see more

Irish emigrants embarking for America at Waterloo Docks, Liverpool, 1850. The failure of the Irish potato crop in the 1840s led to a devastating famine. An estimated 750,000 people died and over a million emigrated to America, Canada, Australia, Britain and other countries in the 5 years after 1846. From The Illustrated London News, July 1850. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Irish emigrants embarking for America at Waterloo Docks, Liverpool, 1850. The failure of the Irish potato crop in the 1840s led to a devastating famine. An estimated 750,000 people died and over a million emigrated to America, Canada, Australia, Britain and other countries in the 5 years after 1846. From The Illustrated London News, July 1850. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)