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The first person to study earthquakes was Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop, who's often referred to as the "Father of Seismology." -
Scottish geologist David Milne suggested the idea of a machine that could measure seismic activity. -
It was David Milne who coined the word "seismometer" to describe an instrument designed by James David Forbes that responds to ground noises and shaking. -
The first time-recording seismograph was built in Italy, this device was used to measure the time between each seismic wave. -
Robert Mallet, an engineer from Ireland, studied and developed theories about earthquakes. His original thought was that an earthquake moved outward from a central focal point. -
American geologist Karl Gilbert discovered that earthquakes occur near fault lines. -
Horizontal pendulums, used as a seismograph, recorded an earthquake in Japan from Germany.
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The first seismograph in North America is installed at Lick Observatory near San Jose, California. -
A seismologist named Giuseppe Mercalli created a device to measure the intensity or likelihood of damage that may be caused by an earthquake. -
The boundary between the Earth's crust and the mantle. It is defined by the distinct change in velocity of seismological waves as they pass through changing densities of rock. -
Charles Richter makes the Richter Scale to determine the magnitude of earthquakes using numerical values.