LANDMARKS OF WORLD HISTORY
A Chronology of Remarkable Natural Phenomena
19th Century 1811-1820
Date
Location
Phenomenon
Description
1811 March 1 (O.S.?)
Konleghowsk, Russia
Meteorite
A 15 lbs. stone fell and penetrated 3 feet through thick ice
1811 March 26
France
Comet
Flaugergues discovered the Great Comet of 1811
1811 May 12
Bonsall, Derbyshire
Tornado
“Serpentine cloud’ did great damage on 6-mile long track
1811 May 14
Scotland
Thunderstorm
Glasgow ‘ravaged’ by 2-hour storm; several persons killed
1811 June 13
Azores
Volcano
Sabrina Island appeared off the coast of St. Michael. Eroded away by Feb. 1812
1811 July
Heidelberg
Meteorite
A gelatinous substance fell after a fireball
1811 July 8
Burgos, Spain
Meteorites
Three stones fell
1811 September 10
Charleston, South Carolina
Tornado
Great damage, over 500 killed
1811 October 15
Europe
Comet
The Great Comet’s tail was 26° long and 5° wide, 100,000,000 miles long
1811 December
North Sea
Gale
Several Royal Navy ships lost, 2,000 drowned
1811 December 16
Missouri
Earthquake
First New Madrid earthquake; landslides, ground movements, Mississippi disturbed
1811 December 23
Long Island, United States
Blizzard
Snowstorm and gale wrecked about 60 vessels
1812
Phillipines
Volcano
Mayon erupts; several towns destroyed, 12,000 killed
1812 February 7
Missouri
Earthquake
Strongest New Madrid earthquake. Felt in Washington and Pennsylvania. Ground movements, Mississippi disturbed
1812 February 25
Plymouth, England
Thunderstorm
Masts of Tonnant shattered by lightning; 24 injured. 3 men on other vessels killed
1812 March 26
Venezuela
Earthquake
Caracas overthrown, 20,000 killed
1812 April 10
France
Meteorites
Shower of stones in the Haute Garonne after detonating fireball
1812 April 15
Prussia
Meteorite
Large stone fell near Magdeburg after detonations
1812 April 27
St. Vincent, West Indies
Volcano
La Soufriere erupts. See here
1812 June 27
Ohio
Tornado
A tornado half a mile wide caused great destruction. Ice-covered branches fell
1812 August 5
France
Meteorite
A 31 kg stone fell at Chantonnay after a fireball
1812 September 5
Russia
Meteorite
A stone meteorite fell before the Battle of Borodino
1812 December
Denmark
Cold winter
Sledges crossed ice from Sweden to Copenhagen
1813 March 13
Italy
Fall
Reddish-yellow hail fell at Arezzo
1813 March 14
Italy
Meteorite?
Stones and ‘yellow dust’ fell after ‘loud noises’ in sky
1813 March 21
Connecticut, United States
Bolide
Detonating meteor fireball the size of the Moon
1813 March 22
London
Meteor
Brilliant meteor half the size of the Moon
1813 April
Damascus, Syria
Anomalous phenomenon
‘Pillar of fire’ seen in E. 3 days and nights; ‘light sufficient for seeing any object’. Nile rose 2 months early
1813 April 13
Catalonia
Lightning
Ship Repulse struck by lightning; 8 killed, 9 injured
1813 August or September
England
Meteorites?
Many stones said to have fallen at Malpas, Cheshire
1813 September 10
Ireland
Meteorites
Shower of stones fell at Adare, Limerick. See here
1813 December 27
London
Glazed frost
Freezing fog and rime to January 2
1814
Hungary
Meteorite
A 133 lbs. stone fell in the Saros country
1814 January 24
Scotland
Cold winter
Solway Firth frozen solid
1814 January 31
London
Cold winter
Thames frozen until February 5; a Frost Fair
1814 February 15
Russia
Meteorite
An 18 kg stone fell at Bachmut
1814 April 17
Ireland
Aurora
Dublin illuminated by aurora ‘as if (by) moonlight’
1814 May 10
Russia
Mud volcano
An island emitting flames and stones rose from the sea near Alterazruk
1814 June 4
United States
Tornadoes
Tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky; about 17 killed
1814 July 1
South Carolina
Tornado
A waterspout sank a schooner; 25 drowned. Thousands of trees uprooted on shore
1814 July 3
St Laurence River
Fall
Ashes fell, with a strong smell in the air
1814 August
France
Fall
Small frogs fell in a storm at Fremon
1814 August 25
United States
Tornado
Washington burnt by the British and badly damaged by a tornado
1814 September 5
France
Meteorites
A shower of stones fell at Agen after detonations
1814 October 27
Italy
Fall
‘Red-brick dust’ fell in Piedmont
1814 November 5
India
Meteorites
19 stones fell at Chail after detonating meteor
1815 January 30
New York
Cold winter
New York City icebound
1815 February 18
India
Meteorite
A 29 lbs. stone fell at Durala and created a crater
1815 April 5
East Indies
Volcano
Enormous eruption of Tambora; cone reduced from 13,000 feet to 9,300 feet; caldera 3 miles wide; 10,000 killed
1815 May 14
Malacca
Bolide
Detonating meteor as large as Moon. Year may be 1849
1815 September 23
New England
Hurricane
“Great September Gale’
1815 October 3
France
Meteorite
Stone fragments fell at Chassigny after rumblings. Total 4 kg.
