The steamboat ''Jenny Lind'' was a ferry that exploded in

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

on April 11, 1853 while on course to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

from Alviso, California, killing many residents of Alviso and San Jose. The boiler exploded as the steamboat passed the

Redwood City Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a po ...

inlet (about ), minutes after dinner was called for the passengers.KQED perspectives blog
/ref> The worst of the casualties were among the women and children who were seated first at dinner. At least 31 people were killed.

History

Built in San Francisco in 1850, the ''Jenny Lind'' was named for Swedish opera singer

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and a ...

, made famous in the United States by

PT Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

. The destruction of the ''Jenny Lind'' was a major reason for building the

San Francisco and San Jose Railroad The San Francisco and San Jose Railroad (SF&SJ) was a railroad which linked the communities of San Francisco and San Jose, California, running the length of the San Francisco Peninsula. The company incorporated in 1860 and was one of the first rai ...

.SFGate article
/ref>

Victims of the Jenny Lind Explosion

* Thomas Godden, land owner in Santa Clara County and second husband of Maria Encarnacion Ortega de Sanchez *

Jacob David Hoppe Jacob David Hoppe (c. 1813 — 1853) was a 19th-century Californian newspaperman and politician. Jacob Hoppe was born in Maryland and came to California in 1846. He established a newspaper, which later became ''The Daily Alta California''. He w ...

, contributing founder of ''

The Daily Alta California The ''Alta California'' or ''Daily Alta California'' (often miswritten ''Alta Californian'' or ''Daily Alta Californian'') was a 19th-century San Francisco newspaper. ''California Star'' The ''Daily Alta California'' descended from the first ...

'', signatory of the

Constitution of California The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original co ...

and first postmaster for San Jose. * Bernard Murphy, pioneer and Santa Clara County land owner. * Noah Ripley, prominent San Francisco resident. * Christopher A. Shelton, botanist who brought first beehive to San Jose. * Charles White, second mayor of the Pueblo of San Jose.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenny Lind 1850 ships Maritime incidents in April 1853 Ships built in San Francisco Transportation disasters in California Jenny Lind