LANDMARKS OF WORLD HISTORY
A Chronology of Remarkable Natural Phenomena
Eighteenth Century 1781-1790
Numbers show sources
Date
Location
Phenomenon
Description
1781 February 12
England E. coast
Gales
Coasts strewn with wrecks and dead bodies. (16)
1781 February 15
Hampshire, England
Aurora
'Strong aurora, very red’. (34)
1781 February 27
Hampshire, England
Gale
3-hour storm; houses and trees blown down. (16, 63)
1781 March 13
England
Planet
Herschel discovers Uranus. (4)
1781 June 20
English Channel
Waterspout
Whirlwind sank RN cutter. (16, 63)
1781 September 25
Hampshire, England
Aurora
'Surprising auroras, very red’. (34)
1781 October 25 (rep.)
Hungary
Heat
Farmers worked at night. All snow on Carpathians melted. (63)
1781 November 9
Meerut, India
Hailstorm
Hailstones of up to 10 pounds killed men and cattle. (72)
1782 May 1 (reported)
Europe
Late cold
Severe frost, Vienna; great snowfalls, Italy. (2)
1782 May 15
Hungary
Subsidence or flood
Chasm opened in storm; 53 houses swallowed up. (2, 47)
1782 May 22
Formosa and China
Storm surge?
Sea rose and drowned 'innumerable' people. (47)
1782 May 23
Brusjö Lake, Sweden
Earthquake?
Lake waters rose in flood after 'loud noise’. (47)
1782 May 23
Eastern USA
Tornadoes
In Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire. (44)
1782 August 16
Ireland
Flood
Great rain flood in Dublin and neighbourhood. (2)
1782 September 16
Off Newfoundland
Gale
West Indian convoy wrecked; over 1,200 drowned. (2)
1782 October 15
India
‘Hurricane’
Many ships and boats lost. (17)
1782 November 11
St. Pons, France
Glazed frost
Great tree damage. (17)
1782 December
Formosa
Volcanoes
3 volcanoes erupted, many killed. 'Exaggerated’. (17)
1782 December
Hungary
Earthquake
Town of Comorn ‘entirely destroyed’. (47)
1783 see here
Eifel, Germany
Volcano
Possible ‘minor eruption’, Gliechberg. (48)
1783 January
Iceland
Volcano
Submarine eruption off Cape Reikianes. (46)
1783 February
Calabria, Italy
Dry fog
Dry fog spread over most of Europe. (9)
1783 February 5
Calabria, Italy
Earthquake
181 towns wrecked, 30,000 killed. (47, 51)
1783 March 26
Greece
Earthquake
St. Maura; buildings fell, many killed. (45)
1783 March 28
Calabria, Italy
Earthquake
'Completed destruction'. Shocks till September. (47)
1783 April 8
Hungary
Earthquake
Much building damage, Comorn. Again on April 22. (17)
1783 April 26-27
Hampshire, England
Aurora
“Vivid aurora’. (34)
1783 May?
Near Iceland
Volcano
Eruption formed Nyöe ('New Island’}. (17, 45)
1783 May 4
England
Lunar event?
Herschel observed ‘red star’ in lunar crater Aristarchus. (49)
1783 May 7
Portugal
Earthquakes
Many houses thrown down, Oporto and Brague. (17)
1783 May 12 - 31
Hungary
Earthquakes
19 shocks. Comorn damaged again. (47)
