This event will be virtual only and not open to in-person attendees. Check out our Facebook page or YouTube channel for the live video on Thursday at noon!

On Monday, April 28, 1924, an explosion at Wheeling Steel's Benwood coal mine took the lives of 119 men and boys, most of whom were recent immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. It remains the third most lethal coal mine disaster in West Virginia's history. Seán Duffy will discuss how and why this tragedy happened. The talk will include a closer look at some of those killed and the loved ones they left behind.

Seán Duffy is adult programming director and Local History Specialist at the Ohio County Public Library and the Executive Director of the Wheeling Academy of Law and Science (WALS) Foundation, both in Wheeling. He has a law degree from the American University and has written or edited four books and numerous articles about Wheeling's history, particularly focusing on immigration. He is a member of the Wheeling Arts and Cultural Commission, Vice President of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation Board, and editor of the Upper Ohio Valley Historical Review.