LANDMARKS OF WORLD HISTORY
A Chronology of Remarkable Natural Phenomena
19th Century 1861-1870
Numbers show sources
Date
Location
Phenomenon
Description
1861 February 16
Singapore
Earthquake, fall?
Shock followed by 3 days’ rain; many fish found in pools after; said to have ‘fallen from the sky’. (38)
1861 February 16
Sumatra
Sea wave
Large wave inundated the Pulau Pulau Batu islands. (24)
1861 February 21
England
Gale
Wing of Crystal Palace and tower of Chichester Cathedral fell. (22)
1861 March 20
South America
Earthquake
10,000 killed at Mendoza. Showers of ashes fell in the Upsallala Pass. (5)
1861 May 7 - 11
Red Sea coast, Africa
Volcano
Jebel Dubbeh erupted. Lava flows, falls of white and red ash. 175 killed. (5)
1861 May 12
India
Meteorite
5 stone fragments, weight 43 lbs., fell at Butsura. (41)
1861 May 14
Spain
Meteorites
Several stones fell at Canellas. (41)
1860 June 3
Iowa, United States
Tornado
Lumber raft on Mississippi River capsized; 23 drowned. (120)
1861 June 28
Caucasus
Meteorites
Shower of stones fell into the River Terek, Grosnaja. One weighed 7 lbs. (41)
1861 June 30
-
Comet
The Earth passed through the tail of a great comet. See here (10, 16, 28, 35)
1861 July 13
France
Lightning
Lightning killed or injured 33 persons in one week. (42)
1861 August 4
United States
Heat
A shade temperature of 105° F. at St. Louis; 15 sunstroke deaths. (9)
1861 August 31
United States
Earthquake
Shock felt over about 320,000 square miles of the Atlantic coast. (70)
1861 December 10
Italy
Volcano
Eruption of Vesuvius began. (14)
1861 December 16
Arabia
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm flooded Mecca; 18 drowned, 300 houses thrown down. (46)
1862 January 24 (c.)
California
Floods
Rains melted snow on mountains; great damage in Sacramento and Marysville. Over 150 drowned. (45)
1862 February 24
United States
Gale
122 fishermen drowned off Gloucester, Massachusetts.
1862 April 7
Newfoundland
Ice
Coast ‘jammed with ice’; crews of many vessels unable to reach harbour and starving. (43)
1862 April 15
Italy
Snow
Snowfall for 12 hours in Turin; melted next day. (43)
1862 May 7
England
Tornado
Tornado 150 yards wide, track 3 miles long; Newark, Nottinghamshire; great building and tree damage. (20, 68)
1862 July 6
Germany
Tornado?
Wind and rainstorm lasting 15 minutes caused much damage at Frankfort; 2 killed, 10 injured. (47)
1862 August 3
Mediterranean
Lightning
Ship Moses ‘cut in two’ by lightning near Malta; all crew and passengers lost. (37)
1862 August 10
Algeria
Tornado?
Wind and rainstorm lasting 20 minutes did much damage in Algiers. (44)
1862 October 7
Germany
Meteorite
A 10 kg. stone fell at Menow after detonations. (41)
1863 January 9
Italy
Snow
Church dome collapsed under weight of snow, Locarno; 53 killed. (3)
1863 February 7
Canary Islands
Fall
A rain of impalpable sand for several hours. (8)
1863 February 16
Canada
Ice
Niagara River bridged by ice at junction with Lake Ontario; previously in 1812 and 1845. (4)
1863 March 26
London
Planetary event
Great increase in brightness of ‘dusky ring’ of Saturn. (21)
1863 April 22
Rhodes
Earthquake
300 killed, 2,000 houses destroyed. (12)
1863 April 30
France and Spain
Fall
Red ‘earth-rain’ and red snow in the south of France and Spain. (6)
1863 May 18
Wales
Late snow
Snow ankle deep in Monmouthshire hills. (1)
1863 June 2
Latvia
Meteorite
An 11 lbs. stone fell at Buschhof. (41)
1863 July 11
Russia
Tornado
A tornado 700 feet wide carried iron sheets 24 miles. (21)
1863 August 5
Prussia
Tornado
A tornado 250 feet wide did great tree damage, Sievernich. (48)
1863 August 8
Estonia
Meteorites
Several stones fell at Pillistfer; largest 14 kg. (41)
1863 August 21
Michigan
Waterspout?