1783 May 20 (c.)
Iceland
Volcano
‘Column of fire’ in mountains N. of Sida. (57)
1783 June 1-11
Europe
Dry fog
‘Electric fog’ spread over all Europe from Calabria. (38)
1783 June 8
Iceland
Volcano
Great Laki fissure eruption began. (40, 57)
1783 June 13
Cremnitz, Hungary
Lightning
City struck in 9 places and burnt down; 50 killed. (17)
1783 June 14
Iceland
Volcano
Laki eruption column visible 250 km. distant. (57)
1783 June 18
Iceland
Volcano
Skapta River blocked by Laki lava; great floods. (45)
1783 June 23
England, Wales
Summer frost
Trees and fruit suffered severely. (3, 17))
1783 June 25
Iceland
Volcano
Laki eruption column 12 kilometres high. Fire-fountains over 1,000 metres high. (57)
1783 June 28
England, France
Obscuration
Sun dull red; 'hot fog' in Paris. (17, 63)
1783 July 4
Bohemia and Hungary
Lightning
34 persons killed by lightning. (57)
1783 July 6
Poland
Lightning
Houses set afire, Cracow; several killed. (17)
1783 July 15
England
Obscuration
Constant mist like smoke; sun like a ‘red hot plate’. (27)
1783 July 20
Syria
Earthquake
Village crushed by rock fall. ‘Dry fog’ in Syria. (17, 47)
1783 July 23 (reported)
France
Thunderstorms
Hail destroyed harvest, Lausanne; 15 killed by lightning, Geneva. (17)
1783 July 29
Italy
Earthquake
4 villages ruined, Calabria. (47)
1783 August 2
Canterbury, England
Heat
92°F. at noon. (17)
1783 August 3
Iceland
Volcano
Laki lava filled River Hverfisfloit channel. (45)
1783 August 3
Orleans, France
Thunderstorm
Storm ruined crops and tore up trees. Tornado? (17)
1783 August 5
Asama-yama, Japan
Volcano
Nuee ardente blast killed 1,162. (3)
1783 August 18
Europe
Meteor
Great meteor passed from Shetland to Rome. (6, 12, 26)
1783 August 30
England, Holland
Thunderstorm
Many wrecks on coasts; houses unroofed and people killed by lightning inland. (17)
1783 September 9
England
Aurora?
Cast shadow despite near full Moon. (17)
1783 September 29 (reported)
Mediterranean
Dry fog
Thick ‘fog’ in N. Africa and Greek Archipelago. (17)
1783 October 16
Canada
Obscuration
‘Dark as night’ at 2 p.m.; ‘approach was instantaneous’; lasted about an hour. (73)
1783 October 25
Iceland
Volcano
Last major Laki eruptions. (57)
1783 November 29
New York, USA
Earthquake
'Rather violent' shock, again on 30th. (47)
1783 December 9
Cambray, France
Earthquake? Meteor explosion?
Noise like ‘cannons’ heard, several villages. Chimneys fell. (17, 47)
1783 December 14
Holland
Fog
Fatal accidents, Amsterdam; coaches fell into canals. (18)
1783 December 16 (reported)
Near Iceland
Volcano
New volcanic island near Iceland ‘increases daily”. (18)
1783 December 27
Hungary
Floods
Danube flood after thaw inundated Arrad and other cities. (19)
1783 December 30
Eastern USA
Snowstorm
20 inches of snow, New Jersey. (43)
1784 January 2
Scotland
Blizzard
“Hurricane’ of wind and snow, Aberdeen; drifts 18 feet deep. (54)
1784 January 9
Guanaxuato, Mexico
Earth sounds
'Underground thunder' begins; no earthquake. (50)
1784 January 14 & 16
Iceland
Earthquake
1,459 houses & 19 churches damaged. Landslides, fissures, rivers changed course. (28)
1784 January 17
France
Gale
Storm with lightning and hail blew down trees, houses and churches at Rochelle. 27 ships lost. (66)
1784 January 18
England
Snow
‘Vast snows’ in Cornwall. (34)
1784 January 25 (reported)
Holland and Belgium
Winter cold
Intense frost, Amsterdam; River Meuse blocked by ice flooded Maestricht. (66)
1784 January 27
USA
Severe winter
Temp. of minus 18° (F?) at Detroit. 'Long Winter’. (43)
1784 February 6 (reported)
Italy
Snow
Mountain roads near Rome impassable. (19)
1784 February 7 (reported)
Portugal
5 weeks of coastal storms; 100 drowned in Tagus. (19)
1784 February 7
England
Snow
Snow ‘up to horses’ shoulders’, Norfolk. (65)
1784 February 10
USA
Severe winter
Temperature at Hartford, Connecticut, -12° (F?) or lower, 12 consecutive mornings. (43)
1784 March 2 (reported)
Germany
Flood
Rhine ice and flood did great damage at Mulheim; 200 killed. Part of Bonn city walls brought down by ice. (19)
1784 March 20
Europe
Earthquake
Violent shock, Prague. ‘Mountain fell’ in Transylvania, 18th. ( 47)
1784 April 2
Norfolk, England
Snow
Snowed all afternoon, lying since 23 Dec., ’83. (65)
1784 May 8
South Carolina
Hailstorm
Storm 2 miles wide, stones 9 inches round. Several persons and many animals killed. (44)
1784 May 13
Peru
Earthquake
Cumana and Maquiqua devastated. (47)
