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

Last updated: 2008 April 30.

1835 January 3 Willem F Röell Dutch baron/minister of Internal Affairs, dies at 67. [1] January 7 HMS Beagle anchors off Chonos Archipelago. [1] January 25 Vincenzo Bellini's opera "I Puritani" premieres in Paris. [1] January 30 Richard Lawrence misfires at President Andrew Jackson in Washington DC. [1] February 15 Henry Hunt British politician, dies. [1] February 20 In Chile, a magnitude 8.5 earthquake occurs. Extreme damage to Concepción. [1] [53] February 22 HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin leave Valdivia Chile. [1] February 24 Siwinowe Kesibwi (Shawnee Sun) is first Indian language monthly magazine. [1] February 28 Dr Elias Lönnrot publishes Finnish poem "Kalevala". [1] March 3 US Congress authorizes a US mint at New Orleans Louisiana. [1] March 4 HMS Beagle moves into Bay of Concepción. [1] March 7 HMS Beagle returns from Concepción to Valparaiso. [1] March 11 HMS Beagle anchors off Valparaiso, Chile. [1] March 13 Charles Darwin departs Valparaiso for Andes crossing. [1] March 18 Charles Darwin departs Santiago Chile on his way to Portillo Pass. [1] March 21 Charles Darwin and Mariano Gonzales meet at Portillo Pass. [1] March 23 Charles Darwin reaches Los Arenales, in the Andes. [1] March 25 Friederike Blum writer, dies. [1] April 10 Charles Darwin returns to Santiago, Chile. [1] April 17 William Henry Ireland forger (Shakespearean manuscripts), dies. [1] April 18 William Lamb Lord Melbourne forms British government. [1] April 26 Frédéric Chopins "Grand Polonaise Brillante", premieres in Paris France. [1] May 5 King Leopold opens Brussels-Mechelen railway. [1] May 6 First edition of New York Herald (price 1 cent). [1] May 12 Charles Darwin visits copper mines in North Chile. [1] May 13 First foreign embassy in Hawaii is established. [1] John Nash British town planner/architect (Regent's Park), dies. [1] May 14 Charles Darwin reaches Coquimbo in Northern Chile. [1] May 16 Felicia Dorothea Hemans poet/hymn writer, dies. [1] June 1 6th national black convention (Philadelphia). [1] June 2 P.T. Barnum and his circus begin first tour of US. [1] June 19 New Orleans gives US government Jackson Square to be used as a mint. [1] June 25 First building constructed at Yerba Buena (now SF). [1] July 8 Liberty Bell cracks (again). [1] July 26 First sugar cane plantation started in Hawaii. [1] July 29 First sugar plantation in Hawaii begins. [1] August 10 Mob of whites and oxen pulled black school to a swamp out of Canaan NH. [1] August 11 George B Airy begins 46-year reign as England's Astronomer Royal. [1] August 18 Last Pottawatomie Indians leave Chicago. [1] August 25 Ann Rutledge said to be Lincoln's true love, dies in Ill at 22. [1] New York Sun publishes Moon hoax story about John Herschel. [1] September 26 The opera "Lucia di Lammermoor" is produced (Naples). [1] November 2 Second Seminole War begins in Osceola. [1] November 23 Henry Burden patents Horseshoe manufacturing machine, Troy, New York. [1] December 1 Hans Christian Andersen published his first book of fairy tales. [1] December 3 First US mutual fire insurance company issues first policy (Rhode Island). [1] December 5 August von Platen writer, dies at 39. [1] December 7 German railway Neurenberg-Fürth opens. [1] December 16 Fire consumes over 600 buildings in New York City, New York. [1] December 18 Johann Georg Anton Mederitsch-Gallus composer, dies at 82. [1] December 19 HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin approaches New Zealand. [1] December 21 HMS Beagle sails into Bay of Islands (New Zealand). [1] December 25 Charles Darwin company celebrates Christmas in Pahia, New Zealand. [1] December 29 Charles-Joseph Tolbecque composer, dies