Last updated: December 24, 2023. - Fortean Notes

1878

1878:

1878 / Body of Mrs. W.I. Peters, Frankfort, Ind. / See Dec. 22, 1888. [B; 172. See: 1888 Dec 22, (B; 993).]

1878 / A.W. Underwood / Paw Paw / fire breath / See May 1, 1880. [B; 173. See: 1880 May 1, (B; 289), and, 1882 Dec 1, (B; 408).]

1878 / Lebanon, Ohio. / Bullets / March 6, 1880. [B; 174. See: 1880 March 6, (B; 278).]

1878 / Frankfort, Kansas / See May 5, 1888. [B; 175. See: (1888 May 5).]

1878 / H.H. / N. 11th St., Philadelphia / See Ap. 21, 1883. [B; 176. See: 1883 Ap. 21, (B; 495).]

1878 / See 1900. / Dif falls in Fayette Co, Texas / Proc. US Nat Museum 54-557 / stones found. [IV; 2298. Merrill, George Perkins. “On the Fayette County, Texas, Meteorite of 1878 and 1900 and the Probability of Representing Two Distinct Falls.” Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 54 (1919): 557-561. These are the Bluff and the Cedar meteorites. See: 1900, (VIII; 557).]

1878 / Russell / That Klein saw fog-like appearances on moon several times in 1878. / Mem. B. A A 13/71. [IV; 2299. “Section for the Observation of the Moon.” Memoirs of the British Astronomical Association, 13 (1904): 65-93, at 71.]

1878 Jan / Hysterical epidemic in Italy / La Revue Scientifique, April 1, 1880, p. 975 / See 3/5/339. [B; 177. Petit, L.-H. "Une épidémie d'hystére-dèmonopathie, en 1878, à Verzegnis, province de Frioul, Italie." Revue Scientifique de la France et de l'Étranger,  s. 2 v. 18 (April 1, 1880): 973-978, at 975. Rolland, E. “Une Épidémie Démoniaque en 1878.” Revue Scientifique de la France et de l'Étranger,  s. 3 v. 5 (March 17, 1883): 339-340. Colin, Léon. "Une Épidémie Possédées en Italie en 1878 (1)." Annales d'Hygiène Publique et de Médecine Légale, s. 3 v. 4 (July 1880): 5-10. "An Epidemic of Hystero-Epilepsy." Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 103 (no. 10; September 2, 1880): 233. "It appears the outbreak first manifested itself in January, 1878, in the person of a young woman, who had for some years exhibited symptoms of simple hysteria. From the above time, however, these were complicated by convulsive attacks accompanied by cries and lamentations. The neighbors believing her to be possessed by a demon, she was exorcised. From this time she became worse, the attacks more frequent and aggressive in character, and especially provoked by the sound of church bells and the appearance of priests. In the course of seven months three more cases occurred, presenting the same convulsive and declamatory attacks. The attempt at exorcism of a demon was repeated, with the addition of the celebration of a solemn votive mass in the presence of the sufferers; this was followed by a further development of the phenomena. Finally, in December, 1878, about forty women of this village having been the victims of this religious mania, two physicians were appointed by the prefect of the district to investigate the subject. At the time of their visit fifteen women, of ages ranging from sixteen to twenty-six, and three over forty-five years of age, were found 'possessed.' During their attacks the victims talked of the demon which possessed them, gave the date when they were taken possession of, and mentioned the names of those who had been possessed before them, some boasting that they were prophetesses and clairvoyants, and that they had the gift of languages. The epidemic was quite prolonged and difficult to break up. After the departure of the visiting physicians, at number of new cases appearing, the civil authorities ordered the military occupation of the place, and the removal of the 'possessed' to the hospital of the neighboring town."]

1878 Jan and Feb / (Fr) / Damblain / Vosges / 3 bolides / C.R. 86/729. [IV; 2300. Guyot. "Sur trois bolides observés en janvier et février 1878, à Damblain (Vosges) et à Chaumont (Haute-Marne)." Comptes Rendus, 86 (1878): 729.]

1878 Jan, to Dec, 1881 / q's of Japan / A.J. Sci 3/25/362. [IV; 2301. Streets, Thomas H. "A Four Years' Record of Earthquakes in Japan, studied in their Relation to the Weather and Seasons." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 25 (1883): 361-367, at 364.]

1878 Jan 2 / Ref / 7 p.m. / Louisa and Hanover Cos., Va / slight q and roaring sound / Am J. Sci 3-17-158 / Jan 4-1-6, Trib. [IV; 2302. Rockwood, Charles Greene, Jr. "Notices of Recent American Earthquakes." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 17 (1879): 158-162, at 158. "Earthquake in Virginia." New York Tribune, January 4, 1878, p. 1 c. 6.]

1878 Jan 4 / Fasting girl / Spiritualist of, ac. to Times / Martha White had died at Market Harborough. "Popularly supposed not to have taken food for four years. "It is stated that a post mortem explanation fully satisfied the doctors who made it that no food has passed the stomach for a long time." [B; 178.1, 178.2. "A Fasting Girl." London Times, December 21, 1877, p. 7 c. 5.. “A Fasting Girl.” Spiritualist Newspaper, (London), 12 (no. 1; January 4, 1878): 11.]

1878 Jan 4 / [LT], 4-f / Volcanic eruption in Iceland expected. [IV; 2303. "Iceland." London Times, January 4, 1878, p. 4 c. 6. "Notes." Nature, 17 (December 27, 1877): 170-172, at 171.]

1878 Jan 5, 7, 12, 24 / Great storms / Trib. [IV; 2304. "The Storm." New York Tribune, January 5, 1878, p. 5 c. 2-3. "The Late Storm." New York Tribune, January 7, 1878, p. 8 c. 2. "Heavy Storms." New York Tribune, January 12, 1878, p. 5 c. 4. "A Furious Winter Gale." New York Tribune, January 24, 1878, p. 5 c. 5-6.]

1878 Jan 8 / 10:30 p.m. / Cairo, Ill / R—Jan. 2. [IV; 2305. Refer to: 1878 Jan 2, (IV; 2302). Rockwood, Charles Greene, Jr. "Notices of Recent American Earthquakes." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 17 (1879): 158-162, at 158.]

1878 Jan 10 / Volcanic eruption, island of Tanna / La Sci Pour Tous 23-224 / See Feb 11. [IV; 2306. (La Science Pour Tous, 23-224.) See: 1878 Feb 11, (IV; 2328).]

1878 Jan 10 / 10 a.m. / Eruption / S. Sea Isle of Tauna / L.A. Sci 22-260. [IV; 2307. “Curieux effets d'une éruption volcanique de l'île de Tauna (Océanie)." Année Scientifique et Industrielle, 22 (1878): 260. The Yasur volcano, (Vanuatu), has remained in more-or-less constant eruption since James Cook's exploration of Tanna Island in 1774.]

1878 Jan 11 / [L], 6-d / Venus—note about. [IV; 2308. "The Planet Venus." London Times, January 11, 1878, p. 6 c. 4.]

1878 Jan. 11 / 2:20 a.m. / Malpas, Cheshire / q / L.T. 14-7-e / 15-7-f. [IV; 2309. Wolley-Dod, Charles. "Earthquake." London Times, January 14, 1878, p. 7 c. 5. "News from India." London Times, January 15, 1878, p. 7 c. 6.]

1878 Jan 12 / 9:25 / Damblain (Vosges) bolide / C.R. 86-729. See Feb 4. [IV; 2310. Guyot. "Sur trois bolides observés en janvier et février 1878, à Damblain (Vosges) et à Chaumont (Haute-Marne)." Comptes Rendus, 86 (1878): 729. See: 1878 Feb 4, (IV; 2325).]

1878 Jan 14 / [LT], 7-e / q / Cheshire / See met, Nov 23, '77. / See Jan 26. [IV; 2311. Wolley-Dod, Charles. "Earthquake." London Times, January 14, 1878, p. 7 c. 5. See: 1877 Nov. 23, (IV; 2283), and, 1878 Jan 26, (IV; 2317).]

[1878 Jan 18. Wrong date. See: 1878 June 18, (IV; 2312).]

[1878 Jan 22. Wrong date. See: 1879 Jan 22, (IV; 2313).]

1878 Jan 23 / Peru and Chile / q and sea waves / BA '11. [IV; 2314. A class III earthquake. Milne, 727.]

1878 Jan 23 / Nothing in B. Ayres paper. [IV; 2315.]

1878 Jan 25 / Stationary meteor seen by Mr. Sawyer, Boston, Mass / Observatory 2/132 / (See 2 falls.) [IV; 2316. Denning, William Frederick. "Meteor Notes for August." Observatory, 2 (1878): 131-132.]

1878 Jan 26 / (Ch) -27+ [???] / Dowlais, Wales / Appearance like two comets close together, more than 5 minutes—might have been a rep[note cut off] from a fa[note cut off]. / E Mec 26/527, 575. Same appearance after [scan cut off] [IV; 2317. "Curious Celestial Phenomenon." English Mechanic, 26 (no. 672; February 8, 1878): 527. "Curious Celestial Phenomenon." English Mechanic, 26 (no. 674; February 22, 1878): 575. "About a quarter of a mile from my residence is a steel blast furnace, and from this was given forth a beam of intense light, which, travelling through the misty atmosphere, was reflected back to the earth. I have seen the same appearance since, and on cloudy nights one cloud is quite illuminated by it. If the atmosphere is quite clear there is no such appearance in the sky."]

1878 Jan 28 / ab. noon / Paris / Shock and rolling sound / C.R., 86-367. [IV; 2318. Gannes, Donon de. "Sur le tremblement de terre ressenti à Paris le 28 janvier." Comptes Rendus, 86 (1878): 367.]

1878 Jan 28 / See Jan 25. [IV; 2319. See: 1878 Jan 25, (IV; 2316).]

1878 Jan 28 / U.S. / det met 8 / BA '79/761. [IV; 2320. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 84-87.]

1878 Jan 28 / Liss, etc. / q / Jersey / Paris—northern France / Brighton. / q or like firing of heavy guns / L.T., Jan 30 / 11:55 a.m. / Liss and Peterfield—Jan 31 / Lyme Regis / T. L, Feb 1 / London/ Feb 2 / S.A. Sup—8-3205 / C.R. 86-367, 8. [IV; 2321. "Volcanic Phenomena and Earthquakes during 1878." Scientific American Supplement, 8 (no. 201; November 8, 1879): 3204-3205, at 3205. Gannes, Donon de. "Sur le tremblement de terre ressenti à Paris le 28 janvier." Comptes Rendus, 86 (1878): 367. Lefebvre, É. "Sur le tremblement de terre ressenti à Versailles le 28 janvier." Comptes Rendus, 86 (1878): 368.]

1878 Jan. 29 / afternoon / Powerful shock / island of Jersey. / Nature 17-272. [IV; 2322. "Notes." Nature, 17 (January 31, 1878): 271-273, at 272.]

1878 Feb, early / Volc in the South Seas island New Britain / Times, June 13-11-d. / Near New Britain. [IV; 2323. "Strange Phenomena." London Times, June 13, 1878, p. 11 c. 4. "Geographical Notes." Nature, 18 (June 13, 1878.): 180. The Tavurvur volcano and Vulcan Island, (both are vents of the Rabaul caldera).]

