1755 Cape Ann earthquake
The 1755 Cape Ann earthquake happened off the coast of British Province of Massachusetts Bay (present-day Massachusetts) on 18 November 1755. The maximum Mercalli intensity was VIII (Severe). At between 6.0 and 6.3 on the Richter scale, it was one of the biggest earthquakes in the history of Massachusetts. No one was killed, but damaged hundreds of buildings in Boston. People felt the shaking as far north as Nova Scotia and as far south as South Carolina. Even sailors on a ship over 200 miles away thought their ship was running aground at first.