at 29. [1] December 30 After gold discovery in Georgia, Cherokees are forced to move across Mississippi River. [1] HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin sails from New Zealand to Sydney. [1] 1836 January 3 Friedrich Witt composer, dies at 65. [1] January 5 Davy Crockett arrives in Texas, just in time for the Alamo. [1] January 12 Battle of Wetumka Florida. [1] HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin reach Sydney Australia. [1] February 3 Whig Party holds its first national convention (Albany New York). [1] February 6 HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin reach Diemen's Land (Tasmania). [1] February 7 "Sketches by Boz" (essays) published by Charles Dickens. [1] February 17 HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin leaves Tasmania. [1] February 22 Dutch garrison evacuates fort Du Bus New Guinea. [1] John Clarke-Whitfeld composer, dies at 65. [1] February 23 Alamo besieged by Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed. [1] February 24 3,000 Mexicans attack 182 Texans at the Alamo, lasts 13 days. [1] Dániel Berzsenyi Hungarian poet, dies at 59. [1] February 25 Samuel Colt patents first revolving barrel multishot firearm. [1] February 29 Giacomo Meyerbeer's (Jakob Liebmann Beer) opera "Les Huguenots" premieres in Paris (Théâtre de l'Opéra, Paris). [1] March 2 Republic of Texas declares independence from Mexico. [1] March 5 Mexico attacks Alamo. [1] Samuel Colt manufactures first pistol, 34-caliber "Texas" model. [1] March 6 3,000 Mexicans beat 182 Texans at the Alamo, after 13 day fight. [1] Davy Crockett US pioneer (Alamo), killed in battle at 49. [1] HMS Beagle/Darwin reaches King George's Sound, Australia. [1] March 14 HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin leaves Australia. [1] March 16 Texas approves a constitution. [1] March 17 Texas abolishes slavery. [1] March 23 Coin Press invented by Franklin Beale. [1] March 27 First Mormon temple dedicated (Kirtland Ohio). [1] April 1 Charles Darwin aboard HMS Beagle reaches Cocos Islands. [1] April 14 US Congress forms Territory of Wisconsin. [1] April 19 Nikolai Gogol's "Revisor", premieres in Saint Petersburg. [1] April 20 Johan I Jozef monarch of Liechtenstein/fieldmarshal, dies at 75. [1] Territory of Wisconsin created. [1] April 21 Battle of San Jacinto, in which Texas wins independence from México. [1] May 6 Christian Ignatius Latrobe composer, dies at 78. [1] May 7 Norbert Burgmuller composer, dies at 26. [1] May 9 HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin departs Port Louis, Mauritius. [1] May 15 Francis Baily observes "Baily's Beads" during annular solar eclipse. [1] May 22 Felix Mendelssohn's oratorium "St Paul" premieres in Düsseldorf. [1] May 28 Anton Reicha composer, dies at 66. [1] May 31 HMS Beagle anchors in Simons Bay, Cape of Good Hope. [1] June 15 Arkansas becomes 25th state. [1] June 28 James Madison 4th US pres, dies in Montpelier, Virginia. [1] July 4 Wisconsin Territory formed. [1] July 13 US patent #1 (after 9,957 unnumbered patents), for locomotive wheels. [1] July 21 First Canadian railroad opens, between Laprairie and Saint John, Québec. [1] July 27 Adelaide, South Australia founded. [1] July 30 First English newspaper published in Hawaii. [1] September 1 Reconstruction begins on Synagogue of Rabbi Judah Hasid in Jerusalem. [1] September 5 Sam Houston elected president of the Republic of Texas. [1] September 14 US Vice President Aaron Burr dies. [1] [5] October 2 Darwin returns to England aboard HMS Beagle. [1] October 22 Sam Houston inaugurated as first elected president of Republic of Texas. [1] October 24 The match is patented. [1] November 10 Louis Napoleon banished to America. [1] December 4 Daniel Read composer, dies at 