The 1750 Halifax and New England Earthquake-Light Tradition

Record summary

Accounts surrounding the 1750 earthquake affecting Halifax and parts of New England are a possible source for reports of unusual lights, glows, or electrical effects associated with seismic disturbance. The lead matters because “earthquake lights” occupy a contested boundary between historical testimony, atmospheric explanation, and later folklore. Researchers should identify the exact eighteenth-century diary, newspaper, or scientific compilation rather than rely on modern lists. The earthquake is historical; whether any reported luminosity was actually observed, and what it represented, requires careful source criticism.