View source for 1840s

{{Short description|Decade}}

[[File:1840s montage.jpg|thumb|335x335px|From top left, clockwise: The [[Mexican–American War]] ushers in the American expansion in its [[Western United States|western frontier]], paving way for new territories (and eventually states) such as [[Texas]] and [[California]]; the signing of the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] in 1840 guarantees continued [[Tino rangatiratanga|Māori sovereignty]] but also leads to the proclamation of the nominal [[Colony of New Zealand]]; The [[great auk]] goes extinct, as it falls victim to overhunting; The [[First Opium War]] catalyzes Europe's imperial encroachment and control over Chinese ports, as the war resulted with [[Hong Kong]]'s succession to [[United Kingdom|Britain]] via the [[Treaty of Nanking]]; The [[Oregon Trail]] opens up to the world, prompting a [[American frontier|wave of migration to the American west]] and later on, a [[California Gold Rush|gold rush in California]] that persisted through the 1850s; The [[saxophone]] is patented, later used in [[jazz]], [[Swing music|swing]], and [[blues]]; First edition of [[the Communist Manifesto]] is published by [[Karl Marx]] in February 1848, and goes on to create a revolutionary shift in political ideologies and thought in the 20th century, influencing entire states such as [[Soviet Union]], [[China]], and [[Cuba]]; the [[Revolutions of 1848]] ravages European politics, and causes multiple socio-cultural changes, particularly in [[classical music]], arts, and politics.]]
{{Decadebox|184}}
The '''1840s''' (pronounced "eighteen-forties") was the [[decade]] that began on January 1, 1840, and ended on December 31, 1849.

The decade was noted in [[Europe]] for featuring the largely unsuccessful [[Revolutions of 1848]], also known as the ''Springtime of Nations''. Throughout the continent, [[bourgeois]] [[Classical liberalism|liberals]] and [[Working class|working-class]] radicals engaged in a series of revolts in favor of [[social reform]]. In the [[United Kingdom]], this notably manifested itself through the [[Chartism|Chartist]] movement, which sought [[universal suffrage]] and [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|parliamentary]] reform. In [[France]], the [[French Revolution of 1848|February Revolution]] led to the overthrow of the [[House of Orléans|Orléans]] dynasty by [[Napoleon III|Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte]]. In 1848, the publication of the [[The Communist Manifesto|Communist Manifesto]] by [[Karl Marx]] would help lay the groundwork for the global [[Socialism|socialist]] movement. Arguably the first major event of the decade was the signing of the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] in the [[United Tribes of New Zealand|United Tribes]] (modern-day [[New Zealand]]) between [[Māori people|Māori]] [[rangatira]] and representatives of the [[The Crown|British Crown]], which began in February 1840. Due to the differences between the [[Māori language|Māori]] and [[English language|English]] versions of the texts, the British claimed Māori had ceded [[sovereignty]] and proclaimed a new Colony, leading to more than 25 years of [[Asymmetric warfare|asymmetric]] [[New Zealand Wars|armed conflict]] until the Colony secured substantive control.

The [[Mexican–American War]] led to the redrawing of national boundaries in North America. In the [[United States]], mass [[American frontier|migration to the new West Coast]] occurred, following the annexation of [[California Republic|California]] from [[Mexico]] with the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]], 
and the [[California Gold Rush]] beginning, following the discovery of gold there, both in early 1848. On its northern border, the United States settled the [[Oregon boundary dispute]] with the United Kingdom in 1846, thereby solving a domestic political crisis in the former nation. Meanwhile in Ireland, the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] began in 1845, causing the deaths of one million Irish people and forcing over a million more to emigrate. In 1848, the women's rights movement began with the [[Seneca Falls Convention]] in New York.

The last living person from this decade was [[Oldest people#Chronological list of the oldest known living person since 1954|Robert Early]], who died in 1960.

== Politics and wars ==
{{See also|List of sovereign states in the 1840s}}

=== Pacific Islands ===
In 1842, [[Tahiti]] and [[Tahuata]] were declared a [[protectorate|French protectorate]], to allow Catholic missionaries to work undisturbed. The capital of [[Papeete|Papeetē]] was founded in 1843. In 1845, [[George Tupou I]] united [[Tonga]] into a kingdom, and reigned as [[Tuʻi Kanokupolu]].

