The history of noise pollution

From ancient Greece to Silencio

6th century BCE

First known noise ordinance: The council of the province of Sybaris, a Greek colony in the Aegean, rules that potters, tinsmiths, and other tradesmen must live outside the city walls because of the noise they make. They ban roosters, too.

5th century BCE

Hippocrates is the first clearly to identify tinnitus- the ringing in the ears often caused by prolonged exposure to noise.

44 BCE

Julius Caesar rules that ‘no one shall drive a wagon along the streets of Rome or along those streets in the suburbs where there is continuous housing after sunrise or before the tenth hour of the night

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15th century

First references to London as a noisy city.

1595

London bye-law forbids any "suddaine out-cry... in the still of the Night, as making any affray, or beating his Wife, or servant, or singing, or revelling in his house, to the Disturbaunce of his neighbours."

1660s

The megaphone is invented almost simultaneously by Samuel Morland in England and Athanasius Kircher in Germany

1713

Bernadini Ramazzini, an Italian physician, ascribes the cause of the deafness of Venetian coppersmiths to their trade - the first such link to be published.

1717

Church of St Mary-le-Strand completed in London. To exclude street noise, it has no ground-floor windows.

1770s

James Watt's steam-engine is a significant improvement on its predecessor, accelerating the industrial revolution, which in turn brings about the most significant increases in noise in history.

1831

First authoritative reference to noise as a health problem: Dr John Fosbroke, writing in the Lancet, states that ‘blacksmiths’ deafness is a consequence of employment’

1864

Following a prolonged campaign by London intellectuals including Charles Babbage, Charles Dickens and the MP Michael Bass, the Act for the Better Regulation of Street Music in the Metropolis become law.

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1886

First quantitative study of noise induced hearing loss, by Dr Thomas Barr. He studies the loss of hearing in Glaswegian boiler-makers. On average, they can hear quiet sounds at just one-tenth the distance at which those with normal hearing can.

1890s

The world’s first Society for the Suppression of Noise is formed in London. Its principal target is the newly-invented motor horn.

1920s

The decibel is developed

1950s

Jet planes proliferate, adding a significant new noise source to the world.

1957

The Chicago Zoning Ordinance is the first noise ordinance in the world to specify maximum noise levels.

1960

John Connell's Noise Abatement Society succeeds in having noise accepted as statutory nuisance for the first time (through the Noise Abatement Act)

1969

UNESCO’s International Music Council declares ‘the right of everyone to silence, because of the abusive use, in private and public places, of recorded or broadcast music’ ;

1975

Arlien Bronzaft shows that the performance of students is adversely affected by environmental noise

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1989

New Noise at Work Regulations introduce an effective system of ‘action levels', involving both employer and employee in the process of noise projection ; In Panama US troops use a noise barrage (including Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up") in an attempt to drive General Noriega from the ‘Nuncio’ where he had sought sanctuary

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2002

The European Noise Directive requires all member states to construct noise maps of all major conurbations and transportation routes, and to develop action plans.

2023

Silencio becomes a solution for targeting noise pollution world wide with the aim of becoming the biggest citizen science project in the world and improving the quality of life of millions

Source:

Goldsmith, M. (2020). History of noise. Mike Goldsmith Acoustics, science writing, environment. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://mikegoldsmith.weebly.com/history-of-noise.html

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