Climate & Environment in the 19th century

503 sourced entries, 1800 CE to 1899 CE, oldest first. Also see Climate & Environment across every century or everything else in the 19th century.

• 180015 February – "Meal mob" riot over bread prices in Glasgow.Scotlandsource
• 1801January 1 – a large earthquake strongly affected the city of La Serena and surrounding areas, causing considerable structural damage.Chilesource
• 1802October 26 – A powerful 7.9 earthquake shakes the Romanian district of Vrancea destroying hundreds of buildings, triggering landslides and killing 4 people. This earthquake is considered one of the strongest to have shaken Europe.source
• 18022-3 December – 75mm of rain falls in a 30-hour period in Dublin causing serious flooding. Two ships sank at the North Wall, while "all of the major rivers around the city, the Liffey, Poddle and Dodder burst their banks." The stone-built Ormond Bridge (modern day site of O'Donovan Rossa Bridge) was washed away, necessitating a replacement.Irelandsource
• 1802Drought and famine plague the AmaZulu region, causing internal strife, social dislocation, and thousands of refugees.South Africasource
• 1805Theophilus Jones - History of the County of Brecknock, vol. 1Walessource
• 1806August/September – November/DecemberNew Zealandsource
• 180625 December – Stotfield fishing disaster: all 21 able-bodied men of the village of Stotfield are drowned when all three of their fishing boats are overwhelmed by a storm in the Moray Firth.Scotlandsource
• 1806Theophilus Jones - History of the County of Brecknock, vol. 1Walessource
• 1808A volcano erupts from an unknown location in the western Pacific. This causes a localized drop in marine air temperatures during this year and a worldwide drop in marine air temperature for the following decade.source
• 180912 March – The Sydney Gazette refers to Foveaux Strait, the first recorded usage of the name.New Zealandsource
• 180912 December - Siege of Gerona ends as Spanish forced to capitulate by disease and famine.Francesource
• 1809Napoleon's continental blockade cuts British access to Scandinavian timber.Canadasource
• 1809A severe drought occurs in the eastern frontier area.South Africasource
• 1809The seeds that will give rise to the Bramley apple are planted in Southwell, Nottinghamshire.United Kingdomsource
• 1809Theophilus Jones - History of the County of Brecknock, vol. 2Walessource
• 181016 July - Governor Francisco Antonio García Carrasco is forced to resign.Chilesource
• 181014 December – The UK's strongest ever recorded tornado strikes Portsmouth with a top wind speed of 213 to 240 mph (T8 (F4) rating).United Kingdomsource
• 1810Monach Islands abandoned for the first time, due to overgrazing.Scotlandsource
• 1811June 10 – A volcanic eruption briefly creates Sabrina Island (Azores).source
• 181110 June – A volcanic eruption, observed from Royal Navy sloop HMS Sabrina, creates Sabrina Island (Azores) which on 4 July is claimed for Britain; a few months later it sinks beneath the sea.United Kingdomsource
• 1811December 16 – The New Madrid earthquake in the Mississippi Valley, near New Madrid, reverses the course of the river for a while. Other earthquakes along the fault occur on January 23, 1812 and February 7, 1812.source
• 1811December 16 – The New Madrid earthquake in Mississippi Valley near New Madrid reverses the course of the river for a while. Other earthquakes along the fault occur on January 23, 1812, and February 7, 1812.United Statessource
• 1812February 7 – The last New Madrid earthquake strikes New Madrid, Missouri, with an estimated moment magnitude of over 8.source
• 1812February 7 – The last of four major New Madrid earthquakes strike New Madrid, Missouri, with an estimated moment magnitude of over 8.United Statessource
• 1812March 26 – The 1812 Caracas earthquake destroys Caracas, capital of Venezuela.source
• 1812December 8 – The M6.9–7.5 San Juan Capistrano earthquake affects Alta California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong) to IX (Violent), killing 40 parishioners at Mission San Juan Capistrano.source
• 1812Hugh Jones - Arwyrain AmaethyddiaethWalessource
• 181330 September - Sir Jeremiah Homfray is forced to sell his house at Cwm Rhondda to settle his debts.Walessource
• 181327 December – 3 January 1814 – A thick fog blankets London causing the Prince Regent to turn back from a trip to Hatfield House and a mail coach to take 7 hours to reach Uxbridge on its way to Birmingham.United Kingdomsource
• 1813Charles Waterton begins the process of turning his estate at Walton Hall, West Yorkshire, England into what is, in effect, the world's first nature reserve.source
• 1813Early in the year Ruatara is finally returned home. With the death during his absence of Te Pahi and his elder brother, Ruatara is made paramount chief of Ngā Puhi. He has seed wheat given to him by Samuel Marsden and intends to grow it to sell to Europeans. He does not however have anything to grind the wheat with. (see 1814)New Zealandsource
• 1813Charles Waterton begins the process of turning his estate at Walton Hall, West Yorkshire, into what is, in effect, the world's first nature reserve.United Kingdomsource
• 1813Elijah Waring founds a new periodical, The Cambrian Visitor: a Monthly Miscellany, which fails after eight months.Walessource
• 1813Walter Davies (Gwallter Mechain) - General View of the Agriculture and Domestic Economy of North WalesWalessource
• 181414 January – The third-coldest month in the CET series with an average of −2.9 allows the last River Thames frost fair in London.United Kingdomsource
• 1814February 1 – Mount Mayon in the Philippines erupts for the second time; more than 1,200 people die and the Cagsawa Church is destroyed.source
• 181412 August – The last hanging under the Black Act in England is of William Potter for cutting down an orchard; the judge petitions for reprieve.United Kingdomsource
• 1814October 17 – London Beer Flood: A large vat full of porter owned by Meux's Brewery of London bursts, demolishing buildings and killing 8 people.source
• 181417 October – London Beer Flood: a large vat of porter in Meux's Brewery bursts, demolishing buildings and killing nine.United Kingdomsource
• 1814Ayrshire cattle recognised as a distinct breed by the Highland and Agricultural Society.Scotlandsource
• 1814John Jones - Natur a Chyneddfau Gweddi (2nd edition)Walessource
• 1815April 10– Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies blows its top explosively during its peak eruption, killing more than 92,000 people during week of activity from April 5 to April 12. The blast propels thousands of tons of aerosols (Sulfide gas compounds) into the stratosphere, and the high level gases reflect sunlight, causing widespread cooling from a volcanic winter. During 1816, heavy rains fall arounde the world, snow falls in June and July in the Northern Hemisphere, crops fail and widespread famine occurs. In later years, 1816 will become known as the Year Without a Summer.source
• 1815September 23 – The Great September Gale of 1815 is the first hurricane to strike New England in 180 years.source
• 1815October 23 – A 6.8 earthquake shakes northern China causing many houses and caves to collapse, killing at least 13,000 people.source
• 1815Walter Davies - General View of the Agriculture and Domestic Economy of South WalesWalessource
• 181613 August – an earthquake in Inverness is the strongest ever in Scotland.Scotlandsource
• 181613 August – An earthquake in Aberdeen is the strongest ever in Scotland.United Kingdomsource
• 1816The Year Without a Summer – famine and typhoid kill 65,000 people by 1819.Irelandsource
• 18161816 was known as 'the year without a summer' in North America and elsewhere, with widespread unseasonal weather and crop failures.United Statessource
• 181720 January – HMS Jasper is wrecked in the vicinity of Plymouth Sound by hurricane-force winds with the loss of 65 lives.United Kingdomsource
• 1817April 15 – An earthquake strikes Palermo in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.source
• 1817July 4 – 1817 Santiago del Estero earthquake. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Argentina's Santiago del Estero Province.source
• 1817August 23 – An earthquake near the site of the ancient Greek city of Helike results in 65 deaths.source
• 1817Famine in Newfoundland due to poor postwar economy.Canadasource
• 181813 January – Torgoyle Bridge in Glenmoriston is swept away by an exceptional flood event.Scotlandsource
• 1818Thomas Kendall's school at Rangihoua closes.New Zealandsource
• 1818John Jones of Ystrad fails to win Carmarthen.Walessource
• 1819June 16 – The Rann of Kutch earthquake, estimated at at least 7.7 Mw kills at least 1,543 people in India in what is now the state of Gujarat at the Arabian Sea, causing an 80 - 150 km stretch of land to be raised as much as 6 m and creating a natural dam, the Allahbund.source
• 181931 August – A significant earthquake (estimated M5.9±0.2) struck near Lurøy in Northern Norway.Norwaysource
• 1819Ngqika-Cape alliance collapses as Gov. Somerset claims land between Fish & Keiskamma Rivers as a buffer zone.South Africasource
• 1820Mount Rainier erupts over modern-day Seattle.source
• 1821September 3 – The 1821 Norfolk and Long Island hurricane strikes New York City.United Statessource
• 1821September–November – potato crop fails.Irelandsource
