A fire on Christmas Eve 1851 destroyed two-thirds of the Library of Congress's collection.
Notes on verification
Corroborated by multiple independent, reputable sources (History.com, Wikipedia, Britannica, PBS/NPR), with minor variance in whether the two-thirds figure applies to the whole collection or specifically the Jefferson library portion. [cascade flags: wikipedia_dropped_other_sources_exist | tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- Library of Congress | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica (seed:culture_and_philosophy)
- https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-24/fire-ravages-library-of-congress (corroboration)
- https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=2370 (corroboration)