=== East Asia ===

==== China ====
[[File:British ships in Canton.jpg|thumb|[[First Opium War]]: British ships approaching [[Guangzhou|Canton]] in May 1841]]
On August 29, 1842, the [[First Opium War|first of two Opium Wars]] ended between China and Britain with the [[Treaty of Nanking]]. One of the consequences was the [[cession]] of modern-day [[Hong Kong Island]] to the British. Hong Kong would eventually be [[Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong|returned to China]] in 1997.

On July 3, 1844 the United States signed the [[Treaty of Wanghia]] with the Qing Empire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Treaty Of Wangxia (Treaty Of Wang-Hsia 望廈條約), May 18, 1844 |url=https://china.usc.edu/treaty-wangxia-treaty-wang-hsia-%E6%9C%9B%E5%BB%88%E6%A2%9D%E7%B4%84-may-18-1844 |website=USC US-China Institute |publisher=USC Annenberg |access-date=December 17, 2023 |archive-date=December 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217050122/https://china.usc.edu/treaty-wangxia-treaty-wang-hsia-%E6%9C%9B%E5%BB%88%E6%A2%9D%E7%B4%84-may-18-1844 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The treaty established five U.S. [[treaty ports]] in China with [[extraterritoriality]] and was the first unequal treaty that the United States imposed on the dynasty.

==== Japan ====

The 1840s comprised the end of the [[Tenpō]] era (1830–1844), the entirety of the [[Kōka]] era (1844–1848), and the beginning of the [[Kaei]] era (1848–1854). The decade saw the end of the reign of [[Emperor Ninko]] in 1846, who was succeeded by his son, [[Emperor Kōmei]].

=== Southeastern Asia ===

==== Siam and Vietnam ====
The [[Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845)|Siamese-Vietnamese War (1841–1845)]] in [[Post-Angkor period|Cambodia]] erupted between Vietnam (then under the rule of the [[Nguyễn dynasty]]) and Siam (under the [[Chakri dynasty|House of Chakri]]). In the increasingly confrontational rivalry between Vietnam and Siam, the conflict was triggered by Vietnam's absorption of Cambodia and the demotion of the Khmer monarchs. Siam under [[Rama III]] seized the opportunity to intervene as the tide of Khmer discontent rose against Vietnamese rule.<ref name="Schliesinger2017">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8obRDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA106|title=The Chong People: A Pearic-Speaking Group of Southeastern Thailand and Their Kin in the Region|author=Joachim Schliesinger|date=2 January 2017|publisher=Booksmango|isbn=978-1-63323-988-3|pages=106–}}</ref>

Emperors [[Minh Mạng]], [[Thiệu Trị]] and [[Tự Đức]] ruled Vietnam during the 1840s under the Nguyễn dynasty.

==== New Guinea ====
* [[1848]] – British, [[Netherlands|Dutch]], and German governments lay claim to [[New Guinea]].

=== Australia and New Zealand ===
[[File:Reconstruction of the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Marcus King (16044258961).jpg|thumb|Depiction of the signing of the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] in 1840]]
* First signing of the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] on 6 February 1840, at [[Waitangi, Northland|Waitangi]], [[United Tribes of New Zealand]] (modern-day [[Northland Region]], [[New Zealand]]), between Māori rangatira (chiefs and rulers) and representatives of the [[The Crown|British Crown]]. The treaty between is considered the founding point of modern New Zealand. There were substantial differences between the Māori and English versions of the text, with the vast majority of rangatira signing the Māori version.<ref>{{Cite web |title=One treaty, two languages, 9 sheets |url=https://www.waitangi.org.nz/waitangi-blog/the-treatys-journey |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=www.waitangi.org.nz |language=en}}</ref> Perhaps the most prominent was that the Māori version (''Te Tiriti o Waitangi'') gave Queen Victoria '[[kāwanatanga]]', a transliteration of the English word 'governorship', whereas the British version said Māori who signed the Treaty were ceding [[sovereignty]]. Other notable differences included a right of pre-emption clause in the English version, but not in the Māori version. In the Māori version of the Treaty, the use of the words 'kawanatanga' and '[[tino rangatiratanga]]' (meaning 'absolute sovereignty') contributed to later differences of view between the Crown and Māori over how much authority rangatira would retain.<ref>Differences between the texts, URL: <nowiki>https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/read-the-Treaty/differences-between-the-texts</nowiki>, (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 5-Oct-2021</ref> The British subsequently declared they had sovereignty over the islands in May, and later proclaimed the [[Colony of New Zealand]] in 1841, despite Māori retaining ''de facto'' substantive sovereignty.<ref>Belich, J. (2015). ''The new zealand wars and the victorian interpretation of racial conflict''. Auckland University Press, p.21</ref> This would lead to the [[New Zealand Wars]] between Māori and the British.
* [[July 20]], [[1845]] – [[Charles Sturt]] enters the [[Simpson Desert]] in central [[Australia]].
* [[May 25]], [[1846]] – The [[Royal Geographical Society]] awards [[Paweł Edmund Strzelecki]] a [[Founder's Medal]] "for exploration in the south eastern portion of Australia".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rgs.org/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?nodeguid=5e66a0af-8ada-4b4b-9b00-915cbc97082b&lang=en-GB|title=Gold Medal Recipients|website=Royal Geographical Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617192715/https://www.rgs.org/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?nodeguid=5e66a0af-8ada-4b4b-9b00-915cbc97082b&lang=en-GB|archive-date=17 June 2018}}</ref>
* [[June 15]], [[1846]] – [[Launceston Church Grammar School]] opens for the first time in [[Tasmania]].

