History of 2nd July- The flying Alligator
This article explores an intriguing incident from the history of July 2nd, specifically the year 1843 when an alligator reportedly fell from the sky during a thunderstorm in downtown Charleston. The narrative discusses the newspaper accounts and theories surrounding this peculiar event, leaving the possibility open for different explanations.
The first recorded history of 2nd July dates back to the year 311 when St. Miltiades begins his reign as Catholic Pope. Time goes on as we come to the year 1578 when English explorer Martin Frobisher sights Baffin Island. This is also the day when Netaji Subash Chandra Bose was arrested in connection with his involvement in the movement for the removal of the Holwell Monument in Calcutta. While in jail, he went on a hunger strike and was released in December 1940. This way the history of 2nd July has seen many events and incidents which are quite intriguing. I have chosen one incident from the history of 2nd July which I share with you today.
The flying Alligator
As per the records of the National Weather Service Charleston office, a peculiar incident took place on July 2, 1843, where there were accounts of an astonishing event during a thunderstorm in downtown Charleston: an alligator fell from the sky.
While investigating this intriguing occurrence, researchers stumbled upon an old newspaper clipping from the Time-Picayune in New Orleans. The Time-Picayune had republished an article originally featured in “The Charleston Mercury,” a local paper established by U.S. Representative Henry L. Pinckney.
According to the article, an intense thunderstorm occurred on an exceptionally hot Sunday in July. Although St. Paul’s Church was reportedly struck by lightning, it miraculously remained unharmed. The storm did not claim any human lives, but an intriguing incident unfolded after its passing—a sudden appearance of an alligator at the intersection of Wentworth and Anson Street in downtown Charleston.
While there were no eyewitness accounts of the alligator descending from the sky, the writer amusingly noted that “as he couldn’t have got there any other way, it was decided unanimously that he rained down.” The peculiar sight of the alligator, coupled with its expression of wonder and bewilderment, led people to entertain the notion that it had indeed descended from the heavens.
The prevailing hypothesis suggests that the alligator might have been lifted by a waterspout that formed over a nearby river or creek, only to be deposited on Anson Street as the spout dissipated. However, since nobody witnessed the alligator’s descent from the sky, it remains a possibility that it simply became disoriented in the torrential rain.
That’s all for today
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