According to legend, what animal started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871?

The fire began on the evening of October 8, 1871, in or near a barn behind the home of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. A newspaper story soon claimed Mrs. O’Leary’s cow had kicked over a lantern while being milked.

Driven by strong winds and a city built largely of wood, the fire burned for more than a day, killing around 300 people, destroying about 17,000 buildings and leaving roughly 100,000 homeless.

In 1893, reporter Michael Ahern admitted he had made up the cow story. In 1997 the Chicago City Council formally cleared Mrs. O’Leary and her cow. Fittingly, the Chicago Fire Department’s training academy now stands on the site of the O’Leary property.