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It is the greatest natural disaster in American history. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 struck early on the morning of April 18th. In just seconds, buildings crumbled and splintered, the waterfront lands liquefied and crevasses swallowed up homes and people. The destruction touched off a city-wide fire that raged out of control for days. In the panic of the aftermath, innocent people were shot to death in the streets. Forty-two thousand buildings collapsed or burned. More than 200,000 were left homeless. Thousands died. A hundred years later, the Great Quake is still etched in our modern culture. Many called it an Act of God, but the 1906 earthquake is a distinctly human story. The Great San Francisco Quake of 1906 tells that story - one of corruption, valor, tragedy and progress. It is the emblematic story of what happens to a modern city when the earth moves under it. While the quake leveled a city in its infancy, it simultaneously gave birth to whole new avenues of science. Never has calamity taught us so much. Never has a natural disaster so changed the face of science.