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New England's Dark Day occurred on May 19, 1780, when an unusual darkening of the daytime sky was observed over the
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
states and parts of Canada. The primary cause of the event is believed to have been a combination of
smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-produc ...
from
forest fires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
, a thick
fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
, and cloud cover. The darkness was so complete that
candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candle ...
s were required from noon on. It did not disperse until the middle of the next night.


Range of the darkness

According to Professor Samuel Williams of
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...
, the darkness was seen at least as far north as
Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
, and extended southwards to
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
. The darkness was not witnessed in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Revolutionary War soldier Joseph Plumb Martin noted:
We were here ew Jerseyat the time the "dark day" happened, (19th of May;) it has been said that the darkness was not so great in New-Jersey as in New-England. How great it was there I do not know, but I know that it was very dark where I then was in New-Jersey; so much so that the fowls went to their roosts, the cocks crew and the whip-poor-wills sung their usual serenade; the people had to light candles in their houses to enable them to see to carry on their usual business; the night was as uncommonly dark as the day was.


Progress

The earliest report of the darkness came from
Rupert, Vermont Rupert is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 698 at the 2020 census. The town is home tThe Maple News a trade publication focused on the maple syrup industry, and the former Jenks Tavern, built around 1807 ...
, where the sun was already obscured at sunrise. Professor Samuel Williams observed from
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, "This extraordinary darkness came on between the hours of 10 and 11 a.m. and continued till the middle of the next night." Reverend Ebenezer Parkham of
Westborough, Massachusetts Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...
, reported peak obscurity to occur "by 12", but did not record the time when it first arrived. At
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...
, the obscuration was reported to arrive at 10:30 a.m., peaking at 12:45 p.m. and abating by 1:10 p.m., but a heavy overcast remained for the rest of the day. The obscuration was reported to have reached
Barnstable, Massachusetts The Town of Barnstable ( ) is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalit ...
, by 2:00 p.m., with peak obscurity reported to have occurred at 5:30 p.m. Roosters crowed, woodcocks whistled, and frogs peeped as if night had fallen at 2:00 p.m. in
Ipswich, Massachusetts Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,785 at the 2020 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island. A resid ...
. A witness reported that a strong sooty smell prevailed in the atmosphere, and that rain water had a light film over it that was made up of particles of burnt leaves and ash. Contemporaneous reports also indicated that ash and cinders fell on parts of New Hampshire to a depth of .


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 have collected in rivers and in rain water, suggesting the presence of smoke. Also, when the night really came in, observers saw the
moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
colored red. For portions of New England, the morning of May 19, 1780, was characterized by rain, indicating that cloud cover was present.


Religious interpretations

Since communications technology of the day was primitive, most people found the darkness to be baffling and inexplicable. Many applied religious interpretations to the event. In
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
, a member of the
Governor's council The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...
(renamed the
Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sen ...
in 1818),
Abraham Davenport Abraham Davenport (1715–1789) was a Connecticut councillor and judge from Stamford. He was celebrated in a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier for his stoical reaction to New England's Dark Day (1780). Personal life The grandson of New Haven ...
, became most famous for his response to his colleagues' fears that it was the
Day of Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
:
I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.
Davenport's courage was commemorated in the poem "
Abraham Davenport Abraham Davenport (1715–1789) was a Connecticut councillor and judge from Stamford. He was celebrated in a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier for his stoical reaction to New England's Dark Day (1780). Personal life The grandson of New Haven ...
" by
John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
. Edwin Markham also commemorated the event in his poem "A Judgement Hour", found in ''The Gates of Paradise and Other Poems''.
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
author and editor
Arthur S. Maxwell Arthur Stanley Maxwell (January 14, 1896 – November 13, 1970), otherwise known as Uncle Arthur, was an author, editor, and administrator of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Biography Maxwell was born in London, England. During his teena ...
mentions this event in his ''
The Bible Story ''The Bible Story'' is a ten-volume series of hardcover children's story books written by Arthur S. Maxwell based on the King James and Revised Standard versions of the Christian Bible. The books, published from 1953 to 1957, retell most of th ...
'' series (volume 10). The significance of the incident is still debated among Adventist scholars today. Progressive Adventists do not necessarily interpret this as a sign that
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
would soon return, but traditional historic and conservative Adventists who hold
Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...
's writings in higher regard still consider this date as one of the fulfillments of biblical prophecy, specifically Matthew 24:29, in which Jesus declares to his disciples, "Immediately after the distress of those days
f anti-Christian persecution, F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. His ...
the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light..." ( NIV). Similarly, the
Public Universal Friend The Public Universal FriendOriginal spelling: ''the Publick Universal Friend''. Shortened forms: ''the Universal Friend'', ''the Friend'', or ''P.U.F.'' (born Jemima Wilkinson; November 29, 1752 – July 1, 1819) was an American preacher born ...
treated the event as fulfillment of some prophecies of the Book of Revelation. The Dark Day also provided motivation for
Ann Lee Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers. After nearly two decades of participation in a r ...
, leader of the
Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a millenarian restorationist Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the United States in the 1780s. They were initially ...
(then living in
Niskayuna, New York Niskayuna is a town in Schenectady County, New York, United States. The population was 23,278 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the southeast part of the county, east of the city of Schenectady, and is the easternmost town in the county. ...
), to present her religious testimony to the public.


Cause

The likely cause of the Dark Day was smoke from extensive forest fires, for which there is evidence from the time of the Dark Day. When a fire does not kill a tree and the tree later grows, scar marks are left in the
growth rings Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and at ...
. This makes it possible to approximate the date of a past fire. Researchers examining tree rings and fire scars in trees in the area that is today occupied by
Algonquin Provincial Park Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Can ...
in
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada, see evidence of a fire in 1780 and attribute the Dark Day to that.


See also

* Chinchaga Fire (1950, Canada)


References


Further reading

*


External links


May 2004 Weather Almanac entry
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150619083901/http://www.johnhorrigan.com/darkday.html What Caused New England's Dark Day?br>''WIRED'': Darkness at Noon Enshrouds New England
* * {{Cite news , first= Tom , last= de Castella , title= What Caused the Mystery of the Dark Day? , url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18097177 , work= BBC News Magazine , date= May 18, 2012 , access-date= May 18, 2012 1780 natural disasters 1780 in Canada 1780 in New York (state) 18th-century meteorology Anomalous weather Weather events in the United States 1780 in Massachusetts 1780 in Connecticut 1780 in New Jersey 1780s in Vermont 1780 in New Hampshire 1780s in Rhode Island 1780 in Maine 1780 disasters in the United States Apocalypticism