExamplesCoalbrook colliery collapseCoalbrook buried 437 miners in 1960. Senghenydd killed 439 in 1913.17ExamplesBois du Cazier fire at MarcinelleMarcinelle killed 262 in 1956. Britain's Senghenydd killed 439 in 1913.1

Places

Located inSenghenyddSee the place where this happened: Senghenydd.1Came out ofAberfanAberfan is part of this story: Senghenydd colliery disaster.18Came out ofBlaenavonBlaenavon is part of this story: Senghenydd colliery disaster.19

Sources

  1. Miners' lives at 5.5p each: the Government Enquiry into the 1913 Senghenydd mine disaster Amgueddfa Cymru, Museum Wales
  2. Site dedicated to thousands of lives lost officially recognised (12 Mar 2024) Cadw (Welsh Government)
  3. Senghenydd (item Q3404686), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  4. 1887 Bulli Colliery Explosion case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  5. Bulli (item Q4996904), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  6. 1898 Dudley Colliery case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  7. Dudley (item Q5311786), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  8. 1900 Greta Colliery Fire case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  9. Greta (item Q5607629), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  10. Wikidata item Q1550228 (Courrieres mine disaster)
  11. Coal fatalities, 1900 to date US Mine Safety and Health Administration
  12. United States (item Q30), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  13. About Mining and Minerals US Bureau of Land Management
  14. Washington, D.C. (item Q61), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  15. Wikidata item Q107082 (Mother Jones)
  16. Gresford Colliery Explosion debate, 23 February 1937 UK Parliament (Hansard)
  17. The 1960 Coalbrook Disaster The Heritage Portal (H. Muller)
  18. Wikidata item Q3244565 (Aberfan)
  19. Wikidata item Q124670960 (Blaenavon)

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Pictures: Timna in de Negevwoestijn; rotspartij "de zuilen van Salomo", Poll, Willem van de / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Dolcoath tin mine, Camborne, Cornwall: miners in a mine shaft, standing on wooden platforms connected by ladders. Photograph by J. C. Burrow, 1890/1910., Burrow, J. C., 1852-1914 (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 15 Crew, NASA JSC (Public domain (NASA media, no copyright)); Mijnramp Bois du Caizier, Marcinelle, België. Schacht, Rossem, Wim van / Anefo / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0).