LANDMARKS OF WORLD HISTORY
A Chronology of Remarkable Natural Phenomena
19th Century 1831-1840
Numbers show sources
Date
Location
Phenomenon
Description
1831 January 2
Mangapatnam, India
Meteorite
Bright light and stone fall. (58)
1831 January 7
World
Obscuration
An almost worldwide dry fog, luminous at night. (8)
1831 May 13
France
Meteorite
A 20 kg. stone fell at Vouille after fireball and detonations. Date may be July 18. (14, 17)
1831 June 1
Arctic
Exploration
James Ross reaches North Magnetic Pole, 70 5’ N., 96° 46’ W. (31, 44)
1831 June 28
Mediterranean
Volcano
The volcanic island of Ferdinandea (Graham Island) appeared between Sicily and North Africa. (3, 26, 33)
1831 August
Europe, North Africa, United States
Obscuration
A dry fog which was luminous at night. (53)
1831 August 3
Constantinople
Hailstorm
A fatal hailstorm with stones up to 1 lb.; many injured. (43)
1831 August 4
Ireland
Tornado
‘Waterspout’ destroyed buildings and killed 17 persons. (16)
1831 August 4
Mediterranean
Volcano
Ferdinandea 200 feet high and 3 miles in circumference. (33)
1831 August 10 - 11
West Indies
Hurricane
Over 1,500 killed in Barbados. (42, 57)
1831 September 9
Czechoslovakia
Meteorite
A 3.75 kg. stone fell at Wessely after moving cloud and detonations. (17)
1831 October
Mediterranean
Volcano
Ferdinandea washed away by sea. (3)
1831 October 31
Lower Bengal
Floods
Inundations swept away 300 villages and 11,000 persons. (59)
1832 March
Kourianof, Russia
Fall
“Combustible yellowish substance’ fell and covered 700 square feet area 2 inches thick. (37)
1832 June 20
Hawaii
Volcano
‘Earliest eruption recorded’ of Mauna Loa. (60)
1832 June 23
India
Meteor?
3 fireballs rose over horizon and united into one as large as Moon, Delhi. (7, 14)
1832 November 13
Mocha, Red Sea
Meteor shower
‘Meteors burst in every direction’. (37)
1832 November
Sicily
Volcano
Eruption of Mt. Etna; lava flow 18 miles long, 1 mile wide and 30 feet deep.
1832 November 9
England
Meteor shower
‘Thousands of meteors’ after midnight, Portsmouth. (37)
1832 November 13
Europe
Meteor shower
“incredible number’ of meteors seen from Germany, Switzerland, Austria and South Russia. (48)
1833 May 1 (before)
France
Meteor shower?
‘Shower of fire’ in sky near Caen and Argenton. (37)
1833 May 16
India
Fall
Dead and dry fish fell at Futtepoor (same as 1834 May 17?). (13)
1833 June
France
Fall
A rain of toads at Jouy. (24)
1833 September
Scotland
Meteor??