“Hurricane’ damaged many vessels on Lake Huron. (69)
1863 September 11
Missouri, United States
Hailstorm
1 killed and many injured by a hailstorm in St. Charles County. (69)
1863 October 6
England, Wales, Ireland
Earthquake
Shock centred 5 miles N. of Hereford; ‘some houses injured’. (32, 40)
1863 October 16
Italy
Landslide
A mountain at Molina, Lake Como ‘toppled over’; 54 killed. (49)
1863 October 16
Italy
Earthquake
Carate Lexio in Lombardy damaged; a lake disturbance. (49)
1863 November 18
West Indies
Earthquake
Damage at St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe; sea waves. (24)
1863 December 7
Belgium
Meteorites
Two stones of about 7 kg. each found and seen to fall after explosions. (41)
1863 December 10
Trebizond
Meteorite
Stones fell after brilliant detonating fireball. (114)
1863 December 14
Italy
Snow
Vesuvius snow-covered
1863 December 18
Taiwan
Earthquake
100s killed at Keelung by shock and sea wave. (66)
1863 winter
North America
Cold
A ‘cold wave’ swept the continent and blocked the Mississippi River with ice in one night. (112)
1864 February 12
-
‘Vulcan’
“Well-defined spot’ crossed the Sun in 4 hours 33.5 minutes; observed telescopically by Beswick. (31)
1864 February 21
Clere, France
Lunar halo complex
Halo cross, two lunar haloes, four paraselenae, two contact arcs. (113)
1864 April 11
Caucasus
‘Dry fog’
A dry white powdery fog enveloped Tiflis for 24 hours. (51)
1864 April 12
Latvia
Meteorites
Two stones of about 5 kg. fell 700 yards apart, Nerft. (41)
1864 May 14
France
Meteorites
20 carbonaceous chondrites, some head-sized, fell at Orgueil after brilliant detonating bolide. (38, 87)
1864 October 5
Bay of Bengal
Cyclone
40 foot high storm wave on the Hooghly River; 50,000 drowned. (88)
1864 November 9
United States
Tornado
A nocturnal tornado up to half a mile wide in S.W. Illinois; over 20 killed. (69)
1865 January 13 - 14
Britain, France, Germany
Gale
Much damage and shipwrecks. (15)
1865 January 26
London
Earthquake
Windows violently shaken; rumbling. (32)
1865 January 30
Sicily
Volcano
Mount Etna erupted; 9 lava streams on Feb. 9. (13)
1865 February 27
Australia
Heat
Shade temperature of 105° F., Melbourne; ‘scorching wind’ and many bush fires. (53)
1865 March 13
Wallachia
Flood
Small river Dimbowitza, blocked by snow, flooded half of Bucharest. (52)
1865 May 8
Constantinople
Astronomical anomaly?
A ‘black point’ detached from a sunspot and crossed the Sun in 48 minutes. Observed telescopically by Coumbary. (7)
1865 June 28
Wisconsin, United States
Tornado
A tornado moving at 60 mph killed 20 persons at Viroqua. (69)
1865 August 12
Ireland
Meteorite
A stone of over 4 lbs. fell at Dundrum after explosion. (41)
1865 August 23
Belgium
Tornado
A tornado caused great tree damage at Liege. (89)
1865 August 24
London
Tornado
Tornado at Dalston in thunderstorm; 1 injured. (19)
1865 August 25
Algeria
Meteorites
Two stones of 55 lbs. fell 3 miles apart, Aumale. (41)
1865 mid-September
Rocky Mountains, United States
Meteorite?
Luminous body burst near Cadotte Pass; track of destroyed trees and ploughed-up earth found later; an ‘immense stone (was) driven into the side of a mountain’. (25)
1865 October 10
England
Sunspot
Spot with penumbra 38,000 miles in diameter, umbra 15,000 miles, covered 972,000,000 square miles. (18, 35)
1865 December 31
Gale
Scotland
A barometer reading of 27.50 inches at the Butt of Lewis lighthouse during a storm. (97)
1866 January
Iceland
Ice
Spitzbergen ice surrounded the N. and N.E. coast of Iceland until September. (29)
1866 January 3
London
Winter warmth
A maximum temperature of 59º F. at Camden Square. (98)
1866 January 11
Devon, England
Gale
Over 30 ships wrecked in Torbay; more than 150 persons drowned. (55)
1866 January 13
South America
Earthquake
Felt throughout Mexico and South American coast. City of Caraccas destroyed. (54)
1866 January 30
Aegean Sea
Volcano
Eruption of Santorini began; ‘fearful eruption’ on Feb. 20. (34)
1866 February 4
Aegean Sea
Volcano
New island rose between Paleo and Neo Kaimeni, Santorini. (17)
1866 February 4
Ireland
Gale
“Hurricane of unprecedented violence’ did much damage around Belfast; lightning and hail. (83)
1866 February 16
France
Ball lightning
Fireball during storm passed through farmhouse, Chapelle-Largeau; 4 cattle killed in stable. (37)
1866 March
Hawaii
Volcano
Kilauea lava lake disappeared; returned in June. (71)
1866 March 9
Norway
Earthquake
Disturbed area 593 miles x 393 miles; felt in Shetland. (32)
1866 April
India
Meteorite
An 8 lbs. stone fell at Udipi after detonations. (41)
1866 May 3
Birmingham, Warwickshire
Coloured rain
Two periods of darkness and black rain for 45 minutes in town and surrounding countryside. Account has been doubted. (99)
1866 June 9
Ukraine
Meteorites
Over 1,000 stones fell at Knyahinya after exploding meteor. Total weight 1,102 lbs. (41)
1866 June 20
England, France
Bolide
Brilliant daylight meteor passed over Kent and exploded near Boulogne. See here (35)
1866 June 30
Yorkshire, England
Tornado
A tornado about 50 yards wide did much damage near Tadcaster. (93)
1866 September 14
France
Earthquake
A shock near Blois and Tours damaged buildings. (56)
1866 October 1
Bahamas
Hurricane
‘Great Bahama Hurricane’, eye 23 miles wide at Nassau. (88)
1866 October 27 (reported)
Off Florida
Volcano?