=== Southern Asia ===

==== Afghanistan ====
{{further|History of Afghanistan|Barakzai dynasty|First Anglo-Afghan War|The Great Game}}

The [[First Anglo-Afghan War]] had started in 1838, started by the British as a means of defending [[Company rule in India|India]] (under British control at the time) from the Russian Empire's expansion into Central Asia.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} The British attempted to impose a puppet regime on Afghanistan under [[Shuja Shah]], but the regime was short lived and proved unsustainable without British military support. By 1842, mobs were attacking the British on the streets of [[Kabul]] and the British garrison was forced to abandon the city due to constant civilian attacks. During [[1842 retreat from Kabul|the retreat from Kabul]], the British army of approximately 4,500 troops (of which only 690 were European) and 12,000 [[camp follower]]s was subjected to a series of attacks by Afghan warriors. All of the British soldiers were killed except for one and he and a few surviving Indian soldiers made it to the fort at [[Jalalabad]] shortly after.<ref>[http://www.britishbattles.com/first-afghan-war/kabul-gandamak.htm Gandamak] at britishbattles.com</ref> After the [[Battle of Kabul (1842)]], Britain placed [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] back into power (1842–1863) and withdrew from Afghanistan.

==== India ====
[[File:Joppen1907India1848a.jpg|thumb|Map of India in 1848]]
* [[March 24]], [[1843]] – [[Battle of Hyderabad]]: The [[Bombay Army]] led by [[Charles James Napier|Major General Sir Charles Napier]] defeats the [[Talpur]] [[Emir]]s, securing [[Sindh]] as a [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|Province of British India]].

==== Sikh Empire ====
The [[Sikh Empire]] was founded in 1799, ruled by [[Ranjit Singh]]. When Singh died in 1839, the Sikh Empire began to fall into disorder. There was a succession of short-lived rulers at the central [[Durbar (court)|Durbar]] (court), and increasing tension between the [[Khalsa]] (the Sikh Army) and the Durbar. In May 1841, the [[Dogra dynasty]] (a vassal of the Sikh Empire) invaded western Tibet,<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/
 |title=ZORĀWAR SIṄGH (1786–1841)
 |last1=Dattar
 |first1=C. L.
 |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism
 |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508213214/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/
 |archive-date=2014-05-08
}}</ref> marking the beginning of the [[Sino-Sikh war]]. This war ended in a stalemate in September 1842, with the [[Treaty of Chushul]].

The [[British East India Company]] began to build up its military strength on the borders of the Punjab. Eventually, the increasing tension goaded the Khalsa to invade British territory, under weak and possibly treacherous leaders. The hard-fought [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] (1845–1846) ended in defeat for the Khalsa. With the [[Treaty of Lahore]],<ref name="Pocket On This Day">{{cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=978-0-14-102715-9|year=2006}}</ref> the Sikh Empire ceded [[Kashmir]] to the East India Company and surrendered the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond to [[Queen Victoria]].

The Sikh empire was finally dissolved at the end of the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] in 1849 into separate [[princely states]] and the British [[Punjab (British India)|province of Punjab]]. Eventually, a Lieutenant Governorship was formed in Lahore as a direct representative of the [[British Crown]].

