Stephen Decatur Burditt (1815 - 1834)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Stephen's lifetime.

In 1815, in the year that Stephen Decatur Burditt was born, between April 5th and 12th, Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies erupted, killing over 92,000 people and propelling volcanic ash into the upper atmosphere throughout the world. This caused what was called "The Year Without a Summer." In some places in the northern hemisphere, the eruption caused snow in June and July. There were widespread crop failures and resulting starvation in many parts of the world.

In 1820, he was just 5 years old when on March 4th, Maine became the 23rd state in the United States as the result of the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise allowed Maine to neither recognize nor permit slavery within the state while allowing the Missouri Territory to recognize and allow slavery.

In 1828, by the time he was only 13 years old, on September 17th, a typhoon - called the Siebold Typhoon because German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold was there and took measurements during the storm - killed over 14,000 people in Kyūshū, Japan. It was the greatest number of deaths in any storm in Japan.

In 1834, in the year of Stephen Decatur Burditt's passing, on July 15th, the Spanish Inquisition - which began in the 15th century - was abolished by the royal decree of Isabella II. The last known person to be hung by the Inquisition was Cayetano Ripoll - in 1826 - who was a school teacher. He was accused of teaching "deist principles" - which posits that God does not interfere directly with the world.