References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

1850 January 1 Raphael G Kiesewetter Austria musicologist, dies at age 76. [1] January 5 California Exchange opens. [1] January 14 Anthony van Hoboken Rotterdam merchant/ship owner, dies at age 93. [1] January 18 British blockade Piræus, Greece to enforce mercantile claims. [1] January 20 Investigator, first ship to effect northwest passage, leaves England. [1] January 22 Alta California becomes a daily paper, first such in California. [1] Vincenzo Pallotti Italian saint, dies at age 54. [1] January 26 First German-language daily newspaper in US published, New York City, New York. [1] Francis Jeffrey Baron Jeffrey, judge/literary critic, dies. [1] January 27 J Gottfried Schadow German sculptor/cartoonist/writer, dies at age 85. [1] Philipp Roth composer, dies at age 70. [1] January 29 Henry Clay introduces a comprise bill on slavery to US Senate. [1] February 5 Adding machine employing depressible keys patented, New Paltz New York. [1] February 12 Original Washington's Farewell Address manuscript sells for $2,300. [1] February 18 California Legislature creates 9 Bay Area counties. [1] March 7 Daniel Webster endorses Compromise of 1850. [1] March 11 Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (first female medical school). [1] March 12 First US $20 gold piece issued. [1] March 16 Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" published. [1] March 18 Henry Wells and William Fargo form American Express in Buffalo, New York. [1] [5] March 19 Adalbert Gyrowetz composer, dies at age 87. [1] March 27 Wilhelm Bear German banker/astronomer (Moon Map), dies at age 53. [1] March 29 Ireland's SS Royal Adelaide sinks in storm; 200 die. [1] March 31 John Calhoun dies at age 68. [1] US population hits 23,191,876 (Black population: 3,638,808 (15.7%)). [1] April 1 San Francisco County government established. [1] April 3 Vaclav Jan Krtitel Tomasek organist/pianist/composer, dies at age 75. [1] April 4 City of Los Angeles incorporated. [1] April 7 William Lisle Bowles English poet (14 Sonnets), dies at age 87. [1] April 9 William Prout physician/chemist, dies. [1] April 15 City of San Francisco incorporated. [1] April 16 Marie [Gresholtz] Tussaud maker of wax figures, dies. [1] April 23 William Wordsworth poet, dies at age 80. [1] April 24 Louis Alexandre Piccinni composer, dies at age 70. [1] April 25 Paul Julius Reuter, use 40 pigeons to carry stock market prices. [1] May 1 John Geary becomes first San Francisco mayor. [1] May 9 Louis-Joseph Gay-Lussac chemist/physicist, dies. [1] May 11 Work starts on first brick building in San Francisco. [1] May 21 In Milan, Italy, Giuseppe Mercalli is born; volcanologist and seismologist, Inventor of the Mercalli Intensity Scale (1902). [53] May 24 Jane Porter novelist (Scottish Chiefs), dies at age 74. [1] May 27 Mormon Temple in Nauvoo Illinois destroyed by tornado. [1] June 4 Empire Engine Company No 1 organized. [1] June 14 Fire destroys part of San Francisco. [1] June 17 Paddle-wheeler "G P Griffith" burns off Mentor Ohio (206 die). [1] July 1 At least 626 ships lie at anchor around San Francisco Bay. [1] July 9 Báb [Bahá'í prophet] executed in Tabriz, Iran; Rahmat 16, 7. [1] Zachary Taylor 12th president of US, dies in White House served 16 mo. [1] July 14 First public demonstration of ice made by refrigeration. [1] July 17 Harvard Observatory takes first photograph of a star (Vega). [1] August 17 José Francisco de San Martin South American revolutionary hero, dies. [1] August 28 The opera "Lohengrin" is produced (Weimar). [1] August 30 Honolulu, Hawaii becomes a city. [1] August 31 California pioneers organized at Montgomery and Clay Streets. [1] September 9 California becomes 31st state. [1] Territories of New Mexico and Utah created. [1] September 11 "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind gives first US concert. [1] September 20 Slave trade abolished in DC, but slavery allowed to continue. [1] September 28 Flogging in US Navy and on merchant vessels abolished. [1] October 17 Knickerbocker Engine Co Number 5 organized. [1] November 6 First Hawaiian fire engine. [1] Yerba Buena and Angel Islands (San Francisco Bay) reserved for military use. [1] December 20 Hawaiian post office established. [1] December 27 Hawaiian Fire Department established. [1] December 28 Rangoon Burma destroyed by fire. [1] December 30 In Liverpool, England, John Milne born; organized a