On 19 May 1780, at midday near-total darkness unaccountably descended on much of New England. Candles were lit, fowls went to roost and many fearful persons believed that doomsday had arrived. At New Haven, Connecticut, Colonel Abraham Davenport opposed adjournment of the town council in these words: I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles maybe brought. No scientifically verifiable cause for this widespread phenomenon was ever discovered.
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