LANDMARKS OF WORLD HISTORY
A Chronology of Remarkable Natural Phenomena
19th Century 1891-1900
Date
Location
Phenomenon
Description
1891 January 14
Ireland
Anticyclone
A barometer reading of 30.97 inches at Belmullet
1881 January 27 -28
Russia
Cold
A temperature of -18° F. (-27° C.) at Moscow in the morning
1891 February 24 - 28
Scotland and England
Winter warmth
A maximum temperature of 64° F. (18° C.) at Nairn in N. E. Scotland. The maximum in London was 39° F. On the 28th 67° F. (19.4° C.) was recorded at Barnstaple, Devon and in Cambridge
1891 March
England
Snow
The Tavy Cleave ravine on Dartmoor was filled with snow to a depth of 300 feet
1891 March 10
England
Blizzard
“One of the greatest snowstorms on record’ in S. England. 57 shipwrecks around Cornwall and Devon. Half a million trees were felled, some by tornadoes
1891 April 7
Russia
Meteorite
A 27 kg. (59 lbs.) stone fell at Indarch
1891 May 14
England
Spring warmth
81° F. (27° C.) at Loughborough
1891 May 17
England
Spring cold
A minimum temperature of 24° F. (-4° C.) at York. Heavy snow in the Midlands
1891 June 24
Sweden and Norway
Heat
“Intense heat’; 88° F. (31° C.) at Hernosand
1891 July 2
Germany
Tornado
A tornado caused great damage at Crefeld, Rhenish Prussia; ‘many persons’ killed
1891 July 17
England
Ball lightning
‘Ball of fire’ in thunderstorm photographed by Dunn at Newcastle-on-Tyne
1891 August 12
California, United States
Rain
11.50 inches of rain fell in one hour at Campo, San Diego
1891 August 18
Martinique, West Indies
Hurricane
A hurricane lasting 4 hours killed 700 persons
1891 October 28
Japan
Earthquake
Great Mino-Owari earthquake; 7,279 persons killed, 197,5330 buildings ruined
1891 December 17
London
Fog
London ‘wrapped in darkness’ by fog for over 70 hours
1891 December 20
Germany
Asteroid
M. Wolf at Heidelberg discovers the first asteroid using photography, Brucia
1892 January 8
Fall
Indiana, United States
A dust fall for 4 hours in northern Indiana
1892 January 27
Russia
Winter cold
A temperature of -35° F. at Moscow at 8 a.m.
1892 February 5 and 7
Siberia
Winter cold
A temperature of -67.8° C. (spirit thermometer) at Verkhoyansk
1892 February 13 - 14
Northern Hemisphere
Aurora
‘Magnificent aurora’ despite a full Moon, and violent magnetic storm, Europe, Canada and United States
1892 February 19
England
Snow
Heavy snow in Devon and Cornwall halted railway services
1892 April 29
Mauritius
Hurricane
A tropical cyclone badly damaged Port Louis. Stone-block column thrown down; calculated wind speed over 200 m.p.h.
1892 June 28
Utah, United States
Heat
A temperature of 116° F. (46.6° C.) at St. George
1892 July 3
Yorkshire, England
‘Cloudburst’
An evening deluge at Langtoft washed away hill fields and 2 cottages. G. J. Symons suggested cause was a fall of at least 100 inches of rain nearby
1892 July 12
Switzerland
Avalanche
An Ice avalanche from Mont Blanc destroyed Saint Gervais and Fayet; 140 persons killed
1892 July 15
France
Solar Flare
L. Rudax telescopically observed a ‘blinding’ white-light solar flare. A violent magnetic storm 19 hors 30 minutes later
1892 July 22 - 23
Russia
Fall
Nocturnal fall of numerous live fish in thunderstorm at Belina
1892 August 4 (reported)
Italy
Tornado
A tornado at Trieste injured 40 persons and wrecked several buildings
1892 August 8
Germany
Heat
A temperature of 103.6° F. (39.7° C.) at Amberg
1892 August 9
Germany
Fall
Hundreds of living mussels fell with heavy rain from a yellowish cloud at Paderhorn
1892 August 18
Ireland, Wales, England
Earthquake
Earthquake felt in Ireland, South Wales, and the west of England. 3 sea waves at Milford Haven
1892 August 29
South Dakota, United States
Meteorite
A 46 lbs. stone fell at Bath
1892 October 1
Southern United States
Hurricane
Small but violent hurricane passed between New Orleans and Port Ends; storm surge ‘killed 2,000 persons’
1892 October 12
United States
Comet