seismic survey of Japan, recognized the importance of improving the seismogram. hypothesized that it should be possible to detect seismic waves from a large earthquake occurring anywhere on Earth, designed several types of seismometers. [53] 1851 January 1 City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line. [1] January 12 Johan Herman Koekkoek painter, dies at age 72. [1] January 15 General Arista replaces Mexican President Herrera. [1] January 21 Gustav Albert Lortzing composer, dies at age 49. [1] January 24 Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini Italian composer, dies at age 76. [1] January 25 Sojourner Truth addresses first Black Women's Rights Convention (Akron). [1] January 27 John James Audubon conservationist (Audubon Society), dies at age 65. [1] Karl Moser composer, dies at age 77. [1] January 28 Northwestern University (Chicago) chartered. [1] January 31 Gail Borden announces invention of evaporated milk. [1] San Francisco Orphan's Asylum, first in California founded. [1] February 1 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley novelist (Frankenstein), dies at age 53. [1] February 6 Robert Schumann's third Symphony "Rhenisch" premieres in Düsseldorf. [1] February 15 Black abolitionists invade Boston courtroom rescuing a fugitive slave. [1] February 16 Anne Nagell van Ampsen Dutch politician, dies at age 95. [1] February 20 Josef Alois Ladurner composer, dies at age 81. [1] February 25 Ferdinand Simon Gassner composer, dies at age 53. [1] March 3 US Congress authorizes smallest US silver coin (3-cent piece). [1] March 4 Michael Henkel composer, dies at age 70. [1] March 6 Alexander Aliabiev composer, dies at age 63. [1] Dion Boucicault's "Love in a Maze" premieres in London. [1] March 7 Poll tax levied on Russo-Polish Jews entering Austrian Galicia ends. [1] March 11 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" premieres in Venice. [1] March 21 Yosemite Valley discovered in California. [1] April 8 John Parry composer, dies at age 75. [1] April 9 Antoine-Charles Glachant composer, dies at age 80. [1] April 15 Earl G Andrássy sentenced to death in Hungary. [1] April 23 Canada issues its first postage stamps. [1] May 1 Great Exhibition opens in London's Hyde Park, at Crystal Palace. [1] May 3 Most of San Francisco destroyed by fire; 30 die. [1] May 4 First major San Francisco fire. [1] May 6 Dr John Gorrie patents a "refrigeration machine". [1] Linus Yale patents Yale-lock. [1] New slave regulations go into effect in Suriname. [1] San Francisco Chamber of Commerce starts. [1] May 15 Rama IV, [Phra Chomklao Chaoyuhua], king of Thai (1851-68), crowned. [1] May 17 Jean E "Adrian" van Bevervoorde journalist (Treason), dies at age 31. [1] May 18 Amsterdam-Nieuwediep telegraph connection linked. [1] May 23 Lucas Pieter Roodbaard architect, dies at age 69. [1] May 24 Stanko Vraz [Jakob Frass] Slavic poet (Grammatica), dies at age 40. [1] May 28 Sojourner Truth attends Women's Rights Convention. [1] June 2 First US alcohol prohibition law enacted (Maine). [1] June 9 San Francisco Committee of Vigilance forms (first time). [1] June 15 Jacob Fussell, Baltimore dairyman, sets up first ice-cream factory. [1] June 22 Fire destroys part of San Francisco. [1] July 28 Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph. [1] July 29 A De Gasparis discovers asteroid #15 Eunomia. [1] August 12 Isaac Singer granted patent for his sewing machine. [1] August 22 Gold fields discovered in Australia. [1] September 18 New York Times starts publishing, at 2 cents a copy. [1] October 1 First Hawaiian stamps issued. [1] October 2 The pasilalinic-sympathetic compass is demonstrated, but proves to be a fake. [5] October 24 William Lassell discovers Ariel and Umbriel, satellites of Uranus. [1] November 14 "Moby Dick," by Herman Melville, published. [1] November 22 The opera "La Perle Du Brésil" is produced (Paris). [1] December 4 President Louis Napolean Boaparte forces crush a coup d'etat in France. [1] December 9 First Young Men's Christian Association in North America (Montréal). [1] December 19 J M William Turner British painter (Rain, Steam and Speed), dies at age 76. [1] December 24 Fire devastates Library of Congress in Washington, destroys 35,000 volumes. [1] December 29 First Young Men's Christian Association chapter opened (Boston). [1] 1852 January 1 First US public bath opens in New York City, New York. [1] Netherlands begins issuing postage