1784 June 25 (c.)
Austria
Summer snow
Snow fell and vines frozen. (34)
1784 July 23
Exinhian, Armenia
Earthquake
5,000 killed. (47)
1784 July 30
West Indies
Hurricane
Much damage and many lives lost, Jamaica. (59)
1784 August 16
Olavsvik, Iceland
Earthquake
30 large farms ruined. (47)
1784 August 19
Italy
Earthquake
‘Earth agitated for an hour’, Calabria. (47)
1785 February 19 (OS)
Moscow, Russia
Halo complex
Halo, parhelic circle, 5 parhelia, and arc. (20)
1785 February 19
Bavaria
Meteorite
3 Kg stone fell at Eichstadt. (26)
1785 June 4
Hampshire, England
Halo complex
'Several haloes and mock suns’. (34)
1785 October 15
Thuringia
Bolide
Meteor, explosion and earthquake. (47)
1785 October 16
Canada
Obscuration
Intense darkness and black rain. (8)
1785 November 1
Nottingham, England
Tornado
Became waterspout on River Trent. (21)
1785 November 29
England
Tornado
Gloucester and Bath. (21)
1786 January 4
England
Snow
Deep snow, intense cold, high wind. (34)
1786 February 5
Corfu
Earthquake
Corfu town ruined, 120 killed. (47)
1786 February 27
E. Europe
Earthquake
Violent shocks, Silesia, Poland, Hungary, Moravia, Bohemia. (47)
1786 March 9
Sicily
Earthquake
Melazzo ruined. (47)
1786 May 5
San Domingo
Fall
Great fall of black eggs which hatched into ‘tadpoles’. (71)
1786 July 31
Suffolk
Tornado
Trees felled, Saxham. (22)
1786 August 8
Mt. Blanc, France
Mountain
Balmat and Paccard make 1st ascent. (62)
1786 August 11
N.W. England
Earthquake
Damage at Whitehaven, Egremont, Workington. (10)
1786 September 2
England
Ball lightning
Fireball seen 40 minutes during 'hurricane’. (26)
Note: the fireball seen for 40 minutes during a hurricane was actually in Barbados on August 22. (69)
1786 December 25
Italy
Earthquake
Rimini, Padua, Florence. Many buildings fell, Rimini. (47)
1787 January 17
Hampshire
Aurora
‘Strong aurora’. (34)
1787 March 14
Acapulco, Mexico
Earthquake
City ruined, sea retreated. Date April 18? (47)
1787 April 18
England
Lunar event?
W. Herschel telescopically observed ‘volcanoes’ near the lunar crater Aristarchus. (17, 64)
1787 May 24
Somerset
Tornado
Houses unroofed, trees uprooted, Wellington. (23)
1787 June 7
Hampshire, England
Late frost
Much crop damage. (34)
1787 August 15
Eastern USA
Tornadoes
'Swath' 30 miles wide, 145 miles long. (44)
1787 August 19
Hampshire, England
Aurora
'Vivid aurora’. (34)
1787 September
Navarre, France
Flood
Poured from mountains; 2,000 drowned. (51)
1787 September 11
Edinburgh, Scotland
Meteor
Fireball rose and burst behind clouds. (26)
1787 October 13
Hampshire, Norfolk
Aurora
'Very red and aweful’. (34, 65)
1787 November 1
Hampshire, Norfolk
Aurora
'Broad, red fiery belt’. (34, 65)
1787 December 15
Vesuvius and Etna
Volcanoes
In simultaneous eruption to 24th. (47)
1788 May 24-25
Dublin, Ireland
Aurora
Great aurora; seen in daylight, 25th. (13)
1788 June 12
Zamora, Spain
Ball lightning?
