Events in History
- Jan 1 1st edition of New Rotterdam's Daily (3x per week)
- Jan 15 University of Notre Dame receives its charter in Indiana
- Jan 25 Recontre between Reps Weller & Shriver, US House of Representative
Historic Expedition
Feb 14 John C. Frémont and his party become the first Europeans to discover Lake Tahoe during his second expedition through the American West
Kit Carson
- Feb 27 Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti (National Day)
- Feb 28 12-inch gun aboard USS Princeton explodes, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer, and other high-ranking U.S. federal officials
- Mar 8 King Oscar I ascends to the throne of Sweden-Norway
- Mar 21 Origin of Baha'i Era-Baha'i calendar starts here (Baha 1, 1)
- Mar 21 The original date predicted by William Miller of Massachusetts for the return of Christ and the end of the world
- Mar 28 Jose Zorilla's "Don Juan Tenorio" premieres in Madrid
- Apr 12 Texan envoys sign Treaty of Annexation with the United States
Presidential Convention
May 1 Whig convention nominates Henry Clay as presidential candidate
Henry Clay
Historic Communication
May 24 Samuel Morse taps out "What hath God wrought" in the world's first telegraph message
Samuel Morse
- May 25 1st telegraphed news dispatch is published in Baltimore Patriot
Event of Interest
Jun 6 Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) formed by George Williams in London
George Williams
Historic Invention
Jun 15 Charles Goodyear patents the vulcanization of rubber
Charles Goodyear
Event of Interest
Aug 8 Brigham Young chosen as head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following the death of Joseph Smith
Brigham Young
Event of Interest
Oct 1 German explorer Ludwig Leichhardt departs Jimbour, the farthest outpost of settlement on the Queensland Darling Downs, to begin his exploration of Australia's Northern Territory from Moreton Bay to Port Essington
Ludwig Leichhardt
Election of Interest
Dec 4 James Knox Polk elected 11th US President
James Knox Polk
Birthdays in History
- Jan 7 Marie-Bernarde Soubirous [St Bernadette of Lourdes], saint/visionary
- Jan 16 Ismail Qemali, Albanian nationalist (d. 1919)
- Jan 30 Moritz von Bissing, German gov-gen of Belgium (1914-17), born in Ober Bellmannsdorf, Prussia (d. 1917)
- Feb 1 Eduard Adolf Strasburger, German botanist (Angiospermen)
- Feb 1 Granville Stanley Hall, American psychologist
- Feb 17 Aaron Montgomery Ward, American retailer, founded mail-order business (Montgomery Ward), born in Chatham, New Jersey (d. 1913)
- Feb 18 Willem Maris, Dutch painter (Hague School)
- Feb 20 Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (statistical mechanics)
- Feb 20 Joshua Slocum, Canadian-American seaman and adventurer, born in Mount Hanley, Nova Scotia (d. 1909)
- Feb 20 Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (thermodynamics), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1906)
- Mar 2 Dr. Schaepman [Herman Schaepman], Dutch poet, Roman Catholic priest, theologian, and politician
- Mar 4 Josip Jurcic, Slovenian writer (10th Brother)
- Mar 7 Anthony Comstock, American anti-vice crusader/philatelist, born in New Canaan, Connecticut (d. 1915)
- Mar 14 Umberto I of Italy, King of Italy (1878-1900), born in Turin, Italy (d. 1900)
- Mar 19 Minna Canth, Finland, playwright (The Pastor's Family) and social activist
- Mar 27 Adolphus Washington Greely, American Arctic explorer and recipient of the Medal of Honor, born in Newburyport, Massachusetts (d. 1935)
- Mar 30 Paul M Verlaine, French lyric poet (Sagesse Bonbeur)
- Mar 31 Andrew Lang, Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and anthropologist (Andrew Lang's Fairy Books), born in Selkirk, Scottish Borders, Scotland (d. 1912)
- Apr 16 Anatole France [Jacques Anatole Thibault], French writer (Thaïs, Wickerwork Woman, Nobel 1921), born in Paris (d. 1924)
- Apr 22 Lewis Powell, American Confederate soldier who was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln and who attempted to kill Secretary of State William H. Seward, born in Randolph, Alabama (d. 1865)
Elijah McCoy
May 2 Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American inventor of African descent, notable for his 57 US patents (lubrication of steam engines), born in Colchester, Ontario (d. 1929)
Elijah McCoy
- May 3 Édouard Drumont, French anti-semitic journalist, born in Paris (d. 1917)
- May 17 Julius Wellhausen, German biblical scholar (analysis of the structure and dating of the Pentateuch), born in Hamelin, Hanover, Germany (d. 1918)