1878 / ab. 1st Feb / New island and volc eruption / Island of New Britain in S. Pacific. / Long 152 E. and Lat. 4 S. / N.Y. Trib, July 6, 1878, 6-6-3. [IV; 2324. "A New Volcanic Island." New York Tribune, July 6, 1878, p. 6 c. 3. The Tavurvur volcano and Vulcan Island, (both are vents of the Rabaul caldera).]

1878 [Feb 3] / Sunday before Feb 5 / Met from direction of Andromeda passed few degrees between Mars and toward Cassiopeia / Sc Am 38-148. [IV; 2327. D'Heureuse, Rudolph. "A Brilliant Meteor." Scientific American, n.s., 38 (March 9, 1878): 148.]

1878 Feb 4 / 10:15 p.m. / Damblain, (Vosges) / bolide / C.R. 86-729 / See Jan 12. / Noise like distant gunfire. / BA 79/100. [IV; 2325. Guyot. "Sur trois bolides observés en janvier et février 1878, à Damblain (Vosges) et à Chaumont (Haute-Marne)." Comptes Rendus, 86 (1878): 729. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 110-111. See: 1878 Jan 12, (IV; 2310).]

1878 Feb 5 / 11:20 a.m. / q / Flushing, N.Y. / R—Jan 2. [IV; 2326. Refer to: 1878 Jan 2, (IV; 2302). Rockwood, Charles Greene, Jr. "Notices of Recent American Earthquakes." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 17 (1879): 158-162, at 159.]

1878 Feb 11 / Second eruption / See Jan 10. / Near "Nouméa"—This now British Guinea(?) in the East Indies? [IV; 2328. See: 1878 Jan 10, (IV; 2306). The Rabaul volcano, on New Britain, (then, in German New Guinea, and, in Papua New Guinea), erupted from about January 30 to February 28, 1878. See: 1878 Jan 10, (IV; 2307).]

1878 Feb 12 / [LT], 6-f / 13-10-e / Sun's distance. [IV; 2329. Stone, Edward James. "The Sun's Distance." London Times, February 12, 1878, p. 6 c. 6. Beckett, Edmund. "The Sun's Distance." London Times, February 13, 1878, p. 10 c. 5.]

1878 Feb 14 / N.Y. Times, 3-3 / Met. stone from Va. [IV; 2330. "A Meteoric Stone." New York Times, February 14, 1878, p. 3 c. 3. This is the Augusta County meteorite.]

1878 Feb 15 / [LT], 3-e / Meteorites—note about. [IV; 2331. Malet, H.P. "Meteorites." London Times, February 15, 1878, p. 3 c. 5.]

1878 Feb 20 / 17 h / Inf conjunction Venus-Sun. [IV; 2332. Inferior conjunction of Venus. Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris, 1878, 468.]

1878 Feb. 20 / at Chaumont (Haute Marne) / Bolide like Dec 20, 1871 / C.R. 86-729. [IV; 2333. Guyot. "Sur trois bolides observés en janvier et février 1878, à Damblain (Vosges) et à Chaumont (Haute-Marne)." Comptes Rendus, 86 (1878): 729. See: 1871 Dec. 20, (IV; 570).]

1878 Feb. 24 / See Jan 28. [IV; 2334. See: (Jan 28.)]

1878 Feb 25 / Trib, 8-5 / Explosion / Parma, Italy. [V; 2335. "Terrible Explosion at Parma." New York Tribune, February 25, 1878, p. 8 c. 5.]

1878 Feb 27 to last of March / Hecla / Sc Am. S. / See 8/3204 in Jan. [IV; 2336. "Volcanic Phenomena and Earthquakes during 1878." Scientific American Supplement, 8 (no. 201; November 8, 1879): 3204-3205, at 3204. The Hecla volcano continued to erupt until April.]

1878 Feb. 27 / Hecla described / Sc Am Sup 5-1968. [IV; 2337. "Eruption of Mount Hecla." Scientific American Supplement, 5 (no. 124; May 18, 1878): 1968. The Hecla volcano.]

1878 March 2 / q / India / I / Punjab / BA '11. [IV; 2338. A class I earthquake. Milne, 727.]

1878 March 8 / Trib, 5-1 / Ghosts and the telephone. [B; 179. "General Notes." New York Tribune, March 8, 1878, p. 4 c. 6 & p. 5 c. 1.]

1878 March 9 / (+) / Trib, 4-4 / Rival of the Sea Serp / Saw this. See again in N.Y. [B; 180. "A Rival to the Sea-Serpent." New York Tribune, March 9, 1878, p. 4 c. 4-5. "A New Underground Monster." Nature, 17 (February 21, 1878): 325-326.]

1878 March 12 / 4 a.m. / Severe q / Columbus, Ky / R—Jan 2. [IV; 2339. Refer to: 1878 Jan 2, (IV; 2302). Rockwood, Charles Greene, Jr. "Notices of Recent American Earthquakes." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 17 (1879): 158-162, at 159.]

1878 March 12 / 2 qs / Milford, Vt / R—Jan 2. [IV; 2340. Refer to: 1878 Jan 2, (IV; 2302). Rockwood, Charles Greene, Jr. "Notices of Recent American Earthquakes." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 17 (1879): 158-162, at 159.]

1878 March 16 / 8 p.m. / Great detonating met. / Cape Colony. / BA 77-118. [IV; 2341. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report on Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1876-77." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1877, 98-193, at 118-119.]

1878 March 21 / N.Y. Trib., 1-5 / N.Y. City—a night watchman drowns. Several nights later a light like a lantern, or considerably larger, moving or dancing over surface of the East River. [B; 181. "A Ghostly Watchman on His Rounds." New York Tribune, March 21, 1878, p. 1 c. 5.]

1878 March 23 / Rel-P-J, 6-5 / At Lancaster, Pa.—Christie Bowers in a trance at a revival meeting—so till next day. / May. [B; 182. "Trance in a Revival Meeting." Religio-Philosophical Journal, (no. 3; March 23, 1878): 6, (c. 5).]

[1878 March 23. Wrong date. See: 1878 March 25, (IV; 2342).]

1878 March 24 / New eruption in vicinity Mt. Hecla / Nature 17-492. [IV; 2343. "Notes." Nature, 17 (April 18, 1878): 490-493, at 492. The Hekla volcano.]

[1878 March 25 /] 1878 March 23 / 10:22 a.m. / Scotland and north of England / met / Det heard at Dunbar / BA 1878/274 / BA 78-259. [IV; 2342. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report on Observations of Luminous Meteors during the Year 1877-78." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1878, 258-377, at 259 & 274-275.]

1878 March 31 / Peculiar hail / Jessore, India / Proc Asiatic Soc Bengal 1878-125. [IV; 2344. Rainey, H. James. “Note on certain peculiarities observed in Hailstones which fell at Khulná, Jessore, on the 31st March, 1878.” Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1878 (May): 125-126. ]

1878 March 31 / Caucasia / 1 / II / BA '11. [IV; 2345. A class II earthquake. Milne, 727.]

1878 / last of March / Dublin Daily Express, Ap. 10, copied in the Spiritualist, May 3—at the home of Rev. Mr. Dea, Protestant curate in Kilmallock, mysterious knockings on his door. Many investigators, including 2 policemen, heard the sounds. [B; 183. “Mysterious Affair in Killmallock.” Spiritualist Newspaper, (London), 12 (no. 18; May 3, 1878): 206. “Mysterious Affair in Kilmallock.” Dublin Daily Express, April 10, 1878, p. 5 c. 1. Two police constables watched the house, in ambush, but heard nothng, while Dea opened a window and stated that the knocking was heard inside of the house. People went from room to room, hearing the noises in the next room and from the walls, beginning between 9 P.M. and midnight and lasting until 4 A.M.]

1878 Ap. 1 / [LT], 4-f / Hecla. [IV; 2346. "Eruption of Mount Hecla." London Times, April 1, 1878, p. 4 c. 6. The Hekla volcano.]

1878 Ap. 2 / Det / Det met / BA 78-260 / Should be Coventry / Corrected in BA 1880/49. [IV; 2347. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report on Observations of Luminous Meteors during the Year 1877-78." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1878, 258-377, at 260. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report on Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1879-80." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1880, 39-55, at 49.]

1878 Ap. 2 / (Det) / 7:53 p.m. / Blackheath, Birmingham, Leicester / det met / BA 79-81 / 78-303. [IV; 2348. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 81-82. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report on Observations of Luminous Meteors during the Year 1877-78." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1878, 258-377, at 303-305.]

1878 Ap 1 / [LT], 4-f / 3-10-b / 29-10-c / Volcs. [IV; 2349. "Eruption of Mount Hecla." London Times, April 1, 1878, p. 4 c. 6. "The Mails." London Times, April 3, 1878, p. 10 c. 2. "Submarine Volcanoes." London Times, April 29, 1878, p. 10 c. 3. The Hekla and Lautaro volcanoes. "Phenomenon at Sea." New Zealand Herald, (Auckland), December 18, 1877, p. 3 c. 4. The latter article has been attributed to an undersea earthquake and tsunami, as a similar phenomenon was observed by another ship that was 25 miles away. Gregg, D.R. "Reports of a submarine eruption off New Zealand in 1877." New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1 (1958): 459-460.]

1878 Ap. 4 / (det met) / [LT], 9-e / 12-5-e / 27-6-e / Mets. [IV; 2350. "Meteor." London Times, April 4, 1878, p. 9 c. 5. "Meteor." London Times, April 12, 1878, p. 5 c. 5. "Meteor." London Times, April 27, 1878, p. 6 c. 5.]

1878 April 9 / See May 18, 1877. / Several obs up Hyginus N—distinct black crater (Ward) / "black depression with a shallow tongue-shaped projection (Klein). [IV; 2351. See: 1877, (IV; 2113), and, 1877 May 19, (IV; 2114).]

1878 Ap. 11 / Trib, 6-1 / Halo remarkable. / 1878 / b / World. 1883. [IV; 2352. Everett, Erasmus. "A Remakable Halo." New York Tribune, April 11, 1878, p. 6 c. 1. "I have denominated this halo remarkable. It is so, in three respects. First, ordinary halos are circles; this was an arc forming about 120°, or 1/3 of a circle. Second, ordinary halos have the sun, or, in case of lunar halos, the moon in the centre; this had no luminary within it, but the sun was on the convex side about 10° above the apex. Third, ordinary halos are either 23° 30' or 47° in diameter; this arc was that of a circle at least 120°. This may, therefore, I think, be pronounced one of the most remarkable meteorological phenomena of the present century." Everett's observation was made on April 8, at 1:15 P.M., in New York City, looking to the west, at the Orange Mountains.]

1878 Ap. 12 / Great q, Venezuela. / BA '11 / Another, smaller, May 13. [IV; 2353. A class III earthquake and a class I earthquake. Milne, 727.]

1878 Ap. 12 / —Venezuela / 19—Asia Minor / great q's / (BA '11). [IV; 2354. Two class III earthquakes. Milne, 727.]

1878 Ap. 13 / [LT], 6-f / Sun's distance. [IV; 2355. Proctor, Richard Anthony. "The Sun's Distance." London Times, April 13, 1878, p. 6 c. 6.]

1878 April 19 / Medium and Daybreak of—p. 247—from the Cork Examiner—in the home of the Rev. Mr. Dea, Protestant curate in Kilmallack—knocking on bedroom window—no one visible—so annoying that he complained to the police. They heard but learned nothing. Surrounded the house. When he entered it, the sounds were heard. Nothing found out—sounds continued. [B; 184.1, 184.2. "Mysterious Affair in Kilmallock." Medium and Daybreak, 9 (no. 420; April 19, 1878): 247.) See: 1878 / last of March, (B; 183).]

