Explore 350 historical events from 1840–1849.
Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first residency program for speci…
William Osler, Canadian physician and author (died 1919)
Ferdinand Vincent-de-Paul Marie Brunetière was a French writer and critic.
Ferdinand Brunetière, French scholar and critic (died 1906)
Robert Anderson Van Wyck was an American politician who was the first mayor of New York City after the consolidation of the five boroughs into the City of Greater New York in 1898.
Robert Anderson Van Wyck, American lawyer and politician, 91st Mayor of New York City (died 1918)
James Edson White, frequently known as Edson White, was an American author, publisher and the second son of two of the pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, James S. White …
James Edson White, American author and publisher, second son of Ellen G. White and James S. White
Max Simon Nordau was a Jewish Zionist leader, physician, author, and social critic. He was a co-founder of the Zionist Organization together with Theodor Herzl, and president or vi…
Max Nordau, Hungarian physician, author, and critic, co-founded the World Zionist Organization (died 1923)
Emma Lazarus was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. Lazarus is especially remembered for her 1883 sonnet,…
Emma Lazarus, American poet and educator (died 1887)
Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier, known as Juliette, was a French socialite whose salon drew people from the leading literary and political circles of early 19th-century Pa…
Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (born 1777)
Katsushika Hokusai was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock print series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji includes the icon…
Hokusai, Japanese painter and illustrator (born 1760)
Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin D'Urban was a British general and colonial administrator, who is best known for his frontier policy when he was the Governor in the Cape Colony. Dur…
Benjamin D'Urban, English general and politician, Governor of British Guiana (born 1777)
Anne Brontë was an English novelist and poet. A member of the Brontë literary family, she was the younger sister of Charlotte, Emily, and Branwell. Anne is known for her 1847 novel…
Anne Brontë, English novelist and poet (born 1820)
Thomas Robert Bugeaud, marquis de la Piconnerie, duc d'Isly was a Marshal of France and Governor-General of Algeria during the French colonization. Born an aristocrat, he has a com…
Thomas Robert Bugeaud, French general and politician (born 1784)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and paleobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope. His contributions include o…
Robert Brown, Scottish botanist (born 1773)
Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette was a German Lutheran theologian and biblical scholar.
Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette, German theologian and scholar (born 1780)
Sarah Allen was an American abolitionist and missionary for the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is known within the AME Church as The Founding Mother.
Sarah Allen, African-American missionary for the African Methodist Episcopal Church (born 1764)
Charles Albert was the King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard state from 27 April 1831 until his abdication in 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, t…
Charles Albert of Sardinia (born 1798)
Edwin Forrest was a nineteenth-century American Shakespearean actor. His feud with the British actor William Macready was the cause of the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849.
A personal dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Macready in New York City devolved into a riot that left at
James Knox Polk was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Amer…
James K
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defeating t…
Abraham Lincoln was issued a patent for an invention to lift boats over obstacles in a river, making him the only U
Epaulettes is the name given by philatelists to the first series of postage stamps issued by Belgium. The stamps, which depicted King Leopold I with prominent epaulettes from which…
Belgium introduced its first series of postage stamps, known as epaulettes (example pictured).
This is a page on the history of the island of Martinique.
Slavery is abolished in Martinique
The Prague Slavic Congress of 1848 took place in Prague, Austrian Empire between 2 June and 12 June 1848. It was the first occasion on which representatives from nearly all Slav po…
The Slavic Congress opens in Prague
Peter Carl Frederik von Scholten was a Danish army officer and colonial administrator who served as Governor-General of the Danish West Indies from 1827 to 1848.
Governor-General Peter von Scholten emancipates all remaining slaves in the Danish West Indies.
Otto was King of Bavaria from 1886 until 1913. However, he never actively ruled because of alleged severe mental illness. His uncle, Luitpold, and his cousin, Ludwig, served as reg…
Otto, King of Bavaria (died 1916)
Ludvig Schytte was a Danish composer, pianist, and teacher.
Ludvig Schytte, Danish pianist, composer, and educator (died 1909)