79. [1] Whig party holds its first national convention, Harrisburg Pennsylvania. [1] December 7 Martin Van Buren elected 8th President. [1] December 12 Giuseppe Farinelli composer, dies at 67. [1] December 15 Patent Office burns in Washington DC. [1] December 26 Hans Georg Nageli composer, dies at 63. [1] December 27 Stephen Fuller Austin founder of state of Texas, dies at 43. [1] Worst English avalanche kills eight of 15 buried (Lewes Sussex). [1] December 28 Spain recognizes independence of México. [1] December 29 Johann Baptist Schenk composer, dies at 83. [1] December 30 Lehman-theater in Saint Petersburg catches fire; 100s die. [1] 1837 January 11 François Gérard French baron/painter, dies at 66. [1] John Field Irish pianist/composer (Nocturnes), dies at 54. [1] January 20 John Soane English architect (Book of Designs), dies at 84. [1] January 22 Earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands. [1] January 23 John Field composer, dies at 54. [1] January 26 Michigan admitted as 26th US state. [1] January 29 Aleksandr Pushkin poet/novelist/dramatist (Golden Cockeral), killed in a duel. [1] February 8 First Vice President chosen by the Senate, Richard Johnson (Van Buren administration). [1] February 10 Alexander S Pushkin writer, dies at 37. [1] February 11 American Physiological Society organizes in Boston. [1] February 12 Ludwig Börne writer, dies at 50. [1] February 13 Riot in New York over high price of flour. [1] February 19 Georg Büchner German playwright (Leonce und Lena), dies at 23. [1] February 25 First US electric printing press patented by Thomas Davenport. [1] March 3 US Congress increases Supreme Court membership from 7 to 9. [1] US President Andrew Jackson and Congress recognizes Republic of Texas. [1] March 4 City of Chicago incorporates. [1] Martin Van Buren inaugrated as 8th President. [1] Weekly Advocate changes its name to the Colored American. [1] March 13 Nikita P Panin Russian diplomat/minister of Foreign affairs, dies at 66. [1] March 24 Canada gives blacks the right to vote. [1] March 26 Joseph Lincke composer, dies at 53. [1] March 28 Felix Mendelssohn marries Cécile Jeanrenaud. [1] March 29 Maria Fitzherbert morganatic wife of King George IV, dies. [1] March 31 John Constable English painter/water colors painter, dies at 60. [1] April 17 Edouard viscount de Walckiers very wealthy slave trader, dies. [1] April 19 Cheyney University forms as the Institute for Colored Youth. [1] May 5 Niccolo Antonio Zingarelli Italian composer/bandmaster, dies at 85. [1] May 9 "Sherrod" burns in Mississippi River below Natchez Mississippi; 175 dies. [1] May 17 Royal Decides installs the Weapon of Belgium firm(ly). [1] May 31 Astor Hotel (most elaborate in US) opens in New York City, it later becomes the Waldorf-Astoria. [1] Joseph Grimaldi greatest clown (king of pantomime), dies at 57. [1] June 13 First Mormon missionaries to the British Isles leave Kirtland, Ohio. [1] June 17 Charles Goodyear obtains his first rubber patent. [1] June 20 England issues its first stamp, 1P Queen Victoria. [1] King William IV of England, dies. [1] Queen Victoria at 18 ascends British throne following death of. [1] July 27 US Mint opens in Charlotte, North Carolina. [1] August 5 First ascent of Mount Marcy (5,344 feet) highest in Adirondack, New York. [1] October 1 "Racer's" Hurricane (Gulf of Mexico). [1] Treaty with Winnebago Indians. [1] October 9 Steamboat "Home" sinks off Okracoke North Carolina killing 100. [1] November 7 Abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy murdered by mob at Alton, Illinois. [1] November 8 Mount Holyoke Seminary in Massachusetts-first US college founded for women. [1] November 21 Thomas Morris of Australia skips rope 22,806 times. [1] December 5 Hector