2 fireballs ‘fought’ for 20 minutes; one then exploded. (60)
1788 June 22
Port. Jackson, Australia
Earthquake
‘1st recorded Australian earthquake’. (11)
1788 June 28
Suffolk, England
Rain flood
‘Midsummer Flood’; ‘awful torrents’ for hours. (3)
1788 July 2
Scotland
Waterspout
A waterspout on the Firth of Forth. Heavy rain following did damage at Cupar. (31)
1788 July 13
France
Hailstorm
Paris to Picardy. 1,039 villages damaged. (39)
1788 September 5
Metz, France
Aurora??
A ‘phosphorescent sheet’ veiled the night sky 200 metres above ground. (41)
1788 October 12
Lucia, West Indies
Earthquake
900 killed. 'False or exaggerated’. (56)
1788 November 11
Scotland
Earthquake
First Comrie earthquake. Over 1,000 shocks here, 1788-1921. (10)
1788 November 25
Paris, France
Cold
1st of 50 consecutive frost days (but Dec. 25). (35)
1788 December 18
Neufbrissac, France
Cold
Temp. of minus 22.4° F. (37)
1788 December 21
Norfolk, England
Cold
'Bitter cold with high wind and snow’. (65)
1788 December 31
Europe
Severe winter
-21° C in Paris. ‘One of longest and coldest winters ever known’. (35)
1789 January 6
Nice, France
Waterspout
Off coast. Another on March 19.
1789 January 9
London, England
Cold
Thames froze; frost fair. (61)
1789 January 13
Norfolk
Cold
‘Bitter, bitter cold...hailed, rained and froze’. (65)
1789 January 16 (reported)
France
Ice
Sea frozen ‘2 leagues out’, French and English coasts. Calais harbour icebound. (53)
1789 January 18
Orleans, France
Flood
Suburbs and vineyards flooded by Loire.
1789 May 8
Denmark
Ice
Sledges crossed frozen Denmark Sound from Bellevue to Copenhagen. (36)
1789 May 30
Pennsylvania, USA
Tornado
'4 miles wide' at Redstone. (44)
1789 June 10
Skaholt, Iceland
Earthquake
Houses thrown down, earth clefts, hot springs. (47)
1789 June 25
Northamptonshire, England
Tornado
Path 200 yards wide, 10 miles long. (24)
1789 June 28
Armagh, Ireland
Hailstorm
Storm half a mile wide ‘destroyed everything’, stones like large ice pieces. (67)
1789 July 27
Feltri, France
Ball lightning
Exploded in hall, 10 killed. (14)
1789 August 3
Amersham, Buckinghamshire
Hailstorm
Hailstones killed birds, destroyed fruit trees, broke windows. (68)
1789 December
Coringa, India
Cyclone
Storm surge drowned 20,000.
1789 December 22
Off the Cape of Good Hope
Ice
Icebergs 150 fathoms long, 50 fathoms high. (73)
1789 December 28
*
Planetary event
J.H. Schroter telescopically observed an ‘enlightened mountain’ on Venus. (5)
1790 January
Pennsylvania, USA
Winter warmth
Frequent temperatures. of 70° F. (33)
1790 March 31
Italy
Landslide
Mountain Scylla fell into sea; much agitated
1790 April 6
Eastern Europe
Earthquake
Bannat, Transylvania, etc. to Constantinople. (47)
1790 June 18
St. Petersburg, Russia
Halo complex
One of most complete ever recorded. (25)
1790 July 24
Southern France
Bolide
Meteor larger than Moon burst; meteorites fell. ‘Cottage crushed’; farmer killed. (42, 52)
1790 October 8, 9 & 10
Spain and North Africa
Earthquake
Simultaneous shocks. Great damage, Oran; sea disturbed, Carthagena. (47)
1790 November
Hawaii
Volcano
Kilauea erupts. Army of Keoua destroyed. (58)
1790 November 27
Lisbon, Portugal
Earthquake
Much building damage. (47)
1790 December 1
North Sea
Gale
25 ships lost, 400 bodies washed up, Ostend-Boulogne. (1)
1790 December 23
Wales, England, France
Storm
Storm of lightning, hail and rain. Many houses unroofed. (1)
1790 December 31
Amsterdam
Fog
230 persons drowned by falling into canals. (70)
