Explore 629 historical events from 1840–1849.
Laura Askew Haygood was an American educator and missionary from Georgia. A sister of Atticus Greene Haygood, she founded a school in Atlanta and served as a missionary in China.
Laura Askew Haygood, American educator and missionary (died 1900)
John James Gardner was an American businessman, Civil War veteran, Republican Party politician and statesman who represented Atlantic County, New Jersey in the New Jersey Senate fr…
John J. Gardner, American politician (died 1921)
William McKendree Carleton was an American poet from Michigan. Carleton's poems were most often about his rural life.
Will Carleton, American poet and journalist (died 1912)
Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski was a Polish physicist and chemist. Together with Karol Olszewski, he was the first scientist in the world to liquefy nitrogen in 1883.
Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist and chemist (died 1888)
János Batsányi was a Hungarian poet.
János Batsányi, Hungarian poet and academic (born 1763)
Braulio Evaristo Carrillo Colina was the Head of State of Costa Rica during two periods: the first between 1835 and 1837, and the de facto between 1838 and 1842.
Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, Head of State of Costa Rica (born 1800)
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. He rose to fame as a U.S. Army general and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. His politica…
Andrew Jackson, American general, judge, and politician, 7th President of the United States (born 1767)
Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist. He is often described as…
Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian linguist, poet, and playwright (born 1808)
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey was a British Whig politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. His government enacted the Reform Acts of 1832, whic…
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1764)
Thomas Ruffin Gray was an American attorney, diplomat, and author. He represented several slaves during their trials in the wake of Nat Turner's Rebellion in Southampton County, Vi…
Thomas R. Gray, American author and diplomat (born 1800)
Thomas Osborne Davis was an Irish writer; with Charles Gavan Duffy and John Blake Dillon, a founding editor of The Nation, the weekly organ of what came to be known as the Young Ir…
Thomas Davis, Irish poet and publisher (born 1814)
Mathias or Matthias Hedenström, also known by his Russian name Matvei Matveyevich Gedenshtrom, was a Russian explorer of Northern Siberia, writer, and public servant.
Matvei Gedenschtrom, Russian explorer and public servant (born 1780)
Joseph Story was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered fo…
Joseph Story, American lawyer, politician, and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (born 1779)
Elizabeth Fry, sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation …
Elizabeth Fry, English prison reformer, Quaker and philanthropist (born 1780)
Wisconsin is a state in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michiga…
A long-running feud between two towns in Wisconsin came to a head when a schooner crashed into a bridge; they later merg
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditio…
Captain John Franklin (pictured) departed Greenhithe, England, on an expedition to the Canadian Arctic in search of the
The Great New York City Fire of 1845 broke out on July 19, 1845, in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The fire started in a whale oil and candle manufacturing establishment and quick…
A fire in Manhattan, New York, destroyed 345 buildings, killed 30 people, and caused at least $5 million in damage.
The Great New York City Fire of 1845 broke out on July 19, 1845, in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The fire started in a whale oil and candle manufacturing establishment and quick…
A fire in Manhattan, New York City, destroyed 345 buildings, killed 30 people, and caused at least $5 million in damage.
John Doubleday was a British craftsperson, restorer, and dealer in antiquities who was employed by the British Museum for the last 20 years of his life. He undertook several duties…
John Doubleday completed a "masterly" restoration of the Portland Vase (pictured), which had been smashed into…
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Police Force, the world's second modern police force and Asia's first, is established
The great auk, also known as the garefowl or penguin, is an extinct species of flightless alcid that first appeared around 400,000 years ago and was driven to extinction by human e…
The last pair of great auks is killed
Narciso José Anastasio Clavería y Zaldúa, 1st Count of Manila was a Spanish army officer who served as the Governor-General of the Philippines from July 16, 1844, to December 26, …
Governor-general of the Philippines Narciso Claveria, signs a decree to reform the country's calendar by skipping…
The Treaty of Tangier was signed in Tangier on 10 September 1844, whereby the Franco-Moroccan War was ended and Morocco officially recognised Algeria as a French possession.
The treaty of Tangier ends the Franco-Moroccan War, which Morroco lost, and forces it to recognise the French…
The Báb was an Iranian religious leader who founded Bábism, and is also one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. The Báb gradually and progressively revealed his claim in hi…
Báb: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement