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