- May 21 Henri Rousseau, French post-impressionist painter (The Dream, The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope), born in Laval, France (d. 1910)
- May 22 Mary Cassatt, American impressionist painter (Woman Bathing), born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (d. 1926)
- May 23 `Abdu'l-Bahá, Successor to Prophet of the Bahá'í Faith (d. 1921)
- Jun 1 Galusha Pennypacker, Bvt Major General (Union Army), (d. 1916)
- Jun 1 John J. Toffey, American Civil War hero (d. 1911)
- Jun 3 Detlev [Freiherr Friedrich A von] Liliencron, German poet
- Jun 3 Garret Hobart, American politician (R) 24th US Vice President (1897-99), born in Long Branch, New Jersey (d. 1899)
- Jun 6 Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (Travellers in Auvergne), born in Taganrog, Russia (d. 1905)
- Jun 10 Albert Neuhuys, Dutch painter of peasant families (Laren School), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1914)
- Jun 10 Carl Hagenbeck, German animal trainer (Von Tieren und Menschen), born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1913)
- Jun 14 Édouard Naville, Swiss Egyptologist (Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut), born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 1926)
- Jun 21 Ernest F Cambier, Belgian colonial pioneer (1st Congo railway) (d. 1909)
- Jul 1 Verney Lovett Cameron, English explorer (Tanganyika), born in Radipole, Dorset, England (d. 1894)
- Jul 8 Mary Johnson Lincoln, educator (Boston Cooking School)
- Jul 11 Peter I Karadjordjevic, King of Serbia/Yugoslavia (1903-21), born in Belgrade, Ottoman Tributary Principality of Serbia (d. 1921)
- Jul 22 William Archibald Spooner, English Oxford Don and reverend and inventor (spoonerisms), born in London, England (d. 1930)
Thomas Eakins
Jul 25 Thomas Eakins, American artist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1916)
Thomas Eakins
- Jul 28 Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (Windhover), born in Stratford, London (d. 1889)
- Jul 31 Ignazio Guidi, Italian orientalist and archaeologist, born in Rome, Italy (d. 1935)
- Aug 6 Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, born in Windsor Castle, Windsor, England (d. 1900)
- Aug 7 Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist and petrologist, born in Paris (d. 1911)
Menelik II
Aug 17 Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia (1889-1913) and Negus/King of Shewa (1866–89), born in Angolalla, Ethiopia (d. 1913)
Menelik II
- Aug 22 George Washington De Long, American Arctic Explorer whose disastrous expedition provided evidence to support the theory of trans-Arctic oceanic drift, born in NYC, New York
- Aug 29 Edward Carpenter, English poet and philosopher (Civilisation, Its Cause and Cure), born in Hove, Sussex, England (d. 1929)
- Aug 30 Friedrich Ratzel, German social-geographer (Lebensraum), born in Karlsruhe, Germany (d. 1904)
- Sep 10 Abel Hoadley, Australian confectioner (Violet Crumble), born in East Sussex, England (d. 1918)
- Sep 20 William H. Illingworth, English-American photographer, born in Leeds, England (d. 1893)
- Sep 28 Robert Stout, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1884-87), born in Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland (d. 1930)
- Oct 3 Patrick Manson, Scottish physician and parasitologist (Father of tropical medicine), born in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (d. 1922)
- Oct 5 Francis William Reitz, 5th State President of the Orange Free State, born in Swellendam, Cape Colony (d. 1934)
Henry John Heinz
Oct 11 Henry John Heinz, German-American entrepreneur who founded prepared-foods company (H.J. Heinz Company-57 varieties), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1919)
Henry John Heinz
- Oct 12 George W. Cable, American writer (Northampton Years), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1925)
Friedrich Nietzsche
Oct 15 Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher and philologist (Beyond Good and Evil), born in Röcken, Saxony, Prussia (d. 1900)
Friedrich Nietzsche
- Oct 18 Harvey W. Wiley, American chemist known for leadership in the passage of the landmark Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, born in Kent, Indiana (d. 1930)
Louis Riel
Oct 22 Louis Riel, Canadian politician, founder of the province of Manitoba and leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies, born in Red River Colony, Rupert's Land, British North America (d. 1885)
Louis Riel
