Historical eventMarch 91946

Burnden Park disaster

Thirty-three people were killed in a human crush at Burnden Park, a football stadium in Bolton, England.

80th anniversary in 2026

Everything on March 9Original source

In context

When
Saturday, March 9 194680 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1940s
Anniversary
80th in 2026
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1946.

What happened

The Burnden Park disaster was a crowd crush that occurred on 9 March 1946 at Burnden Park football stadium, then the home of Bolton Wanderers. The crush resulted in the deaths of 33 people and injuries to hundreds of Bolton fans. It was the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history until the Ibrox Park disaster in 1971.

March 9 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1946Burnden Park disaster
  2. 1977Washington, D.C.
  3. 1978Suharto
  4. 1987Chrysler
  5. 1997Comet Hale–Bopp
  6. 2000Nupedia
  7. 2011Space Shuttle Discovery
  8. 20122012–2014 Salvadoran gang truce
  9. 2015Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil
  10. 2020Giuseppe Conte
  11. 20232023 Hamburg shooting

Also in 1946

  • October 22Operation OsoaviakhimOver twenty-two hundred engineers and technicians from eastern Germany are forced to relocate to the Soviet Union, along with their famil…
  • July 5Bikini AtollNamed after Bikini Atoll, the site of the nuclear-weapons test Operation Crossroads in the Marshall Islands, the modern bikini was introd…
  • October 271946 Bihar riotsInter-religious riots in which Hindu mobs targeted Muslim families began in the Indian state of Bihar, resulting in 2,000 to 30,000 deaths.
  • May 1Pilbara strikeStart of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
  • July 22King David Hotel bombingKing David Hotel bombing: A Zionist underground organisation, the Irgun, bombs the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, site of the civil admin…
  • December 26Bugsy SiegelAmerican gangster Bugsy Siegel opened The Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the oldest casino still in operation on the Las Vegas Strip.
  • June 21946 Italian institutional referendumBirth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King U…
  • August 7Turkish StraitsThe Soviet Union informed Turkey that the way in which the latter was handling the Turkish Straits no longer represented the security int…

Everything we record for 1946 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Burnden Park disaster”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/burnden-park-disaster-1946-march-9, accessed October 24, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Burnden Park disaster happen?

March 9 1946 — 80 years ago, on a Saturday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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