1816 January
Hungary
Fall
Brown and flesh-coloured snow fell in 2-day blizzard
1816 January 30
Ireland
Gale
3 transport ships ran aground in gale; 1,000 drowned
1816 February 24
Atlantic Ocean
Earthquake
Severe shock for 4 minutes, 36° N., 28° W.
1816 spring - summer
New York
Dry fog
A ‘smoking vapour’ or dry haze
1816 April and May
Maryland, United States
Fall
Brown, bluish, and red snow fell
1816 June 6
United States
Snow
Snow fell from dawn to afternoon, Vermont; snow 6 inches deep in New England and a foot deep in Quebec. ‘The Year without a Summer’
1816 July 5
Maine
Cold
Ice ‘as thick as window-glass’
1816 July 9
Maine
Cold
Corn killed by frost. A morning temperature of 33° F. at Brunswick
1816 August 13
Scotland
Earthquake
Almost all of Scotland shaken. Much damage at Inverness
1816 August 21
United States
Cold
A frost killed, corn, potatoes beans, etc., in New Hampshire and Maine
1816 September 2
England
Early snow
Heavy snow in Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire
1816 October 10
England
Sunspots
‘Great spots…upon the sun’
1817
Arctic Ocean
Ice
1,000s of square miles of sea ice north of Iceland suddenly broke up and scattered over the North Atlantic
1817 February 24
United States
Blizzard
Snow 14 inches deep in New Hampshire
1817 June 21
England
Heat
Shade temperature of 103° F., Gloucester, 112° F., Weymouth
1817 June 27
Kentish Town, London
Tornado
Funnel seen. Loaded wagon carried 20 yards
1817 June 30
Scotland
Earthquake and fall
Hot water fell from the sky during a shock near Inverness
1817 July 23
England
Sunspot
‘Great spot or crevice’ on Sun, July 23 to August 4
1817 December 8
Ipswich, England
Bolide
Meteor as bright as Sun; rumbling noise followed
1818 January 12
New Orleans
Snow
Snow an inch deep after storm
1818 February 3
Ohio Valley, United States
Blizzard
12-hour storm left 26 inches of level snow
1818 February 23
Europe
Gale
Storm over most of Europe; accompanied by earthquakes in Italy
1818 March 3
Natchez, Mississippi
Snow
Snowfall for several hours
1818 March 4
England
Gale
“Tremendous gale throughout England’; many houses fell,
in London
1818 April 11
Ukraine
Meteorite
A 4 kg stone fell at Zaborzika
1818 April 26
Black Sea
Mud volcano
A new mud volcano burst out at Prekla
1818 April 26
Hertfordshire
Tornado
A white whirling cone uprooted many trees and unroofed houses
1818 June
Macedonia
Meteorite
A 15 lbs. stone fell at Seres
1818 June 15
Geneva
Glacier flood
Bursting of ice-dammed lake flooded the valley of the river Dranse
1818 July 24
Scotland
Hailstorm
A hailstorm in the Orkney Islands, path 20 miles long. 9 inches of hail fell
1818 August 10
Russia
Meteorite
A 7 lbs. stone fell at Smolensk
1818 August 15
United States
Tornado
A tornado from Virginia to Maryland sank boats on the Potomac. About 30 killed
1819 April 3
Chile
Earthquakes
City of Copiapo destroyed by shocks on 3rd, 4th and 11th April
1819 June 13
France
Meteorites
A shower of stones fell at Jonzac after a detonating fireball
1819 June 16
India
Earthquake
Strong shock with earth disturbances and sea waves, Kutch. 1,543 killed
1819 June 26
Germany
Comet
Great comet transited the Sun; possibly observed by Pastoroff and Stark
1819 July 4
France
Hailstorm
‘Dreadful hailstorm’, Bacconniere, spherical stones 15 inches round
1819 July - August
America, Europe
Comet
Great comet circumpolar in northern hemisphere
1819 August 13
Massachusetts
Fall
A ‘pulpy substance’ fell with a brilliant light, Amhurst
1819 October 12 or 13
Russia
Meteorites
Three stones of over 7 lbs. fell at Politz
1819 November 8 - 10
Canada
Obscuration
Day darkness and sooty rain fell at Montreal
1820 January 9
Scotland
Anticyclone
A barometer reading of 31.056 inches at Kinfauns
1820 January 10 -15
Europe
Winter cold
Intense cold from England to Italy; -10° F. in Kent on 15th
1820 February 12
Vienna
‘Vulcan’
Circular body passed across the Sun in 5 hours
1820 May 21
Finland
Meteorite
A quarter-pound stone smelling of sulphur fell at Oedenburg
1820 June 9
United States
Tornado
Tornado in Rockland Co., New York; hail 18 inches deep
1820 June 29
Ireland
Hailstorm
Thunder and hailstorm left Ballyhannes, Co. Mayo, ‘a perfect ruin’
1820 July 12
Russia
Meteorites
Several stones, weight about 40 lbs. fell at Lixna
1820 September 8
Crimea
Tornado
A tornado passed across Sevastopol in 8 minutes; buildings and boats destroyed
1820 November
Antarctica
Exploration
Nathaniel Palmer sighted the mainland of Antarctica
1820 December 30 (or November 29)
Ionian Islands
Earthquake
Fireball over sea 3 minutes before earthquake