==== Sri Lanka ====
[[File:Matale1848-0746.JPG|thumb|A memorial of [[Matale Rebellion]], which began in [[Sri Lanka]] in 1848]]
* [[July 26]], [[1848]] – [[Matale Rebellion]] against [[British Empire|British rule]] in [[Sri Lanka]].

=== Western Asia ===

==== Ottoman Empire ====
The decade was near the beginning of the [[Tanzimât|Tanzimât Era]] of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan [[Abdülmecid I]] ruled during this period.

===== Lebanon =====
{{Further|1840 Lebanon conflict}}
Emir [[Bashir Shihab II]] controlled the [[Mount Lebanon Emirate]] at the beginning of the 1840s. Bashir allied with [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt]], but Muhammad Ali was driven out of the country. Bashir was deposed in 1840 when the Egyptians were driven out by an Ottoman-European alliance, which had the backing of [[Maronite]] forces. His successor, Emir [[Bashir III]], ruled until 1842, after which the emirate was dissolved and split into a [[Druze in Lebanon|Druze sector]] and a [[Christianity in Lebanon|Christian sector]].

===== Romania =====
* [[June 21]], [[1848]] – [[Wallachian Revolution of 1848]]: The [[Proclamation of Islaz]] is made public and a [[Romanians|Romanian]] revolutionary government led by [[Ion Heliade Rădulescu]] and [[Christian Tell]] is created.

==== Persian Empire (Iran) ====
* [[1844]]–[[1852]] – The [[Bábism|Babi Movement]]
* [[1848]] – [[Amir Kabir|Mirza Taqi Khan Amir Kabir]] as chief minister (until 1851)
* [[1847]] – The [[Ottoman Empire]] cedes [[Abadan Island]] to the [[Qajar dynasty|Persian Empire]]

=== Revolutions of 1848 ===
[[File:Europe 1848 map en.png|thumb|240px|Map of Europe in 1848–1849 depicting the main revolutionary centers]]
There was a wave of [[revolution]]s in Europe, collectively known as the [[Revolutions of 1848]]. It remains the most widespread [[revolutionary wave]] in [[European history]], but within a year, [[reactionary]] forces had regained control, and the revolutions collapsed.

The revolutions were essentially [[Liberal democracy#Socialist and Marxist criticism|bourgeois-democratic]] in nature with the aim of removing the old [[Feudalism|feudal]] structures and the creation of independent national states. The revolutionary wave began in [[French Revolution of 1848|France in February]], and immediately spread to most of Europe and parts of Latin America. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation among the revolutionaries in different countries. Six factors were involved: widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership; demands for more participation in government and democracy; demands for freedom of press; the demands of the working classes; the upsurge of nationalism; and finally, the regrouping of the reactionary forces based on the royalty, the aristocracy, the army, and the peasants.<ref>R.J.W. Evans and Hartmut Pogge von Strandmann, eds., ''The Revolutions in Europe 1848–1849'' (2000) pp v, 4</ref>

The uprisings were led by ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes and workers, which did not hold together for long. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and many more forced into exile. The only significant lasting reforms were the abolition of [[serfdom]] in Austria and Hungary, the end of [[absolute monarchy]] in Denmark, and the definitive end of the [[Capetian dynasty|Capetian monarchy]] in France. The revolutions were most important in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Italy, and the Austrian Empire, but did not reach Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, and most of southern Europe <!-- stet. Do not change to the ambiguous 'Britain' or the wrong 'United Kingdom [of Great Britain and Ireland] because there was an 'upheaval' in Ireland --> (Spain, Serbia,<ref>Serbia's Role in the Conflict in Vojvodina 1848–49, Ohio State University, http://www.ohio.edu/chastain/rz/serbvio.htm</ref> Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, the Ottoman Empire).<ref>Nor did it reach Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal, or the Ottoman Empire. Evans and Strandmann (2000) p 2</ref>

=== Eastern Europe ===

==== Russia ====
* [[May 22]], [[1841]] – The Georgian province of [[Guria]] [[1841 rebellion in Guria|revolts]] against the [[Russian Empire]].
* [[1848]] – [[Admiral]] [[Gennadi Nevelskoi|Nevelskoi]] explores the [[Strait of Tartary]].
* [[November 16]], [[1849]] – A [[Russia]]n court sentences [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group, the [[Petrashevsky Circle]]. Facing a firing squad on [[December 23]] the group members are reprieved at the last moment and exiled to the [[katorga]] prison camps in [[Siberia]].

