On 8 September 1900 a hurricane with winds of about 220 km/h and a storm surge of more than four metres overwhelmed the island city of Galveston, Texas, whose highest point was only about 2.7 metres above sea level. Between 6,000 and 12,000 people died, making it the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. Most of the city's buildings were destroyed. Warnings from Cuban meteorologists had been ignored by the US Weather Bureau. Galveston built a 5-metre seawall and raised the level of the city by up to 5 metres, an engineering feat, which protected it in later storms.
Before and after
- 29 June 1900Birth of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- 4 August 1900Birth of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
- 25 August 1900Death of Friedrich Nietzsche
- 1 September 1900Publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- 8 September 1900The Galveston hurricane
- 7 October 1900Birth of Heinrich Himmler
- 8 November 1900Birth of Margaret Mitchell
- 30 November 1900Death of Oscar Wilde
- 14 December 1900Max Planck introduces the quantum
More in Earth & climate
- 25 September 1890Establishment of Sequoia National Park
- 1906Establishment of Mesa Verde National Park
- 18 April 19061906 San Francisco earthquake
- 14 September 1907Establishment of Jasper National Park
- 11 May 1910Establishment of Glacier National Park
- 6 June 1912Eruption of Novarupta
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.