stamps. [1] January 3 First Chinese arrive in Hawaii. [1] January 17 British recognize independence of Transvaal (in South Africa). [1] January 22 George Rodwell composer, dies at age 51. [1] February 2 First British public men's toilet opens (Fleet Steet London). [1] Alexandre Dumas Jr's "Le Dame aux Camélias" premieres in Paris. [1] François Liberman French founder (Congr of H Heart), dies at age 49. [1] February 11 First British public female toilet opens (Bedford Street London). [1] February 15 Great Ormond Steet Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits first patient. [1] February 17 Micha Joseph Levenson Hebrew poet, dies. [1] February 21 Nikolai Gogol Russian playwright (Dead Souls), dies. [1] February 23 "H M S Birkenhead" sinks off South Africa killing 420 troops. [1] February 25 Thomas Moore writer (Odes of Anacreon), dies. [1] February 26 British frigate Birkenhead sinks off South Africa-458 die. [1] February 27 Joseph Drechsler composer, dies at age 69. [1] February 29 John Landseer printer/engraver (Royal Academy), dies. [1] March 4 Nikolai Gogol writer, dies at age 43. [1] March 7 Dutch telegraph traffic regulated by law. [1] March 12 Juan Bros y Bertomel composer, dies at age 75. [1] March 13 Uncle Sam cartoon figure made its debut in the New York Lantern weekly. [1] March 20 Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" published (Boston). [1] March 25 Alexis Garaude composer, dies at age 73. [1] Friedrich Hebbel's "Agnes Bernauer" premieres in Munich. [1] March 29 Ohio makes it illegal for children under 18 and women to work more than 10 hours a day. [1] April 2 Theodor Althaus writer, dies. [1] April 9 John Howard Payne actor/playwright (Fair Warning), dies. [1] April 19 California Historical Society forms. [1] Vasili A Zjukovski Russian folk poet/translator (Homerus), dies at age 69. [1] April 29 First edition of Peter Roget's Thesaurus published. [1] April 30 Anton Rubinsteins opera "Dmitri Donskoi", premieres in Saint Petersburg. [1] May 6 Charles-Louis-Joseph Hanssens composer, dies at age 75. [1] May 12 John Richardson Canadian writer (War of 1812), dies. [1] May 18 Massachusetts rules all school-age children must attend school. [1] June 24 J R Hind discovers asteroid #18 Melpomene. [1] June 29 Henry Clay the great compromiser, dies at age 75. [1] July 3 US Congress authorizes US's second mint (San Francisco, California). [1] July 23 First interment in US National Cemetary at Presidio. [1] August 1 San Francisco Methodists establish first black church, Zion Methodist. [1] August 3 First intercollegiate rowing race, Harvard beats Yale by four lengths. [1] August 20 Steamer "Atlantic" collided with fishing boat, sinks with 250 aboard. [1] September 3 Anti Jewish riots break out in Stockholm. [1] September 11 Olympia Columbian is first newspaper published north of Columbia R. [1] September 14 Arthur Wellesley General/Duke of Wellington, dies at age 83. [1] September 24 A new invention, the dirigible, is demonstrated. [1] November 23 Just past midnight, a sharp jolt causes Lake Merced to drop 30' (9m). [1] December 1 Telegraph company opens throughout Netherlands. [1] December 2 Second French empire established; Louis Napoleon becomes emperor. [1] December 8 Gustav Freytag's "Die Journalisten" premieres in Breslau. [1] December 16 Andries H Potgieter South African/Transvaal explorer, dies at age 59. [1] Henri-Jean Rigel composer, dies at age 80. [1] December 17 First Hawaiian cavalry organized. [1] December 23 First Chinese theater in US, Celestial John, opens in San Francisco. [1] December 29 Emma Snodgrass arrested in Boston for wearing pants. [1] December 31 Future President and Mrs Rutherford B Hayes marry. [1] 1853 January 1 First practical fire engine (horse-drawn) in US enters service. [1] January 3 Theodor Uhlig composer, dies at age 30. [1] January 8 First US bronze equestrian statue (of Andrew Jackson) unveiled, Washington. [1] January 9 Juan N Gallego Spanish poet/interpreter (El dos de Mayo), dies at age 75. [1] January 10 Charles Reade's "Gold" premieres in London. [1] January 19 Napoleon III marries Eugénie de Montijo. [1] Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" premieres, in Rome. [1] January 21 Envelope-folding machine patented by Russell Hawes, Worcester Massachusetts. [1] January 30 Emperor Napoleon III marries Eugénie Maria de Montijo y de Guzman. [1] February 3 August Kopisch German writer (Mäuseturm), dies at age 53. [1] February 21 US authorizes minting of $3 gold pieces. [1] March 2 Territory of Washington organized after separating from Oregon Territory. [1] March 3 Transcontinental railroad survey is authorized byUS Congress. [1] US Assay Office in New York City, New York authorized. [1] March 4 Pope Pius IX recovers Catholic hierarchy in Netherlands. [1] William Rufus de Vane King (Democrat) sworn in as 13th US Vice President. [1] March 5 Georg A Kestner German art collector/diplomat, dies at age 75. [1] March 6 Giuseppe Verdi's Opera "La Traviata" premieres in Venice. [1] March 17 Christian Doppler physicist, dies. [1] April 1 Cincinnati becomes first US city to pay firefighters a regular salary. [1] April 8 Jan W Pieneman historical painter (Battle at Waterloo), dies at age 73. [1] April 11 Louis Emmanuel Eadin composer, dies. [1] April 14 Harriet Tubman began her Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape. [1] April 15 Johann Leopold Fuchs composer, dies at age 67. [1] Protestant church questions king Willem III Roman Catholic bishops. [1] April 17 Thorbecke government resigns. [1] US Marine Hospital at Presidio (San Francisco) established. [1] April 18 First train in Asia (Bombay to Tanna, 36 km). [1] William King US Vice President, dies a month after his inauguration. [1] April 19 Netherlands Van Hall government forms. [1] April 20 Antonio López de Santa Anna becomes President (11th time) of Mexico. [118.61] Harriet Tubman starts Underground Railroad. [1] April 23 Auguste Laurent chemist, dies. [1] April 25 William Beaumont physiologist, dies. [1] April 26 Dutch King William III disbands second Chamber. [1] April 28 Ludwig Tieck writer, dies at age 79. [1] April 29 Comet C/1853 G1 (Schweizer) approaches within 0.0839 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth. [1] May 1 Argentina adopts its constitution. [1] May 2 Franconi's Hippodrome opens (New York City, New York). [1] May 6 First major US rail disaster kills 46 (Norwalk Connecticut). [1] May 8 Joannes P Roothaan first Dutch Lieutenant Colonel-General of Jesuits, dies at age 67. [1] May 9 Johann Philipp Samuel Schmidt composer, dies at age 73. [1] May 14 Gail Borden patents his process for condensed milk. [1] May 17 Thorbeckes liberals win second-Parliamentary election. [1] May 19 Dutch prince Henry marries princess Amalia of Saxony-Weimar. [1] May 23 Buenos Aires gains independence from Argentina (reunited 1859). [1] May 31 Elisha Kane's Arctic expedition leaves New York aboard the Advance. [1] July 6 William Wells Brown publishes "Clotel," first novel by black American. [1] July 9 Adm Perry and US Navy visit Japan. [1] July 14 Commodore Perry requests trade relations with Japan. [1] President Franklin Pierce opens first industrial exposition (New York). [1] July 18 First train to cross the US-Canada boundary, Portland, Maine.-Montréal, PQ. [1] Completion of Grand Trunk Line, Americas first international railroad. [1] August 24 First potato chips prepared by Chef George Crum (Saratoga Springs, New York, USA). [1] [5] September 6 Women's Rights Convention met (New York City). [1] September 11 First electric telegraph in use, Merchant's Exchange to Pt Lobos. [1] September 15 First US woman ordained a minister, Antoinette Blackwell. [1] September 24 First round-the-world trip by yacht (Cornelius Vanderbilt). [1] September 29 Emigrant ship "Annie Jane" sinks off Scotland, drowning 348. [1] October 2 Austrian law forbids Jews from owning land. [1] October 19 First flour mill in Hawaii begins operations. [1] November 9 Origin of Carrington rotation numbers for rotation of the Sun. [1] November 17 Street signs authorized at San Francisco intersections. [1] November 28 Olympia established as capital of Washington Territory. [1] December 5 Johann Peter Heuschkel composer, dies at age 80. [1] December 30 Gadsden Purchase - 45,000 square miles (120,000 km) by Gila River from México for $10 million; Area is now southern Arizona and New Mexico. [1] 1854 January 1 Lincoln University, a black college, chartered (Oxford PA). [1] January 5 Steamship San Francisco wrecked-300 die. [1] January 9 Astor Library opens in New York City, New York. [1] Filippo Traetta [Philip Trajetta], Italian composer, dies at age 77. [1] January 13 Anthony Foss patents the accordion. [1] January 18 Filibuster William Walker proclaims Republic of Sonora in NW México. [1] Juda Turo American philanthropist, dies. [1] January 25 Aleksandr