E.E. Barnard found the first comet (P/Barnard 3 1892V) to be discovered photographically
1892 December 18
Scotland
Winter warmth
A maximum temperature of 57° F. at Nairn
1893 January 1 - 5
Europe
Anticyclone
“Vast anticyclone’ over Europe and Atlantic; barometer 31.25 inches at Archangel on 3rd. Minimum temperature of -37° F. at Haparanda, Gulf of Bothnia, on the 2nd
1893 January 14
Siberia
High pressure
A barometer reading of 31.78 inches (reduced and corrected) at Irkutsk
1893 March 20
Lincolnshire, England
Temperature range
Minimum temperature of 23° F. at Loughborough; maximum on the 21st of 65° F.; a range of 42°
1893 April 20
England
Spring warmth
82° F. in London and 84° F. in Cambridge
1893 May 15
London
Drought
End of a 73-day rainless period (began March 4) at Mile End
1893 May 19
Norway
Landslide
70 million yards of clay slid 5 miles in 45 minutes, Vaerdalen; 111 persons killed
1893 May 26
Canada
Meteorite
A 31 lbs. stone fell at Beaver Creek
1893 July 8
Norfolk, England
Summer heat
A temperature of 96° F. at Elsing
1893 July 20
Montana, United States
Heat
A temperature of 117° F. at Glendive
1893 August 14
France
Heat
A maximum temperature of 106° F. at Rochefort
1893 August 18
London
Summer heat
A minimum temperature of 72° F. and maximum of 93° F. in London
1893 August 22
Atlantic Ocean
Hurricanes
Four hurricanes in the Atlantic simultaneously
1893 August 28 - 29
Georgia and South Carolina, United States
Hurricane
2,000 persons drowned in storm surges
1893 September 6
Gohna, India
Landslides
3 days of landslides dammed the Birahi Ganga River and formed a lake almost 3 miles long and 1 mile wide
1893 September 22
Belorussia
Meteorite
A 3 kg. stone fell through a house roof at Zabrodje
1893 November 19
N. W. Europe
Gale
Coasts ‘strewn with wrecks and wreckage’ after N’ly gale
1894 January 3 - 6
Europe
Anticyclonic cold
A barometer reading of 31.07 inches at Faerder in Norway preceded “truly Siberian cold’. 14° F. in London at 8 a.m. on the 5th; a minimum of - 4.4° F. at Worksop, Notts. On the 6th at 9 a.m., 20° F. in Dublin, with a fall of ice-dust.
1894 February 12
Europe
Gale
Very violent S.W. to W.N.W. gales in Britain, Holland and Germany; barometer fell to 27.93 inches in Norway
1894 February 23
Ireland
Aurora
“Waves of auroral light’ swept to zenith for many hours, Dublin
1894 March 30
New York, United States
Aurora
An aurora entirely in the southern sky, Lyons
1894 April 3
-
Solar flare?
A sunspot observed by W.R. Waugh ‘appeared to emit tongues of flame’
1894 April 20 - 27
Greece
Earthquake
A great earthquake centred on the Aetolymion Peninsula; a more violent shock on April 27 with seismic sea waves; Plain of Atalante submerged
1894 May 9
India
Meteorite
A 19 lbs. stone fell at Bari
1894 July 10
Turkey
Earthquake
A shock centred in the Sea of Marmora; much damage in Constantinople; seismic sea wave swept island of Halk
1894 July 21
Tasmania
Aurora
Strong red aurora with white streamers, Table Cape
1894 July 28
France
Planetary event
‘A strange light on Mars’ seen by Javelle from Nice
1894 August 20
Australia
Aurora
Strong green aurora with streamers seen from S.E. Australia and New Zealand
1894 August 25
India
Flood
The Gohna dam (see 1893 September 6) burst; flood up to 200 feet high moving at 24 m.p.h. swept valley. All buildings between Hardwar and Gohna destroyed; no loss of life
1894 August 31
Wisconsin and Minnesota, United States
Forest fires
Nearly 1,000 persons killed in fires after 9 weeks without rain
1894 September 21
Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, United States
Tornado
A tornado ‘with a track 200 miles long’ killed about 100 persons
1894 November 1
London
Autumn warmth
A maximum shade temperature of 65° F. in London
1894 November 21
Off Ireland
Sea wave
S.S. Diamond submerged by wave 40 feet high off west coast of Ireland
1894 November 28
Iowa, United States
Meteor impact?
