In the 1850 Atlantic hurricane season, three significant tropical cyclones affected land. Records of other storms are incomplete, since the Atlantic hurricane database goes back only to 1851. The first system struck North Carolina in July, causing significant damage before battering the Mid-Atlantic states. Rivers were flooded from Baltimore to northern New England, and 20 people were killed along the Schuylkill River. In August, a strong hurricane hit Havana, Cuba, before making landfall on the Florida Panhandle with an enormous storm surge. Coastal flooding was severe around Apalachicola. Abundant precipitation fell from Georgia through Virginia; one river swelled more than 20 feet (6 m) above its normal height. The storm toppled a railroad bridge near Halifax, North Carolina. Offshore, a pilot boat collided with a larger ship in the rough seas and sank. Considered the worst storm in nearly 30 years in the tidewater region of Virginia, the cyclone briefly reentered the Atlantic off New Jersey before making landfall over New England, with strong winds and moderate to heavy rains. In September, a hurricane brushed the coastline from New York to Cape Cod with gusty winds and appreciable rainfall, and later struck Atlantic Canada.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1850_Atlantic_hurricane_season

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

961:

The Muslim Emirate of Crete was conquered by the Byzantine Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Crete

1665:

The first joint Secretary of the Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg, publishes the first issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, the world's longest-running scientific journal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Crete

1853:

Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata premiered at Venice's La Fenice, but the performance was considered so bad that it caused the Italian composer to revise portions of the opera. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_traviata

1945:

Petru Groza of the Ploughmen's Front became the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated governments of Romania. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petru_Groza

1975:

Iran and Iraq signed the Algiers Agreement to settle a border dispute, only to begin fighting again five years later in the Iran–Iraq War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Algiers_Agreement

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

begorra: (Ireland) A mild minced oath; a euphemism for "by God". https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/begorra

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Even if a king defeats his enemy in battle, that still doesn't settle anything. There are other, less numerous armies of philosophers and scientists, and their contests determine the true triumph or defeat of nations. One scholar is matched with another; one creative mind with another; and one judicious temperament with his counterpart. A victory won on that field counts for three won by force of arms.   --Cyrano de Bergerac https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cyrano_de_Bergerac