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Today in History: November 18, more than 900 die at Jonestown

Also on this day, 12 people were killed and 27 injured when a bonfire under construction at Texas A&M University collapsed

A black and white photo of bodies in a room
Bodies of more than 400 members of the Jim Jones’ sect “Temple of people” lie down, on 19 November 1978, in Jonestown, where the Cult leader Jim Jones had established the Peoples Temple. More than 900 people died, on November 18, 1978, in the largest mass suicide in American history. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
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U.S. Rep. Leo J. Ryan of California and four others were killed on an airstrip in Jonestown, Guyana, by members of the Peoples Temple; the killings were followed by a night of mass murder and suicide resulting in the deaths of more than 900 cult members.

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