1780 new englands dark day an unusual darkening of the day sky 05 19
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1780 246 years ago Selected Events May 19 2 sources

A combination of thick smoke, fog, and heavy cloud cover caused darkness to fall on parts of Canada and the New England area of the United States by noon.

On May 19, in the year 1780, A combination of thick smoke, fog, and heavy cloud cover caused darkness to fall on parts of Canada and the New England area of the United States by noon. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of May 19, one of 406 recorded events on this date across all of history.

New England's Dark Day occurred on May 19, 1780, when an unusual darkening of the daytime sky was observed over the New England states and parts of eastern Canada. The primary cause of the event is believed to have been a combination of smoke from forest fires, a thick fog, and cloud cover. The darkness was so complete that candles were required from noon on. It did not disperse until the middle of the next night.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on May 19, 1780 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 20 April 2026.

On This Date in History 406

Type Year Date Event
Historical Events 2024 May 19 A helicopter crash in Iran leaves 8 people dead, including the country's president Ebrahim Raisi & foreign minister Hoss
Notable Deaths 2024 May 19 Christian Malanga, Congolese politician, businessman and military officer (born 1983)
Notable Deaths 2024 May 19 Victims in the 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash:
Notable Deaths 2023 May 19 Andy Rourke, English bassist (born 1964)
Notable Deaths 2021 May 19 Paul Mooney, American comedian (born 1941)
Historical Events 2018 May 19 The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George's Chapel, Windsor, with an estimated global audience
Notable Deaths 2018 May 19 Zhengzhang Shangfang, Chinese linguist (born 1933)
Selected Events 2018 May 19 The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (both pictured) took place at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, Englan
Notable Deaths 2017 May 19 Nawshirwan Mustafa, General coordinator of the Movement for Change (Gorran) (born 1944)
Notable Deaths 2017 May 19 Stanislav Petrov, Lt
Historical Events 2016 May 19 EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Paris to Cairo, killing all on board
Notable Deaths 2016 May 19 Alan Young, English-born Canadian-American actor (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2016 May 19 Morley Safer, Canadian-born American journalist (born 1931)
Historical Events 2015 May 19 The Refugio oil spill deposited 142,800 U
Notable Deaths 2015 May 19 Bruce Lundvall, American businessman (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2015 May 19 Ted McWhinney, Australian-Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2015 May 19 Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, socialite; 31st Second Lady of the United States (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2015 May 19 Robert S
Selected Events 2015 May 19 A corroded pipeline near Refugio State Beach, California, spilled 142,800 gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto the
Notable Deaths 2014 May 19 Simon Andrews, English motorcycle racer (born 1982)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 19 Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 19 Sam Greenlee, American author and poet (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 19 Vincent Harding, American historian and scholar (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 19 Gabriel Kolko, American historian and author (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 19 Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, Polish boxer (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 19 G
Notable Deaths 2013 May 19 Robin Harrison, English-Canadian pianist and composer (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 19 Neil Reynolds, Canadian journalist and politician (born 1940)
Historical Events 2012 May 19 Three gas cylinder bombs explode in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing one person and
Historical Events 2012 May 19 A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing nine people
Notable Deaths 2012 May 19 Bob Boozer, American basketball player (born 1937)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 19 Tamara Brooks, American conductor and educator (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 19 Ian Burgess, English race car driver (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 19 Gerhard Hetz, German-Mexican swimmer (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 19 Phil Lamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2011 May 19 Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 8th Taoiseach of Ireland (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2011 May 19 Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American artist (born 1944)
Historical Events 2010 May 19 The Royal Thai Armed Forces concludes its crackdown on protests by forcing the surrender of United Front for Democracy A
Selected Events 2010 May 19 In Bangkok, the Thai military (pictured) concluded a week-long crackdown on widespread protests by forcing the surrender
Notable Deaths 2009 May 19 Robert F
Notable Deaths 2009 May 19 Nicholas Maw, English composer and academic (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2009 May 19 Clint Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1913)
Notable Deaths 2008 May 19 Vijay Tendulkar, Indian playwright and screenwriter (born 1928)
Historical Events 2007 May 19 President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension
Historical Events 2007 May 19 A mass shooting starts in Moscow, Idaho, which would leave 3 non-shooters dead and 3 more injured, before the shooter co
Notable Deaths 2007 May 19 Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2007 May 19 Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (born 1914)
Notable Deaths 2004 May 19 Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch actress and screenwriter (born 1907)
Notable Births 2003 May 19 Jojo Siwa, American dancer, singer, actress, and YouTube personality
Notable Births 2002 May 19 Riccardo Calafiori, Italian footballer

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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