On This Day

What Happened in December 1804

Historical Events


Royal CoronationCoronation of Napoleon Bonaparte

Dec 2 General Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Emperor of the French at the Notre Dame de Paris in a ceremony officiated by Pope Pius VII

Learn More
Napoleon is crowned Emperor of the French at Notre-Dam on December 2, 1804, painting by Jacques-Louis David
Napoleon is crowned Emperor of the French at Notre-Dam on December 2, 1804, painting by Jacques-Louis David
Learn More

Electoral defeatElection of Interest

Dec 5 Thomas Jefferson re-elected US President, George Clinton Vice President

3rd US President Thomas Jefferson
3rd US President
Thomas Jefferson
US Vice President George Clinton
US Vice President
George Clinton

InventionScientific Discovery

Dec 7 Naturalist Alexander von Humboldt reports his discovery of the decrease in intensity of Earth's magnetic field from the poles to the equator in a memoir to the Paris Institute

Naturalist and Explorer Alexander von Humboldt
Naturalist and Explorer
Alexander von Humboldt

Famous Birthdays

  • Dec 10 Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician, born in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1851)
  • Dec 13 Joseph Howe, Canadian politician (3rd Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (d. 1873)
  • Dec 16 Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1889)

Person of interestBenjamin Disraeli

Dec 21 Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, British Prime Minister (Tory: 1868, 1874-80) and writer, born in London (d. 1881)

British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli
British Prime Minister
Benjamin Disraeli
  • Dec 23 Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French critic and writer (Informal Talk), born in Boulogne, France (d. 1869)

Famous Deaths

  • Dec 19 Mary Bright, British PM Rockingham, dies


What Happened in 1804