Case histories of dam incidents and failures contain invaluable sources of practical and insightful information to guide practitioners conducting normal operations, assist regulators in establishing safety-conscious practices and enforcing rules and regulations to safeguard people’s life and property and the environment free from pollution. The selection of representative case histories presented herein is based on databases available to the author, including: (1) collections by dam-building institutions such as International Commissions of Large Dams (ICOLD) and its national commissions; (2) technical papers; (3) forensic reports tasked by government agencies and dam owners; and (4) news articles. These cases include common dam failure modes: static slope instability; static liquefaction; dam overtopping; seismic slope instability; foundation instability and seepage-induced (piping) internal erosion.