• 1821December 19 – The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland begins to erupt.source
• 1821Damage is caused by a minor eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. The main eruption phase began on 20 December.Icelandsource
• 1822June – August: Following an eruption the previous year, another sequence of explosive eruptions occurred at Eyjafjallajökull The eruption columns were shot to considerable heights, with ashfall in both the far north of the country, in Eyjafjörður, and in the southwest, on the peninsula of Seltjarnarnes near Reykjavík.Icelandsource
• 1822August 5–13 – A sequence of earthquakes occurs in the northern part of the Ottoman Empire, causing severe damage from Gaziantep to Antakya in modern Turkey and from Aleppo to Khan Sheikhun in modern Syria. At least 20,000 people are killed.source
• 1822October 8 – The Galunggung volcano erupts on West Java, and is followed four days later by a second, more violent outburst. The two events kill more than 4,000 people and destroy 114 villages.source
• 1822October 21 – The volcano Mount Vesuvius near Naples erupts.source
• 1822November 19 – An earthquake near Valparaíso in Chile kills around 200 people, causes a tsunami and raises the coastal area.source
• 1822November 23 – The USS Alligator wrecks on Carysford Reef off the coast of Florida.United Statessource
• 1823August 23 – Hugh Glass is attacked and mauled by a sow grizzly bear and left for dead in the Missouri Territory. He crawls 200 miles before reaching help, events depicted in The Revenant (2015 film).United Statessource
• 1823November 15 – Lone Horn succeeds (probably) his father, and becomes chief of the Minneconjou Sioux; he will be chief until his death on October 16, 1875.United Statessource
• 1823Katla under the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap erupted.Icelandsource
• 1823AmaKhumalo, led by Mzilikazi, migrate north of the Vaal River due to the Difaqane.South Africasource
• 1824Floods in Saint Petersburg which caused 300 casualties.Russiasource
• 1824Iowa tribe removed to a reservation in Kansas.United Statessource
• 1824The Cumberland hunting song "D'ye ken John Peel", written by John Woodcock Graves, is probably first heard.United Kingdomsource
• 1825February 3 – Vendsyssel-Thy, once part of the Jutland peninsula forming westernmost Denmark, becomes an island after a flood drowns its 1 km wide isthmus.source
• 1825February – February flood of 1825Germanysource
• 1825July – England and Wales' dryest July on record, with a rainfall average of 8.2mm; from 14–19 July consecutively, the daytime maxima in London exceed 90 °F (32 °C).United Kingdomsource
• 1825October 7 – The Miramichi Fire, a forest fire, breaks out in New Brunswick (Canada).source
• 1825Felicia Hemans – The Forest SanctuaryWalessource
• 18261 June–31 August – A three-month heat wave and drought grips the country. With a mean temperature of 17.60 °C, it is the hottest summer on CET records since 1659, until 1976 and 2025, meaning that it is the third hottest summer in the CET records.United Kingdomsource
• 1826August 28 – The town of Crawford Notch, New Hampshire suffers a landslide; those killed include all seven members of the Willey Family, after whom Mount Willey is named.source
• 1826August – The town of Crawford Notch, New Hampshire suffers a landslide; those killed include the Willey Family, after whom Mount Willey is named.United Statessource
• 1828September 17 – 1828 Siebold typhoon: A typhoon kills approximately 10,000 people in Kyūshū, Japan.source
• 1828December 28 – The province of Echigo, Japan, is hit by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake, killing more than 1,500 people.source
• 18292–3 August – the "Muckle Spate", a great flood of the River Findhorn which devastates much of Strathspey, washing away many bridges.Scotlandsource
• 18292–3 August – The "Muckle Spate", a great flood of the River Findhorn which devastates much of Strathspey, Scotland, washing away many bridges.United Kingdomsource
• 1830June 12 – 7.5 magnitude earthquake kills more than 7,400 people in the Chinese province of Hebei.source
• 1830July – potato crop failure the previous year leads to widespread famine. Food riots in Limerick and Leitrim.Irelandsource
• 1830Sheep dip is invented by George Wilson of Coldstream.Scotlandsource
• 1831January – agrarian unrest breaks out in counties Clare and Limerick.Irelandsource
• 1831July 15 – The volcanic Graham Island briefly emerges in the Mediterranean.source
• 183216 July – "The Bad Day": 31 sixareens (the traditional fishing craft of Shetland) are lost in a storm with 105 crew.Scotlandsource
• 1832December – Missionary Henry Williams records the first mention of cricket being played in New Zealand, on the beach at Paihia.New Zealandsource
• 1832The Guntur famine of 1832 affected Guntur, Madras Presidency.Indiasource
• 1833June 29 – An earthquake at Fort Nisqually is experienced by William Fraser Tolmie; his journal entry records the first written eyewitness account of an earthquake in the Puget Sound region.source
• 183326 August – 1833 Bihar–Nepal earthquakeIndiasource
• 1833November 25 – An 8.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Sumatra in what is now Indonesia.source
• 1833November to December – William Lyon Mackenzie expelled three times and re-elected twice.Canadasource
• 1833The Guntur famine of 1832 continues to affect communities in Guntur, Madras Presidency.Indiasource
• 1834With an average Central England temperature of 10.51 °C, this narrowly overtakes 1733 as the hottest calendar year in the CET record until equalled in 1921 and beaten in 1949.United Kingdomsource
• 1835January 26 – Saint Paul's in Macau is largely destroyed by fire after a typhoon hits.source
• 1835February 20 – 1835 Concepción earthquake: Concepción, Chile, is destroyed by an earthquake. The resulting tsunami destroys the neighboring city of Talcahuano.source
• 183520 February - 1835 Concepción earthquakeChilesource
• 1835Civil war erupts in Uruguay, between supporters of the Blanco and Colorado parties.source
• 1835Johnny Jones and Edwin Palmer buy the whaling station at Preservation Inlet but it closes within a year. (see also 1829 & 1836)New Zealandsource
• 1835In geology, Roderick Murchison names the Silurian period, and Adam Sedgwick the Cambrian.United Kingdomsource
• 1836July 11 – President Andrew Jackson issues the Specie Circular, beginning the failure of the land speculation economy that will lead to the Panic of 1837.United Statessource
• 1836August – following one of the coldest summers in over fifty years there is widespread failure of the potato crop.Irelandsource
• 1836December 27 – Lewes avalanche: An avalanche at Lewes in Sussex, England, kills eight of fifteen people buried, when a row of cottages is engulfed in snow.source
• 183627 December – Lewes avalanche in East Sussex kills eight.United Kingdomsource
• 1837January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes thousands of deaths in Ottoman Syria.source
• 18371 March–31 May – At only 5.63 °C Central England temperature, the coolest English spring on record; this remains the last recorded coolest traditional season in the CET series.United Kingdomsource
• 183721 March – Flooding in Burcht and Stabroek.Belgiumsource
• 1837August – following a very cold summer there is widespread failure of the potato crop, as in 1836, leading to famine later in the year.Irelandsource
• 1837September 26 – The destructive "Racer's hurricane" sweeps across the Caribbean, northeastern Mexico, the Republic of Texas and the Gulf Coast of the United States and lasts until October 9, after killing at least 105 people.source
• 1837November 17 – An earthquake in Valdivia, south-central Chile, causes tsunamis that led to significant destruction along Japan's coast.source
• 183717 November - The 1837 Valdivia earthquake is felt from Concepción to Chonos Archipelago.Chilesource
• 1837Tenpō famine which began in 1833 comes to an end.Japansource
• 1837From beginning – Highland Destitution: 2 years of harvest failure leave many in the Highlands and Islands requiring aid.Scotlandsource
• 183820 January – With a daily average of −11.9, this day sees the coldest daily Central England temperature value on record.United Kingdomsource
• 1838January 21 – The first known report about the lowest temperature on Earth is made, indicating -60 °C in Yakutsk.source
• 1838January 23 – A 7.5 earthquake strikes the Romanian district of Vrancea causing damage in Moldavia and Wallachia, killing 73 people.source
• 1838March 13 – A combination of rain and melting snow causes the Danube River to overflow its banks, washing away villages in western Hungary and inundating the twin cities that become Budapest. More than 150 people are drowned and Europe's nations come to Hungary's aid to prevent the spread of famine and disease.source
• 183815 August – following a year of widespread hunger the government institutes relief work and reduces the tithe rent for the poor by the Poor Law and Tithe Acts.Irelandsource
• 1838Agra famine of 1837–38 kills 800,000 people in the North-Western ProvincesIndiasource
• 1838Sir Henry Ellis (ed.) - Registrum vulgariter nuncupatum "The record of Caernarvon"Walessource
• 1839January 6 – Night of the Big Wind: Ireland is struck by the most damaging cyclone in 300 years.source
• 1839March 23 – An earthquake in the Kingdom of Burma kills more than 400 people and destroys three cities, as well as heavily damaging the capital at Ava.source