==== Austrian Empire ====
* [[June 2]] – [[June 12|12]], [[1848]] – [[Prague Slavic Congress, 1848|Prague Slavic Congress]] brings together members of the [[Pan-Slavism]] movement.

===== Hungary =====
[[File:Komáromi csata II Than 2.jpg|thumb|Hungarian [[hussar]]s in battle during the Hungarian Revolution]]
* [[March 15]], [[1848]] – Start of the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]].
* [[May 15]], [[1848]] – 40,000 [[Romanian people|Romanians]] meet at the [[Blaj]] to protest [[Transylvania]] becoming a part of [[Hungary]].<ref name=Stoica1>{{cite book|last=Stoica|first=Vasile|title=The Roumanian Question: The Roumanians and their Lands|year=1919|publisher=Pittsburgh Printing Company|location=Pittsburgh|page=23|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7314/view/1/23/}}</ref>
* [[October 6]], [[1849]] – The [[13 Martyrs of Arad]] are executed after the Hungarian War of Independence.

===== Galicia =====
* [[February 18]], [[1846]] – Beginning of the [[Galician slaughter|Galician peasant revolt]].

=== Northern Europe ===

==== Sweden ====
* [[1842]] – Compulsory [[education in Sweden|elementary education]] introduced.
* [[March 8]], [[1844]] – [[Monarch|King]] [[Oscar I of Sweden|Oscar I]] ascends to the throne of [[Sweden-Norway]] upon the death of his father [[Charles XIV John of Sweden|Charles XVI/III John]].

==== Denmark ====
{{Main|History of Denmark|History of Iceland|Danish colonial empire}}
* [[1843]] – The [[Denmark|Danish]] government re-establishes the [[Althing]] in [[Iceland]] as an advisory body.
* [[March 24]], [[1848]] – Start of the [[First Schleswig War]] ({{langx|de|Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg}} or Three Years' War ({{langx|da|Treårskrigen}})). The [[First Schleswig War]] was the first round of military conflict in southern [[Denmark]] and northern Germany rooted in the [[Schleswig-Holstein Question]], contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of [[Schleswig]] and [[Holstein]]. The war, which lasted from 1848 to 1851, also involved troops from [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] and [[Sweden]]. Ultimately, the war resulted in a Danish victory. A second conflict, the [[Second Schleswig War]], erupted in 1864.
* [[June 5]], [[1849]] – [[Denmark]] becomes a [[constitutional monarchy]].

==== United Kingdom ====
* [[September 16]], [[1840]] – [[Joseph Strutt (philanthropist)|Joseph Strutt]] hands over the deeds and papers concerning the [[Derby Arboretum]], which is to become [[England]]'s first public park.
* [[August 10]], [[1842]] – The [[Mines and Collieries Act 1842|Mines Act 1842]] becomes law, prohibiting underground work for all women and boys under 10 years old in [[England]].
* [[March 25]], [[1843]] – [[Marc Isambard Brunel]]'s [[Thames Tunnel]], the first tunnel under the [[River Thames]] and the world's first bored underwater tunnel, is opened in London.<ref name="Pocket On This Day"/>
* [[May 4]], [[1843]] – [[Colony of Natal|Natal]] is proclaimed a British colony.
* April – The [[Fleet Prison]] for [[debtors' prison|debtors]] in London is closed.
[[File:Chartist meeting, Kennington Common.jpg|thumb|[[April 10]]: "Monster Rally" of [[Chartism|Chartists]] held on [[Kennington Common]] in London; the first photograph of a crowd depicts it.]]
* [[July]], [[1848]] – [[Public Health Act 1848|Public Health Act]] establishes [[Local board of health|Boards of Health]] across [[England and Wales]], the nation's first public health law, giving cities broad authority to build modern sanitary systems.<ref name=CBH_269>{{cite book|last1=Palmer|first1=Alan|last2=Palmer|first2=Veronica|year=1992|title=The Chronology of British History|publisher=Century Ltd|location=London|pages=269–270|isbn=978-0-7126-5616-0}}</ref>

===== Royalty =====
[[Queen Victoria]] was on the throne 20 June 1837 until her death 22 January, 1901. The [[wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] took place in 1840.

