One evening as the summer of 1859 ended, a telegraph operator in Washington was shocked. An arc of flame burst from Frederick W Royce’s head to the equipment on his desk, and he passed out. His set was ablaze.
Wireless operators were being affected all over the world. “Everywhere the instruments were jammed,” reported the Sydney Morning Herald. Sparks from telegraph wires even created minor forest fires.
The operators suspected it was related to the spectacular aurora displays the world was enjoying that week, but they couldn’t be sure. “Red spires and clouds of green” were reported in Boston.
The sky was so bright that you could read a newspaper from Canada to New Zealand at night. The world was experiencing an electrical superstorm, which was considered a terrestrial phenomenon, a kind of high-altitude lightning.
Only when amateur astronomers like Richard Carrington, from his home-built observatory in Redhill, Surrey, began to compare notes over the next few days did the true cause become apparent. […]
— Read More: endtimeheadlines.org