Large meteor fell near Council Bluffs; violent earth tremor 2 minutes later
1894 December 22
Cheshire, England
Gale
Express train struck wagon blown out of a siding at Chelford by a gale; 14 persons killed
1895 January 23
England
‘Thundersnow’
Thunder and snowstorm moved from Leeds to Sussex; heavy snow and great tree destruction
1895 February 1 - 9
Britain
Winter cold
-4° F. at 8 a.m. on 4th, Loughborough, Leics; most rivers in Britain ‘frozen or blocked with ice-floes’
1895 February 11
Aberdeen, Scotland
An air minimum temperature of -17° F. (-27.2° C.) at Braemar
1895 March 13
Britain
Aurora
An aurora seen from nearly all parts of the British Isles
1895 April 14
Austria
Earthquake
A destructive earthquake at Laibach
1895 May 9
Czechoslovakia
Meteorite
A 59 lbs. stone fell at Nagy-Borove
1895 May 27
India
Meteorite
A 14 lbs. stone fell at Aligarch
1895 July 28
Luxembourg
Summer heat
A temperature of 98.6° F. at Luxembourg-ville
1895 August
Yorkshire, England
Tornado
A tornado caused much damage and serious injuries at Rotherham
1895 August 25
Ireland
Ball lightning
A boy injured by a ‘spark’ from a fireball, Culdaff, Donegal
1896 January 9
Scotland, Ireland
Anticyclone
A barometric pressure of 31.09 inches at Ardrossan, Ayrshire; 31.020 inches at Dublin
1896 February 10
Spain
Bolide and meteorites
A meteor exploded 20 miles above Madrid; city ‘shaken to its foundations’; 4 small stones fell
1896 March 4
British Isles
Auroral beam
An ‘extraordinary beam of light’ seen all over Britain
1896 April 18
-
Saturn
‘Enormous white spots’ and 6 dark radial marks on Saturn’s rings, seen by E.M. Antoniadi
1896 May 12
Oklahoma, United States
Tornado
A tornado near Oklahoma City was the subject of the first published tornado photograph
1896 May 15
Texas, United States
Tornado
A tornado killed 73 persons in Sherman
1896 May 27
Missouri, United States
Tornado
A tornado killed 306 persons in St. Louis
1896 June 15
Japan
Earthquake
A seismic sea wave 8 hours after an earthquake drowned over 28,000 persons on Japan’s N.E. coast
1896 August 12
British Columbia, Canada
Ball lightning??
A ball of fire with ‘variegated colours’ was visible for 15 minutes near Rossland
1896 August 19
Massachusetts, United States
Waterspout
A huge waterspout, 3,600 feet high, in Nantucket Soud; visible 40 minutes. See here
1896 September 10
France
Tornado
A tornado struck Paris; 2 persons killed and many injured
1896 September 22
United States
Hurricane
A violent hurricane passed inland from Florida to Pennsylvania; over 100 persons killed
1896 October 13
English Channel
Waterspouts
10 waterspouts seen off Beachy Head
1896 November 13 - 14
United States
Meteor shower
Meteors visible at noon, Indianopolis
1896 November 17
Atlantic Ocean
Meteor impact?
“Immense meteor’ fell into sea, seen from steamer Wilkommen; 50 minutes later a ‘great wave’ swept over ship
1896 November 29
West Indies
Earthquakes
‘Innumerable’ shocks in Montserrat from this date; a volcanic eruption was feared
1896 December 4
England
Gale
Chain Pier, Brighton, destroyed; gust of 78 m.p.h. at Greenwich
1896 December 17
England
Earthquake
An earthquake centred near Hereford did ‘marked damage to buildings’ at 73 places in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire
1896 December 18
Brixham, Devon
Ball lightning
‘Globe of light’ in thunderstorm tore up ground, damaged a building and killed a man
1897 February 4
Scotland
Winter cold
A minimum temperature of 0° F. at Nairn and -7° F. at Braemar
1897 March 10
West Virginia, United States
Meteor?
Meteor burst over New Martinsville; fragments pierced walls, killed a horse and injured a man
1897 April 20
Indian Ocean
Aurora Australis
Great aurora ‘finest ever seen in southern latitudes’ in lat. 47.5° S.; 6 arches of green light rose from S.