• 1839October – earthquakes across Scotland.Scotlandsource
• 1839November 25 – A disastrous cyclone hits India with terrible winds and a giant 40-foot storm surge, wiping out the port city of Coringa; 300,000 people die.source
• 183924 December – An enormous landslide occurs at Axmouth in Devon, creating the Axmouth to Lyme Regis Undercliff. A report by geologists William Daniel Conybeare and William Buckland is one of the earliest scientific descriptions of such an event.United Kingdomsource
• 18396–7 January - Night of the Big Wind: a severe windstorm sweeps across Ireland killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless.Irelandsource
• 18406 April — George Clarke is appointed Protector of Aborigines by Governor Hobson.New Zealandsource
• 1840May 7 – Great Natchez Tornado: A massive tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi during the early afternoon. Before it is over, 317 people are killed and 109 injured (the second deadliest tornado in U.S. history).source
• 1840May 7 – The Great Natchez Tornado: A massive tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi during the early afternoon hours. Before it is over, 317 people are killed and 109 injured. It is the second deadliest tornado in U.S. history.United Statessource
• 1840November 4 – 1840 United States presidential election: William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren in a landslide.source
• 1840Approximate date – Volcanic eruption of Tinakula in the Solomon Islands causes the island to be depopulated.source
• 1840Crown Land (Encroachment) Ordinance vested all forests, wastes, unoccupied, and uncultivated lands to the crownIndiasource
• 1841January 27 – The active volcano Mount Erebus in Antarctica is discovered, and named by James Clark Ross.source
• 184127 January – The active volcano Mount Erebus in Antarctica is discovered and named by James Clark Ross.United Kingdomsource
• 1841February 4 – The first known reference is made to Groundhog Day, celebrated in North America, in the diary of a James Morris.source
• 184115 June – 1841 "Caída da Praia" earthquake.Portugalsource
• 1841Poor Law Amendment Act 1841 is passed, largely thanks to the efforts of Sir George Cornewall Lewis.Walessource
• 1842October 29 – The Iberian Peninsula is struck by a category 2 hurricane.source
• 1842A severe drought in the Eastern Cape Colony leads to cattle theft by settlers and AmaXhosa, weakening the Stockenström's 1836 treaty system.South Africasource
• 1843February 8 – The 1843 Guadeloupe Earthquake hits the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, killing 1,500–5,000 people.source
• 184317 March – earthquake in the Irish Sea.Irelandsource
• 18438 July: An earthquake occurs in the North Island centred near Wanganui, with several fatalities.New Zealandsource
• 1843November 25 – Mount Etna erupts in Italy, and kills 69 people in the village of Bronte.source
• 1843November – Devon Commission appointed to research the problems with land leases.Irelandsource
• 1843Merino sheep farming expands in the Cape Colony, leading to conflicts as farmers seek grazing land belonging to the AmaXhosa.South Africasource
• 18442 May – Commission of Enquiry set up to inquire into the system of poor relief in Scotland and suggest improvements delivers its report, leading to the Scottish Poor Law Act the following year.Scotlandsource
• 1844June 12 –In the United States, after nine days of heavy rains, the Missouri River and the Mississippi River overflow their banks as the Great Flood of 1844 begins. The water begins to recede by June 28 and the rivers return to their normal level by mid-July.source
• 1844June–July – The Great Flood of 1844 hits the Missouri River and Mississippi River.United Statessource
• 1844July 25 – Exclusion Law in Oregon prohibits African Americans (including slaves) from entering or remaining in the territoryUnited Statessource
• 1844October 18 – 1844 Salta earthquake. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Argentina's Salta Province.source
• 1844Undated – Aboriginal Orphans Act 1844, is enacted in South Australia, whereby the Protectors of Aborigines was made legal guardian of "every half-caste and other unprotected Aboriginal child whose parents are dead or unknown".Australiasource
• 1844Undated – Wellington Convict and Mission Site, convict agricultural station and Aboriginal mission closed.Australiasource
• 1844Fighting erupts between Boers and the Griqua as Boers reject the authority of Adam Kok III.South Africasource
• 184510 January – Jørund Telnes, farmer, teacher, writer and politician (died 1892).Norwaysource
• 1845April 7 – An earthquake destroys part of Mexico City, along with the nearby towns of Tlalpan and Xochimilco.source
• 1845August 19 – A tornado kills 75 in France at Montville while destroying two large factories.source
• 1845September 9 – Potato blight breaks out in Ireland, beginning the Great Famine.source
• 18459 September – A potato blight breaks out in Ireland, beginning the Great Famine.United Kingdomsource
• 184516 September – Parliament meets in extraordinary session to debate responses to the failure of the potato cropBelgiumsource
• 184531 October–1 November – An emergency meeting of the Cabinet (summoned on 15 October by Sir Robert Peel, the Prime Minister) votes against Peel on the distribution of famine relief in Ireland, considering it would call the Corn Laws into question.United Kingdomsource
• 18455 December – unable to persuade his Cabinet to repeal the Corn Laws in the face of the Great Famine, Peel tenders his resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to Queen Victoria but is reinstated days later when Lord John Russell is unable to form a government.Irelandsource
• 18451845 Netherlands potato famineNetherlandssource
• 1845Netherlands Entomological SocietyNetherlandssource
• 1845Erich Haagensen Jaabech, farmer and politician (born 1761)Norwaysource
• 18467 May: Little Waihi landslide kills around 60 Maori, including Mananui Te Heuheu Tukino II.New Zealandsource
• 1846May 15 – Under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert Peel, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom votes to repeal the Corn Laws by passing an Importation Bill, replacing the old colonial mercantile trade system with free trade in response to the Great Famine (Ireland). On June 25 the Duke of Wellington persuades the House of Lords to pass the Act, which will take full effect from February 1849. Peel, however, is forced to resign.source
• 18469 July – A flood at East Wheal Rose lead mine in Cornwall kills 39.United Kingdomsource
• 1846November 4 – The Donner Party, a wagon train of 87 settlers traveling to California, is stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains by the first of several snowstorms. By the time a relief party reaches the starving settlers three months later, only 48 survivors are left, many of whom have survived by cannibalism.source
• 1846November 30 – The Donner Party becomes snowbound.United Statessource
• 1846The Great Famine continues in Ireland. The first deaths from hunger take place early in the year and Phytophthora infestans almost totally destroys the summer potato crop.source
• 1846The Great Famine begins, marking a change in the composition of Irish immigrating to Canada from mostly rich, well-connected, respectable Protestants to vastly poor, ill-equipped, poorly treated Catholics.Canadasource
• 1846Ongoing – Great Hunger: The first deaths from hunger take place early in the year. Phytophthora infestans almost totally destroys the summer potato crop and the Famine worsens considerably. By December a third of a million destitute people are employed on public works.Irelandsource
• 1846A devastating potato disease hit the Russian Empire. However, it was supposed to shield the peasants against famine.Russiasource
• 1846Start of Highland Potato Famine.Scotlandsource
• 1846Carolina, Lady Nairne's Lays from Strathern are published posthumously, revealing her authorship. This includes the Jacobite song "The Hundred Pipers".Scotlandsource
• 1847February 5 – A rescue effort, called the First Relief, leaves Johnson's Ranch to save the ill-fated Donner Party. These California bound emigrants became snowbound in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846–1847, and some have resorted to cannibalism to survive.United Statessource
• 1847February–September – soup kitchens system established under the Temporary Relief Act ("Soup Kitchen" or "Burgoyne's" Act); famine at its height.Irelandsource
• 184724 March (starting 12 midday) – National Day of Fast and Humiliation for the Great Famine is held across the UK by royal proclamation.Irelandsource
• 184724 March – (Starting 12 midday) – National Day of Fast and Humiliation for the Great Famine (Ireland) is held across the UK by royal proclamation.United Kingdomsource
• 1847May 8 – The Nagano earthquake leaves more than 8,600 people dead in Japan.source
• 1847October – The last volcanic eruption of Mount Guntur in West Java occurs.source
• 1847The Great Famine continues in Ireland.source
