1755 Lisbon earthquake a benevolent deity. The Lisbon disaster provided a counterexample. As Theodor Adorno wrote, "[t]he earthquake of Lisbon sufficed to cure Voltaire of the theodicy of Leibniz" ("Negative Dialectics" 361). In the later twentieth century, the 1755 earthquake has sometimes been compared to the Holocaust as a catastrophe that transformed European culture and philosophy. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was also influenced by the devastation following the earthquake, whose severity he believed was due to too many people living within the close quarters of the city. Rousseau used the earthquake as an argument against cities as part of his desire for a more naturalistic
1857 Basilicata earthquake 1857 Basilicata earthquake The 1857 Basilicata earthquake (also known as the Great Neapolitan earthquake) occurred on December 16 in the Basilicata region of Italy southeast of the city of Naples. The epicentre was in Montemurro, on the western border of the modern province of Potenza. Several towns were destroyed, and estimated fatalities were around 10,000. At the time it was the third largest known earthquake, and has been estimated to have been of magnitude 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale. The principal shock occurred at about 10pm on December 16, 1857, and had been preceded by minor disturbances and was