Vesuvius
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Vesuvius. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
2026 Editor's Note: This passage is written in a phonetic dialect used to caricature Black speech — a convention that is offensive by today's standards. It has been left exactly as printed to preserve the historical record of how such caricature appeared in everyday books. (Ed: ET 2026-07-22) a volcanic mountain in the Bay of Naples; supposed to have been heaved up from the submarine level where it was formed. Besides the shells which indicate its sea origin, it contains erratic blocks of limestone from the higher Apennine offshoot, Monte Somma, which, in an irregular semicircle, surrounds it on the N. and E. The latter was the seat of volcanic activity long before Vesuvius, which first (A. D. 63) became convulsed by earthquakes, repeated at intervals till 79, in which year occurred its earliest known eruption. MOUNT VESUVIUS This was followed by others, of which the more memorable are that in 472, when its ashes alighted in Constantinople; in 512, when they were wafted to Tripoli; in 1036; and in 1500; after which ensued a period of inaction, broken in December, 1631, by a destructive outbreak which denuded the mountain of the forest growth with which it had become clothed. The 18th century witnessed many of its eruptions, the most remarkable being that of 1793, when a lava stream 12 to 40 feet thick swept over Torre del Greco and penetrated the sea to a distance of 380 feet, by which time its volume was 1,204 feet wide and 15 feet high. This stream was so liquid that to leave the crater and enter the sea-a journey of 4 miles took only six hours. Another memorable outbreak was that of 1822, when the so-called "smoke" from the crater rose to a height of 10,000 feet, emitting flashes of lightning, raining torrents of hot water, and flooding the villages of S. Sebastiano and Massa. In 1855 occurred a terrible eruption, in which the summit of the cone discharged a lava stream which ravaged the fertile and highly cultivated region below. On Dec. 8, 1861, Torre del Greco suffered severely from another visitation, surpassed in turn by that of 1871-1872, when the sudden emission of lava from a crater of 1855 killed 20 spectators on the spot. S. Sebastiano and Massa were again greatly damaged, the cone threw up fragments of rock to a height of 4,000 feet, and the explosions were so loud that the whole countryside fled panic stricken to Naples. Another outbreak occurred in April, 1906, and endangered several villages with lava streams. From the observations of many years the following characteristics of the volcanic activity of Vesuvius have been summarized by Professor Palmieri: (1) The filling up of the crater portends an imminent eruption, and its full discharge is followed by a period of repose. (2) The narrowing of the mouth of the crater by accumulated debris impedes the flow of the lava, and this impediment leads to the outburst of lateral openings which from their greater proximity to the source of heat emit the lava in a more liquid condition, whereby its flow becomes that of a continuous stream. (3) When the internal channel is blocked by solid débris, the effort of the elastic vapor to clear it is supposed to cause the earthquakes by which the greater eruptions are preceded and accompanied. (4) What is called "smoke" from the crater is simply steam more or less blackened with incinerated dust. When the dust is in excess it accelerates the fall of the steam, which, having become water by condensation, descends like a mud torrent, flooding the ground. This was a notable feature of the visitation in which Pompeii perished. (5) During an eruption what appears as flame shooting out of the crater is really the reflection of the molten lava within the crater on the steam and upon the ashes suspended in the steam accumulated above it. (6) The rapid condensing of vapor into water, and the conversion of this into steam, generates electricity, which explains the lightningeffects visible on the edges of the clouds overhanging the crater. Vesuvius is reckoned by geologists the most instructive object lesson on volcanoes in general, and the University of Naples, by an admirable assortment of specimens of its structure, has greatly facilitated its study. Professor Secchi numbers 40 species of minerals found in it, of which augite, hornblende, mica, sodalite, breislakite, magnetic iron, and leucite are the most abundant. The fertility of its slopes, since Martial's famous epigram on the destruction of Pompeii, has passed into a proverb, its chief product being wine called the Lacrima Christi. Its observatory (1844) has acquired a European reputation from the meteorologist Melloni, and still more from his successor, Professor Palmieri, who directed it with equal sagacity, skill and daring from 1854 till his death in 1882. The so-called railway, but rather cable road, from the base to near the summit, was opened in 1880. See PoMPEII.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a noted volcano. It is situated near the east shore of the Bay of Naples, about ten miles from the city of that name. It is the best known volcano in the world. It stands alone in the plain. It has a conical shape and is about 4,000 feet high. Prior to 79 it was not active. Its slopes and even its whole crater were covered with vineyards. In that year, however, a tremendous eruption of volcanic dust, stones, and pumice took place, overwhelming the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii at the foot. The elder Pliny, who commanded the Roman fleet in that vicinity, sailed near to aid the inhabitants, and was suffocated by fumes of sulphur. No less than sixty considerable explosions and many small ones have taken place since. At times it has been feared that the entire mountain would fall in. In 472 ashes from Vesuvius were wafted as far as Constantinople. In 1779 enormous masses of rock were thrown out. One block is said to be 108 feet in circumference. In 1822 three-fourths of the crater was broken off, but it has been built up again by subsequent eruptions. A violent eruption took place in 1904. Vesuvius is the most visited of all volcanoes. During times of comparative rest it is reached from Naples. The ascent is rendered easy by a combination of rack-and-pinion and cable road that leads almost to the top. Tourists are guided to the summit and even to a considerable depth within the crater. See Pliny ; Pompeii ; Volcano ; Etna ; Stromboli The Interior After the Eruption of 1906. Crater of Vesuvius 2026 Editor's Note: Vesuvius had erupted in 1906 — deadly enough to move the 1908 Olympics from Rome to London — fresh context for this entry's respect. See Vesuvius . (Ed: BR 2026-07-03)