On This Day

December 1848 in History

Events in History

Historic Event

Dec 2 Franz Joseph I becomes Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia

Franz Joseph I
Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I

Discovery of Gold in California

Dec 5 US President James K. Polk triggers Gold Rush of 1849 by confirming a gold discovery in California

First gold nugget discovered in California
  • Dec 25 New Haven Railroad opens
  • Dec 25 William & Ellen Craft escape from slavery in Georgia, arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; later move to Boston where they become abolitionists [1]
  • Dec 26 1st gold seekers arrive in Panama en route to San Francisco
  • Dec 26 The Phi Delta Theta fraternity is founded at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
  • Dec 29 Gas lights 1st installed at White House (Polk's administration)

Birthdays in History

  • Dec 5 Edwin Blashfield, American painter who decorated the dome of Library of Congress, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1936)
  • Dec 9 Joel Chandler Harris, American writer (created Uncle Remus stories), born in Eatonton, Georgia (d. 1908)

Deaths in History

  • Dec 18 Bernard Bolzano, Bohemian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1781)
  • Dec 19 Frans Adam van der Duyn van Maasdam, Dutch governor (South Holland), dies at 77

Emily Brontë

Dec 19 Emily Brontë, English novelist (Wuthering Heights), dies of tuberculosis at 30

Emily Brontë
Writer Emily Brontë


Historical Figures

Search the largest, most accurate site for today in history.