1878 Ap 19 / Asia Minor / great q / [BA] '11. [IV; 2356. A class III earthquake. Milne, 727.]

1878 Ap. 20 / Vesuvius again active / Sc A Sup 8/3204. [IV; 2357. "Volcanic Phenomena and Earthquakes during 1878." Scientific American Supplement, 8 (no. 201; November 8, 1879): 3204-3205, at 3204.]

1878 Ap. 22 / Religio-P-J, May 4-6-5 / Spook on track Chicago and Lake Huron Railroad. [B; 185. "A Mysterious Apparition on the Track of the Chicago and Lake Huron Railroad." Religio-Philosophical Journal, 24 (no. 9; May 4, 1878): 6, (c. 5).]

1878 Ap. 23 / afternoon / Crawford Co, Iowa / very destructive tornado / (F). [IV; 2358. Finley, 7.]

1878 Ap. 29 / [LT], 10-c / Submarine Volc. [IV; 2359. "Submarine Volcanoes." London Times, April 29, 1878, p. 10 c. 3. See: 1878 Ap 1, (IV; 2349).]

1878 Ap. 30 / Phe—met train? / Sc Am 38/24 / St Johns, Newfoundland. [IV; 2360. "A Remarkable Meteoric Phenomenon." Scientific American, n.s., 39 (July 13, 1878): 24. "Mr. R. H. Earle, of St. Johns, Newfoundland, sends us sketches of a remarkable meteoric phenomenon visible in that city on the evening of April 30th last. It seems to have appeared as a serpentine tail of light having a brilliant nucleus or head. It then assumed a double form, with two nuclei, one of which apparently turned rearward and then resumed its forward motion, the whole streak meanwhile moving northward. The subsequent positions are exceedingly curious. In the course of an hour the light gradually faded away. No explanation has been sent us of the phenomenon, which seems to be of auroral nature."]

1878 / ab May 1 / Stranger in Brighton found insensible and in a hospital unconscious. / L.T. 11-12-f. [B; 186. “A Mystery.” London Times, May 11, 1878, p. 12 c. 6.]

1878 May 1 and 2 / Sicily / dustfall / Ann. Soc Met Ital 1-257. [IV; 2361. (Mangini, Francesco; and, Cifofalo, S. “Pioggia rossa caduta in Modica (Sicilia) il 2 Maggio 1878.” Annuario della Societa Meteorologica Italiana, 1 (no. 16, June 13, 1878): 257-259.)]

1878 May 4 / Religio-P, J, 2-4 / See Ap. 20, p. 1. / Haunted houses / Cambridge, Boston. [B; 187. "A Spirit's Revelation." Religio-Philosophical Journal, 24 (no. 7; April 20, 1878): 1, (c. 1-4). "Releasing a Spirit." Religio-Philosophical Journal, 24 (no. 9; May 4, 1878): 2, (c. 4).]

1878 May 6 / (Transit Merc) / Cut / “Decidedly triangular” white or grayish spot on “Mercury in transit" / Proctor / Old and New Astronomy, 439. [IV; 2362. Proctor, Richard Anthony. Old and New Astronomy. London: Longmans, Green, 1892, 439.]

1878 May 7 / Trib, 5-3 / Explosion / Memphis, Tenn. [IV; 2363. "A Fatal Boiler Explosion." New York Tribune, May 7, 1878, p. 5 c. 3.]

1878 May 10 / Trib, 4-6 / Flying Machine. [IV; 2364. "General Notes." New York Tribune, May 10, 1878, p. 4 c. 6 & p. 5 c. 1. See: 1878 June 22, (IV; 2388).]

1878 May 12 / 8:53 p.m. / Det met / Eng and Scotland / BA '78/305, 260. [IV; 2365. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report on Observations of Luminous Meteors during the Year 1877-78." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1878, 258-377, at 259-260 & 305-307.]

1878 May 14, ab. / Severe q in Venezuela / N.M. / L.T. 16-5-e. [IV; 2366. "Earthquake in Venezuela." London Times, May 16, 1878, p. 5 c. 5.]

1878 May 15 / Trib, 8-2 / 22-1-3 / q / Venezuela. [IV; 2367. "Venezuelan Affairs." New York Tribune, May 15, 1878, p. 8 c. 2. "The Venezuelan Earthquake." New York Tribune, May 22, 1878, p. 1 c. 3.]

1878 May 16 / Woman in Cincinnati struck violently by a pebble said been "forced into the air by a passing street car." Hit on temple—insensible. / NY Times, May 21-4-7. [IV; 2368. "General Notes." New York Times, May 21, 1878, p. 4 c. 7.]

1878 May 19 / See Panther Springs insects, May, 1867. [IV; 2369. See: 1867 May, (III; 1049).]

1878 May 19 / BO / at Cambridge, Mass / Immense swarms of so-called white ants (Termes morio) / Standard Natural History, vol 2 / p. 146 / or Insect Life 4/146. [IV; 2370. Kingsley, John Sterling, ed. Standard Natural History. Boston: S.E. Cassino, 1884, v. 2, 146. “A Flight of White Ants.” Insect Life, 4 (November 1891): 146. These “so-called white ants” are identified as termites, (Reticulitermes flavipes).]

1878 May 20 / Glasgow News of, copied in the Spiritualist, June 14—village of Goathurst, near Bridgwater. During past 2 weeks farmhouse occupied by Mr. John Shattock, loud raps—furniture and crockery shifted from place to place. Rappings in presence of large numbers of neighbors and police. A hay rick nearby unaccountably took fire, while people on watch. Superintendent of police suspected a servant girl, Ann Kidner, aged 14, and arrested her. She strongly protested her innocence. [B; 188.1, 188.2, 188.3. “Ghostly Manifestations in an English Village.” Spiritualist Newspaper, (London), 12 (no. 24; June 14, 1878): 287. “Great alarm (the Bristol Times tells us) has prevailed....” Pall Mall Gazette, May 16, 1878, p. 4 c. 2. “Bridgewater County Police.” Somerset County Gazette, May 18, 1878, p. 10 c. 5-6. Kidner was “charged, on remand, with feloniously and maliciously setting fire to a rick of straw, on the 11th of May.”  No explanation was suggested, in the testimony, as to how she had escaped notice, for a fortnight, when knockings and loud raps were heard, with people watching from the inside and outside of the house. John Shattock said: “During all these knockings the dog did not bark. He is in the habit of barking when persons come round the house.” The members of the family, (John Shattock, his daughter Louisa, and his grandson Albert Bellringer), swore that they did not set fire to the rick of hay. “The girl, if afforded the opportunity, would swear the same thing, but the whole of the circumstances, and her conduct generally, led him to believe she was the guilty party”; thus, the police superintendent took Kidner into custody, and, since then, “none of these mysterious things had occurred.” She was not found guilty of the crime, (as there was no evidence); but, she was discharged by her employer. (Glasgow News, ca. May 20, 1878; not @ BNA.)]

1878 Ap. 21 / Phe of May at Goathurst began. [B; 189. “Bridgewater County Police.” Somerset County Gazette, May 18, 1878, p. 10 c. 5-6.]

1878 May 1, about / = Ap. 21 / Fires / Began phe, ac to Bridgwater Gazette, May 18—In village of Goathurst, a few miles from Bridgwater, in the home of Mr. John Shattock, loud raps and objects in the house shifted from place to place. Then, while the farmer and neighbors were watching, a hay rick unaccountably flamed, and there were other unaccountable fires. The Superintendent of police suspected the servant girl, Ann Kidner, and arrested her. 14 years old. / In County Police Court, Shatlock told of raps on the door, all of which while prisoner was in the house. Objects found moved; not said seen moved. Policeman arrested girl. Not seen her set anything afire, but saw her leave house, walk around, return, and immediately afterward some reeds flamed. He had not lost sight of her; not see her set fire. No tracks of anyone else. No burned matches found. The Magistrate, deciding that the evidence was insufficient, discharged the girl. [B; 190.1 to 190.6. See: 1878 May 20, (B; 188).(Bridgwater Gazette, May 18, 1878; not at BNA.)]

1878 May 23 / Wisconsin / horse and barn disap. in tornado / (D-86). ** [IV; 2371. The note copies information from page 86 of The Book of the Damned. “Winds.” Monthly Weather Review, 6 (no. 5; May 1878): 8-9. “The Tornado!” Janesville Daily Gazette, (Wisconsin), May 25, 1878, p. 1 c. 3-4.]

1878 May 26 / Sunspots / L Astro 3/127. [IV; 2372. Trouvelot, Étienne Léopold. "Ombres Observées sur le Soleil." Astronomie, 3 (1884): 127-130, at 127-128.]

1878 May 31 / 4:30 / At Lutterworth, a cloud from which hung a projection thought be a waterspout. / Symons' 13-73. [IV; 2373. "Heavy Local Hailstorms." Ley, W. Clement. "Heavy Local Hailstorms." Symons's Meteorological Magazine, 13 (June 1878): 72-73.]

1878 June 3 / 2:59 a.m. / Chicago / Met "bright as the moon when four days old". / BA 79-92. [IV; 2374. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 92-93.]

1878 June 7 / Polts / Glasgow News of [June 7], copied in Spiritualist (of June 14) / Loud knockings in Mr. G. Dalrymple's public house, Main Street, Pollokshaws. Large crowd outside, and great excitement. Nothing found out. [B; 191. “A Noisy Ghost at Pollokshaws.” Spiritualist Newspaper, (London), 12 (no. 24; June 14, 1878): 286. “A Noisy Ghost.” Edinburgh Evening News, June 6, 1878, p. 2 c. 4. (Glasgow News, June 7, 1878; not @ BNA.)]

1878 June 7 / Large fireball from Scorpio / by Denning / Observatory 31/287. [IV; 2375. Denning, William Frederick. "Large Meteors from Scorpio." Observatory, 31 (1908): 287-288.]

1878 June 7 / ab 10 p.m. / England and France / great meteor / details / Nature 18-185. [IV; 2376. "The Meteor." Nature, 18 (June 13, 1878): 185-186.]

1878 June 7 / Fireball from near Antares / R—June 3, 1883 / See Nature 18/185. [IV; 2377. "The Meteor." Nature, 18 (June 13, 1878): 185-186. (No mention of Antares in the Nature article.) Refer to: 1883 June 3, (V; 1300).]

[1878 June 8. Wrong date. See: 1867 June 8, (B; 192).]

1878 June 10 / [LT], 6-a. [IV; 2382. "Meteor." London Times, June 10, 1878, p. 6 c. 1.]

1878 June 10 / [LT], 6-a / Meteor. [IV; 2383. "Meteor." London Times, June 10, 1878, p. 6 c. 1.]

1878 June 11 / Metite / Irapuato, State of Guanajuato, Mexico. [IV; 2378. "Meteorites in the Public Collections of Mexico." Journal of the Chemical Society, 50 (1886): 133-134. Farrington, Oliver Cummings. "Catalogue of the Meteorites of North America, to January 1, 1909." Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, 13 (1915): 1-513, at 263. This is the La Charca, (or Irapuato), meteorite.]

