L'Aigle Meteorite Fall

Date: April 26, 1803 • Location: Rai, France

Thousands of meteor fragments fell over L'Aigle, France, becoming a milestone in the understanding of meteorites.

L'Aigle is a meteorite that fell on 26 April 1803 over L'Aigle, Lower Normandy, France, during a meteor shower. Before the event, meteorites were generally considered a superstition and were mistrusted by the scientific community. Ernst Chladni had theorised and published a book in 1794 saying that meteorites originated beyond Earth. Although some other meteor showers occurred, none sparked significant interest in investigating their origins until the L'Aigle event.