• 1847Ongoing – Great Famine. This summer's potato crop is free from blight, but inadequate due to small area sown. The British Relief Association is founded and raises money throughout England, the United States and Australia, with the help of the "Queen's Letters", two letters from Queen Victoria appealing for money to relieve the distress in Ireland. A group of Native American Choctaw is among those contributing to the relief effort. The Central Relief Committee of the Society of Friends (Quakers) also assists, but there are claims of "Souperism" (the provision of food in combination with proselytization) by other Protestant sectarian groups.Irelandsource
• 1847Ongoing – Great Famine (Ireland): this summer's potato crop is free from blight, but inadequate due to the small area sown. The British Relief Association is founded and raises money throughout England, the United States and Australia to relieve distress, with the help of the "Queen's Letters", two letters from Queen Victoria appealing for assistance.United Kingdomsource
• 1848January 12 – Sicilian revolution of 1848: The Palermo rising erupts in Sicily against the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.source
• 1848May – Huddersfield workhouse scandal: an inquiry reveals the poor conditions in which inmates have been kept.United Kingdomsource
• 1848July – famine victims on outdoor relief peak this month at almost 840,000 people.Irelandsource
• 1848July – Great Famine (Ireland): Potato blight has returned and outbreaks of cholera are reported. Famine victims on outdoor relief peak this month at almost 840,000 people.United Kingdomsource
• 184819 August – Moray Firth fishing disaster: 100 fishermen lose their lives in a severe storm off the east coast.Scotlandsource
• 184816 October – A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes Marlborough, causing three deaths.New Zealandsource
• 1848Great Famine (Ireland) (1845–52).source
• 1848Ongoing – Great Famine: Potato blight returns and outbreaks of cholera are reported.Irelandsource
• 184921 April – Great Famine (Ireland): 96 inmates of the overcrowded Ballinrobe Union Workhouse die over the course of the preceding week from illness and other famine-related conditions, a record high. This year's potato crop again fails and there are renewed outbreaks of cholera.United Kingdomsource
• 1849May 3 – The Mississippi River levee at Sauvé's Crevasse breaks, flooding much of New Orleans.source
• 1849May 3 – The Mississippi River levee at Sauvé's Crevasse breaks, flooding much of New Orleans, Louisiana.United Statessource
• 185029 January – 'The Blizzard Tuesday', or 'Stormy Tuesday,' strikes large parts of central and southern Sweden, killing roughly 100 people.Swedensource
• 1850July–August – 'Great Stink': Hot weather exacerbates the effects of untreated sewage discharged into the River Thames in London.United Kingdomsource
• 1850September 12 – The 1850 Xichang earthquake (7.9) shakes the Chinese province of Sichuan killing more than 20,000 people.source
• 1850Ongoing – Great Famine (Ireland) subsides.source
• 1850Ongoing – Great Famine subsides.Irelandsource
• 1851March 30 – A United Kingdom Census is taken. The population has reached 21 million. 6.3 million live in cities of 20,000 or more in England and Wales, and cities of 20,000 or more account for 35% of the total English population. It also shows that a legacy of the Great Irish Famine is that the population of Ireland has fallen to 6,575,000 – a drop of 1,600,000 in ten years, many having emigrated.source
• 185130 March – the United Kingdom Census shows that, as part of the legacy of the Great Famine, the population of Ireland has fallen to 6,575,000 – a drop of 1,600,000 in ten years. This is the first census to note use of the Irish language.Irelandsource
• 185130 March – The United Kingdom Census 1851 is the first to include detailed ages, date and place of birth, occupations and marital status of those listed. The population of the UK is revealed to have reached 21 million. 6.3 million live in cities of 20,000 or more in England and Wales and such cities account for 35% of the total English population. Uniquely, this census also counts attendance at places of religious worship: it shows that only 35% of the population attend and, of those, nonconformists are in a majority. As part of the legacy of the Great Irish Famine, the population of Ireland has fallen to 6,575,000, a drop of 1.6 million in ten years.United Kingdomsource
• 1851May–August – The Great Flood of 1851 causes extensive damage in the Midwest; the town of Des Moines is virtually destroyed.United Statessource
• 1851Mid-May to mid-July – Great Flood of 1851: Extensive flooding sweeps across the Midwestern United States. The town of Des Moines is virtually washed away, and many rainfall records hold for 160 years.source
• 18511851–1855 Yellow River floods in China.source
• 1851Great Famine (Ireland), 1845–52.source
• 18525 February – Holmfirth Flood caused by collapse of the embankment at Bilberry reservoir in the West Riding of Yorkshire: 81 killed.United Kingdomsource
• 185225 June – The Murrumbidgee River flooded Gundagai, New South Wales killing 89 of the population of 250. The town was moved to higher ground. The flooding continued but no deaths occurred.Australiasource
• 18529 August – Earthquake causing casualties in São Miguel Island.Portugalsource
• 1852November 27 – A magnitude 7.5 to 8.8 earthquake strikes near the Banda Islands, Dutch East Indies, triggering a deadly tsunami.source
• 1852End of the Great Famine. In the period it has lasted since 1845, one million people have emigrated from Ireland. The Irish now make up a quarter of the population of Liverpool, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore; and a half of Toronto.Irelandsource
• 1852Polled Herd Book established for Aberdeen Angus and Galloway cattle.Scotlandsource
• 1852End of the Great Famine (Ireland). In the period it has lasted since 1845, one million people have emigrated from Ireland. The Irish now make up a quarter of the population of Liverpool, and the same is true of cities on the east coast of North America.United Kingdomsource
• 18521–30 November – Second-wettest month in the EWP series (wettest until 1903) with an average of 202.5 mm. It beats November 1772 with 200.8 mm.United Kingdomsource
• 1853May 5 – The Shiraz earthquake shook the region with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 13,000 dead.Iransource
• 1855January 23 – The 8.2–8.3 Mw Wairarapa earthquake claims between five and nine lives near the Cook Strait area of New Zealand.source
• 185523 January: The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake causes extensive damage but few deaths. The quake, estimated at magnitude 8.2, raises parts of the Wellington harbour foreshore by as much as 6 metres. It is the strongest known New Zealand earthquake since European settlement.New Zealandsource
• 18558 February – The Devil's Footprints, a series of mysteriously hoof-like marks, appear in the snow in Devon and continue throughout the countryside for over 100 mi.United Kingdomsource
• 185516 February – emigrant ship Tornado sails from Broomielaw in Glasgow with 500 settlers bound for Melbourne.Scotlandsource
• 1856February – an oak and a yew tree associated with William Wallace at his reputed birthplace of Elderslie are blown down in a storm.Scotlandsource
• 1856April – The Xhosa cattle-killing movement and famine begins in Cape Colony.source
• 1856August 10 – The Last Island hurricane destroys Last Island, Louisiana, leaving 400 dead. The whole island is broken up into several smaller islands by the storm.source
• 1856August 10 – 1856 Last Island hurricane: A hurricane destroys Last Island, Louisiana, leaving at least 200 dead. The whole island is broken up into smaller islands by the storm.United Statessource
• 1856August 21 – The Charter Oak in Hartford, Connecticut, falls to the ground during a stormUnited Statessource
• 1856October 12 – 1856 Heraklion earthquake: A powerful earthquake rocks the Mediterranean, killing hundreds on the island of Crete and many more in the Middle East.source
• 1856The AmaXhosa, devastated by land loss and disease, follow Nongqawuse’s prophecy, leading to mass cattle slaughter, famine, and near destruction of their society.South Africasource
• 1857January 9 – The 7.9 Mw Fort Tejon earthquake shakes Central and Southern California, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent).source
• 1857January 9 – The 7.9 Mw Fort Tejon earthquake affects Central and Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent).United Statessource
• 1857October 1 – Eviction of last residents of Seneca Village to make way for New York City's Central Park is completed.United Statessource
• 1857December 16 – The 7.0 Mw Basilicata earthquake shakes the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Southern Italy) with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing about 10,000 people.source
• 18589 April - 1858 Hietsu earthquakeJapansource
• 1858June 19 – A six-minute earthquake destroys much of Mexico City and devastates Texcoco.source
• 1858Edward Stephen (Tanymarian) — RequiemWalessource
• 1859June 17 – The only recorded simoom ever in North America hits Goleta and Santa Barbara, California.source
• 1860May 8 – In New Granada (modern-day Colombia) the southern state of Cauca secedes from the central government, in protest at the suggestion of increase of presidential powers; Magdalena and Bolívar join it; civil war erupts.source
• 1860November – The 'Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs', predecessor of the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, is established in London by Mary Tealby.United Kingdomsource
