Historical Events in 1811

Appointment of Interest

Feb 5 Prince George, Prince of Wales, later George IV, is appointed as Prince-Regent after his father King George III is recognized as insane due to mental illness

King of Great Britain and Ireland George III

Feb 11 President Madison prohibits trade with Britain for 3rd time in 4 years
Feb 20 Austria declares bankruptcy
Mar 1 Egyptian king Muhammad Ali Pasha oversees ceremonial murder of 500
Mar 1 French Civil Code of Criminal law accepted by Netherlands Mamelukes in Cairo's Citadel
Mar 25 Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from the University of Oxford for his publication of the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism
Apr 12 1st US colonists on Pacific coast arrive at Cape Disappointment, Washington
May 14 Paraguay gains independence from Spain (National Day)
May 16 Peninsular War: Allies defeat French at Albuera
May 18 Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay lead by Jose Artigas

Venezuela Declares Independence

Jul 5 Venezuelan Declaration of Independence: 7 provinces declare themselves independent of Spain

A painting by Martin Tovar y Tovar depicting Venezuelan deputies signing the declaration

Avogadro’s Law

Jul 11 Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro publishes his memoir on the molecular content of gases

Jul 27 Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Spanish Catholic priest, and leader Mexican independence, defrocked and excommunicated by the church
Jul 30 Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican insurgency, is executed after being found guilty of treason by the Spanish military in Chihuahua, Mexico

Invasion of Java

Sep 18 British East India Company force led by Baron Minto conquers Java, part of the Dutch East Indies, Stamford Raffles appointed lieutenant governor

British Statesman and Founder of Singapore Stamford Raffles

Event of Interest

Oct 6 French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte visits Utrecht

Oct 11 The Juliana, 1st steam-powered ferryboat, begins operation

Event of Interest

Oct 28 First known purchase of Jane Austen's novel "Sense and Sensibility" by the Prince Regent (later George IV), a fan

Oct 29 1st Ohio River steamboat leaves Pittsburgh for New Orleans
Nov 5 El Salvador's 1st battle against Spain for independence

Battle of Tippecanoe

Nov 7 Battle of Tippecanoe: Gen. William Henry Harrison defeats the Native Americans of the Tecumesh Confederation

General and 9th US President William Henry Harrison

Nov 9 Karol Kurpiński's opera "Lucifer's Palace" premieres at the Warsaw Opera
Nov 11 Cartagena Colombia declares independence from Spain

Coup d'état in Chile

Nov 15 José Miguel Carrera takes control of the Chilean government in a coup d’état becoming the country's first President

General and President of Chile José Miguel Carrera

Dec 16 Earthquake hits New Madrid, Missouri, causing widespread damage
Dec 26 A theater fire in Richmond, Virginia kills the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable.