A paper written by Benjamin Franklin in 1783 blamed the unusually cool summer of 1783 on
volcanic dust coming from Iceland, where the eruption of Laki volcano had released enormous amounts of sulfur dioxide, resulting in the death of much of the island's livestock and a catastrophic famine which killed a quarter of the Icelandic population.
Natural aerosols
come from forest fires, mineral
dust kicked up by sandstorms, sea spray and
volcanic eruptions, among other things.