May 28, 1900 — The first total solar eclipse of the 20th century. A group of scientists from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (based in Washington, DC, at the time) headed to Wadesboro, North Carolina, to view the eclipse. The scientists hoped to capture photographic proof of a solar corona. Photographer Thomas William Smillie (1843–1917) rigged cameras to seven telescopes and successfully made eight glass-plate negatives of the eclipse. Smillie was the first official photographer for the Smithsonian and the first official curator of the Smithsonian's photography collection.
June 8, 1918 — The path of totality started south of Japan, crossing the Pacific Ocean, on June 9 (Sunday), then crossed the contiguous United States on June 8 (Saturday). The path of the eclipse just clipped Washington state, before moving across Oregon and ending over Florida and the British Bahamas (now Bahamas). Total solar eclipses seldom traverse the continental United States. The 1918 eclipse was viewable across the entire contiguous United States — an event that would not occur again until the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. The 1918 eclipse, the 2017 eclipse and the 2023 annular eclipse all made landfall in Oregon. In addition, a blue-white star appeared in the developed photographic plates of the eclipse. The new star was observed in the constellation Aquila, comprising a white dwarf and donor low-mass star.
September 10, 1923 — The path of totality started in the Kuril Islands and crossed the Pacific Ocean. The eclipse was visible at approximately 90% on the Southern California coast in Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Point Concepcion, and the Channel Islands. It then traversed northern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, British Honduras (today's Belize), Honduras, and ended over Colombia.
January 24, 1925 — Totality was visible in southeastern Quebec and Toronto, in Canada. In the US, the eclipse was visible across the Great Lakes and Niagara Falls. It could be seen in Northern Pennsylvania, Northern New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The eclipse was visible in Upstate New York and the northern part of New York City. It was said that eclipse viewers who were north of 96th Street in Manhattan saw a total solar eclipse while those south of 96th Street saw a partial eclipse.
August 31, 1932 — The path of the total solar eclipse started north of Siberia and passed within about 300 miles of the north pole. Totality was visible in Canada over the Northwest Territories and Quebec. In the US, the eclipse crossed over northeastern Vermont, New Hampshire, southwestern Maine, northeastern tip of Massachusetts and northeastern Cape Cod.
July 9, 1945 — The path of totality was approximately 560 miles long and 30 miles wide. Most of this eclipse was not visible because its path covered the northernmost regions. It started in Boise, Idaho, and proceeded northeast over Butte, Montana, across Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, and ending near the city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in the western Soviet Union. This eclipse is notable because it occurred during final stage of WWII. On July 17, the Potsdam Conference was held to plan the end of the war.
The 1945 eclipse crossed an area west of Lake Winnipeg that was also in the path of the July 20, 1963, eclipse. These two eclipses are separated by 6585.33 days, which is the interval between eclipses, known as the Saros cycle.
June 30, 1954 — The total solar eclipse began at sunrise in Nebraska and traversed South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin before crossing over Canada, southern Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It then proceeded to cross Norway, Sweden, and eastern Europe. It crossed over Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and ended in northwestern India.
October 2, 1959 — The eclipse started in Boston, Massachusetts, and moved across the southern tip of New Hampshire, across the Atlantic Ocean and the African Continent. The eclipse was rained out in the US, but a few photographers were able to capture the eclipse from airplanes above the clouds. A partial eclipse was visible over the UK, ranging from approximately 20% in Northern Scotland to 40% in South West Cornwall.
July 20, 1963 — On July 21, totality was visible from Japan and the Kuril Islands in the Soviet Union (now Russia). On July 20, the eclipse crossed Alaska, most of Canada, and exited the US in Maine. In the Peanuts comic strip published July 15–20, 1963, Linus demonstrated a safe way to observe the eclipse, without harming your eyes. Tragically, on the day of the eclipse, Linus was left standing in the rain, unable to view the eclipse. The eclipse played an important role in Stephen King’s novels Gerald's Game (1992) and Dolores Claiborne (1992). It is also mentioned in John Updike’s novel Couples (1968), and it was featured in an episode of Mad Men (“Seven Twenty Three,” Season 3, 2009).
March 7, 1970 — During the Vietnam War (1955–1975). The eclipse was visible in southern Mexico and along the east coast of North America. The first US municipality in the path of the eclipse was Perry, Florida. Inclement weather obstructed the viewing for most of the southern states. The eclipse slowed a radio transmission of atomic time from North Carolina to Washington, DC. The duration of totality over the contiguous US was unrivaled for 54 years, until the April 8, 2024, which had a greater duration of totality over the contiguous US.
July 10, 1972 — The total eclipse began in the Sea of Okhotsk and traversed the far eastern portions of the Soviet Union (now Russia), as well as northern Alaska, and Northern Canada. A partial eclipse was visible over the eastern United States. The eclipse is referenced in Carly Simon's 1972 hit song “You're So Vain” — released four months after the eclipse.
February 26, 1979 — The last total solar eclipse of the 20th Century was visible in the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Greenland. The eclipse was 99.6% total in Spokane (eastern Washington). Totality covered almost the entire state of Montana, and parts of northwestern North Dakota. It was visible across most of North America.
August 21, 2017 — The 2017 total solar eclipse was exclusive to the US. It did not cross any other country.
Sources:
Solar Eclipses on Wikipedia: June 24, 1778. October 27, 1780. June 16, 1806. July 18, 1860. Aug. 7, 1869. July 29, 1878. May 28, 1900. Sept. 10, 1923. Jan. 24, 1925. Aug. 31, 1932. July 10, 1972. Feb. 26, 1979.
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