January 1, 1851 Earthquake: Switzerland
An earthquake struck Switzerland on January 1, 1851.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- January 1, 1851
- Place
- Switzerland
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 46.300° N, 8.000° E
- Country
- Switzerland
The toll
- Deaths
- Some (about 51 to 100)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 25, 1222, Brescia, Italy
- October 18, 1356, Basel, Switzerland
- March 11, 1584, Geneva-Yvoire, Switzerland
- October 9, 1828, Pavia, Italy
- September 18, 1601, Switzerland
- February 13, 1991, France
- March 11, 1817, Chamonix Valley, France
- April 2, 1808, Valley of Pellice, Chisone, Italy
- July 25, 1855, Haut-Valais, Switzerland
- December 9, 1755, Switzerland
- April 18, 1835, Switzerland
- January 18, 1155, Borgogne, Italy
- March 1616, Switzerland
- 1375, Switzerland
- March 14, 1584, Switzerland
More
Significant earthquakes of 1851The 1800sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 1907.