- Oct 23 Robert Bridges, English poet (Testament of beauty) and British Poet Laureate (1913-30), born in Walmer, Kent (d. 1930)
- Oct 24 Karl Lueger, Austrian politician, cofounder and leader of the Austrian Christian Social Party, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1910)
- Oct 27 Klas Arnoldson, Swedish politician and pacifist (Nobel Peace 1908), born in Gothenburg, Sweden (d. 1916)
- Oct 29 Albert Salomon Anselm von Rothschild, Austrian banker and member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria, born in Vienna, Austrian Empire (d. 1911)
- Nov 2 Mehmed V, 35th Ottoman Sultan (1909-18), born in Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (d. 1918)
- Nov 10 Henry Eyster Jacobs, American Lutheran theologian, born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (d. 1932)
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
Sep 29 New York Politician Boss Tweed (21) weds Mary Jane C. Skaden
Boss Tweed
Deaths in History
- Jan 25 Horace H. Hayden, 1st American licensed dentist and cofounds 1st dental college, dies at 74
- Jan 26 John Wedgwood, British ceramicist and founder of the Royal Horticultural Society, dies at 77
- Jan 31 Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand, French general and engineer, dies at 70
- Feb 4 Willem de Clerq, Dutch merchant/literary, dies at 49
Henry Addington
Feb 15 Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, British Prime Minister (Tory: 1801-04), dies at 86
Henry Addington
- Feb 16 Joseph Crosfield, English soap and alkali manufacturer, dies at 51
- Feb 27 Nicholas Biddle, US lawyer/diplomat/statesman/financier, dies at 85
- Feb 28 Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of State, dies in explosion on USS Princeton
- Feb 28 Thommas W. Gilmer, Navy Secretary, dies in explosion on USS Princeton
- Mar 6 Gabriel Duvall, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1811-35), dies at 91
- Mar 8 Charles XIV [Jean Bernadotte], French-born King of Sweden & Norway (1818-44), Marshall of France, dies at 81
- Mar 21 Leopold van Sasse van Ysselt, Dutch nobleman and politician, dies at 65
- Mar 24 Bertel Thorvaldsen, Danish sculptor (Dying Lion), dies at 73
- Apr 4 Charles Bulfinch, 1st US pro architect (Mass State House), dies at 80
- May 2 William Beckford, British writer (Epsiodes of Vathek), dies at 83
- May 18 Richard McCarty, American politician, dies at 64
- May 24 William Crockford, clubman/gambler, dies
- Jun 3 Louis Antoine, French Duke of Angoulême and General of France, dies at 68
- Jun 15 Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet (Ye Mariners of England), dies at 66
- Jun 19 Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French naturalist, dies at 72
Joseph Smith
Jun 27 Joseph Smith Jr, American founder of the LDS, shot by a mob at 38
Joseph Smith
John Dalton
Jul 27 John Dalton, English physicist and chemist who developed the atomic theory of matter and researched colour blindness, dies at 77
John Dalton
- Jul 28 Joseph Bonaparte, older brother of Napoleon I and King of Naples and Spain, dies at 76
- Aug 4 Jakob Aall, Norwegian journalist and statesman, dies at 71
- Aug 10 Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia, youngest daughter and fourth child of Tsar Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, and his wife, Princess Charlotte of Prussia, dies at 19
- Aug 11 Jernej Kopitar, Slovene philologist and linguist (Slavic Grammatica), dies at 63
- Aug 14 Henry Francis Cary, translator (Dante), dies
- Aug 29 Edmund Ignatius Rice, Irish founder of the Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers (b. 1762)
- Aug 30 Francis Baily, English astronomer and describer of "Baily's Beads" during solar eclipse, dies at 70
- Sep 23 Alexander von Benckendorff, Russian general and statesman (b. 1783)
- Sep 27 Charles Nodier, French writer (History du chien the Brisquet), dies at 63
- Sep 28 Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy, Russian general and statesman (b. 1769)
- Oct 12 Claude Tillier, French journalist and writer (My Uncle Benjamin), dies at 43
- Nov 14 Flora Tristan, French writer and social activist, dies at 41
- Nov 14 John Abercrombie, Scottish physician, dies at 64
- Nov 21 Ivan Krylov, Russian fabulist (b. 1769)
- Nov 29 Princess Sophia of Gloucester, great-granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain and niece of King George III, dies at 71
- Dec 2 Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko, Polish general and politician, dies at 76