‘Volcanic island’ 1,700 feet round and 90 feet high appeared off the coast. (57)
1866 November 13
England
Meteor storm
Leonid meteor storm; 9,000 seen from Greenwich. (35)
1866 December 6
Spain
Meteorites
A shower of stones fell at Cangas de Onis; largest 11 kg. (41)
1866 December 18
California
Storm floods
Storm throughout California; floods caused great damage and loss of livestock. (59)
1867 January 8
Oregon, United States
Volcano?
Black smoke, sulphurous vapour and fall of ashes at Fort Klamath after earthquake. (23, 30, 38)
1867 January 19
India
Meteorites
About 40 stones fell at Khetri. (41)
1866 March 8
Aegean Sea
Earthquake
About 1,000 persons were killed at Mitylene (Lesbos). (11)
1867 March 28
India
Hail
Hailstones ‘as large as coconuts’ fell near Bellary; 2 men and 2,470 sheep killed. (86)
1867 April 13 (reported)
Atlantic Ocean
Ice
‘Unprecedented quantities of ice’ in mid-Atlantic between 44°N. and 53° W. (58)
1867 June 2
Pacific Ocean
New island
An island 20 miles long reported between 50°W. and 40° 30’ N. (60)
1867 August 15
United States
Rain floods
Railways and roads washed away in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia after torrential rains. (100)
1867 August 19
London
Thunderstorm
‘One of the greatest London thunderstorms’ from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. (22)
1867 October 29
West Indies
Hurricane
Great hurricane in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico; over 600 drowned in St. Thomas. (88)
1867 November 1 - 2
India
Storm
Nocturnal’ ‘cyclone’ killed 3,000 persons in Calcutta. A ‘burning cloud’ in the sky. (101)
1867 November 4
Chatham, Kent
Anomalous phenomena
‘Numberless black discs’ seen in the air for 20 minutes. Some vanished in puffs of vapour. (102)
1868 January
Finland
Low temperature
A minimum of -55.8° F. at Sodankyla. (94)
1868 January 11 (reported)
Vesuvius
Volcano
Eruption ‘a source of panic’; lava flows, shocks and detonations. (116)
1868 January 30
Poland
Meteorites
100,000 stones, total weight 440 lbs., fell in Poland.
1868 March 26
Hawaii
Volcano
Eruption of Mauna Loa begins. (92)
1868 April 2
Hawaii
Earthquake
Hawaii’s largest historical earthquake, centred on Mauna Loa, did great damage; seismic sea wave. (91)
1868 May 18
Bolide
United States and Canada
A brilliant meteor passed 30 miles high at 2,100 miles a minute. Its diameter was estimated at three-quarters of a mile. (111)
1868 May 23
Fair Isle, Scotland
Fog
Ship Lessing struck cliffs in dense fog; 445 passengers and crew rescued by fishermen. (61)
1868 July 11
France
Meteorite
A 13 lbs. carbonaceous chondrite fell at Ornans after detonations. (41)
1868 July 22
England
Heat
100.5° F. at Tonbridge (Kent), 99.9° F. in Cambridgeshire, 97° F. at Greenwich. (62)
1868 August 8
Ireland
Ball lightning
‘Red ball of fire’ carved trenches in ground, Glendowan Mountains, Co. Donegal. (33)
1868 August 13
Peru and Chile
Earthquake
25,000 killed; seismic sea waves See here (34)
1868 September 7
Mauleon, Lower Pyrenees
Meteor?
