May 20, 1737 Eruption of Vesuvius

Date

May 20, 1737

Volcano

Vesuvius, complex volcano

Country

Italy

Volcanic Explosivity Index

3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)

Killed by

Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts)

Location

40.821° N, 14.426° E

Deaths

2

Damage

Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)

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.

• March 27, 1944VEI 3 · 27 deaths
• April 4, 1906VEI 3 · 350 deaths · tsunami
• March 10, 1905VEI 2 · 1 death
• 18739 deaths
• April 24, 1872VEI 3 · 9 deaths
• May 1813VEI 2 · tsunami
• August 11, 1805VEI 2 · 4 deaths
• June 15, 1794VEI 3 · 400 deaths
• August 8, 1779VEI 3 · Deaths: few
• June 30, 1714tsunami
• May 1698VEI 3 · tsunami
• February 3, 1690VEI 3 · tsunami
• August 12, 1682VEI 3 · 4 deaths
• December 16, 1631VEI 5 · 4,000 deaths · tsunami
• 787VEI 3 · Deaths: few
• August 25, 79VEI 5 · 2,100 deaths · tsunami
• 2420 BCVEI 5

Every eruption in 1737The 1700sVesuviusEarthquakes near VesuviusThis day in weather history

Volcanoes and significant eruptions 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. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 17.