1878 June 12 / Substance / A.J. Sci 2-21-144 / Record of mention by Dr. MacGowan of "white hairs" appearing after earthquakes in China". Dr M thought they were a salt formed by emission of vapors. / See 1878, June 12. [IV; 2379. "Earthquake at Japan." American Journal of Science, s. 2 v. 21 (1856): 144. "...It was suggested that they are a salt formed by the emission of vapor and sulphuric acid coming in contact probably with alumina in the earth."]

1878 / (?) / June 12 / Substance / From a foreign volcano? Known as Pele's hair. / Frequent from the volcano on island of Reunion. / In year 1821, Island covered with an eruption of these glassy threads. / The Geologist 2-86. [IV; 2380. Phipson, Thomas Lamb. "Foreign Correspondence." Geologist, 2 (February, 1859): 80-88, at 86. See: 1821 Feb 27, (I; 850).]

1878 June 12 / Substance / Nature 34-18—Ac to the vernacular press, a q at Wusoh, 30 miles north of Suchau, China. On 14th at night a severe q, after which within and outside the walls of the city, "white hairs resembling a silvery beard, about three inches in length, were found, which boys pulled out of the ground, gathering handfuls in a short space of time." Nature 34-56, cor sends another account from Fortune's "A Residence Among the Chinese," p. 4, of phe after a q in year 1852. "Groups of Chinese were seen in the gardens, road-sides, and fields, engaged in gathering hairs which are said to make their appearance on the surface of the ground after an earthquake takes place." The Chinese thought the hairs came up from subterranean regions. Mr. Fortune went looking for hairs himself, but considered results not worth his trouble. "The hairs, such as I picked up, and such as were shown me by the Chinese, had certainly been produced above the earth and not below it. In some instances they might readily be traced to horses, dogs, and cats, while in others they were evidently of vegetable origin." He showed some of the Chinese that some of the hairs had come from fibrous bracts of the hemp plants. The Chinese "with true Chinese politeness" laughed and said that he was right. [IV; 2381.1 to 2381.7. MacGowan, Daniel Jerome. "Note on Earthquakes in China." Nature, 34 (May 6, 1886): 17-19, at 18. Thiselton-Dyer, William Turner. "Collection of Hairs After Earthquakes in China." Nature, 34 (May 20, 1886): 56-57. Fortune, Robert. A Residence Among the Chinese. London: John Murray, 1857, 4-5. See: 1853 Apr. 14, (II; 1574). The Chinese cities of "Wusoh" and "Suchau" are now identified as Wuxi and Suzhou.]

1878 June 12 / Nothing of q in North China Herald to end of June, which is end of a vol. / P.P.9990.a. [IV; 2386.]

1878 June 14 / near Bath / Cloudburst / Nature 18/195. [IV; 2384. Wethered, E. "A Waterspout." Nature, 18 (June 20, 1878): 194-195.]

[1878 June 18 /] 1878 Jan 18 / Prob. met det / Philippines / See 1805. [IV; 2312. See: 1805 July 26, (I; 146). Galli, Ignazio. "Raccolta e classificazione di fenomeni luminosi osservati nei terremoti." Bollettino della Società Sismologica Italiana, 14 (1910): 221-448, at 377. Masó, Miguel Saderra. La Seismología en Filipinas. Manila: Ramírez, 1895, 48. Masó only indicates “atmósfera de color rojo” at 1:45 A.M., (with no mention of any meteor).]

1878 June 20, about / In Bombay Gazette, copied in Spiritualist, Sept 6 / A native at Neriad, who disembowelled and ate entrails of a boy. [B; 193. “A Horrible Result of Obsession or of Insanity.”  Spiritualist Newspaper, (London), 13 (no. 10; September 6, 1878): 114. (Bombay Gazette, ca. June 20, 1878.)]

1878 June 22 / [LT], 13-e / Sun's distance. [IV; 2385. Proctor, Richard Anthony. "The Sun's Distance." London Times, June 22, 1878, p. 13 c. 5.]

1878 June 22 / Ascend met / C.R. 86/1559. [IV; 2387. Delahodde, V. "Sur un météor observé le 22 juin courant." Comptes Rendus, 86 (1878): 1559.]

1878 June 22 / Trib, 6-3 / Flying Machines. [IV; 2388. "New Flying Machines." New York Tribune, June 22, 1878, p. 6 c. 3. The article reports the flight of Charles Frances Ritchel's one-man dirigible, (U.S. Patent No. 201,200), at Hartford, Connecticut, on June 12, 1878. Rechs, Robert J. An Introduction to Muscle Powered Ultra-light Blimps. City of Industry, California: Association of Balloon and Airship Constructors, ©2002, 8-11.]

1878 June 23 / Ice / Said that at Sutton fell a sheet of ice like a pane of glass. / Symons 13-89. [IV; 2389. "The June Thunderstorms." Symons's Meteorological Magazine, 13 (July 1878): 81-89, at 89. "The hail—large solid pieces of ice of fantastic shapes—lay thick on the ground, over which was spread a white mantle, only to be swept away by the heavy rain. The stories of the size of these hailstones must be accepted cum grano salis...." "But the most remarkable tale is to come. One person, a gardener, says that a large cabbage was cut down the middle with a sheet of ice, as large as a pane of glass; he was particularly careful, however, not to say how big the pane was. Without doubt the hailstones were the largest that have ever been known to fall in this neighbourhood."]

1878 June 23 and 24 / Saint Martin-la-Slauveté / 5:30 p.m., 23rd, a trombe—a white column descended in a spiral. On 24th, at 5 a.m., 4 cones were seen—violent thunder. At 9:15 a.m., shocks or q's. / La Nature 11/107. [IV; 2390. Charlon, A. "Trombe et Tremblement de Terre." La Nature, 1878 pt. 1 (no. 267; July 13): 107.]

1878 July 27 / [LT[, 9-f / Fatality in a house in Finchley. [B; 194. “A Desolated Home.” London Times, July 27, 1878, p. 9 c. 6.]

1878 July / The eclipse / In N.Y. Times, Feb. 22-10-2, 1880—Prof Watson writes that he saw "one, if not two" unknown planets and Prof Swift saw one. [IV; 2391. Watson, James Craig. "The Problematical Vulcan." New York Times, February 22, 1880, p. 10 c. 2.]

1878 July 1 / 10:01 p.m. / As described to Mr. V. Cornish, of Debenham, Suffolk, by a friend—a meteor—"A bright star was seen slightly to the left of Antares. It simply shone out and then disappeared without perceptable motion." / Observatory 2/132. [IV; 2392.1, 2392.2. Denning, William Frederick. "Meteor Notes for August." Observatory, 2 (1878): 131-132.]

1878 / about July 1 / Parkersburg, W. Va / Ch-130 / Horse in air / NY Times, July 8-2-5. [IV; 2393. "What a West Virginia Farmer Saw." New York Times, July 8, 1878, p. 2 c. 5. See: 1878 Nov 18, (IV; 2480).]

1878 July 8 / In 1880, H.C. Russell claims having seen and sketched the Red Spot on 8th. / Jour Roy Soc N.S. Wales 14-68. [IV; 2394. Russell, Henry Chamberlaine. “Recent Changes in the Surface of Jupiter.” Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 14 (1880): 63-75, at 68.]

1878 July / Jupiter / to ab 1883 / 1885—6, active / lull to May-Aug, 1891 / Sept 20, 1894. [IV; 2395.]

1878 July 9 / G. Red Spot / Elliptic cloud-like mass, "almost a perfect oval in shape, and was pre-eminently rose colored." Prof. C.W. Pritchett, discoverer of the red spot of Jupiter / Observatory 2-308 / See March 13, 1872. / Prof. P. of the Morrison Observatory, Glasgow, Missouri. [IV; 2395.1, 2395.2.  Pritchett, Carr Waller, Sr. "Markings on Jupiter." Observatory, 2 (1878): 307-309, at 308. "I have carefully watched the astronomical journals to see if any thing unusual was noted by European or American astronomers in the behaviour of Jupiter's belts between the dates of July 6—15. Having seen nothing, I venture to mention some phenomena I saw myself, and to send you a rude drawing to represent them at one stage of their progress." See: 1872 March 13 and Ap 18, (IV; 695).]

 

1878 July / Red spot / Jupiter / See Jan 19, 1872. [IV; 2396. See: 1872 Jan 19, 20, (IV; 591).]

1878 July / Jupiter / Red spot virtually extinguished by Aug, 1883. / Observatory 6-272 / But revived. On Sept 10, 1883, reported invisible, but in Oct said to be easily findable. / Observatory 6-346. [IV; 2397. Denning, William Frederick. "The Red Spot on Jupiter." Observatory, 6 (1883): 272-273. Denning, William Frederick. "Approximate Times of Transit of the great Red Spot and Equatoreal White Spot...." Observatory, 6 (1883): 346.]

1878 July 11 / Jupiter / In Trib (N.Y.), 20-6-2—said that 2 astronomers in McKeesport, Pa., had seen night of 11th, a dark object crossing the disk of Jupiter. Crossing in ab. 3 hours and 20 minutes. Larger than a satellite and not a shadow of a satellite, all four of which then known in full sight all the time. / Cor from Waterbury, Conn, says on night of 10th he saw a similar dark obj. travelling on Jupiter. [IV; 2399.1, 2399.2. "Curious Astronomical Phenomenon." New York Tribune, July 20, 1878, p. 6 c. 2. "It could not have been a spot on the globe of Jupiter, for it passed over its disc from first internal contact to last external contact of margins in three hours and nineteen minutes, whereas a spot would have taken about five hours. It was not a satellite nor the shadow of one, because all the four satellites were in full view the whole time." Amalthea, (one of Jupiter's moons), was in transit across the disk of Jupiter, from the time Jupiter rose above the horizon at Waterbury, (on the evening of July 10), and at McKeesport, (on the evening of July 11); but, Amalthea was not discovered until 1892, by Barnard, and its transit would have ended about an hour later. Ganymede, (Jupiter's largest moon), would have cast its shadow onto Jupiter, for about three hours, before it was in transit across the disk of Jupiter, for about three hours and twenty minutes, (on the evening of July 11).]

1878 July 15 / Tieschitz, Prerau, Moravia / (F). [IV; 2400. Fletcher, 105. This is the Tieschitz meteorite.]

1878 July 16 / Caucasia / q / I / BA '11. [IV; 2401. A class I earthquake. Milne, 727.]

1878 July 19 / N.Y. Tribune, 2-6 / An account of visit to Balt Mt, Nor. Car., upon July 11th. Rumbling sounds still heard there—fissures in the mt. / See May, March, Feb, 1874. [IV; 2402. Clarke, Frank Wigglesworth. "The Bald Mountain Mystery." New York Tribune, July 19, 1878, p. 2 c. 6. See: 1874 Feb 10, (IV: 1373 to 1378, 1380 to 1386), 1874 March 19, (IV; 1404), 1874 Ap. 4, (IV; 1413), and, 1874 May 6, (IV; 1429).]

1878 July 25 / Crystals of Salt / Mantua, Italy. [IV; 2403. "Chemical Notices from Foreign Sources." Chemical News and Journal of Industrial Science, 38 (October 4, 1878): 173-176, at 174. "At Mantua, on July 25, during a violent shower, some children in the Piazza Virgiliana thought that hail was falling. The supposed hail-stones were pieces of salt, some of which are in the hands of the Director of the Observatory, Prof. Agostini." (Chemiker Zeitung, (v. 2), no. 36, (September 5, 1878).) (Agostini, Gian Jacopo. “Sulla Gragnuola di sale marino caduta a Mantova il 25 Luglio 1878.” Annuario della Societa Meteorologica Italiana, no. 22 (September 15, 1878): 343–345.) (Agostini, Gian Jacopo. Gragnuola di sale marino caduta in Mantova il 25 luglio 1878.” Rivista scientifico-industriale, (Firenze), 10 (1878): 257-258.)]  

