Human Error

On this episode of Dave Does History, we dive into one of the deadliest engineering failures in American history—the collapse of the St. Francis Dam on March 12, 1928. Built to quench Los Angeles’ growing thirst, the dam was hailed as a triumph until it gave way in the dead of night, sending a 140-foot wall of water roaring through San Francisquito Canyon. Hundreds perished, entire towns were wiped out, and the disaster forever changed dam safety in the U.S. What went wrong? Who was responsible? And what lessons did we learn? Let’s uncover the shocking truth.