I hope I'm not the only person who, when confronted by the news of some major loss of life, pauses for a moment to wonder how that death toll ranks in the history of disaster. So here, with sincere apologies to anybody's wounded sensitivities, is my own attempt at a summary.
All events are hot-linked to a web reference.
This is obviously a selective list but please feel free to draw my attention to anything you think I've missed. New additions will usually be flagged in my blog, Blogadoon. This page was last amended 2nd March 2001 .