• 1861March 20 – An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina.source
• 186121 March: The Auckland Examiner, which started in 1856, ceases publication.New Zealandsource
• 186112 April – American Civil War breaks out, leading to the Lancashire Cotton Famine (1861–1865).United Kingdomsource
• 1861April 14 – A major flood hits MontrealCanadasource
• 1861May 14 – The Canellas meteorite, an 859 gram chondrite type meteorite, strikes Earth near Barcelona, Spain.source
• 1861October 26 – The Pony Express American transcontinental mail service announces its closure.source
• 1861Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry.source
• 1862In the Great Flood of 1862, San Francisco receives 24.49 in of rainfall for January, its highest monthly rainfall on record, and the “rain year” total from July 1861 to June of 49.27 in is also the highest ever.United Statessource
• 186215 March – riots in Stalybridge resulting from the Lancashire Cotton Famine.United Kingdomsource
• 186218 December – "Day of the Great Drowning": 31 men, the entire crews of five fishing boats from Ness, Lewis, are drowned in a storm.Scotlandsource
• 186323 February: A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes Hawke's Bay.New Zealandsource
• 1863July: Heavy snowfalls followed by warm rains cause sudden and extensive flooding in Central Otago, destroying numerous gold mining camps. It is estimated that at least 100 miners died in the floods and the preceding snowstorm.New Zealandsource
• 1864March 11 – Great Sheffield Flood: A reservoir near Sheffield, England, bursts; 250 die.source
• 186411 March – Great Sheffield Flood: the Dale Dike Dam bursts devastating Sheffield.United Kingdomsource
• 1864October 3 – A destructive earthquake causes severe damage and 20 deaths southwest of Veracruz.Mexicosource
• 1864October 5 – A cyclone kills 70,000 people in and around Calcutta in India.source
• 18641 November - A massive cyclone and tidal wave destroys Masulipatnam and kills nearly 30,000 people.Indiasource
• 1864Dietrich Brandis set up Imperial Forest Department the earlier form of Indian Forest Service.Indiasource
• 1865March 25 – The "Claywater Meteorite" explodes just before reaching ground level in Vernon County, Wisconsin; fragments having a combined mass of 1.5 kg are recovered.United Statessource
• 1865October 8 – The 6.3 MLa Santa Cruz Mountains earthquake shakes the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), causing $500,000 in damage.United Statessource
• 1866January 26 – Volcanic eruption in the Santorini caldera begins.source
• 1866November 5 – House of Representatives elections: Despite President Andrew Johnson's Swing Around the Circle tour, the Republican Party wins in a landslide.United Statessource
• 1866The Famine of 1866–68 begins in Finland.source
• 186647 million people were affected by the Orissa famine of 1866Indiasource
• 18671 June – Greatest recorded flood of the Hawkesbury River at 19.2 metres.Australiasource
• 186729 October – A hurricane hits the Danish West Indies.Denmarksource
• 186718 November – The 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami hits the Danish West Indies.Denmarksource
• 1867The Swedish famine of 1867–1869 begins.source
• 1867Gorse is naturalised in New Zealand, where it soon becomes the worst invasive weed.source
• 1867The great Swedish emigration to the United States begun, in part caused by the great famine.Swedensource
• 1867The great Swedish famine of 1867-1869 spreads from Finland to Sweden, where it lasts until 1868. This is the last famine to take place in Sweden.Swedensource
• 1867Jabez Edmund Jenkins – Egin Awen, yn cynnwys awdlau, cywyddauWalessource
• 1868August 13 – The 8.5–9.0 Mw Arica earthquake strikes southern Peru, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing 25,000+ deaths and a destructive basin-wide tsunami, that affects Hawaii and New Zealand.source
• 186813 August: A tsunami caused by the 1868 Arica earthquake in South America causes the only fatalities recorded from tsunamis in New Zealand, with about twenty people swept away in the Chatham Islands.New Zealandsource
• 1868October 21 – The M6.3–6.7 Hayward earthquake affects the San Francisco Bay Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing damage from Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz.United Statessource
• 1868Jules-Emile Planchon and colleagues propose Phylloxera as the cause of the Great French Wine Blight.Francesource
• 1868Among the Conservative members who lose their seats are Crawshay Bailey and Henry Austin Bruce, the latter replaced by two MPs for the expanded constituency of Merthyr Tydfil: Richard Fothergill and Henry Richard.Walessource
• 1868Farmers in Cardiganshire are evicted for returning a Liberal MP, Thomas Lloyd.Walessource
• 18695 June: 1869 Christchurch earthquakeNew Zealandsource
• 186924 June – Sea Birds Preservation Act 1869 passed, preventing killing of designated species during the breeding season, the first act to offer any protection to wild birds in the UK.United Kingdomsource
• 1869John Owen of Tyn-llwyn is evicted from his farm for voting Tory.Walessource
• 1870April 11 – A 7.3 magnitude earthquake shakes the Chinese county of Batang causing a fire that leaves about 5,000 dead.source
• 1870October 20 – A 6.6 earthquake shakes the Canadian province of Quebec, killing 6 people.source
• 1871July 21–August 26 – The first ever photographs of Yellowstone National Park region are taken by photographer William Henry Jackson, during the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871.source
• 1871July 21–August 26 – First ever photographs of Yellowstone National Park region taken by the photographer William Henry Jackson during Hayden Geological Survey of 1871.United Statessource
• 1871August 9 – One of the few known major hurricanes to strike Hawaii causes significant damage on the islands of Hawaii and Maui.source
• 1871October 8 – The Peshtigo fire begins and destroys the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and kills as many as 2,500 people, becoming the deadliest wildfire in United States history.source
• 1871The native-bred red kite becomes extinct in England.United Kingdomsource
• 1872March 1 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park.United Statessource
• 1872December – Wick Harbour breakwater is washed away in a stormScotlandsource
• 1872Gustave Courbet - Nature morte aux fruitsFrancesource
• 1872John Kibble's conservatory is dismantled at Coulport for re-erection in Glasgow Botanic GardensScotlandsource
• 1872Exceptionally consistent rain brings the wettest calendar year on record over England and Wales with 1284.9 mm beating previous record from 1768 by 37.6 mm. The nearest approach since has been 2012 with 1244.3 mm and 2000 with 1232.5 mm.United Kingdomsource
• 187319 July – Surveyor William Gosse names "Ayers Rock" after the premier of South Australia Henry Ayers (later changed to its Indigenous name, Uluru).Australiasource
• 1873August 25 – A cyclone hits Cape Breton Island, killing 500 and causing much damage.Canadasource
• 1873Late August: A cyclone hits the South Island east coast, wrecking several ships.New Zealandsource
• 187420 February to 10 August – agricultural workers' strike.United Kingdomsource
• 1875The record-setting American clipper Flying Cloud of 1851 is burned for scrap metal.source
• 1875June – The record-setting clipper Flying Cloud of 1851 is burned for scrap metal.United Statessource
• 187524 December – 59 die when a cyclone destroys the pearling fleet in the Exmouth Gulf of Western Australia.Australiasource
• 187616 February – The community of Bowen was struck by an F5 tornado that caused £7000 of damage, injured numerous people and had one confirmed casualty.Australiasource
• 1876March 3 – Kentucky meat shower.United Statessource
• 1876October 31 – The great 1876 Bengal cyclone strikes the coast of modern-day Bangladesh, killing 200,000.source
• 18767 December – After weeks of heavy precipitation the Guadiana and Tagus rivers in southeastern Portugal burst their banks, destroying several villages in one of the worst flooding events in recorded in the country as well as the biggest involving Guadiana and Tagus rivers.Portugalsource
• 1876The Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–79, which will claim 30 million lives and become the 5th-worst famine in recorded history, begins after the droughts of the previous year.source
• 1876Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–79Chinasource
• 1876Henry Wickham smuggles rubber seeds out of Brazil leading to the eventual collapse of the Amazon rubber boom.United Kingdomsource
• 1877May 9 – Iquique Earthquake and tsunami: An earthquake of at least magnitude 8.5 M s occurs on the west coast of South America, killing 2,541 around the Pacific Rim.source
• 1877May 9 - 1877 Iquique earthquake (magnitude 8.5)Boliviasource
• 18779 May - 1877 Iquique earthquakeChilesource
• 1877Cape and British involvement when tribal dispute erupts between the Gcaleka and the Fingo peoples of the eastern Cape frontier leads to the 9th Cape Frontier War which ends the following year.South Africasource
• 1877June 26 – The eruption of the volcano Cotopaxi in Ecuador causes severe mudflows that wipe out surrounding cities and valleys, killing 1,000.source