1878 July 24 / Op Jup. [IV; 2404. Opposition of Jupiter. Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris, 1878, 469.]

1878 July 27 / 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. / Unusual flow of Aquarids at Bristol, ab. 22. Also 71 other meteors. / Nature 18-356. [IV; 2405. Denning, Willam Frederick. "The Meteor Shower of Aquarids (July)." Nature, 18 (August 1, 1878): 356.]

1878 July 27 / 'A colored patch (pink) in the S. temperate zone' of Jupiter—by Frank C. Dennett. / E. Mec 28-277 / No trace on 10th. / Seems not to have heard of Pritchett's observation. [IV; 2406. Dennett, Frank C. "Equulei...." English Mechanic, 28 (no. 713; November 22, 1878): 277. Pritchett's letter to the editor of the Observatory was not sent before November of 1878 and was published in the January, (1879), issue. (No mention of "10th," here.) See: 1878 July 9, (IV; 2395).]

1878 July 28 / 9:07 p.m. / Boston, Mass / fireball / BA 79-92. [IV; 2407. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 92-93.]

1878 July 28 / If 4 mets of July 28, 1878, in U.S. and one in Eng, all said [to] be of one shower, by Mr Denning. / Observatory 3/90 / Why not some on Eng when for 5 hu[ndred], 5 billion in US? [IV; 2408. Denning, William Frederick. "Meteor Notes for July." Observatory, 3 (1879-1880): 88-90, at 90.]

1878 July 28 / 9:07 p.m. / Boston, Mass / met / BA 79-92. [IV; 2409. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 92-93. (Sawyer, Edwin Forrest. American Journal of Science, s. 3. (November 1878).)]

1878 July 29 / Prof Swift says saw small objects f[note cut off] floating across field of his telescope. / that at Denver, Col. / Pop Astro 3/159. [IV; 2410, Swift, Lewis. “Meteors Seen During a Solar Eclipse.” Popular Astronomy, 3 (no. 3; November 1895): 159. “During my observation of that eclipse at Mattoon, Illinois, I, myself, witnessed the same phenomenon, but it took only a moment's reflection to convince me that the bodies seen were not meteors at all but thistle down moving in the same direction towards which the wind at the time was blowing. I saw the same objects float across my telescope at the eclipse of 1878, at Denver, Colorado, but at that of 1890, viewed from a station in northern California in the winter, I saw none. It is not an unusual occurrence thus to see them without an eclipse, especially in bright sunlight.”]

1878 July 30 / 11:52 p.m. / Brighton / meteor / BA 79-94. [IV; 2411. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 94-95.]

1878 Aug / Began trances of a girl Lizzie M. Gannon, Boston, Mass. / Rel. Ph. J., Ap 14-8-4, 1883. [B; 195. "A Strange Case." Religio-Philosophical Journal, 34 (no. 7; April 14, 1883): 8, ( c. 4). “A Strange Case.” Chicago Tribune, April 4, 1883, p. 7 c, 3. “The Boston Image Suit.” Chicago Tribune, April 10, 1883, p. 7 c. 6. “One Cent Damages.” Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1883, p. 7 c. 3. “One Kind of Argument,” Chicago Tribune, April 13, 1883, p. 3 c. 3. “Modern Witchcraft.” Chicago Tribune, April 15, 1883, p. 4 c. 5-6. “The Images Suit.” Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 108 (no. 16; April 19, 1883): 377-378.]

1878 Aug 2 / 10:05 p.m. / Meteor several times size of the moon / New Caledonia / Field, Nov 2, 1878 / (p 579). [IV; 2412. Layard, Edgar Leopold. "Brilliant Meteor in New Caledonia." Field, November 2, 1878, p. 579.]

1878 Aug 3 / severe shock / Manila / North China Herald, 24th / N.M. [IV; 2413. “Manila.” North China Herald, (Shanghai), August 24, 1878, p. 185 c. 2.]

1878 Aug 6 / Small white spot of striking brilliance, on Jupiter, by H.C. Russell, at Sydney, N.S. Wales. / Observatory, 4-323 / See Oct 5, 1878. / Oct. 11, 1878 / Nov. 24 / p. 360, Prof Asaph Hall thinks not all the same spot. [IV; 2414. Russell, Henry Chamberlaine. "Recent Changes in the Surface of Jupiter." Observatory, 4 (1881): 317-327, at 322-323. Denning, William Frederick. “White Spots on Jupiter.” Observatory, 4 (1881): 360-361. Denning, (not Asaph Hall), states: “But Mr. Russell's spots of Aug. and Oct. 1878 are probably not identical with each other, or with the similar object now visible, because the revolution-period of the latter, 44½ days, relatively to the red spot, entirely fails to reconcile the observations.” Hall, Asaph. “Brightness of the Satellites of Mars.” Observatory, 4 (1881): 361. Fort apparently mis-identified Hall as the author of Denning's article, (which was followed by Hall's). See: 1878 Oct 5, (IV; 2462); 1880 Oct 11, (V; 375); and, 1879 Nov. 27 and 29, (IV; 2845).]

1878 Aug 6 / White spot / Jupiter / See Nov 27, 29, 1879. [IV; 2415. See: 1879 Nov. 27 and 29, (IV; 2845).]

1878 Aug 7 / 10:27 p.m. / 10:29 / 10:30, about / Debenham, Norfolk / met / BA 79-94. [IV; 2416. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 94-95.]

1878 Aug. 9 / Innspruk / violent q. / Nature 18-466. [IV; 2417. "Notes." Nature, 18 (August 29, 1878): 465-467, at 466.]

1878 Aug 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 / NY Times 30-3-3 / Tornado / Wallingford, Conn. [IV; 2418. "Furious Northern Storms." New York Times, August 10, 1878, p. 1 c. 1-2. "Wallingford's Tornado." New York Times, August 11, 1878, p. 1 c. 1. "The Ruin at Wallingford." New York Times, August 12, 1878, p. 1 c. 1-2. "The Hurricanes of the Past." New York Times, August 13, 1878, p. 2 c. 5. "The Wallingford Relief Fund." New York Times, August 15, 1878, p. 1 c. 6. "Relief for Wallingford." New York Times, August 30, 1878, p. 3 c. 3. The tornado struck the town on August 9, about 6:15 P.M., followed by torrents of rain for at least ten minutes. Some people, who had sought shelter from the sudden storm, were astonished to discover about thirty persons killed and seventy more injured, with a wide swath of destruction. Humans, animals, and debris were thrown considerable distances. Chickens had their feathers plucked off, and one man found himself stripped of his clothing, except for his collar and shoes. Clothes, papers, shingles, and timber were found miles away. Part of the school's tin roof fell twelve miles away in Haddam, and a receipt from a drawer in Patrick Cline's new house was found sixty-five miles away in Peacedale, Rhode Island. Judge O.I. Martin wrote that the house was blown away with all of its contents, and: "There was fifty dollars in money in one drawer where the receipt was. If the finder of the receipt should find the fifty dollars near there, it would be very acceptable to the family." Kendrick, John B. History of the Wallingford Disaster. Hartford: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1878; 27-28, 65-67.]

1878 Aug 11 / 10:10 p.m. / W. Va and Penn / Det met / Ind / Ohio / BA 79-82, 95—Appendix. [IV; 2419. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 76, 82 & 94-95. Kirkwood, Daniel. “On Meteoric Fireballs seen in the United States during the year ending March 31, 1879." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 18 (1878): 239-247, at 240-241.]

1878 Aug 11 / 10:30 p.m. / N.Y. Times 13-1-5 / Titusville, Pa. / Large, detonating meteor. / 1878 / Dec 28 / 9:15 p.m. / Montgomery and Schoharie Counties, N.Y. / Shock / NY Times, 1879, Jan 2-2-7. [IV; 2420. "A Brilliant Meteor." New York Times, August 13, 1878, p. 1 c. 5. "A Small Earthquake in This State." New York Times, January 29, 1879, p. 2 c. 7.]

1878 Aug 11 / U.S. / Det met / BA'79/76. [IV; 2421. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 76, 82 & 94-95.]

1878 Aug 15, ab. / Nova? / Mr Greely, of Boston, Mass, reported to Mr. E.F Sawyer, the astronomer that he had seen Mira Ceti of second magnitude. M. L not attain its maximum till Oct., 1878. May have been a new star. / Pop Astro 16-532. [IV; 2422.1, 2422.2. Gore, John Ellard. “Some Astronomical Facts and Fallacies.” Popular Astronomy, 16 (no. 9; November 1908): 525-533, at 532. Greely had stated Mira Ceti had faded to 4th or 5th magnitude after several nights, after he had first noticed it; but, rather than admit to this variable light from this star, Gore postulated a “temporary star,” (or nova), near its place.]

1878 / ab. mid. August / (3) / Boston / Something that shone out in sky, or unaccountable brightness of Mira Ceti, then 2 months from maximum. / Observatory 3/51. [IV; 2423. Sawyer, Edwin Forrest. "Mira Ceti." Observatory, 3 (1879-1880): 50-52. “About the middle of August (exact time uncertain) Mr. Greely, on his way home early one morning (his occupation being such as to keep him until late at night), in looking for Saturn through the clouds, saw a star, which, for a moment, he mistook for the planet; but its scintillations soon showed that it was not Saturn, but something unusual in that quarter of the sky. The clouds cleared off soon after, giving him an opportunity of noting its brightness, which he says was fully equal to any second-magnitude star. Being somewhat curious to know what star it was, he carefully memorized its position, and, on reaching home, by means of a star-chart identified it as being Mira. It remained cloudy for several nights after; and when he again saw it, it had greatly decreased in brightness, and shone as a fourth or fifth magnitude star. It was about a month after (or the middle of Sept., as stated above) before Mr. Greely was able to see me (knowing that I was interested in this branch of observation) and acquaint me with the facts. I placed very little reliance on his statement at the time, merely regarding it as a case of mistaken identity, nowing Mr. Greely to be unaccustomed to astronomical observations, and also as I was aware that the ephemeris gave Oct. 11 as the date of maximum brilliancy, and that no such irregularity in the period of Mira had before been recorded....” “I was able to satisfy myself whether Mr. Greely was acquainted with the position of Mira or not. As soon as I asked him to point out the Constellation Cetus, he almost immediately identified the Constellation, and also the position of Mira. I was then fully satisfied that Mr. Greely's former statement was correct....”]

1878 Aug 16 to 18 / Cartago, Costa Rica—5 qs / attended with heavy showers that flooded the rivers. / Nature 18-600. [IV; 2424. "Notes." Nature, 18 (October 3, 1878): 598-602, at 600.]

1878 Aug 19 / Aug 26 / Dec 10 / q. / Belg. / C et T 8-38. [IV; 2425. Lancaster, Albert Benoît Marie. "Les Tremblements de terre en Belgique." Ciel et Terre, 8 (March 16, 1887): 25-43, at 39.]

1878 Aug 17 / ab. 2 a.m. / Ahedare / ac to cor, L.T. 19-6-e / Meteor slow / in sight 5 or 6 minutes. [IV; 2426. "Meteor." London Times, August 19, 1878, p. 6 c. 5.]

