Too Long; Didn't Read

The amount of destruction of life and property by lightning, or rather electrical discharges, has been very great throughout the world. It is estimated that at least 45 persons are killed annually by lightning in this country. The average number of deaths by lightning has been 22 in England, 9 in Switzerland, 3 in Belgium, and 75 in France. In France alone, during a period of thirty years, over 10,000 persons were smitten, of which 2,252 were instantly killed. Eighty were wounded and 9 killed during one thunderstorm at Châteauneuf les Montiers in 1861, and within one week, when the air was highly charged with electricity, thirty-three fearful flashes of lightning were observed, each bringing death to some victims. During the sixteen years between 1799 and 1816, 156 vessels of the British navy were struck by lightning; 73 men were killed and 138 injured, and the loss of materials amounted to over a million dollars; but since the system of metallic conductors, adapted for vessels, devised by Sir W. Snow Harris, has been applied to the vessels in that navy, the losses and damages by lightning have almost entirely ceased, although the number of vessels has been greatly increased.