Berlioz' "Requiem" premieres. [1] Uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie in Canada. [1] December 25 Battle of Okeechobee-US forces defeat Seminole Indians. [1] December 26 Martinus van Marum chemist/physicist (giant salamander), dies at 87. [1] December 29 Canadian militia destroy Caroline, a US steamboat docked at Buffalo. [1] Steam-powered threshing machine patented, Winthrop ME. [1] 1838 January 1 First official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide. [1] January 6 Samuel Morse made first public demonstration of telegraph. [1] January 8 In New Jersey, Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph using dots and dashes (a forerunner of Morse code). [1] [5] Rebellion at Amherstburg, Ontario breaks out. [1] January 13 Ferdinand Reis composer, dies at 53. [1] January 16 Aleksandr I Polezjajev Russian poet (Sasjka), dies at 33. [1] January 20 Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges composer, dies at 64. [1] January 23 Arnold A Buyskes Dutch Vice-Admiral/colonial director, dies at 67. [1] January 26 Tennessee becomes first state to prohibit alcohol. [1] January 28 Aleksandr I Polezjajev Russian poet (Sasjka), dies at 33. [1] January 30 Osceola chief of Seminole Indians, dies in jail. [1] February 1 Abraham de Veer Dutch Governor-General of Suriname (1822-28), dies at 71. [1] February 5 Philippe Libon composer, dies at 62. [1] February 16 Kentucky passes law permitting women to attend school under conditions. [1] February 22 Friedrich Johann Eck composer, dies at 70. [1] February 25 London pedestrian walks 20 miles backward then forward in 8 hours. [1] March 3 Rebellion at Pelee Island, Ontario Canada. [1] March 6 Franz Grillparzer's "Weh dem, der Lügt" premieres in Vienna. [1] March 8 US mint in New Orleans begins operation (producing dimes). [1] March 16 Nathaniel Bowditch astronomer and navigation expert, dies at 64. [1] March 22 Hendrik Fagel Dutch/English baron, dies at 73. [1] March 24 Thomas Attwood composer, dies at 72. [1] April 3 Francesco Antommarchi Napoleon's physician on Saint Helena, dies at 57. [1] April 6 José B de Andrada e Silva premier of Brazil (1822-23), dies at 74. [1] April 8 Steamship "Great Western" maiden voyage (Bristol England to New York City, New York). [1] April 9 National Galley opens in London. [1] April 11 Pieter L Uys South African pioneer (Great Pull), murdered at 40. [1] April 17 J Schopenhauer writer, dies at 71. [1] April 18 Wilkes' expedition to South Pole sails. [1] April 22 English steamship "Sirius" docks in New York City after Atlantic crossing. [1] April 23 English steamship "Great Western" crossing Atlantic docks in New York City, New York. [1] John W Janssens Governor-General of Cape Colony/Dutch-Indies, dies at 75. [1] April 27 Fire destroys half of Charleston. [1] April 30 Nicaragua declares independence from Central American federation. [1] May 17 Charles-Maurice duke of Talleyrand-Périgord French bishop, dies at 84. [1] May 23 John W Janssens Governor-General (Cape Colony), dies at 75. [1] May 28 Thomas Busby composer, dies. [1] June 12 Hopkins Observatory, dedicated in Williamstown, Massachusetts [1] Territory of Iowa organized. [1] June 28 Britain's Queen Victoria crowned in Westminster Abbey. [1] July 7 Central American federation is dissolved. [1] August 1 Emancipation of British slaves on Bahamas. [1] August 18 First US marine expedition. [1] August 23 Mt Holyoke Female Seminary (South Hadley, Mass) first graduating class. [1] September 1 William Clark second lt of Lewis and Clark Expedition, dies at 68. [1] September 24 Anti-Corn-Law League forms to repeal English Corn Law. [1] November 5 Honduras declares independence of Central American Federation. [1] December 16 Boers beat Zulu chieftain Dingaan in South