1897 April 24
Macerata, Italy
Fall
Thunderstorm with fall of sand and caroub (or Judas Tree) seeds
1897 June 12
Assam
Earthquake
“Greatest earthquake within the history of man’; magnitude 8.7, earth waves
1897 June 23
Phillipines
Volcano
An eruption of Mayon killed 120 persons in Libong
1897 June 24
Essex, England
Hailstorm
Wind, lightning and hail smashed every window in Oxney Green
1897 June 24
Kansas, United States
Hailstorm
Grapefruit-sized hailstones punctured sheet metal roofs; 26 persons injured
1897 June 25 - 29
India
Falls
Dust-fall at Calcutta, 25th Mud fall at Midnapur, 27th. Mud fall from ‘cloudless sky’ at Jessore, 29th
1897 August 1
Yugoslavia
Meteorites
Several stones fell at Zavid after detonating meteor; largest 90 kg.
1897 August 10
Virginia, United States
Hailstorm
Thunderstorm with heavy rain and blocks of ice about 2 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick
1897 September 9
Hurricane
Japan
A typhoon caused great damage in Yokohama
1897 October 2
Russia
Anomalous phenomenon?
A ‘balloon’ with an ‘electric sheen’ passed over Yakovlevska
1897 December 9
Italy
Ball lightning?
A black globe ‘formed of dense smoke’ appeared in a kitchen and passed through an open window, Castelgandolfo
1898 January 19
Scotland
Winter warmth
A temperature of 60° F. at Wick; again on January 24
1898 January 22
India
Astronomical anomaly
A ‘mysterious object’ between Mars and Venus during a total solar eclipse
1898 January 24
Norway
Meteorites
A shower of stones at Mjelleim
1898 January 28
England
Earthquake?
Rumbling noise and slight shock felt over the whole of Rutland
1898 January 30
Ireland
Winter warmth
A maximum temperature of 60.8° F. at Dublin; minimum of 52.9° F.
1898 February 4
Germany
Astronomical anomaly
12 persons at Greifswald saw a small dark body passing across the Sun; transit time 1 hour
1898 February 16 - 19
Atlantic
Dust fall
A red dust haze covered 1,500 miles N. and S. off W. Africa. Dust fell thickly on ships near coast
1898 March 15
Russia
Anticyclone
A barometer reading of 31.14 inches at Moscow
1898 March 30 - April 3
Australia
Hurricane
A ’severe rotary storm’ demolished the towns of Cossack and Roeburne
1898 March 31
California, United States
Earthquake
‘Most violent Californian earthquake since 1872’ caused damage in San Francisco
1898 May 16
New South Wales, Australia
Waterspouts
A waterspout 5,014 feet high measured by theodolite off Eden. See here
1898 July 28
Oregon, United States
Heat
A temperature of 119° F. (48.3° C.) recorded at Prineville; also at Pendleton on Aug. 10
1898 August 22
Indian Ocean
Marine phosphorescence
A ‘white sea’ for 50 miles
1898 September 8
England, France
Autumn warmth
“A remarkable wave of heat’; 91° F. in London, 92° F, in Cambridge, 99° F. at Rochefort
1898 September 9
Finland
Aurora
A great aurora seen from Helsingfors; formed a corona with ‘streamers of light up to the zenith’
1898 September 10
New Zealand
Aurora
An aurora seen from Ashburton; ‘bright orange light’ suffused S. sky
1898 September 20 (reported)
Germany
Galaxy
Seraphimoff observed ‘stellar-like condensation’ in the centre of the Andromeda Nebula (M.31)
1898 October 3
Scotland
Autumn warmth
A maximum temperature of 73° F. at Wick
1898 October 20
Germany
Glaze
A fall of freezing rain or glazed frost over central and E. Germany
1898 October 29
London
Tornado
A tornado with heavy rain caused much tree and building damage at Camberwell Green
1898 November 8
Canada
Volcano?
An eruption reported from the Ruby Mountain region; ash fell for several days
1899 January 25
British Central Africa
Meteorites
A meteor exploded and showered stones over an area 9 miles long and 3 miles wide, Mount Zomba. 10 stones found, largest over 5 lbs.
1899 February
Atlantic Ocean
Gales
A ‘vast depression’ in the Atlantic; SW gales in Britain, NW blizzards in North America. Barometer in mid-ocean 27.50 inches
1899 February 3
Ilha de Sao Jorge, Azores
Earthquake?
Three large waves flooded Velas; destruction and 1 person killed
1899 February 4 (reported)
Spain
Tornado
Several persons killed and injured by a tornado at Los Barrios, near Cadiz
1899 February 12
Texas, United States
Winter cold
A temperature of -22° F. at Tulia.
