1816 - Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death

Two hundred years ago, in 1816 is known as the 'Year Without a Summer", due to extreme fluctuating temperatures which made growing crops virtually impossible.  Other names assigned to this dark year were, "Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death", "The Poverty Year", "The Summer that Never Was" and, the "Year There Was No Summer".  

Paricutin volcano erupting in Mexico - Image credit:  mexicoimportarts.com.au

In New England, the "Dark Veil" anomaly prevailed, as 6 inches of snow fell on June 6th, and there was a impenetrable frost during every other normal summer month.  During July and August, temperatures fell to as low as 40 degrees, which caused the inability to raise crops and resulted in farmers charging exorbitant prices or, people hoarded what they had. 

Some went hungry and some farmers even left New England to try their luck in the west.  Snow fell the following day, in Boston, which was the latest time ever recorded.  On June 8th, in Cabot, Vermont 18 inches of snow blanketed the ground.  

The New England Historical Society states, "On June 11, a temperature of 30.5 degrees was recorded in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Frozen birds dropped dead in the streets of Montreal. Lambs died from exposure in Vermont."  Then, just 11 days later, temperatures soared to 101 degrees in Salem, Massachusetts, and then plummeted between 30 to 40 degrees around the region, during the beginning of July. 

An unrelenting "dry fog" persisted which gave the skies a reddish hue and sunlight was weak and subdued.  People were able to observe sunspots by the naked eye.  Winds blew, and rain fell but it didn't lift the fog.  Temperatures dramatically soared, and then fell to freezing within hours.  

Here in the east, people were fearful of famine and rightfully so, as the railroad from the west had not been operating so they were unable to share the stocks from their granaries, so the east did what they could in their own communities to simply eat.  But, the effects were felt across the world.  

Remarkably, it gave rise to the growing and production of opium in China.  After their crops failed, they found new prosperity in this trade. 

The origin of this strange year was the result of a volcanic eruption, that occured in April, 1815 (designated as the most powerful eruption in recorded history) at Mount Tabor, in Indonesia.  

Image source: eh-resources.org

The Tambora volcano registered a 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index whose measurements are from 0 to 8, with 8 considered a "mega-colossal" event.  To compare this to other historical eruptions, Mount St. Helen's and Mount Vesuvius (Pompeii) registered as a 5.   It was reported that the mountain summit site was viewed up to 370 miles away, as nothing but pitch blackness for about 2 days.

Billions of tons of gas, ash and debris were expelled from the violent explosion, and lingered in the atmosphere which caused the severe oscillation of temperatures, lingering fog and the ability to see sun spots.  It is assumed that at the time of the eruption, possibly hundreds of thousands of people died from the pyroclastic lava lows which extended up to 12 miles surrounding the site.  Tsunami waves crashed onto shore at heights up to 13 feet.  Sulfurous gas and falling ash likely choked people to death. 

This natural disaster likely slowed the Indian monsoon, which is the world's largest weather system, encouraging drought due to the devastation of crops, and inevitably brought disease.  A breakout of a deadly strain of cholera, developed in the Bay of Bengal as the volcano actually altered the microbial ecology in the surrounding seas and mutated into a new strain. It began to affect the local population and then spread into Asia.  The disease continued it's path around the globe and, before all was "said and done", an estimated death toll was in the tens of millions.  

Fortunately, the global climate change lasted about 2 years.  The ash and debris settled back onto the earth's surface, and the sun's radiation slowly returned to normal.   Tomorrow is Christmas, 2016, and I can't help but wonder if the phrase "Christmas in July" was the result of this phenomenon?

mentalfloss.com gives 3 additional facts about this horrible year:

"CROP FAILURES FURTHER HARMED A FOUNDING FATHER.  We don’t normally think of leaders of the United States as individuals without money—especially in current times, it’s common for candidates to require vast personal wealth in order to seek the highest office in the land. In the early days of the United States, however, this wasn’t always the case. Thomas Jefferson lived most of his life deeply in debt, and the summer of 1816 didn’t help. That year’s extreme weather caused Jefferson’s crops to fail for several years afterward, heavily contributing to the Founding Father’s already-considerable debt. Jefferson never recovered financially, and he lived the waning years of his life in debt that would equal millions of dollars in 2016."

"THE YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER HELPED GIVE US THE BICYCLE.  When crops failed as a result of the extreme weather in 1816, it wasn’t only humans that suffered without food. The failed harvests sent the price of oats soaring, making it harder and more expensive for individuals to afford to keep horses for transportation. Looking for a new way to get around, Karl Drais invented a device called a “Laufmaschine,” or a “running machine.” The contraption is very similar to the bicycle we know and love today—instead of using pedals, however, you operated it with your feet Fred Flintstone-style."