Africa. [1] 1839 January 2 First photo of the Moon (French photographer Louis Daguerre). [1] January 6 Two-day storm off Irish and English coast immortalized as "The Big Wind". [1] January 9 Daguerrotype photo process announced at French Academy of Science. [1] Thomas Henderson measures first stellar parallax (Alpha Centauri). [1] January 10 Tea from India first arrives in United Kingdom. [1] January 11 Earthquake at Martinique destroys half of Port Royal-700 die. [1] January 12 Anthracite coal first used to smelt iron, Mauch Chunk Pennsylvania. [1] Joseph A Koch Austrian painter/cartoonist/etcher/illustrator, dies at 70. [1] January 19 Aden conquered by British East India Company. [1] Georg Abraham Schneider composer, dies at 38. [1] January 24 Charles Darwin elected member of Royal Society. [1] January 29 Charles Darwin marries Emma Wedgwood. [1] February 1 Giuseppe Valadier Italian architect/archaeologist, dies at 76. [1] February 7 Henry Clay declares in Senate "I had rather be right than president". [1] February 12 Boundary dispute between Maine and New Brunswick leads to Aroostook. [1] February 18 Detroit Boat Club forms (still exists today). [1] February 20 US Congress prohibits dueling in District of Columbia. [1] February 24 Steam shovel patented by William Otis, Philadelphia. [1] February 25 Seminoles and black allies shipped from Tampa Bay Florida, to the West. [1] February 26 Jem Mason on Lottery wins first Grand National Steeplechase (Britain). [1] March 4 Ignace Antoine Ladurner pianist/composer, dies at 72. [1] March 9 Prussian government limits work week for children to 51 hours. [1] March 13 Robert Gallenberg composer, dies at 55. [1] March 23 First recorded use of "OK" [oll korrect] (Boston's Morning Post). [1] March 26 First Henley Royal Regatta. [1] March 29 Bernardus JC Dibbets Dutch baron/General-Major (Maastricht), dies at 56. [1] April 11 John Galt Scottish writer (Last of the Lairds), dies at 59. [1] April 17 Guatemala forms republic. [1] April 18 Henry Kendall, New South Wales Australia, poet (Bell Birds). [1] April 19 Treaty of London constitutes Belgium an independent kingdom and Luxembourg a Grand Duchy. [1] April 20 Giuseppe Rossini father of Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini, dies. [1] May 3 Ferdinando Paer composer, dies at 67. [1] May 4 The Cunard Steamship Company Ltd forms San Bonifacio. [1] May 13 Israel Ashkenazi of Shklov found Ashkenazic community (1815), dies. [1] Joseph Fesch French cardinal/war commission/earl/senator, dies. [1] May 18 Carolina [Maria A] Bonaparte (countess Lipona) dies at 57. [1] June 7 Hawaiian Declaration of Rights is signed. [1] June 10 Nathaniel Pryor sgt of Lewis and Clark Expedition, dies. [1] July 3 First state normal school in US opens, Lexington, Massachusetts, with three students. [1] July 30 Slave rebels, take over slaver Amistad. [1] September 6 Great fire in New York. [1] September 9 John Herschel takes the first glass plate photograph. [1] September 11 First Canadian track and field meet held (Caer Howell Grounds). [1] November 3 First opium war-2 British frigates engage several Chinese junks. [1] November 6 Rabbi Hayim Rapoport of Ostrowiec author (Maxim Chayyim), dies. [1] November 13 First US anti-slavery party, Liberty Party, convenes in New York. [1] November 27 In Boston, Massachusetts, USA, the American Statistical Association is founded. [1] [5] December 3 Frederik VI king of Denmark (1808-39)/Norway (1803-14), dies at 71. [1] December 7 Jan Matyas Nepomuk August Vitasek composer, dies at 69. [1] December 15 Matthijs I van Bree Flemish court-painter, dies at 66. [1] December 18 First celestial photograph (the moon) made in US, John Draper, New York City, New York. [1] Charles-Henri Plantade composer, dies at 75. [1]