• 1877July 1 – An F4 tornado touches down near Gap, Pennsylvania, and moves towards Chester County. A woman is killed near Ercildoun; a man is killed near Parkesburg; and possibly a third person dies. 4 homes are destroyed at Parkesburg and 20 buildings are destroyed at Ercildoun. 10 or more homes are leveled in Chester County.source
• 1877Shandong Famine Relief Committee was established with the participation of diplomats, businessmen, and Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries to combat the famineChinasource
• 1877Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–79Chinasource
• 1878August 9 – The Wallingford Tornado of 1878, the deadliest tornado in Connecticut history, destroys the town of Wallingford, killing 34 people and injuring more than 70.source
• 187830 September: Great Flood of 1878, caused by the rapid melting of heavy winter snows in Central Otago, kills at least three people and destroys several bridges in Clutha and Southland.New Zealandsource
• 1878Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–79Chinasource
• 18781878 – Krakatindur east of Hekla erupts. (Part of the East volcanic zone (EVZ))Icelandsource
• 18791 January to 31 December – the combination of the severest winter since 1814, a late spring, an exceptionally cool summer and a cold dry autumn produces the third-coldest year in the CET series and the coldest since 1740, with an annual mean of 7.44 °C.United Kingdomsource
• 1879April 26 – The National Park, later renamed the Royal National Park, is declared in New South Wales, Australia, the world's second-oldest purposed national park.source
• 1879June 30 – The 1879 Surigao earthquake measuring Mw 7.4 causes major damage in the northern tip of Mindanao Island.source
• 1879June–August – the wettest summer in England and Wales since records began in 1766, and the equal seventh-coolest since the CET series begins in 1659.United Kingdomsource
• 1879July 1 – An 8.0 earthquake shakes southern Gansu, killing 22,000 people.source
• 1879November–March 1880 – probably the longest ever fog in the city's history engulfs London.United Kingdomsource
• 1879December 2-28 – the Winter 1879 cold wave freeze Europe with record low temperatures.source
• 1879Ottawa memo outlines the "utter destitution" of some Indigenous people in the Northwest TerritoriesCanadasource
• 1879Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–79Chinasource
• 1879Geirfuglasker erupts (submarine).Icelandsource
• 1879Second year of the Irish Famine (1878–1880) which has its greatest impact in the "wet" West of Ireland where the potato harvest is greatly reduced, and the peat and cereal crops are too wet to harvest.Irelandsource
• 1879School meals provided for destitute and poorly nourished children in Manchester.United Kingdomsource
• 1880January–March – great fog continues to engulf London.United Kingdomsource
• 188018 September – 151 people were buried in a landslip at Naini Tal following 36 inch of rain in 68 hours.Indiasource
• 1880October 15 – A blizzard marks the start of the Hard Winter in North America.source
• 1880October 15 – The first blizzard mentioned in Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter sweeps over the prairie in Dakota Territory.United Statessource
• 188030 Octeober – The temperature drops to -11.9 °, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Denmark in the month of October.Denmarksource
• 1880November 9 – A major earthquake strikes Zagreb and destroys many buildings, including Zagreb Cathedral.source
• 188116 January – the lowest temperature ever recorded in Ireland, −19.1C (−2.4F) at Markree, County Sligo.Irelandsource
• 1881January – At least five people freeze to death during blizzards and extreme low temperatures throughout Wales.Walessource
• 1881April 14 – The Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight erupts in El Paso, Texas.source
• 188115 June - Chilean presidential election, 1881Chilesource
• 1881July 20 - earthquake of magnitude 6.5 occurred in Gansu and Lanzhou.Chinasource
• 1881August 27 – The fifth hurricane of the Atlantic season hits Florida and the Carolinas, killing about 700.source
• 1881August 27 – The fifth hurricane of the 1881 Atlantic hurricane season hits Florida and the Carolinas, killing about 700.United Statessource
• 18815 December – a magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes near Castle Hill, widely felt in the South Island and causing damage in ChristchurchNew Zealandsource
• 1881The 7.9 Mw Nicobar Islands earthquake shook the area with a maximum EMS-98 intensity of VII (Damaging). It is probably the earliest earthquake for which rupture parameters were estimated instrumentally.Indiasource
• 188117–18 January – blizzard over southern parts of Britain.United Kingdomsource
• 18822 February – A cyclone causes considerable damage to the town of Cardwell, Queensland.Australiasource
• 1882June 6 – Supposedly, the Bombay Cyclone of 1882 in the Arabian Sea causes flooding in Bombay harbor, leaving about 100,000 dead; this alleged event has, however, been proved a hoax.source
• 18821882–83 New Zealand cricket seasonNew Zealandsource
• 1883May 20 – 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, Indonesiasource
• 1883August 21 – 1883 Rochester tornado: An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.source
• 1883August 26–27 – 1883 eruption of Krakatoa: The volcanic island of Krakatoa erupts at 10:02 am (local time); 163 villages are destroyed, 36,417 killed by tsunami.source
• 1883November–December – the Tay Whale (a humpback) appears in the Firth of Tay; on 31 December it is harpooned but escapes, dying later.Scotlandsource
• 18836 December – Steamer Plantyn abandoned in the North Atlantic after being damaged in a storm.Belgiumsource
• 18831882–83 New Zealand cricket seasonNew Zealandsource
• 188422 April – Colchester earthquake ("the Great English earthquake") measuring EMS-98 VIII (Heavily damaging) is the UK's most destructive, although no direct fatalities can be confirmed.United Kingdomsource
• 1884April 24 – The Colchester earthquake ("the Great English earthquake") measuring EMS-98 VIII (Heavily damaging) is the UK's most destructive, although no direct fatalities can be confirmed.source
• 188428 April – Napier Commission delivers the Report of Her Majesty's Commissioners of Inquiry Into the Condition of the Crofters and Cottars in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.Scotlandsource
• 1884August 10 – An earthquake measuring 5.5 Mfa affects a very large portion of the eastern United States. The shock has a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). Chimneys are toppled in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Property damage is severe in Jamaica, Queens and Amityville, New York.source
• 1884August 10 – An earthquake measuring 5.5 Mfa (based on the felt area) affected a very large portion of the eastern United States. The shock had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). Chimneys were toppled in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Property damage was severe in Jamaica and Amityville in New York.United Statessource
• 1884In the "rain year" from July 1883 to June 1884, Los Angeles and San Diego receive their heaviest rainfall since instrumental records began, with Los Angeles receiving 38.18 in and San Diego 25.97 in.United Statessource
• 1884American bison herd size reaches a low point, with fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining (resulting in a severe genetic bottleneck).United Statessource
• 1884Slate industry in Wales: A flood at Dorothea quarry in the Nantlle Valley kills 7 and there is a major rockfall in the underground Cwmorthin quarry in the Blaenau Ffestiniog district.Walessource
• 1885February 28 – February concludes without having a full moon.source
• 188510 June – breed standard for Highland cattle first defined (in Inverness) and herd book first produced.Scotlandsource
• 1885Winter morning after rain, Gardiner's CreekAustraliasource
• 1885Banff Hot Springs Reserve is established. It will be renamed Rocky Mountains Park in 1887– the first national park in Canada– and then Banff National Park in 1930.Canadasource
• 188618 May — Eruption on the southern flank of the Mount Etna volcano on Sicily, following a powerful summit explosion. The eruption builds a row of pyroclastic cones, the largest of which is named Monte Gemmellaro (in honour to the Gemmellaro family of volcanologists from Catania who studied Etna in the 19th century). A lava stream comes very close to Nicolosi. Eruptions continue to 7 June 1886.Italysource
• 1886June 10 – The Mount Tarawera volcano erupts in New Zealand, resulting in the deaths of over 150 people and the destruction of the famous Pink and White Terraces.source
• 188610 June: Eruption of Mount Tarawera volcano results in the deaths of ~150 people and the (wrongly assumed) destruction of the famous Pink and White Terraces, an error corrected by 2017 research disclosing the locations of the Pink and White Terraces around today's lake.New Zealandsource
• 1886August 20 – A massive hurricane demolishes the town of Indianola, Texas.source
• 1886August 31 – The 6.9–7.3 Mw Charleston earthquake affects southeastern South Carolina with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Sixty people are killed and damage is estimated at $5–6 million.United Statessource
• 1886November – The extremely harsh winter of 1886–87 in the United States begins, killing tens of thousands of cattle on the Great Plains of North America.source
