Solar Eclipses Throughout History

Abstract

Eclipses have occurred throughout human history, creating awe and fear whenever people observed them. They still create awe, if not fear. It’s fun to read about past eclipses, so I’ve collected accounts of some recorded by a number of chroniclers who were not astronomers, although some had interest in what was happening in the sky. Today, “historical” eclipses refer to those before the invention of the tele- scope in 1608. Every eclipse after that date, then, must be a “modern” one, at least in the astronomical sense. Because this chapter deals with past eclipses, I chose to illustrate it with draw- ings and photographs from my collection of 19th-century books.