United States and general resources
"Injured Being Treated in Mine Hospital" by Janet Lindenmuth under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.
- Mining DisastersThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) maintains list chronological listing of major mining incidents for the United States. Chart lists date, mine name, city, state, number killed, mining sector (coal, limestone, etc.) and type of accident (explosion, fire, etc.). NIOSH also has data and charts related to mining injuries.
- MSHA Fatality StatisticsThe Mine Safety and Health Administration maintains list page with annual data by state and by mining sector.
- Mine DisastersShort book, published in 2000, with a timeline of legislation and lists of major disasters in various mines in the U.S.
- Mine Accident Index from the Gerald E. Sherard CollectionA compilation of names of people killed or injured in mines, mostly in the U.S.
Coal Mines
- Historical Summary of Coal-Mine Explosions in the United States, 1810-1958Bureau of Mines Bulletin 586 (1960). Entries are listed in date order. 280 p.
- Historical Summary of Coal Mine Explosions in the United States, 1959-81Bureau of Mines Information circular 8909.
- Historical Summary of Coal Mine Explosions in the United States, 1981-1994Bureau of Mines Information circular 9440
- Coal-Mine Fatalities in the United States, 1870-1914Bureau of Mines Bulletin 115. This historical summary focuses on fatalities, arranged by state.
- Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States, Volume II, Coal Mines, 1959-1998 (MSHA)(not online) This volume covers coal mine disasters and consists of three previously published Bureau of Mines reports (IC 8909, IC 9440, and Bulletin 616) plus a supplement covering 1958-1998.
Non-Coal Mines
- Major Disasters at Metal and Nonmetal Mines and Quarries in the United States (Excluding Coal Mines), 1885-1943Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7493
- Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States, Volume III, Metal and Nonmetal Mines, 1885-1998 (MSHA)Consists of U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7493 plus supplement documenting metal/non-metal mine disasters from 1943-1998.
Old newspapers are a good source of information on older mining events. Try these sources:
- Chronicling American: Historic American NewspapersAmerica's historic newspaper pages from 1836-1922
- America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922 [full page reproduction] This link opens in a new windowfeatures the images and full-text content from scores of historical publications.
- SmallTownPapersA collection of newspaper from around the U.S.
Accidents in Pennsylvania
The Annual Reports of Mining Activities generally summarize accident data which appears in more detail elsewhere. From the 1800s to 1914, more detailed accident data are available in the Annual Report of the Secretary of Internal Affairs of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Part III, Industrial Statistics. Details include, date of accident, name, age, nationality, occupation, marital status, number of children,name of the mine, location of the mine, nature of the accident, and cause of the accident. (See links to the Annual reports on first page of this guide.)
- Registers of Mine AccidentsFrom the Pennsylvania State Archives, listings of coal mine accidents in Pennsylvania from approx. 1899-1972.
- Pennsylvania Mining Accidents 1814 - 1986 (Sherard)Gerald Sherard's compilation of records culled from the Annual Reports of Mines and other sources. Select Pennsylvania from the list.
- Explosions in Pennsylvania Coal Mines, 1870-193228 page U.S. Bureau of Mines information circular 6710, published in 1933.
- Quarterly Review (Pennsylvania. Dept. of Environmental Resources)Produced only this year, this publication contained some details about accidents that occurred in PA coal mines in 1970 and 1971.
- Pennsylvania Mining Resources (Genealogical Society of Pennsyvlania)Links to various resources related to the historical aspects of mining in PA.
- Fatalities from disasters in Anthracite RegionChronological listing of major accidents in the PA anthracite region, with date, deaths and cause. (Archived version from Wayback Machine 2016)
- Deaths in the Pennsylvania bituminous coal districtsWestern Pennsylvania Genealogical Society (2006). 2 vols. cover accidents and/or deaths from 1888-1901.
- Mine Disasters [in PA]List of major accidents in PA; some with accident reports. (from U.S. Mine Rescue Association)
Centralia Mine Fire
- Centralia Mine Fire ResourcesInformation and reports from the PA DEP about the devastating mine fire.
- Problems in the control of anthracite mine fires : a case study of the Centralia Mine Fire (August 1980)U.S. Bureau of Mines report of investigations no.8799. 93 p.
- Centralia TownSite dedicated to the town, features many local photos.
- Socio-economic impact analysis: Centralia mine fire abatement alternatives1980 draft report based on personal interviews and other data.
- Modern RuinsPhotos and links to other sites about Centralia and Byrnesville.
- Offroaders CentraliaThis site offers many photos and history.
- Robert J. Brennan PapersRobert Brennan was a mining engineer with the U.S. Bureau of Mines in the Centralia region.
Quecreek
- Quecreek report2003 report by the Mine Safety and Health Administration about accident at Pennsylvania mine.
- Quecreek Mine Rescue (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)Index and links to articles, photos and audio files (2002).
- Quecreek Mining Accident (DEP documents)Archived pages from the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection website. Includes history of the mine, miner names, maps, photos and other documents.
Other specific accidents:
- Avondale (1869)On Sept. 6, 1869, 110 miners died in a fire at this colliery in Plymouth, PA, prompting the Commonwealth to enact inspection laws for anthracite mines.
- Mammoth Coal Mine (1891)January 27, 1891 in Mount Pleasant, PA, 109 deaths from an explosion in the mine.
- Gilberton Mine (1935)13 killed. A report also appeared in the PA Legislative Journal, 1936.
- Arnold, PA subsidence (1956)Report in the Pennsylvania Legislative Journal (1955 appendix p.9535-9542) on major incidence of subsidence in Arnold, Westmoreland County.
- Knox Mine Disaster (historical marker)Accident on Jan. 22, 1959 at the River Slope mine in Jenkins Twnsp, PA, killing 12. Report to the legislature appeared in Pennsylvania Legislative Journal 1959 appendix p.5961-5981.
Accidents outside of Pennsylvania
- Mine Disaster Investigations since 2000Listing of high-profile disasters in the U.S. with links to reports.
- State and Provincial lists of mining accidentsGerald Sherard compiled lists for various states and Canadian provinces, including Idaho, Indiana, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Ontario, Quebec, Queensland, West Virginia and others.
- Upper Big Branch (West Virginia)April 2010 coal mine in West Virginia.
- Mining Accidents and Safety (U.K.)Mostly focused on resources related to mining accidents in England.
- Coalmining History Resource CenterArchived website about mining accidents in the U.K.
- Heroes of MineAnother site with information about coal mining disasters in the U.K.
- Scottish Mining accidentsInformation from the Scottish Mining website.
- Annales des mines de BelgiqueFor Belgium, accident data appears in this work, published annually
- Statistique de l'industrie minéraleFor France, accident data appears in this work, published annually by the Bureau of Mining Documents of the Ministry of Public Works.
- Zeitschrift fur das Berg-, Hutten-, und SalinenwesenFor Germany, accident statistics appear here.