• 188625 December – great snow storm in London.United Kingdomsource
• 1886Japanese knotweed is recorded at Maesteg - the first record of it growing wild in the UK.Walessource
• 1886The rivers Mawddach, Dee and Taff all flood.Walessource
• 1887January 21 – Brisbane receives a one-day rainfall of 465 mm (a record for any Australian capital city).source
• 188721 January – Brisbane receives a daily rainfall of 465 millimetres (18.3 inches), a record for any Australian capital city.Australiasource
• 1887January 28 – In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the largest snowflakes on record are reported. They are 15 in wide and 8 in thick.source
• 1887January 28 – In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the largest snowflakes on record are reported. They are 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.United Statessource
• 1887February 2 – The first Groundhog Day is observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.source
• 1887February 2 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.United Statessource
• 1887February 23 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000 along the coast of the Mediterranean.source
• 188723 February – The French Riviera is hit by a powerful earthquake originating in Liguria, killing around 2,000 along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.Francesource
• 188723 February – The 1887 Liguria earthquake strikes off the coast of Imperia, with an estimated moment magnitude of 6.8–6.9, killing about 600–3,000 people. It also generated a tsunami that had a run-up height of 2 meters.Italysource
• 188722 April – A cyclone hits a pearling fleet off Eighty Mile Beach, 120 men drown.Australiasource
• 1887May 3 – An earthquake hits Sonora, Mexico.source
• 1887June 23 – The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada, creating that nation's first national park, Banff National Park.source
• 188726 June – the highest temperature ever recorded in Ireland, 33.3C (91.9F) at Kilkenny Castle.Irelandsource
• 1887September 28 – The 1887 Yellow River flood begins in China, killing 900,000 to 2,000,000 people.source
• 1888January 12 – The Schoolhouse Blizzard hits Dakota Territory and the states of Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas, leaving 235 dead, many of them children on their way home from school.source
• 1888March 11 – The "Great Blizzard of 1888" begins along the East Coast of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.United Statessource
• 188811 April - Earthquake centred on Corwen.Walessource
• 188811 July – snow falls across the country.United Kingdomsource
• 18881 September: 1888 North Canterbury earthquakeNew Zealandsource
• 1888November 16 – First signs of famine in Ethiopia, caused by drought combined with early spread of the 1890s African rinderpest epizootic.source
• 1888A large flock of 110 Pallas's sandgrouse, a rare species of birds in Ireland, is recorded, one of the last known migrations witnessed in Ireland.Irelandsource
• 1889May 30 – A tornado crossing West Virginia kills two.United Statessource
• 188931 October – Exposition Universelle closes.Francesource
• 1889December 1–31 – With 15.80 in of rainfall, Los Angeles has its wettest calendar month since records began in 1877.United Statessource
• 1889A huge locust swarm crosses the Red Sea and destroys crops in the Nile Valley.source
• 1889The first West Virginia tornado is recorded.United Statessource
• 1889Arthur Wharton signs for Rotherham Town F.C. for the 1889/90 season, becoming probably the world's first black professional football player.United Kingdomsource
• 1890March 27 – A tornado strikes Louisville, Kentucky, killing 76 people and injuring 200.United Statessource
• 1890October 1 – Yosemite National Park is established in California.source
• 1890October 1 – Yosemite National Park created.United Statessource
• 189021 December - Beginning of a 3-week period of severe winter weather causing deaths and disruption to daily life in many parts of Wales.Walessource
• 1891January 4 – The Earl of Zetland issues a declaration regarding the famine in the western counties of Ireland.source
• 1891March 3 – Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, predecessor of Shoshone National Forest, in Wyoming is established as the first United States National Forest.United Statessource
• 1891March 9–12 – The Great Blizzard of 1891 in the south and west of England leads to extensive snow drifts and powerful storms off the south coast, with 14 ships sunk, and approximately 220 deaths attributed to the weather conditions.source
• 1891March 30 – Shoshone National Forest is established in Wyoming, the first U.S. National Forest.United Statessource
• 189123 June – An earthquake strikes Port Waikato.New Zealandsource
• 1891October 16 – White River National Forest is established in Colorado.United Statessource
• 1891October 28 – The 8.0 Ms Mino–Owari earthquake strikes the Gifu region of Japan. This oblique-slip event kills over 7,200, injures more than 17,000, and creates fault scarps that still remain visible.source
• 18919–12 March – the Great Blizzard of 1891 in the south and west of England leads to extensive snow drifts and powerful storms off the south coast, with 14 ships sunk and approximately 220 deaths attributed to the weather conditions.United Kingdomsource
• 18911–28 February – the driest month in the EWP series with an average of only 3.6 mm.United Kingdomsource
• 18923 February – Jørund Telnes, farmer, teacher, writer and politician (born 1845).Norwaysource
• 1892February 23 – The 7.1–7.2 Mw Laguna Salada earthquake shakes Southern California and northern Mexico with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe).United Statessource
• 1892March 17 – The St. Patrick's Day Snowstorm besieges Tennessee with upwards of 26 inches of snow, establishing accumulation records that still stand.source
• 1892April 19 – The 6.4 M La Vacaville–Winters earthquake shakes the North Bay are of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). This first event in a doublet earthquake results in one death and is followed two days later by a 6.2 M La shock. Total damage from the events is $225,000–250,000.United Statessource
• 18928 July – Eruption on the southern flank of the Mount Etna vulcano in Sicily. Eruptions would continue to 29 December 1892. A spectacular row of pyroclastic cones was formed named Monti Silvestri, in honour of the Italian volcanologist Orazio Silvestri (1835 – 1890).Italysource
• 1892July 12 – A hidden lake bursts out of a glacier on the side of Mont Blanc, flooding the valley below and killing around 200 villagers and holidaymakers in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.source
• 189212 July – A hidden lake bursts out of a glacier on the side of Mont Blanc, flooding the valley below and killing around 200 villagers and holidaymakers in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.Francesource
• 189210 October – Jackie Howe shears a total of 321 sheep in 7 hours and 40 minutes at Blackall, Queensland, a record for hand shears that still stands.Australiasource
• 1892Jacob Bøckmann Barth, forester (born 1822)Norwaysource
• 1892Jørgen Aall Flood, politician, vice consul and businessman (born 1820)Norwaysource
• 189320 January to 29 March – Adelaide receives no measurable rainfall for sixty-nine consecutive days, still a record since observations started in 1839.Australiasource
• 1893January 21 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate (modern-day Botswana).source
• 18934 February – 1893 Brisbane flood devastates Queensland.Australiasource
• 1893May 27 – Algonquin Provincial Park is established as a wildlife sanctuary in Ontario.Canadasource
• 189310 August – Preston, Lancashire, enters the United Kingdom weather records with the highest five-minute total rainfall of 32mm. As of August 2018, this record remains.United Kingdomsource
• 1893August 27 – The Sea Islands hurricane hits Savannah, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, and the Sea Islands, killing 1,000–2,000.source
• 1893August 27 – The Sea Islands Hurricane hits Savannah, Charleston, and the Sea Islands, killing 1,000–2,000.United Statessource
• 1893October 14 – A devastating levee collapse, flash flood and landslide hit and damage around Kyushu Island, Shikoku Island and western Honshū in Japan, due to a strong typhoon wind; an official document reports that 2,044 people perish.source
• 1893October 30 – The 1893 World's Fair, also known as the World's Columbian Exposition, closes.source
• 1893Derry Olympic becomes defunct after only one season in the Irish Football League.Irelandsource
• 1893The increase in the population has greatly reduced the average holding of land, which in 1893 amounted to 6.5 acres for each peasant. The improvidence of the peasants, drink, backward methods in agriculture, and bad crops have on more than one occasion caused famine to be felt in the agricultural regions.Russiasource
• 1894January - A cyclone hits the north west of Western Australia, killing approximately 50 personsAustraliasource
• 1894February 15 – In Korea, peasant unrest erupts in the Donghak Peasant Revolution, a massive revolt by followers of the Donghak movement. Both China and Japan send military forces, claiming to come to the ruling Joseon dynasty government's aid.source
