An unprecedented late spring frost causes massive crop damage across the northern United States

Remarkably unseasonable temperatures below freezing were felt overnight in many of the northern states, particularly New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fruit and vegetables, along with wheat, corn, rye, and potatoes were lost. One memoir from northern Ohio related that "had a sheet of living flame passed over the earth the preceding night, the vegetation that covered its hills and valleys could not have presented a more desolate appearance." (By John Osborne)