1899 February 10
London
Winter warmth
A maximum temperature of 66° F. at Brixton and Kensington
1899 February 10
Ohio, United States
Winter cold
A temperature of -39° F. at Milligan (673 feet)
1899 February 11 - 14
United States
Cold and storms
A pressure of 31.42 inches (1064 millibars) in N. Montana; a temperature of -61° F. at Fort Logan, 11th. -2° F. at Tallahassee, Florida, on 12th. “Raging blizzard’ over Cape Cod, 13th; Mississippi mouth iced over
1899 March 5
North Queensland, Australia
Hurricane
‘Bathurst Bay cyclone destroyed pearling fleet; over 300 drowned. Pressure fell to 914 millibars
1899 March 12
Finland
Meteorite
A 330 kg. (728 lbs.) stone broke through sea ice, Bjurbole
1899 May 10
Mexico
Tornado
22 persons killed, Hondo mine
1899 June 12
Wisconsin, United States
Tornado
A tornado at New Richmond killed 100 persons
1899 July 10
Michigan, United States
Meteorite
A 70 lbs. stone fell at Allegan
1899 July 19
China
Lightning
N. sky ‘constant blaze’ of lightning from Shanghai; almost no sound. Again on August 10
1899 August 8
Puerto Rico
Hurricane
Hurricane crossed length of island; over 3,000 killed. Barometer fell to 27.75 inches
1899 August 10
China
Lightning
Lightning ‘played over whole sky’ in all directions, Shanghai; low rumbling. Both displays ’synchronous with distant typhoons’.
1899 September 10
Alaska, United States
Earthquake
A magnitude 8.6 earthquake, Yakutat Bay; shocks felt 240 miles away
1899 September 8 - 14
Austria
Rain and floods
24 inches of rain in 6 days; Danube rose 24 feet above low-water level, Vienna; only 1501 floods greater
1899 September 20
Turkey
Earthquake
Shock centred in Meander valley killed over 1,600 persons; every building in 1,200 square mile area damaged
1899 October 1
Wiltshire, England
Tornado
Tornado with track 20 miles long and 100 yards wide caused much tree and building damage
1899 October 3
Egypt
Flood
Nile ‘rose to record heights’; 18 columns in Temple of Karnak collapsed
1899 December 19
Russia
Anticyclone
Barometer rose to 31.28 inches at Moscow
1899 December 31
Earthquake
Transcaucasia
Earthquake in Tiflis province killed over 800 persons
1900
New Zealand
Geyser
“Highest geyser recorded’ near Tarawera volcano; up to 1,315 feet high, lasted 4 years
1900 January 11
Surrey and Sussex, England
Halo display
22° halo, 46° halo, 2 inverted arcs and parhelia
1900 January 23
Siberia
Anticyclone
A sea-level pressure of 31.89 inches (1079 millibars) at Barnaul
1900 March 25
Virginia, United States
Snow
‘Teacup’ sized snowflakes fell at Richmond
1900 March 28
England
Bolide
Large meteor exploded 52 miles over Kent; ‘landscape flooded with light’
1900 April 24
Italy
Volcano
Eruption of Vesuvius began, explosions heard all over Campania on May 9
1900 May 15
Rhode Island, United States
Fall
1,000s of fresh fish fell on a quarter acre area in thunderstorm, Providence
1900 July 12
Yorkshire, England
‘Cloudburst’
Flood swept Ilkley after 5.40 inches of rain fell in an hour; houses collapsed, loss of life
1900 July 12
Wyoming, United States
Heat
A temperature of 114° F. (45.5° C.) at Basin
1900 July 20
Nottingham, England
Hailstorm
Stones over 5 inches in circumference broke hundreds of square feet of glass
1900 July 27
France
Heat
A temperature of 103.6° F. at Chateaudun near Paris
1900 September 8
Texas, United States
Hurricane
Hurricane centre passed near Galveston; over 6,000 persons killed in storm surge
1900 November 10
Western Australia
Meteor shower
100 to 200 meteors in 30 seconds, Newcastlle
1900 November 15 - 16
Hudson’s Bay, Canada
Meteor showers
‘General display of shooting stars’ on both nights, York Factory
1900 November 20
United States
Tornado outbreak
Tornadoes in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas killed 77 persons
1900 December 30
England
Gale
Storm uprooted 1,000s of trees; gusts of 103 m.p.h. Over 200 drowned in shipwrecks