• 1894April 27 – Canada's largest known landslide occurs in Saint-Alban, Quebec, displacing 185 million m³ of rock and dirt, and leaving a 40 m scar that covers 4.6 million m².source
• 1894April 27 – Canada's largest known landslide occurs in Saint-Alban, Quebec. It displaced 185 million m³ of rock and dirt and left a 40 m scar that covered 4.6 million m².Canadasource
• 18945 November – Exposition Internationale d'Anvers ends.Belgiumsource
• 1894November 6 – Republicans win by a landslide in the United States House of Representatives elections, which sets the stage for the decisive presidential election of 1896.source
• 1894November 6 – Republican win by a landslide in the House of Representatives elections, which sets the stage for the decisive 1896 presidential election.United Statessource
• 1894November 16 – An earthquake hits Calabria and the towns Reggio Calabria and Messina in Sicily.Italysource
• 1895January 17 – A 6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes northeastern Iran near the town of Quchan and causes at least 1,000 deaths.source
• 1895January–February – "Great Frost".United Kingdomsource
• 189511 February – the lowest ever UK temperature of −27.2 °C (measured as −17 °F) is recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire. (This UK Weather Record is equalled in 1982 and again in 1995.)Scotlandsource
• 1895April 14 – A major earthquake severely damages Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola.source
• 189521 June – Lord Rosebery resigns as Prime Minister after defeat in a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons over the supply of cordite to the army. Lord Salisbury returns to the office on 25 June.United Kingdomsource
• 1895June–August: An unusually severe winter is experienced in the South Island, with many snowfalls and Lyttelton Harbour freezing over on 12 July.New Zealandsource
• 1895October 31 – 1895 Charleston earthquake: A major earthquake occurs near Charleston, Missouri, in the New Madrid Seismic Zone of the midwestern United States. As of 2014, the earthquake risk for the region is being closely monitored.source
• 1895The Hluhluwe Game Reserve is proclaimed.South Africasource
• 1896March 4 – The government of Prime Minister Francesco Crispi collapsed after the humiliating defeat of the Italian army at Adwa in Ethiopia during First Italo-Ethiopian War amidst Italian disenchantment with "foreign adventures".Italysource
• 1896May 27 – St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: The costliest and third deadliest tornado in U.S. history levels a mile wide swath of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, incurring US$2.9 billion (1997 USD) in normalized damages, killing more than 255 and injuring over 1,000 people.source
• 1896May 27 – 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: The costliest and third deadliest tornado in U.S. history levels a mile wide swath of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, incurring over $10,000,000 in damages at contemporaneous prices, killing more than 255 and injuring over 1,000 people.United Statessource
• 1896June 12 – J. T. Hearne sets a record for the earliest date of taking 100 wickets in cricket, in England (it is equalled by Charlie Parker in 1931).source
• 1896June 15 – The 8.5 Mw Sanriku earthquake and tsunami kills 22,000 in northeastern Japan.source
• 1896June 15 – Sanriku earthquake: One of the most destructive seismic events in Japanese history. The 8.5 magnitude earthquake occurred at 19:32 (local time), approximately 166 km off the coast of Iwate Prefecture, Honshu. It resulted in two tsunamis which destroyed about 9,000 homes and caused at least 22,000 deaths. The waves reached a record height of 38.2 m; more than a meter lower than those created after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake which triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.Japansource
• 189617 December – Hereford earthquake.United Kingdomsource
• 1896A famine started in Bundelkhand and continued into 1897Indiasource
• 1897January 7 – A cyclone destroys Darwin, Australia.source
• 18977 January - Darwin has its highest ever daily rainfall with 296.1 millimetres from its most severe cyclone until Tracy.Australiasource
• 1897February 22 – Black Hills National Forest is established.United Statessource
• 18971 May – all the able-bodied men of Pabbay, Barra Isles, are lost in a storm while out fishing.Scotlandsource
• 1897June 12 – 1897 Assam earthquake: An earthquake of magnitude of 8.0 rocks Assam, India, killing over 1,500 people.source
• 189712 June – The 8.0 Mw Assam earthquake shook northeastern India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 1,542.Indiasource
• 1897The Indian famine of 1896–97 comes to a closeIndiasource
• 1898March 30 – The 5.8–6.4 Mw Mare Island earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), causing $350,000 in damage.United Statessource
• 1898May 10 – Prescott National Forest is established.United Statessource
• 1898November 26 – A two-day blizzard known as the Portland Gale piles snow in Boston, severely impacting the Massachusetts fishing industry and several coastal New England towns.source
• 1898November 26 – A 2-day blizzard known as the Portland Gale piles snow in Boston, Massachusetts, and severely impacts the Massachusetts fishing industry and several coastal New England towns.United Statessource
• 1898December 28 – The Swiss village of Airolo is buried in an avalanche.source
• 1898Nils Pedersen Igland, farmer and politician (born 1833)Norwaysource
• 1899February 2 – The Tsar of Russia donates $500,000 for the relief of famine suffered by peasants in the Empire.source
• 1899February 12 – An avalanche kills 12 Italian workers in the U.S. at Silver Plume, Colorado.source
• 1899February 12–14 – Great Blizzard of 1899: Freezing temperatures and snow extend well south into North America, including southern Florida. It is the latest in a series of disasters to Florida's citrus industry.United Statessource
• 1899February 13 – An earthquake strikes in the U.S. and is felt in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio, but causes no casualties.source
• 1899February 13 – A blizzard strikes the east coast of the U.S., shutting down all train service in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.source
• 1899February 13 – In New York, the White Star ocean liner SS Germanic, already laden with ice and snow during its voyage from Liverpool, becomes even more weighed down after disembarking its passengers when the New York City blizzard strikes. With 3,600,000 lbs of added weight, the ship begins to list sideways and additional weight enters cargo doors that have been opened for refuelling. Germanic remains on the bottom of New York Harbor for more than a week while salvaging goes on, then requires refurbishing for three months, but becomes operational again.United Statessource
• 1899March 4 – Cyclone Mahina strikes Bathurst Bay, Queensland. A 12-meter-high wave reaches up to 5 km inland, leaving over 400 dead (one of the deadliest natural disasters in Australia's history).source
• 18994 March – Cyclone Mahina strikes Bathurst Bay in Queensland. Approximately 400 persons are killed, and the pearling fleet is sunk. A storm surge of up to 14 metres sweeps 5 kilometres inland.Australiasource
• 1899April 8 – A flood caused by the collapse of an ice gorge in the Yellowstone River drowns 12 people near Glendive, Montana.source
• 1899April 27 – A tornado in the U.S. kills numerous people in Kirksville and Newtown, Missouri.source
• 18991 May – the National Trust acquires its first part of Wicken Fen, making it the UK's oldest wetland nature reserve.United Kingdomsource
• 1899June 12 – The New Richmond tornado completely destroys the town of New Richmond, Wisconsin, killing 117 and injuring more than 200.source
• 1899June 12 – New Richmond Tornado: A tornado completely destroys the town of New Richmond, Wisconsin, killing 117 people and injuring more than 200.United Statessource
• 1899July 13 – A tornado kills 13 people in the U.S. village of Herman, Nebraska.source
• 1899August 8 – The San Ciriaco hurricane strikes Puerto Rico and leaves 250,000 people homeless. The official death toll is later listed as 3,369 people.source
• 1899August 17 – A hurricane makes landfall in North Carolina's Outer Banks, completely destroying the town of Diamond City.United Statessource
• 1899September 30 – The 1899 Ceram earthquake kills 3,864 people on Seram Island, through a tsunami after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The villages of Paulohy-Samasuru and Mani, with a combined population of 2,400 people, are swept away by a 29 foot wave.source
• 189911 October – Second Boer War begins: In South Africa, a war between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State, erupts.United Kingdomsource
• 1899December 25 – The 6.7 Mw San Jacinto earthquake shook the Inland Empire area of Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing six deaths and $50,000 in damage.United Statessource
• 1899A particularly severe flood hits many water areas in Finland. The water level of many lakes, such as lake Saimaa, reach extraordinary heights, which are marked on the coastal cliffs to this day. In Finland the flood is called the Oathbreaker's flood because it coincided with severe dissatisfaction with the emperor Nicholas II among the Finns.source