New England's Dark Day

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New England's Dark Day refers to an event which occurred on 19 May 1780, when an unusual darkening of the day sky was observed over the New England states and parts of 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 until midnight and did not disperse until the middle of the next night.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Range of the Darkness

According to Professor Samuel Williams of Harvard College, the Darkness was seen at least as far north as Portland, Maine, and extended southwards to New Jersey. The Darkness was not witnessed in Pennsylvania.[3]

[edit] Progress

The earliest report of the darkness came from Rupert, New York, where the Sun was already obscured at sunrise.

Professor Samuel Williams observed from Cambridge that: "This extraordinary darkness came on between the hours of 10 and 11 A. M. and continued till the middle of the next night." [4]

Reverend Ebenezer Parkham, of Westborough, Massachusetts, reported peak obscurity to occur "by 12", but did not record the time when the obscuration first arrived.

At Harvard College, the obscuration was reported to arrive at 10:30 AM, peaking at 12:45 PM, and abating by 1:10 PM, although a heavy overcast remained for the rest of the day.

The obscuration was reported to have reached Barnstable, Massachusetts, by 2:00 PM, with peak obscurity reported to have occurred at 5:30 PM.[5]

[edit] Other atmospheric phenomena

For several days before the Dark Day, the Sun as viewed from New England appeared to be red, and the sky appeared yellow. While the Darkness was present, soot was observed to be collected in rivers and in rain water, suggesting the presence of smoke. For portions of New England, the morning of 19 May 1780 was characterised by rain, indicating that cloud cover was present.[6][7][8]

[edit] Religious interpretations

Since communications technology of the day was very primitive, most people found the darkness to be baffling and inexplicable. Since science could not explain it, they applied religious interpretations to the event.[9] The Dark Day of 1780 was, and still is, regarded by many as a supernatural event caused by God.

In Connecticut, a member of the legislature, Abraham Davenport, became most famous for his response to his colleagues' fears that it was the Day of Judgment:

“ I choose, for one, to meet Him face to face, No faithless servant frightened from my task, But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls; And therefore, with all reverence, I would say, Let God do His work, we will see to ours. Bring in the candles.[10] ”

Davenport's courage was commemorated in the poem "Abraham Davenport" by John Greenleaf Whittier.

Today, some Christians, especially those among Seventh-day Adventists following interpretations of the event by Ellen G. White, believe that the Dark Day was a fulfillment of end-times prophecy.[11][12]

[edit] Cause

The likely cause of the Dark Day was smoke from massive forest fires. When a fire does not kill a tree and the tree later grows, scar marks are left in the growth rings.[13] This makes it possible to approximate the date of a past fire. Researchers examining the scar damage in Ontario, Canada attribute the Dark Day to a large fire in the Algonquin Provincial Park.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "New England's Dark Day" in The Weather Doctor Almanac 2004. Retrieved from http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2004/alm04may.htm.
  2. ^ "An Account of a very uncommon Darknefs, in the State of New England, May 19, 1780" in The Analytical Review, Or History of Literature, Domestic and Foreign, on an Enlarged Plan, p. 519.
  3. ^ "New England's Dark Day", The Weather Doctor Almanac 2004. Retrieved from http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2004/alm04may.htm.
  4. ^ "An Account of a very uncommon Darknefs, in the State of New England, May 19, 1780" in The Analytical Review, Or History of Literature, Domestic and Foreign, on an Enlarged Plan, p. 519.
  5. ^ "New England's Dark Day" in The Weather Doctor Almanac 2004. Retrieved from http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2004/alm04may.htm.
  6. ^ Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, p. 193
  7. ^ "An Account of a very uncommon Darknefs, in the State of New England, May 19, 1780" in The Analytical Review, Or History of Literature, Domestic and Foreign, on an Enlarged Plan, p. 519.
  8. ^ "New England's Dark Day" in The Weather Doctor Almanac 2004. Retrieved from http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2004/alm04may.htm.
  9. ^ Mark well the gloom: Shedding light on the great dark day of 1780. Retrieved from http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/eh/12.1/campanella.html.
  10. ^ Colby, C. B. (1959). Strangely Enough. Sydney: Oak Tree Press. ISBN 0-8069-3918-4, p. 29.
  11. ^ Bible Universe. Retrieved from http://www.bibleuniverse.com/prophecy/sun_darkness.asp.
  12. ^ The Dark Day. Retrieved from http://www.bibleprophecytruth.com/JesusChrist/thedarkday.asp.
  13. ^ A Brief Introduction to Fire History Reconstruction (2005-07-11). Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
  14. ^ Fire scars reveal source of New England’s 1780 Dark Day. Retrieved from http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/WF05095.htm.

[edit] External links

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