A theater fire in Richmond, Virginia kills 72 people, including the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable.

The Richmond Theatre fire occurred in Richmond, Virginia, United States, on Thursday, December 26, 1811. It devastated the Richmond Theatre, located on the north side of Broad Street between what is now Twelfth and College Streets. The fire killed 72 people, including Virginia's governor George William Smith, former U.S. senator Abraham B. Venable, and other government officials in what was the worst urban disaster in U.S. history at the time. The Monumental Church was erected on the site as a memorial to the fire.

Richmond is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city since 1871. It is the fourth-most populous city in Virginia with a population of 226,610 at the 2020 census, while the Richmond metropolitan area with over 1.37 million residents is the third-most populous metropolitan area in Virginia and 44th-largest in the United States.

The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The governor is head of the executive branch of the government of Virginia and is the commander-in-chief of the Virginia National Guard and Virginia Defense Force.

George William Smith was a Virginia lawyer and politician who served several terms in the Virginia House of Delegates and was twice the acting governor of the state before then being elected as the 17th Governor of Virginia. His term as elected governor was short and ended with his death in the Richmond Theatre fire of 1811.