"THE COOL DOWN LED TO ARCTIC EXPLORATION.  Weather exists as nature’s way of trying to balance out the atmosphere. When one part of the world experiences extreme weather, somewhere nearby is often experiencing the opposite weather to balance it out. When much of the world experienced a cool-down in the wake of Mount Tambora’s eruption, the Arctic warmed up, and it warmed up enough that it cleared the sea ice and allowed British explorers to map out the area and hunt for the Northwest Passage."

Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley

Wilson A.  Bentley, who lived in Jericho, Vermont, was the first person to photograph individual snow crystals (snowflakes) through a microscope, and coined the phrase that "no two snowflakes are alike."  1865-1931

As a young boy, he was delighted by the world around him in the green hills and bucolic valleys of Vermont.  

He apparently loved all of nature to include watching butterflies, looking at spider webs and so on, but especially liked the rain and the snow.


 In fact, he loved all aspects of weather and actually kept a life long weather diary. 

He was given the nickname "Snowflake Bentley", as he spent an obsessive amount of time collecting snowflakes to examine under a microscope.  Bently, a self-educated man, pioneered a new means of photography, as his greatest desire was to capture the beauty of each individual flake on film.  

The idea of rigging his microscope to a bellows camera was how he thought this may be possible.  Lo and behold! In 1885, when he was just 20 years old, his trial and error had paid off and he became the first person to capture an individual snowflake on a glass plate photograph. From his work, the term and science of "photomicrography" (micro-photography) was born.  

Incidentally, his first microscope was a birthday gift from his mother at the age of fifteen.  He had never attended public schools until he was 14 years old, as his mother was a former school teacher and gave him his lessons at home.  

Upon reading several articles dedicated to Bentley's life, I think it would be safe to say that his mother bestowed upon him a love of nature, and provided the nurturing support that encouraged this unique study.  

You can read some of his own touching words and thoughts, on the Jericho Historic Society's website dedicated to Snowflake Bentley. 

You will also discover the groundwork he did around another atmospheric phenomena:  Rain.  Precisely: measuring rain.... fascinating!   Click here:  

Very simply, the genius of his studies was the fact that he was able to conclude that almost all snowflakes have six sides, and very rare ones have only three. 

He expected that all snowflakes would essentially be the same, but the more he examined and captured with his camera, he was able to confirm that each was different.  

One must consider this work in it's context, both scientifically and artistically.  Imagine, trying to capture a tiny melting snowflake under a microscope, with a camera attached.  A snowflake is fleeting, so the fact that he spent over 40 years to record over 5,000 individual snow crystals is really amazing, for the intricate detail of each plate is truly something to behold!

"Bentley stood in the winter cold for hours at a time; waiting patiently until he caught falling flakes. Once a snowflake landed, he carefully handled it with a feather to place it under the lens. The apparatus was set up outside so that the delicate specimens would not melt, and after a minute and a half exposure, he captured the image of a snowflake." - Source: siarchives.si.edu/history (Smithsonian Institute)

Bentley teamed up with William J. Humphrey who worked with the U.S. Weather Bureau as a physicist, published a book entitled, "Snow Crystals", in which they shared over 2,300 photographic plates of the subject book.  

He generously shared his tiny masterpieces with universities and colleges around the world.  He published approximately 60 magazines and journals articles showing the study of his work to include information about dew, frost and rain.  

His photographs and important work were published in notable magazines such as Scientific American and the National Geographic.  

Tiffany and Co.,  even bought a few of his plates to develop jewelry designs.
  

Snowflake Bentley knew the importance of his work, and in 1903 donated 500 of his plates to the Smithsonian Institution to protect them (snow photographs) "beyond all possibility of loss and destruction, through fire and accident."  Today, his photographs remain in their archives to preserve and protect them from any such disaster. 

Wilson's grave marker

"Of all the forms of water the tiny six-pointed crystals of ice called snow are incomparably the most beautiful and varied." -- Wilson Bentley

 Ironically, after enduring so many days out of doors in the winter, Bentley died in his family farmhouse in 1931 after walking through a blizzard where he developed pneumonia, from which he never recovered.  

And now when you see the snowfall, or hang a snowflake ornament on your Christmas tree, or perhaps cut out a paper snowflake with a child, I hope you will think of Wilson Bentley and the gift he brought to us.  For without him, perhaps we would have never known these timeless and beautiful creations of nature.

Publications and links found on the Smithsonian Institute:

Popular Mechanics:

http://siarchives.si.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/WAB_Popular_Mechanics.pdf

The Life and death of Snowflake Bentley:

http://siarchives.si.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/WAB_Obituary.pdf

From the town of Jericho:  http://snowflakebentley.com/

On Frost: http://siarchives.si.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/WAB_Frost.pdf

Search: http://library.ssec.wisc.edu/bentley/search.php?job=search

Amazing photos:  http://www.snowcrystals.com/photos/photos.html

Vermont State Historic Marker, Jericho, Vermont

Image sources: icr.org/article/snowflake-bentley-science-man-god/; Tiffany and Co.; auntieannie; google images