U.S. Prohibition – 1933
By the time the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified more than half the states of America were…
The Dreyfus Affair – 1894-1906
For over a decade the Dreyfus Affair dominated French political and cultural life. It began with the rigged court martial…
Mont Pelée Eruption – 1902
The vibrant port city of St Pierre, or ‘Little Paris’, in the lush tropical paradise of Martinique, was the commercial…
The Great Galveston Hurricane – 1900
The port of Galveston is an island city. It sits at the east end of Galveston Island, an overgrown sandbar…
The Great White Hurricane – 1888
Nobody was prepared for what happened. In New York City and along the eastern seaboard the temperature at midday was…
The Great Fire of London – 1666
The Great Fire of London started in a pie shop on Pudding Lane, now commemorated by a 65 m (202…
Tropical Cyclones
Cyclonic storms are centers of low pressure with inward-spiraling winds that form where warm and cold air masses meet. Hurricanes…
Volcanic Eruptions
Somewhere on earth, a volcanic eruption is either happening or about to happen. About 1,500 of them have erupted at…
Understanding Floods
Floods are not as costly nor are they as destructive, on average, as earthquakes. At the same time, they are…
Predicting Earthquakes
In spite of the fact that we know now exactly what causes earthquakes, their sudden, repetitive appearance is as disturbing…