The 1755 Lisbon earthquake took place on November 1, 1755, at 9:20 in
the morning. It was one of the most destructive and deadly earthquakes
in history, killing well over 100,000 people. The quake was followed
by a tsunami and fire, resulting in the near total destruction of
Lisbon. The earthquake accentuated political tensions in Portugal and
profoundly disrupted the country's 18th century colonial ambitions.
The event was widely discussed by European Enlightenment philosophers,
and inspired major developments in theodicy and in the philosophy of
the sublime. The first to be studied scientifically for its effects
over a large area, the quake signalled the birth of modern seismology.
Geologists today estimate the Lisbon earthquake approached magnitude 9
on the Richter scale, with an epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean about
200 km west-southwest of Cape St. Vincent.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1755_Lisbon_earthquake
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Today's selected anniversaries:
622:
Beginning of the Islamic calendar.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calendar)
1918:
Russian Revolution: Bolsheviks executed Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
and his family at Ekaterinburg.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russia)
1945:
Manhattan Project: "Trinity", the first nuclear test explosion, was
detonated near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_test)
1979:
Saddam Hussein took over as President of Iraq, succeeding Ahmed
Hassan al-Bakr.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein)
1994:
The planet Jupiter was hit by fragments of the Shoemaker-Levy 9
comet.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoemaker-Levy_9)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"By the declining day, lo! man is a state of loss, save those who
believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort
one another to endurance." -- The Qur'an, Surah 103
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Qur%27an)