Henry Clay was an American side paddle wheel steamboat. Built in 1851, it caught fire while on a run on the Hudson River between Albany, New York and New York City on July 28, 1852. Nearly fifty of its over 500 passengers died in what became the river's worst steam disaster, near Riverdale, in The Bronx, New York,. Similar to the latter sinking of the famed Titanic, many of the victims came from prestigious families, spurring excited press coverage. Among the known victims was Stephen Allen, a former mayor of New York City.