1878 Aug 20 / Fishes of Chico, Cal. [B; 196.]

1878 Aug 20 / Ac to Chico Record / At Chico, an immense number of small fish, from one to 3 inches in length. Covered the roof of a store and extended around on area of several acres. Fell from a cloudless sky. / N.Y. Times, Sept 2-5-5. [IV; 2427. "Singular Phenomenon." New York Times, September 2, 1878, p. 5 c. 5. The Chico Record during this time period is no longer extant. “Helltown, Butte County....” Sacramento Bee, August 24, 1878, p. 2 c. 1. “Helltown, Butte county, was visited the other day by a shower of fish varying in size from one inch to three inches in length and of great variety the larger number being perch though there were many young catfish. Some of them fell against Yocum’s store, and more than a dozen men went out and saw them dropping thick and fast. They covered the roof of the store and extended for a circumference of two or three acres. The sky at the time was clear, and a correspondent of the Chico Record says there were no pelicans in sight, and that if there had been it would have required a host of them to have ejected all the fish that fell, and he don’t believe they would have all vomited in concert; consequently he rejects the pelican theory. He says the fish were wet when they struck the ground. One man under the impression that all good things come from above, cooked one of the largest fish of the lot saved by him, and it tasted so good he regretted that he did not harvest more of them before they were spoiled by ths hot sun. A number of specimens were preserved in gin to show what kind of manna falls from Heaven to gladden the hearts of the miners of Helltown.”]

1878 Aug 21 / noon / Waterspout off Southampton / Symons 13-117. [IV; 2428. Griffith, Charles H. "Waterspout off Southampton." Symons's Meteorological Magazine, 13 (August 1878): 117-118. "A Waterspout." London Times, August 22, 1878, p. 10 c. 3.]

1878 Aug 21 / Austria, Croatia / q / I / BA '11. [IV; 2429. A class I earthquake. Milne, 727.]

1878 Aug 22 / 10:02 p.m. / Boston, Mass / met / BA 79-94. [IV; 2430. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 94-95.]

[1878 Aug 22 /] 1872 Aug 22 / —France / 26—Belg., Holland, Germany / La Nat 11/238 / no q. mentioned / mets? [IV; 935. "Tremblement de Terre des 22 et 26 Août." La Nature, 1878 (no. 275; September 7): 238.]

1878 Aug 21-22 / Stone of Butzbach / Jour des Debats, Sept 3-2-5. [IV; 2431. “Dans la nuit du 21 au 22 aoȗt....” Journal des Debats, September 3, 1878, p. 2 c. 5. “Ce météorite ira probablement enrichir le musée de Berlin, et il y sera soumis à une analyse.”]

1878 Aug 21-22 / metite / "In the night of Aug[ust] 21-22 a meteor was seen to fall on a house in the vicinity of Butzbach, a small town in Hesse. On the following morning, a small polished dark stone was discovered on the spot, and will be sent to the British Museum. / Nature 18-504 / See July 15. [IV; 2432.1, 2432.2. "Notes." Nature, 18 (September 5, 1878): 502-505, at 504. The Butzbach stone is not listed in Fletcher's catalog. Herschel, Alexander Stewart. “Report on the Progress of Meteoric Astronomy during the year 1878.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 39 (February 1879): 275-296, at 275. “A small stone is also related to have fallen on a house at Butzbach in Hesse, from a meteor which appeared on the night of August 21, 1878, and to have been presented to the Berlin museum; but of its aërolitic character no other information or authentic indication has yet been received.” See: 1878 July 15, (IV; 2400).]

1878 Aug 23 / 10:50 p.m. / Dubuque, Iowa / met train / MWR 07-391. [IV; 2433. Trowbridge, Charles Christopher. "On Atmospheric Currents at Very Great Altitudes." Monthly Weather Review, 35 (no. 9; September 1907): 390-397, at 391.]

1878 Aug 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / Sept 2 / 3 / 14 / 18 / Oct 24 / Dec 3 / 10/ 14 / German q's / as to one of them, said not felt in mines / 20 of them in Belgium / Sc Am. Sup 8-3205. [IV; 2434. "Volcanic Phenomena and Earthquakes during 1878." Scientific American Supplement, 8 (no. 201; November 8, 1879): 3204-3205, at 3205. (No mention in this article of "20 of them in Belgium.")]

1878 Aug 27 / [LT], 5-c / q / Liége. [IV; 2435. "Miscellaneous Foreign News." London Times, August 27, 1878, p. 5 c. 2-3.]

1878 Aug 26 / 9 a.m. and 11 / q / at Liege, Belgium / Less than Germany / LT 27-5-c. [IV; 2436. "Miscellaneous Foreign News." London Times, August 27, 1878, p. 5 c. 2-3.]

1878 Aug 26 / Germany / shocks / 9:04—Cologne / 5 or 6 minutes later, another, severe / 9:30—Brauweiler, etc. / 11:10—Cologne / LT 29-9-f / 31-9-f—people in Cologne—felt as if elec current high up and earth withdrawing from under them. / Ground rocked in waves. / 11:10 a.m., stray but not so severe. / Said that panes of glass still rattled on 27th. [IV; 2437.1, 2437.2. "The Earthquake in Germany." London Times, August 29, 1878, p. 9 c. 6. "The Earthquake in Germany." London Times, August 31, 1878, p. 9 c. 6. "Several persons declare that they felt as if an electric current were passing through their legs, and as if the earth were withdrawn from under their feet, and a sudden giddiness came over them."]

1878 Aug 29 / Unalaska, violent q. and tidal wave / Nature 19-45. [IV; 2438. "Notes." Nature, 19 (November 14, 1878): 44-46, at 45.]

1878 Aug 29 / Alaska / q / Town of Makuslin reported destroyed / BA 1911-43. [IV; 2439. (Makushin, ac to Nature.) Turner, H.H., et al. "Seismological Investigations." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1911, 30-67, at 43. Rockwood, Charles Greene, Jr. "Notices of Recent American Earthquakes." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 17 (1879): 158-162, at 161. Fuchs, Carl Wilhelm Casimir. "Die vulcanischen Ereignisse des Jahres 1878." Mineralogische und Petrographische Mitteilungen, 2 (1879-1880): 97-125, at 115. Fuchs reported the village of Makushin, on Unalaska, destroyed by an earthquake and tidal wave. “Fuchs, Carl Wilhelm Casimir. "Die vulcanischen Ereignisse des Jahres 1878." Mineralogische und Petrographische Mitteilungen, 2 (1879-1880): 97-125, at 115. “29. August. An diesem Tage zerstörte ein Erdbeben mit darauffolgender Fluthwelle das Dorf Makuschin auf der Insel Unalaschka.”]

1878 Aug 29 / (60 miles north of the German coast) / Mern Praesto, Denmark / (F). [IV; 2440. Fletcher, 105. This is the Mern meteorite.]

1878 Aug 31 / 8:30 a.m. / Tidal wave—no reported damage—Hiogo, Japan / Sept 14, p. 264, North China Herald. [IV; 2441. “Hiogo.” North China Herald, (Shanghai), September 14, 1878, p. 264 c. 3 & p. 264 c. 1. “There was nothing in the nature of an actual wave, and the only explanation offered is that the large tidal stream which enters the bay by the Kii channel, and passing up the Southern Coast usually overpowers the smaller one though Akashi Straits somewhere off Nishinomiya, had (there was an extremely high tide) power enough to overcome the smaller stream and drive it right down into the harbor here.” The described phenomenon was a tidal bore, (not a tidal wave).]

1878 Sept. 1 / Eng / Serial bolide / 71-78 / Observatory 2/271. [IV; 2442. Denning, William Frederick. "Meteor Notes for December." Observatory, 2 (1878): 270-271. See: 1871 Sept 1, (IV; 499).]

1878 Sept. 5 / Dandapur, Goruckpur, N.W. Provinces, India / (F). [IV; 2443. Fletcher, 105. This is the Dandapur meteorite.]

1878 Sept 15 / Bolide / Algeria and France / B. Soc A de F, Feb., 1896. [IV; 2444. “Les Bolides.” Bulletin de la Société Astronomique de France, 10 (1896): 133.]

1878 Sept 16 / 9 p.m. / Henryville, Clark Co., Ind. / meteor / BA 79-94. [IV; 2445. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 94-95.]

1878 Sept 22 / 8:33 p.m. / Boston, Mass / bright meteor / BA 79-96. [IV; 2446. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 96-97.]

1878 Sept 24 / BO / for p. 217 / Evening, at Stanislas, Austria. Meteor in Ursa Major / 3 times as bright as Jupiter / B Assoc '79-p. 98 / But this may be a mistake for Oct. 24. [IV; 2447. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 98-99. (British newspaper accounts of this phenomenon begin to appear in early November. See: (1878 Oct 24; no note).]

1878 Sept 27 / shortly after midnight of 27th / q. / Osterath, Germany / LT 30-3-d. [IV; 2448. "Miscellaneous Foreign News." London Times, September 30, 1878, p. 3 c. 4.]

1878 Sept 15 / Algeria / bet 6 and 7 p.m. / "Very brilliant fireball." "Very long duration." / Constantine and many other places in Algeria / BA 79-112. [IV; 2449. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 112-113.]

1878 Sept 16 / [LT], 9-f / 17-3-d, e / 24-3-c / 25-11-a / 25-5-c / 26-3-c / 27-10-f / 30-3-e / 30-8-e / Vesuvius. [IV; 2450. "Mount Vesuvius." London Times, September 16, 1878, p. 9 c. 6. "Vesuvius." London Times, September 17, 1878, p. 3 c. 4. "An Ascent of Vesuvius." London Times, September 17, 1878, p. 3 c. 5. "Mount Vesuvius." London Times, September 24, 1878, p. 3 c. 3. "Italy." London Times, September 25, 1878, p. 5 c. 3. "Italy." London Times, September 25, 1878, p. 11 c. 3. "Mount Vesuvius." London Times, September 26, 1878, p. 3 c. 3. "Eruption of Mount Vesuvius." London Times, September 27, 1878, p. 10 c. 6. "Mount Vesuvius." London Times, September 30, 1878, p. 3 c. 5. "Vesuvius." London Times, September 30, 1878, p. 8 c. 5.]

1878 Sept 16 / [LT], 7-e / Optical phe. [IV; 2451. Capper, Samuel James. "A Striking Optical Phenomenon." London Times, September 16, 1878, p. 7 c. 5.]

1878 Sept. 16 / 9 p.m. / Henryville, Clark Co, Ind / met / Proc Amer Phil Soc, May 2, '79. [IV; 2452. Kirkwood, Daniel. “On Meteoric Fireballs seen in the United States during the year ending March 31, 1879." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 18 (1878): 239-247, at 241.]

1878 Sept 21 / North China Herald of, said that strange epidemic at Caterman, a village in the province of Samar. About 150 persons had been seized with pains in their head and a desire to commit suicide. Said that women were the greatest sufferers. [B; 197. “Manila.” North China Herald, (Shanghai), September 21, 1878, p. 287 c. 2-3. Catarman, Northern Samar, Philippines.]

