#OTD 1907. Jesús García Corona was a 26-year old railway brakeman working at the station of Nacozari, Sonora (Mexico). The train connecting Nacozari with Douglas, Arizona rolled in for a stop (1/6) 
The train had a dangerous payload: it was carrying dynamite. Garcia, who was resting on the platform, suddenly noticed some hay on roof of a dynamite filled car had caught fire. A fair wind was blowing (2/6)
Garcia reacted instantaneously. He put the locomotive in reverse & drove at full speed downhill trying to put maximum distance between the ticking time bomb & the town of Nacozari. When the train was about 6 miles away, the dynamite exploded (3/6)
It probably killed Garcia instantly. But his selfless act spared the population of the town a gruesome fate. In honor of his sacrifice, the town's name was changed to Nacozari de García. The American Red Cross declared him a Hero of Humanity (4/6)
Even today, many streets in Mexico carry his name & the Estadio Héroe de Nacozari sports stadium in Hermosillo is also named after him. Garcia also lives on in corridos (balads) that are popular in the Mexican countryside (5/6)
Mexican railroad workers commemorate 7 November every year as the Día del Ferrocarrilero (Railroader's Day) (6/6)
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