Slow-moving fireball seen over a minute, Islay (14)
1833 September 18
Sussex, England
Earthquake
A shock at Chichester threw down chimneys. A man killed by a chalk-fall. (1)
1833 September 18
Peru
Earthquake
Town of Tacna ruined. Shock extended many 100 miles south. (52)
1833 November 13
North America
Meteor shower
240,000 meteors in 9 hours. (9)
1833 November 25
Moravia
Meteorites
A shower of stones at Blansko. (14, 17)
1833 November
India
Meteorites
A shower of stones killed 1 person at Kandahar. (14, 17)
1833 November 25
Sumatra
Earthquake
Shock and seismic sea wave devastated SW coast
1833 December 27 (or 28)
Russia
Meteorite
A 30 lbs. stone fell at Volhynia. (14)
1834 January 8
Poland
Meteorite
A 26 lbs. stone fell at Okniny (17)
1834 February
Iceland
Volcano
A submarine eruption off Cape Reykjanes. (5)
1834 May 17
India
Fall
Dust storm and fall of thousands of dead and dry fish at Allahabad. (13)
1834 June 4
United States
Tornadoes
Two tornadoes in Virginia; one up to 3 miles wide. (27)
1834 June 12
India
Meteorite
A 26 lbs. stone fell at Charwallas. (17)
1834 August 9
United States
Fall
A shower of mussels during a storm. (8, 54)
1834 September 20
West Indies
Hurricane
Over 200 killed in Dominica. (42)
1834 December 10 (or 15)
Sicily
Meteorite
A 15 lbs. stone fell at Marsala. (17)
1835 January 18
Lobau
Fall
“Small friable vesicular’ stones fell. (13, 14)
1835 January 22
Nicaragua
Volcano
Eruption of Coseguina; explosion heard 1,100 miles away. (14, 29, 35)
1835 February 5
Chile
Earthquake
40 towns and villages destroyed. (52)
1835 February 20
Chile
Earthquake
Shock and sea wave; over 5,000 killed in Concepcion and Santiago. (35)
1835 June 19
New Jersey, United States
Tornado
‘Great New Brunswick Tornado’; much damage on track 17 miles long. (27)
1835 July 31 (or August 1)
Tennessee
Meteorite
A 9 lbs. iron fell at Charlotte after detonation. (17)
1835 August 4
Gloucestershire, England
Meteorites
A shower of meteorites at Aldsworth. (17)
1835 August 6
Italy
Comet
First observations of Halley’s Comet. (32)
1835 September 6
Germany
Fall
Jelly-like mass fell 3 feet from observer with loud noise, Gotha. (13, 14)
1835 September 13
Caux, France
Tornado
Tornado overturned houses; pond water and fish carried a league and a half. (57)
1835 November 17 - 18
London
Aurora
Auroral light was mistaken for a ‘widespread conflagration’ (55)
1835 December 22
England
Lunar event
Star-like light in lunar crater Aristarchus (telescopic). (6)
1836 January 12
France
Meteor
Rotating ‘meteor’ with dark cavity, Cherbourg, crackling, whistling sounds; ‘1,000 feet high’. (14)
1836 January 31
France
Meteor
A 1 kg. stone fell at Mascombes after explosions. (17)
1836 February
China
Snow
Heavy snow in Canton, lat. 23° N. Temperature 37° F. (30)
1836 May 15
Scotland
Solar eclipse
Annular eclipse at Jedberg, Roxburgshire. Baily observed ‘beads’. (19)
1836 May 21
Euphrates River
Tornado
Steamboat Tigris sunk by a tornadic waterspout. (46)
1836 June 26
India
Meteorites
3 stones fell at Chandakapur, total 7 kg. (17)
1836 October 29
England
Early snow
1 inch of snow in London; nearly 1 foot deep, Bury St. Edmunds, lay for 5 days. (10)
1836 November (or December) 11
Brazil
Meteorites
A shower of stones fell at Macau after detonating meteor. Largest 80 lbs. Cattle killed. (17, 50)
1836 November 22?
Silesia
Meteor?
An ‘atmospheric explosion’. (14)
1836 December 25
Sussex, England
Blizzard
Snow 20 feet deep near Lewes. (21)
1836 December 27
Sussex, England
Avalanche
Snow slide fell 350 feet and destroyed houses, Lewes; 8 killed. (21)
1837 February 15
Scotland
Fall
Black powder fell at Comrie. (12)
1837 March 19
Cambridge, Durham
Aurora
Height of auroral arc measured at 177 miles. (93)
1837 May 25
South Africa
Sunspot
J. Herschel observed a sunspot with nucleus 9,000 miles wide. (9)
1837 July 12
Rome
‘Vulcan’
De Vico telescopically observed a small round spot cross much of the Sun in 6 hours. (20)
1837 July 13
Japan
Meteorite
A 30 kg. stone fell at Yonozu after detonations. (17)
1837 July 24
Czechoslovakia
Meteorite
A 23 lbs. stone fell at Gross-Divina. (17)
1837 August
France
Meteorite
A 3 lbs. stone fell at Esnaude. (14)
1837 October 18
Mexico
Earthquake
A strong earthquake at Acapulco. The ‘earth trembled continuously’ for 4 days. (51)
1837 November 12
Britain
Meteor shower
Meteors moved N to S and burst. (30)
1838 January 20
London
Winter cold
‘Coldest day of the century’ in London; -4° F., Greenwich, 12° F. at noon. (28, 36, 46)
1838 January 21
Siberia
Winter cold
Temperature of -76° F. at Yakutsk. (41)
1838 April
India
Hail?