1878 Sept 22 / 30 / Oct 15 / 22 / 22 (2) / Nov 12 / 13 / 14 / Dec 19 / 25 / Mets / Boston, Mass / BA 79-100. [IV; 2453. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 96-101. Sawyer, Edwin Forrest. “Observations of Bright Meteors.” Science Observer, 2 (November 1878): 26-27. “Meteor Notes.” Science Observer, 2 (November 1878): 30. “Mr. J.J. Skinner, of New Haven....” Science Observer, 2 (December 1878): 35. The meteor of December 19 was observed at New Haven, Connecticut, (not at Boston). “Meteor Notes.” Science Observer, 2 (February 1879): 43. Kirkwood, Daniel. “On Meteoric Fireballs seen in the United States during the year ending March 31, 1879." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 18 (1878): 239-247, at 241. The meteor of November 14 was observed at Hillside Farm, (in Needham, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston).]

[1878 Sept 28 /] 1878 Oct 26 / (Cut) / Sc. Am 39/259 / Cor writes that had seen on Jupiter a black spot as large as the largest satellite, but there was no transit at the time—p. 324, someone answers must have been a sat. shadow. / See Aug 23. [IV; 2472. Eadie, John H. "A Curious Astronomical Observation." Scientific American, n.s., 39 (October 26, 1878): 259. "The Black Spot on Jupiter." Scientific American, n.s., 39 (November 23, 1878): 324. "In reply to the question of Mr. Eadie (Scientific American, October 26), as to the cause of the black spot observed by him on the disk of Jupiter, September 28, Mr. R.D. Schimpff writes that it was unquestionably the shadow of one of Jupiter's moons. The satellite had completed its transit, but its position was such that its shadow still rested on the planet at the hour named." Ganymede, (Jupiter's largest moon), was in transit across the disk of Jupiter from the time it rose above the horizon, (at Staten Island), and for another two hours, that evening. See: 1878 July 11, (IV; 2399), and, 1879 Aug 23, 24, (IV; 2763).]

1878 Sept 28 / Tondern, Germany / met train / 1¼ hours / MWR 07/391 / See Aug 29. / See Dec 13. [IV; 2454. Trowbridge, Charles Christopher. "On Atmospheric Currents at Very Great Altitudes." Monthly Weather Review, 35 (no. 9; September 1907): 390-397, at 391. See: 1878 Aug 29, (IV; 2440), and, 1878 Dec 13, (IV; 2496).]

1878 Sept. 30 / 8:43 p.m. / Boston, Mass / bright meteor / BA 79-96. [IV; 2455. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 96-97.]

1878 Oct / Akron, Ohio. / Home of Mr and Mrs Michael Metzler and their daughter aged 10, recently moved into the house. Few days later sharp rapping all over the house and the new tenants pelted with stones. / Wirt Sikes, "British Goblins," p. 185. [B; 198. Sikes, Wirt. British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions. 2nd edition. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1880, 185. "A Persecuted Household."  St. Paul Daily Globe, (Minnesota), October 22, 1878, p. 4 c. 5.]

1878 Oct 1 / [LT], 7-f / 5-11-b / 7-6-b / 8-3-e / 8-7-f / 10-5-c / 14-6-a / 15-8-f / 24-5-e / 25-3-e / Nov 1-3-d / 2-5-d / 4-10-c / 6-11-f / 13-5-e / Veusvius. [IV; 2456.1, 2456.2. "Vesuvius." London Times, October 1, 1878, p. 7 c. 6. "Vesuvius." London Times, October 5, 1878, p. 11 c. 2. "Mount Vesuvius." London Times, October 7, 1878, p. 6 c. 2. "Vesuvius." London Times, October 8, 1878, p. 3 c. 5. "News from Naples." London Times, October 8, 1878, p. 7 c. 6. "Mount Vesuvius." London Times, October 10, 1878, p. 5 c. 3-4. "Italy." London Times, October 14, 1878, p. 6 c. 1. "Southern Italy." London Times, October 15, 1878, p. 8 c. 6. "Mount Vesuvius." London Times, October 24, 1878, p. 5 c. 5. "Mount Vesuvius." London Times, October 25, 1878, p. 3 c. 5. "Italy." London Times, November 1, 1878, p. 3 c. 4. "Italy." London Times, November 2, 1878, p. 5 c. 4. "Vesuvius." London Times, November 4, 1878, p. 10 c. 3. "Southern Italy." London Times, November 6, 1878, p. 11 c. 6. "Mount Vesuvius." London Times, November 13, 1878, p. 5 c. 5.]

1878 Oct 2 / 6 p.m. / Disastrous q. / southern part of Salvador. / Nature 19-85. [IV; 2457. "Notes." Nature, 19 (November 28, 1878): 84-87, at 85-86.]

1878 Oct 2 / San Salvador / great q / '11. [IV; 2458. A class III earthquake. Milne, 727.]

1878 Oct 3 / H. N. distinct—nearly as large as Hyginus. / Oct 4—"no trace". [IV; 2459. Neison, Edmund. "Hyginus N." Astronomical Register, 17 (September 1879): 199-208, & (October 1879): 223-233, (November 1879): 251-259, and, 18 (September 1880): 199-206; at v. 17, p. 229.]

1878 Oct 4 / 2:30 a.m. / Around West Point, NY / q / shock and rumbling sounds as if of explosion / N.Y.T., Oct 5-5-3. / Trib 5-1-3. [IV; 2460. "An Earthquake on the Hudson." New York Times, October 5, 1878, p. 5 c. 3. "An Earthquake Along the Hudson." New York Tribune, October 5, 1878, p. 1 c. 3.]

1878 Oct 4 / Explosive sounds along Hudson from Marlborough to Peeksill. 2:30 a.m. and at 2:40, with shock / L.T., Oct 17-11-f. [IV; 2461. "Earthquake in America." London Times, October 17, 1878, p. 11 c. 6.]

1878 Oct 5 / The white spot on Jupiter seen again / See Aug. 6. / by Russell. [IV; 2462. Russell, Henry Chamberlaine. "Recent Changes in the Surface of Jupiter." Observatory, 4 (1881): 317-327, at 323. See: 1878 Aug 6, (IV; 2414).]

1878 Oct. 7 / N.Y. Times, 1-6 / Severe drought around Pottsville, Pa. [IV; 2463. "Drought in the Coal Region." New York Times, October 7, 1878, p. 1 c. 6.]

1878 Oct 9 / It / [LT], 5-c / q / Parma. [IV; 2464. "Miscellaneous Foreign News." London Times, October 9, 1878, p. 5 c. 3.]

1878 Oct. 11 / Shock / Sierra Leone. / Nature 19-60. [IV; 2465. "Notes." Nature, 19 (November 21, 1878): 59-62, at 60.]

1878 Oct. 13 / Strong concussion felt by a ship between Azores and Madeira / C.R. 87-763. See List / 1806, I think. [IV; 2466. “M. le Ministre de la Marine transmet à l'Academie....” Comptes Rendus, 87 (1878): 763. See: 1806 May or Ap 19, (I; 183).]

1878 Oct 17 / ab. 5:50 / Cambridge / Met "fell quite close to the moon.” / Rept B. Assoc. 1879-112. [IV; 2467. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 112-113.]

1878 / autumn / Whirlwind. Detonation and smoke? / E Mec 29-293. [IV; 2468. "A Singular Storm." English Mechanic, 29 (no. 740; May 30, 1879): 293. The location was given as the Na Caillighe Hills, in County Meath, Ireland. "The whole force of the wind here was limited to a zone about 100 yds. wide, within which all the damage was done. This storm was accompanied by a loud noise, which many persons thought was caused by a carriage or heavy van passing along the road, and also by a cloud of dust and leaves which some people thought was smoke."]

1878 Oct. 21 / 9 a.m. / Australia / The Russell ob on moon / Observatory 2/375. Russell and [G.D.] Hirst roasted / E. Mec 29-60. [IV; 2469. Russell, Henry Chamberlaine. "Notes on an Astronomical Experiment made on the Blue Mountains, near Sydney, N.S.W." Observatory, 2 (1878): 370-375, at 375. During the daylight hours Mr. Hirst employed a part of his time looking up Venus near the Sun, the Sun itself, and many other objects, of which very fine views were obtained; but the only observation that I would here place on record was made on the morning of the 21st October at 9 A.M., when, on looking at the Moon, he found that a large part of it was covered with a dark shade quite as dark as the shadow of the earth during an eclipse of the Moon; its outline was generally circular and it seemed to be fainter near its edges; conspicuous bright spots on the Moon could be seen through it, but it quite obliterated the view of about half of the Moon's terminator (or that part where the sunlight ends), while those parts of the terminator not in the shadow could be very distinctly seen. I should estimate the diameter of the shadow from the part we could see on the Moon as about ¾ that of the Moon.” “No change in the position of the shade could be detected after three hours watching.” Noble, William. "A Very Shady Discovery...." English Mechanic, 29 (no. 731; March 28, 1879): 60. “Everyone interested in astronomy should buy, beg, or borrow the Echo for March 14, for the sake of a paper which it contains by Mr. R.A. Proctor, entitled ‘A Startling Astronomical Discovery.’ The essay of which I am speaking tells a story, which would be only laughable were it not really pitiable, of two Government astronomers, whose names, in charity, I suppress, who have recently been making observations at an altitude of 2,000 ft. above the sea-level; some of them, let me in justice say, of incontestable value. On the morning of October 21st of last year, however, one of these gentlemen must needs observe the Moon at 9 a.m. (then some time past her last quarter), and saw, what every reader of these lines may see for himself on the morning of the 16th of April, that ‘a large port of it was covered by a dark shade.’ I have said that every reader may see this for himself, observing, of course, in sunlight; and having seen it, let him turn to a photograph of the Moon in her last quarter—such as the one in Proctor's ‘Moon’—and he will at once be able to trace the apparent 'shade’ in the ‘maria’ which are near the Moon's eastern limb, whose circular outline seen in sunshine certainly does seem to cut a piece out of the Moon, after the fashion of a shadow cast by some external body. So astonishingly ignorant, however, does the chief of the party referred to above seem to be of the very rudiments of selenography, that after speaking of this appearance as ‘one of those remarkable facts which, being seen, should be recorded, although no explanation can at present be offered;’ he goes on to say, ‘One could hardly resist the conviction that it was a shadow, yet it could not be the shadow of any known body; and if produced by a comet, it must be one of more than ordinary density, although dark bodies have been seen crossing the sun which were doubtless comets. No change in the position of the shade could be detected after three hours' watching." ! ! ! I have, as I have said, purposely suppressed the name of the writer of this astounding sentence; but am really tempted to inquire whether the purchase of a copy of Neison's ‘Moon’ for the Observatory over which he presides, and an annual subscription on his behalf to the Selenographical Society, might not form legitimate items in the Estimates for this year of the Government which employs him.” (Proctor, Richard Anthony. "A Startling Astronomical Discovery." London Echo, March 14, 1879, p. 1 c. 5; not at BNA.) With the Moon about 24 days old, (and, about a third illuminated by the Sun), the darker Oceanus Procellarum, (as seen Australia, inverted upon the crescent, in the morning light), is what Noble suggests was mistaken for a large, dim shadow, (not seen to move during three hours of observation).]

1878 Oct 23 / Disastrous cyclone / N.Y., Penn., Mass, N.J., Conn. / page NY Herald, 24th. [IV; 2470. "The Terrible Cyclone." New York Herald, October 24, 1878, p. 3 c. 1-5.]

1878 Oct 25 / 6:04 p.m. / Large met / Highfield House / LT 28-6-d. [IV; 2471. "Meteor." London Times, October 28, 1878, p. 6 c. 4.]

