GoKawiil1883 Krakatau eruption became first globally tracked volcanic disaster via telegraph
When Krakatau erupted on August 27, 1883, obliterating most of three islands between Java and Sumatra, telegraph wires carried real-time reports of destruction across the world for the first time. More than 36,000 people died, mostly from tsunamis triggered by the explosion, while sulfur aerosols lofted into the atmosphere cooled Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures by roughly 0.6°C for years afterward.