Explore 158 historical events from 1840–1849.
Maurice Rouvier was a French statesman of the "Opportunist" faction, who twice served as the Prime Minister of France. He is best known for his financial policies and his unpopular…
Maurice Rouvier, French businessman and politician, 53rd Prime Minister of France (died 1911)
Carl Joseph Millöcker, was an Austrian composer of operettas and a conductor.
Carl Millöcker, Austrian composer and conductor (died 1899)
Emil Christian Hansen was a Danish mycologist and fermentation physiologist.
Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (died 1909)
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are Manon (188…
Jules Massenet, French composer (died 1912)
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than those of …
John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of …
Arthur Sullivan, English composer (died 1900)
Sir John Cox Bray was a prominent South Australian politician and the first native-born Premier of South Australia (1881–1884).
John Cox Bray, Australian politician, 15th Premier of South Australia (died 1894)
Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. As a botanist and …
Jules Dumont d'Urville, French admiral and explorer (born 1790)
Walenty Wilhelm Wańkowicz was a Polish painter. He studied at the Jesuit College in Polotsk, the University of Wilno and the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. He produced…
Walenty Wańkowicz, Belarusian-Polish painter (born 1799)
On 8 May 1842, a train crashed in the cutting between Meudon and Bellevue stations on the railway between Versailles and Paris, France. The train was travelling to Paris when it de…
A train derailed and caught fire near Versailles, France, killing at least 52 people
Clarence Edward Dutton was an American geologist and US Army officer.
Clarence Dutton, American commander and geologist (died 1912)
Abraham Catulle Mendès was a French poet and man of letters. He was associated with the Parnassianist school.
Catulle Mendès, French poet, author, and playwright (died 1909)
Sakaigawa Namiemon was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Katsushika District, Shimōsa Province. He was the sport's 14th yokozuna. Nicknamed "Tanikaze of the Meiji era", h…
Sakaigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 14th Yokozuna (died 1887)
Peter Louis Marie Chanel, SM, was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr. Chanel was a member of the Society of Mary and was sent as a missionary to Oceania. He arrived on the i…
Peter Chanel, French priest, missionary, and martyr (born 1803)
Joseph Blanco White, born José María Blanco y Crespo, was an Anglo-Spanish political thinker, theologian, and poet.
Joseph Blanco White, Spanish poet and theologian (born 1775)
James Gordon Bennett Jr. was an American publisher. He was the publisher of the New York Herald, founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett Sr. (1795–1872), who emigrated from Sco…
James Gordon Bennett Jr
Peter Andreas Heiberg was a Danish-Norwegian author and philologist. He was born in Vordingborg, Denmark-Norway. The Heiberg ancestry can be traced back to Norway, and has produced…
Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish philologist and author (born 1758)
Benedict Franz von Baader, born Benedikt Franz Xaver Baader, was a Catholic theologian, philosopher, and mining engineer from Germany. Resisting the empiricism of his day, he denou…
Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (born 1765)
Sir David Wilkie was a Scottish painter, especially known for his genre scenes. He painted successfully in a wide variety of genres, including historical scenes, portraits, includi…
David Wilkie, Scottish painter and academic (born 1785)
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1840 but was not valid for use until…
The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom
The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1840 but was not valid for use until…
The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The 1840 Natchez tornado was a deadly tornado that hit Natchez, Mississippi, on Thursday, May 7, 1840. The tornado, while officially unrated, was the second-deadliest tornado in Un…
The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people
Penal transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifica…
The penal transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished
Odilon Redon was a French Symbolist draftsman, printmaker, and painter.
Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (died 1916)