A mass of hailstones 20 feet in diameter fell at Dharwar. (8)
1838 April 8
Near Calcutta, India
Thunderstorm
Thunder and hailstorm destroyed buildings, sank boats, killed 250 persons. (56)
1838 April 18
India
Meteorite
A 4 lbs. stone fell at Akburpoor. (14)
1838 May 18
Bolide
United States and Canada
Exploding meteor 30 miles up, velocity 2,100 miles per minute. (14, 39)
1838 September 10
London
Balloon ascent
Green and Rush reach estimated altitude of 27,146 feet. (38)
1838 September 16
Denmark
Aurora
‘Whole northern sky in motion’ with luminous clouds; ‘sizzling sound’. (4)
1838 (or 1839) September 20
India
Fall
Live fish fell with rain near Calcutta. (13, 34)
1838 December 5
Ceylon
Meteor shower
‘Incessant’ shower of meteors for 3 hours. (30)
1838 December 7
England
Meteor shower
‘Great number of falling stars’ all over sky, Herefordshire. (47)
1839 January 6 - 7
British Isles
Gale
‘Unprecedented storm’, Ireland and N. England. (57)
1839 January 11
West Indies
Earthquake
Violent shock felt in Martinique (389 killed), St. Lucia, Soufriere, Barbados, etc. (49)
1839 February 13
United States
Meteorite
A 50 lbs. stone fell at Little Piney. (14)
1839 June 17
France
Tornado
A tornado near Chatenay unroofed houses and uprooted trees. (8)
1839 September 3
Northern Hemisphere
Aurora
An aurora seen simultaneously from Scotland, Paris, Connecticut and New Orleans.
1839 September 15
London
Aurora
‘Vast sheet’ of red light from E to W; all London’s fire-engines dispatched.
1839 October 23
Scotland
Earthquake
Shock centred at Comrie, Perthshire affected 2/3rds of Scotland. (15)
1839 November
Coringa and Madras
Cyclone
Storm wave drowned 6,000 persons. (59)
1840
-
Sunspots
A sunspot group is said to have lasted 18 months. (61)
1840 March 24
Reading, England
Tornado
1 man killed and 40-ton locomotive derailed by a whirlwind at Reading station. (23, 25)
1840 March
Dinagepore, India
Meteorites
Several stones fell. (58)
1840 May 7
Mississippi, United States
Tornado
“Great Natchez Tornado’ killed 269 on river and 48 in city. (27)
1840 May 9
Siberia
Meteorite
A 7 lbs. stone fell at Karakol. (17)
1840 May 30
Hawaii
Volcano
Lava lake of Kilauea broke through caldera and created lava flow 40 miles long, 100 feet deep and 1 to 5 miles wide. (31)
1840 July 2
Turkey
Volcano
Earthquake and eruption of Mount Ararat. (18, 40)
1840 July 17
Italy
Meteorite
An 11 lbs. stone fell at Cereseto after fireball. (17)
1840 October 31
France
Floods
Rhone and Saone floods after rainstorms inundated Lyons and Avignon. (2)
1840 December 15
Paris
Winter cold
Several persons at Napoleon’s funeral died of cold; -14° C. (22)
