How did the Aggie Bonfire collapse?
A commission created by Texas A&M University discovered that a number of factors led to the bonfire collapse, including “excessive internal stresses” on the logs and “inadequate containment strength” in the wiring used to tie the logs together.
When was the first Aggie bonfire?
November 18, 1907
The students of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, known as Aggies, burned their first bonfire on November 18, 1907, to congratulate the football team on a recent win.
What happened at the Texas A&M bonfire?
The tradition of Aggie Bonfire burned for more than 90 years, but that all changed on Nov. 18, 1999, when the bonfire structure collapsed, killing 11 students, one former student, and injuring 27 others. It happened in the middle of the night, at 2:42 a.m.
Who died in the Aggie Bonfire collapse?
18, 1999: Bonfire collapsed at 2:42 a.m., killing 12 Aggies: Christopher David Breen of Austin; Christopher Lee Heard of Houston; Miranda Denise Adams of Santa Fe, Texas; Jerry Don Self of Arlington; Michael Stephen Ebanks of Carrollton; Bryan Allan McClain of San Antonio; Jamie Lynn Hand of Henderson; Lucas John …
Do the Aggies still have a bonfire?
Texas A&M University stopped Bonfire after the 1999 collapse, but a group of students restarted the event off-campus in 2003, and it has been going ever since.
Do the Aggies still have a Bonfire?
Who died in Aggie Bonfire?
Does the Aggie Bonfire still happen?
Does Aggie Bonfire still happen?
Does Texas A&M still have the Bonfire?
A&M no longer hosts Bonfire, but some students each fall still participate in the construction of a smaller structure off-campus.
How long is Bonfire TAMU?
The History Walk portrays the 90 years of Bonfire preceding the 1999 collapse. The granite timeline is comprised of 89 granite stones arranged in a north-south line and begins with 1909, the first year Bonfire was built on campus. The amber light and notch in each stone recalls the fire glow of Bonfire each November.
What was the purpose of the Texas Aggie Bonfire?
Bonfire Memorial. From its inception as a scrap heap in 1907 to the more familiar and stack of vertical logs, the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bonfire symbolized every Aggie’s “burning desire” to beat the University of Texas in football.
Who was at the Aggie Bonfire in 1999?
At the stadium, fans relit their candles as the Parsons Mounted Cavalry fired the Aggie cannon twelve times, once for each victim. Former US President George H. W. Bush, his wife Barbara, Texas Governor George W. Bush, and his wife Laura attended the remembrance ceremony.
Is the Texas A & M bonfire a tragedy?
At Texas A&M, it is charged with emotion. A correspondent who identified himself underneath his name as “An Aggie Dad” wrote the university, “ [I]t is not the Aggie spirit to accept defeat. We do not wish to have these fine Aggies who have given their lives to have died in vain.
What was legal drinking age at time of Aggie Bonfire collapse?
One of the students killed in the 1999 bonfire collapse was under the legal drinking age yet a toxicology test showed high blood-alcohol levels; however, lower readings in a second test and inconsistencies in the initial sampling and annotation methods led to questions about the accuracy of the original tests.