A ‘mass’ fell near two men and shattered after an exploding fireball. (117)
1868 September 27
England
Tornadoes
Tornadoes in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire damaged buildings and destroyed trees. (90)
1868 October 7
Europe
Bolide
Brilliant detonating meteor seen from London, Paris, Dusseldorf, etc. See here (35)
1869 January 1
Sweden
Meteorites
A shower of stones fell on a frozen lake without breaking the ice. (41)
1869 January 30
Ireland and England
Gale and floods
“Unprecedentedly high tides’ and ‘terrific hurricane’: several persons drowned and much damage. (103)
1869 April
Hawaii
Earthquake
Earthquake, sea disturbance and tsunami. (115)
1869 April 15
Canada
Aurora
An all-sky aurora at Toronto. (36)
1869 May 5
Bavaria
Meteorite
A stone of over 16 kg. fell at Krahenberg. (41)
1869 May 22
France
An 80 kg. stone fell at Kernouve after exploding meteor. (41)
1869 May 25
England
Fall?
Immense numbers of stones found in Wolverhampton during a thunderstorm; resembled ‘Rowley ragstone’. (38, 104)
1869 June 4
United States
Fall?
Great numbers of lamprey-like fish found in every body of water after storm at ‘Taylorville’. (26)
1869 June 6
Pennsylvania, United States
Fall
Minute specimens of the seashell Gemma gemma fell during a storm at Chester. (63)
1869 June 16
England
Late snow
Westmoreland and Yorkshire snow-covered. (105)
1869 June 26
Ireland
Tornado
‘Whirlwind’ in thunderstorm at Killevan uprooted trees and stripped houses. (l06)
1869 July - August
Arctic Ocean
Ice
No ice visible in the Kara Gulf and round Novaia Zemlia. (95)
1869 August 1
California, United States
Fall
Strips and particles of ‘flesh’ fell at Los Nietos on a clear day. (39)
1869 September 6
Russia
Tornado
A destructive tornado in Kostrom province. (72)
1869 September 19
Java
Meteorite
A 20 kg. stone fell at Tjabe after detonating fireball. (41)
1869 September 29
England
Thunderstorms
A series of ‘cyclonic’ thunderstorms in the West of England: intense lightning, hail, and a possible tornado in Wiltshire. (l07)
1869 October 10
Malta
Floods
Fields and roads washed into sea after 5 inches of rain in 6 hours. (108)
1869 October 31 - November 3
Germany
Earthquakes
700 to 800 shocks at Gross Gerau in 3 weeks; much building damage. (73)
1870 January 23
India
Meteorite
A 10 lbs. meteorite fell at Nedagolla; ‘concussion of fall’ stunned a man. (65)
1870 February 5
North Atlantic
Low barometer
The S.S. Tarifa registered a barometer reading of 27.33 inches. (82)
1870 March 22
Equatorial Atlantic
Anomalous phenomenon
A circular cloud with a tail moved against the wind for half an hour. (80)
1870 April 11
China
Earthquake
2,298 killed in Szchuen province; great ground disturbances. (2)
1870 May 9
Tibet
Earthquake
City of Bathang burnt down after earthquake; about 10,000 killed. (77)
1870 July
France
Heat
A temperature of 106.2° F. at Poitiers.
1870 July 10
Peru
Earthquake
Towns of Santo Tomas and Colqquemarca much injured; river Santo Tomas and Lake Quenacocha overflowed with great destruction. (77)
1870 August 18
Spain
Meteorite
A 25 kg. stone fell at Cabezo de Mayo. (41)
1870 September 3
Scotland
Aurora
White aurora filled sky at Nairn but for a clear arc in the S.S.E. (64)
1870 September 15
Suffolk, England
Aurora
Bright red aurora with white rays at Lowestoft. (76)
1870 September 20
United States
Sunspots
Two sunspots 18,000 and 15,000 miles in diameter. (27)
1870 September 24
Scotland
Aurora
All-sky aurora to within 15° of southern horizon, Aberdeen. (67)
1870 October 19
England
Line squall?
A ‘terrific squall’ in south and west England, with tornadoes; much damage. (109)
1870 October 20
United States and Canada
Earthquake
Shock felt at Boston, New York, Montreal, Toronto and throughout Ontario and Quebec provinces. (78)
1870 October 24
London
Aurora
Sky ‘one mass of fire’ at 8 p.m. (96)
1870 October 25
Europe
Aurora
‘Intensely red arch’ seen from Holland, Germany, England, Belgium, Poland and Russia. (34)
1870 November 10 (reported)
California, United States
Volcano?
Volcano near the San Rafael Valley emitted a column of smoke, ashes and cinders. (74)