Ostrovsky's "Bednost ne Porok" premieres in Moscow. [1] January 30 First election in Washington Territory; 1,682 votes cast. [1] January 31 Dutch KNMI established (Royal Meteorological Institute). [1] February 2 Pope Pius IX encyclical "On the persecution of Armenians". [1] February 4 Alvan Bovay proposes the name "Republican Party", Ripon Wisconsin. [1] Carl Ludwig Cornelius Westenholz composer, dies at age 66. [1] February 6 Composer Robert Schumann is saved from suicide attempt into the Rhine. [1] February 11 Major streets lit by coal gas for first time. [1] February 16 Franz Liszts symphony "Orpheus" premieres. [1] February 17 British recognize independence of Orange Free State (South Africa). [1] Hugues F R de Lamennais French priest/writer, dies at age 71. [1] February 22 First meeting of the Republican Party, Michigan. [1] February 23 Great Britain and Orange Free state sign Convention of Bloemfontein. [1] February 28 Republican Party formally organized at Ripon Wisconsin. [1] March 1 SS City of Glasgow leaves Liverpool harbor and is never seen again. [1] March 6 Caspar GC Reinwardt German/Dutch biologist, dies at age 80. [1] March 7 Charles Miller patents first US sewing machine to stitch buttonholes. [1] March 8 US Commodore Matthew C Perry's second trip to Japan. [1] March 17 First park land purchased by a US city, Worcester Massachusetts. [1] March 28 During the Crimean War, Britain and France declare war on Russia. [1] March 31 Treaty of Kanagawa: Commodore Perry forces Japan to opens ports to foreign trade. [1] April 6 William Strickland US architect, dies. [1] April 11 Karl Adolph von Basedow German Democratic Republic (Ziekte van Basedow), dies at age 55. [1] April 16 Franz Liszt's "Mazeppa", premieres. [1] San Salvador destroyed by earthquake. [1] Steamer "Long Beach" sinks off Long Beach New York, 311 die. [1] April 17 Gottlob Wiedebein composer, dies at age 74. [1] April 18 Joseph Antoni Frantiszek Elsner composer, dies at age 84. [1] April 24 Austria's Franz Joseph I marries Elisabeth A E "Sissi". [1] May 1 Amsterdam begins transferring drinking water out of the dunes. [1] May 3 William Beale composer, dies at age 70. [1] May 5 English pirate Plumridge robs along pro-English Finnish coast. [1] May 24 Anthony Burns, slave, arrested by US Deputy marshals in Boston. [1] Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, first Black college in US forms by Prebyts. [1] May 27 Marine Telegraph from Fort Point to San Francisco completed. [1] May 30 Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed Missouri Compromise opens north slavery. [1] May 31 Vatroslav Lisinski composer, dies at age 34. [1] June 10 Georg F.B. Reiman proposes that space is curved. [1] June 29 Gadsden Purchase (parts of Arizona, NM) from Mexico for $10 million. [1] July 6 First Republican state convention, Ripon, Wisc. [1] July 13 US forces shell and burn San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua. [1] July 22 J R Hind discovers asteroid #30 Urania. [1] August 6 US Congress passes Confiscation Act. [1] August 9 Henry David Thoreau publishes "Walden". [1] August 16 Duncan Phyfe furniture maker, dies. [1] August 24 National emigration convention meets in Cleveland. [1] August 29 Self-governing windmill patented (Daniel Halladay). [1] August 30 John Fremont issues proclamation freeing slaves of Missouri rebels. [1] September 20 British and French defeat Russians at Alma, in the Crimea. [1] September 27 Steamship Arctic sank with 300 people aboard. [1] October 10 US Assay Office in New York City, New York opens. [1] October 25 The Light Brigade charges (Battle of Balaklava) (Crimean War). [1] November 2 Cobblestone paving of Washington Steet between Dupont and Kearny starts. [1] November 4 Lighthouse established on Alcatraz Island. [1] November 13 "New Era" sinks off New Jersey coast with loss of 300. [1] December 5 Aaron Allen of Boston patents folding theater chair. [1] December 8 Pope Pius IX proclaims Immaculate Conception, makes Mary, free of Original Sin. [1] December 9 Lord Tennyson's poem, "Charge of the Light Brigade" published. [1] December 15 First street-cleaning machine in US first used in Philadelphia. [1] December 19 Allen Wilson of Connecticut patents sewing machine to sew curving seams. [1] December 26 Wood-pulp paper first exhibited, Buffalo. [1] December 30 Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, first in US, incorporated in New York City, New York. [1]