[1878 Oct 26. Wrong date. See: 1878 Sept 28, (IV; 2472).]

1878 Nov. / A T Stewart / body / Disap. [B; 200. Alexander Turney Stewart's body was stolen from its vault at St. Mark's Church-in-the Bowery on the night of November 6, 1878. “A Revolting Outrage.” Harper's Weekly, 22 (November 23, 1878): 937-938.]  

[1878 Nov 1] / Hydrophobia / Singular Case / 1878, Trib, Nov 1-4-5. / Jan, 1883. [B; 199. "A singular case, certainly simulating hydrophobia...." New York Tribune, November 1, 1878, p. 4 c. 5.]

1878 Nov. 2 / 6:43 p.m. / York / Dazzling meteor / BA 79-98. [IV; 2473. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 98-99.]

1878 Nov 2 / (It) / [LT], 5-c / q. / Piedmont. [IV; 2474. "Miscellaneous Foreign News." London Times, November 2, 1878, p. 5 c. 3.]

1878 Nov. 2 / Near Clisson (Loire Inférieure), from 11:15 to 11:30, sky half clouded. Came an immense cloud and intense darkness. / La Nat. 11/398. [IV; 2475. Polo, J. "Correspondance." La Nature, 1878 pt. 2 (no. 285; November 16): 398.]

1878 Nov 12 / 7 p.m. / Washington, Davies., Ind. / met as if from Vega / BA 79-98. [IV; 2476. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 98-99.]

1878 Nov. 12 / (8:30) / John Hammes wrote to Admiral Rodgers that he and his son and "several gents" had seen from Oskaloosa, Iowa, for half an hour through his 6½ inch telescope something that he thought a volcanic eruption upon moon. Admiral Rodgers asked for full details—no more published. / E. Mec., 28/444. [IV; 2477.1, 2477.2. "An Active Volcano in the Moon." English Mechanic, 28 (no. 720; January 10, 1879): 444. "The published 'drawings' give no idea whatever of the real nature of the eruption, but simply of an uprush of something from a crater situated in the spot indicated by the admiral. Mr. Hammes, though well acquainted with the appearance of the moon, does not specify the locality of his observation."]

1878 Nov. 12 / (moon light) / La Nat 1879/1/76 / or Sc Am 1879. [IV; 2478. "Un Volcan Lunaire en Activité." La Nature, 1879 pt. 1 (no. 292; January 4): 76, (illustration). "An Active Volcano in the Moon." Scientific American, n.s, 39 (December 21, 1878): 385, (illustrations).]

1878 Nov. 16 / Religio-Phil. Jour. of / Esther Cox. [B; 201. "A Haunted House in Amherst, Nova Scotia." Religio-Philosophical Journal, 25 (no. 11; November 16, 1878): 5, (c. 1).]

1878 Nov 18 / 11:50 p.m. / Cairo, Ill. / shock / also Mo. and Ark. / N.Y. Times 20-1-5. [IV; 2479. "Earthquake in the West." New York Times, November 20, 1878, p. 1 c. 5.]

1878 Nov 18 / 11:23 / Shock / Missouri / N.Y. Times, Jan, 1879, 12-8-1. / 1878 / July 4 / Parkersburg obj. described as "opaque. [IV; 2480. Nipher, Francis Eugene. “The Earthquakes in November.” New York Times, January 12, 1879, p. 8 c. 1-2. "What a West Virginia Farmer Saw." New York Times, July 8, 1878, p. 2 c. 5. See: 1878 / about July 1, (IV; 2393).]

1878 Nov. 18 / q / Memphis and Cairo / center but wide / Proc St Louis Acad Sci 4-35. [IV; 2481. “February 3, 1879.” Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis, 4 (1878-1886): xxxv-xxxvi.]

[1878 Nov 18 /] 1878 Nov 25 / N.Y. Times 26-2-5 / Memphis, Tenn. / Strongest shock remembered. [IV; 2488. "The Earthquake in Tennessee." New York Times, November 26, 1878, p. 2 c. 5.]

1878 Nov. 20 / Rakovka, Tula, Russia / F. [IV; 2482. Fletcher, 105. This is the Rakovka meteorite.]

1878 Nov 20 / NY Times, 1-5 / q / Ark / Ill / Mo. [IV; 2483. "Earthquake in the West." New York Times, November 20, 1878, p. 1 c. 5.]

[1878 Nov 20 /] 1878 Nov. 29 / Trib, 5-4 / q—Cairo, Ill. [IV; 2490. “An Earthquake in the West.” New York Tribune, November 20, 1878, p. 5 c. 4.]

1878 Nov 22 / [LT], 9-d / 25-11-f / Elec. Phe. [IV; 2484. Shields, John. "Electrical Phenomena." London Times, November 23, 1878, p. 9 c. 4. "Electrical Phenomena." London Times, November 25, 1878, p. 11 c. 6.]

1878 Nov 23-30 / Failure of mets. from Biela's Comet in Mass. / A.J. Sci 3/17/74 / noted for 1872. [IV; 2485. "Failure of Meteors from Biela's Comet in 1878." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 17 (1879): 74.]

1878 Nov. 23 / 3:30 a.m. / At Amoy—severe q. Felt Peking, Canton, Hong Kong. Many places in China. / North China Herald, Dec. 5 and 14. [IV; 2486. (North China Herald, (Shanghai), December 5, 1878, no. 602; p. 543; not online.) “Amoy.” North China Herald, (Shanghai), December 14, 1878, p. 567, c. 3.]

1878 Nov. 24 / A few evenings before 24th, a huge meteor over Fatshan, China, moving in the direction of Canton. / North China Herald, December 5, p. 543. [IV; 2487.(North China Herald, (Shanghai), December 5, 1878, no. 602; p. 543; not online.)]

[1878 Nov 25. Wrong date. See: 1878 Nov 18, (IV; 2488).]

1878 Nov. 27 / In A.J. Sci., 3/17/74, Mr. E.F. Sawyer writes from Cambridge. "As far as my observations show, the expected shower of Biela's, proved a complete failure." [IV; 2489. "Failure of Meteors from Biela's Comet in 1878." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 17 (1879): 74.]

[1878 Nov. 29. Wrong date. See: 1878 Nov 20, (IV; 2490).]

1878 Dec / Polts / Village of East Knighton, Dorsetshire / "Medium and Daybreak," Jan 3, 1879, p. 10 / Polts in home of a laboring family. Things moved. Crockery and windows smashed. Cats disappear from closed rooms. / 1879. [B; 202. "Superstition in Dorsetshire." Medium and Daybreak, 10 (no. 457; January 3, 1879): 10. "East Knighton." Bridport News, December 20, 1878, p. 3 c. 3.]

1878 Dec 2 / 2:22 a.m. / Loud explosive sound heard East side, N.Y. City—unknown origin. Herald 3-5-4. / 5-4-5—Herald reporter learned that fire discovered at the Brooklyn Navy Yard then, again fired as was the custom at time of a fire. [IV; 2491.1, 2491.2. "Supposed Explosion." New York Herald, December 3, 1878, p. 5 c. 4. "That Noise." New York Herald, December 5, 1878, p. 4 c. 5.]

1878 Dec 10 / See Dec 24. [IV; 2492. See: 1878 Dec 24, (IV; 2498).]

1878 Dec 10 / N.Y. Herald, Dec 15-6-3 / Near Walker Valley, a small village on the eastern slope of the Shawangunk Mts, New Jersey, ab 7 p.m., people startled by a dull intonation as of thunder, and a trembling of the earth. Next morning on farm of Silas Kline an excavation was found 25 feet long, 12 wide, and 10 deep. Earth and stones thrown out extended 100 yards in a streak 25 yards wide. [IV; 2493.1, 2493.2. "Jersey Lightning Underground." New York Herald, December 15, 1878, p. 6 c. 3.]

1878 Dec 11 / 6 a.m. / Alsatia / fireball / BA 79-98. [IV; 2494. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, 98-99. “Notes.” Nature, 19 (December 19, 1878): 158-161, at 160.]

1878 Dec 11 / Storm and floods / N.Y., Penn, Mass, Conn, Maine / N.Y. Herald, 12th. [IV; 2495."Destructive Floods." New York Herald, December 12, 1878, p. 3 c. 1-5.]

1878 Dec 13 / [LT], 5-d / 21-5-b / q / Germany / See Jan 12, '79. / See Sept 28. [IV; 2496. "Miscellaneous Foreign News." London Times, December 13, 1878, p. 5 c. 4. "Germany." London Times, December 21, 1878, p. 5 c. 2. See: 1878 Sept 28, (IV; 2454), and, 1879 Jan 12, (IV; 2517).]

1878 Dec 14 / Volcs moon / Trib. [IV; 2497. "Volcanoes in the Moon." New York Tribune, December 14, 1878, p. 6 c. 4. See: 1878 Nov. 12, (IV; 2477).]

1878 Dec 20 / N.Y. Herald, 9-5 / Home of Mr. C. Smith, 136 Clinton Ave, Brooklyn. Bet 5 p.m. and midnight for several weeks, doorbell ringing and 2 rear doors slamming and no one seen. Capt McLaughton, of the 4th Precinct, investigated. Crowds outside. No one detected. [B; 203. “Mysterious Indeed.” New York Herald, December 20, 1878, p. 9 c. 5.]

1878 Dec 24 / NY Herald 5-4 / See Dec. 10—In Greene Co., Va., a recently opened fissure found in the Blue Ridge Mts. ab foot wide and unknown depth. Had been traced across country four miles. [IV; 2498. "A Fissure in the Blue Ridge." New York Herald, December 23, 1878, p. 3 c. 3. "Another Virginia Wonder." New York Herald, December 24, 1878, p. 5 c. 4. See: 1878 Dec 10, (IV; 2493).]

1878 Dec 24 / Q in Sicily stimulates an eruption of mud that had been occurring. / L.T., 1879, Jan. 23-5-d. [IV; 2499. "Miscellanous Foreign News." London Times, January 23, 1879, p. 5 c. 4.]

1878 Dec 24 / 9 p.m. / Flushing, NY / q rumbling sound / See Feb 5. / Am J. Sci 3-19-296. [IV; 2500. Rockwood, Charles Greene, Jr. "Notices of Recent American Earthquakes. No. 9." American Journal of Science, s. 3 v. 19 (1880): 295-299, at 296. See: 1878 Feb 5, (IV; 2326).]

1878 Dec 26 / Trib, 4-5 / Ghost / Brooklyn / Ed. [B; 204. "The case of Miss Fancher...." New York Tribune, December 26, 1878, p. 4 c. 5-6.]

1878 Dec 28 /[LT], [page unidentified]-c / 4-11-d / Turner's snow storm. [IV; 2501. "The Weather." London Times, December 28, 1878, p. 4 c. 4. "The Weather." London Times, January 4, 1879, p. 11 c. 4.]

1878 Dec. 30 / 6:55 p.m. / Ohio, Ind, Penn. / met / BA 79-83 / (Stat). [IV; 2502. Glaisher, James, and, Robert Philips Greg, George Forbes, Alexander Stewart Herschel, Charles Brooke, Walter Flight. "Report of Observations of Luminous Meteors during the year 1878-79." Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1879, 76-131, at 83-84.]

1878-1879 / winter / Red skies / China / Nov, Dec, to middle of Jan / Science 3-121. [IV; 2503. Hague, Arnold. “Red Skies in China Five Years Ago.” Science, s. 1 v. 3 (February 1, 1884): 121-122.]