Earthquake Felt in Washington, D.C

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Summary

Several days after an earthquake shakes Washington, D.C., in 1852, Joseph Henry circulates a list of questions to members of the Smithsonian's network of weather observers living in range of the quake. He suggests that its direction and intensity could be determined by observing the stain left on the sides of a bowl "by molasses or any viscid liquid."

Subject

Henry, Joseph 1797-1878

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

  • A slightly expanded version of Henry's circular on earthquakes, printed in 1855, can be found at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35809#253.
  • Smithsonian Annual Report for 1852, Washington, D.C., p. 74.
  • New York Daily Times, April 30, 1852, p. 1.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

April 29, 1852

Topic

  • Earthquakes
  • Seismology
  • Memorandums

Place

Washington (D.C.)

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