===== Ireland =====
The [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] of the 1840s caused the deaths of one million Irish people and over a million more emigrated to escape it.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Irish Potato Famine |publisher=Digital History |date=7 November 2008 |url=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/irish_potato_famine.cfm |access-date=2008-11-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823030816/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/irish_potato_famine.cfm |archive-date=23 August 2012 }}</ref> It is sometimes referred to, mostly outside Ireland, as the "Irish Potato Famine" because one-third of the population was then solely reliant on this cheap crop for a number of historical reasons.<ref>{{citation|title=The Great Hunger|first=Cecil|last=Woodham-Smith|year=1991|page = 19}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=This Great Calamity|last=Kinealy|first=Christine |year=1994|publisher=Gill & Macmillan|isbn=978-0-7171-4011-4|pages = xvi–ii, 2–3}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=The Irish Potato Famine|last=O'Neill|first=Joseph R.|year=2009|publisher=ABDO| isbn=978-1-60453-514-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVEWfeClF8MC|page = 1}}</ref> The [[Proximate cause#Historiographical usage|proximate cause]] of [[famine]] was a potato disease commonly known as [[potato blight]].<ref>{{citation|title=Ireland's Great Famine: Interdisciplinary Perspectives|first=Cormac|last=Ó Gráda|year=2006|publisher=Dublin Press|isbn=978-1-904558-57-6|page = 7}}</ref> A census taken in 1841 revealed a population of slightly over 8 million.<ref>{{citation|publisher=Gill and Macmillan Ltd|first=Richard|last=Killen|year=2003|title=A Short History of Modern Ireland}}</ref> A census immediately after the famine in 1851 counted 6,552,385, a drop of almost 1.5 million in 10 years.<ref>{{citation|last1=Vaughan|first1=W.E|last2=Fitzpatrick|first2= A.J|editor1=W. E. Vaughan|editor2=A. J. Fitzpatrick|title=Irish Historical Statistics, Population, 1821/1971|publisher=[[Royal Irish Academy]]|year=1978}}</ref>

The period of the potato blight in Ireland from 1845 to 1851 was full of political confrontation.<ref>{{citation|last=Donnelly| first=James S. Jr. |title=Mass Eviction and the Irish Famine: The Clearances Revisited", from The Great Irish Famine|editor-first=Cathal|editor-last=Poirteir|publisher=Mercier Press|location=Dublin, Ireland|year=1995}}</ref> A more radical [[Young Ireland]] group seceded from the Repeal movement and attempted an armed rebellion in the [[Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848]], which was unsuccessful.

=== Western Europe ===

==== Germany ====
* [[May 18]], [[1848]] – The first German National Assembly ([[Frankfurt Parliament|Nationalversammlung]]) opens in [[Frankfurt]], Germany.
* March – The [[Frankfurt Parliament]] completes its drafting of a liberal constitution and elects [[Frederick William IV]] emperor of the new German national state.
* [[April 2]], [[1849]] – [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states]] end in failure.
* [[May 3]], [[1849]] – The [[May Uprising in Dresden]], last of the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states]], begins.

==== Switzerland ====
* [[November 3]] – [[November 29|29]], [[1847]] – [[Sonderbund War]], a civil war in Switzerland in which General [[Guillaume-Henri Dufour]]'s federal army defeats the ''Sonderbund'' (an alliance of seven [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]]) with a total of only 86 deaths.
[[File:Gedenkblatt 1874.jpg|thumb|[[September 12]]: The [[Swiss Confederation]] reconstitutes itself as a [[federal republic]].]]
* [[September 12]], [[1848]] – One of the successes of the [[Revolutions of 1848]], the [[Swiss Federal Constitution]], patterned on the [[US Constitution]], enters into force, creating a [[federal republic]] and one of the first modern [[Democracy|democratic]] states in Europe.

==== The Netherlands ====
* [[October 7]], [[1840]] – [[William II of the Netherlands|Willem II]] becomes King of the [[Netherlands]].
* [[November 3]], [[1848]] – A greatly revised [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[constitution]] is proclaimed.

==== France ====
* [[March 1]], [[1840]] – [[Adolphe Thiers]] becomes prime minister of [[France]].
* [[September 30]], [[1840]] – The frigate [[French frigate Belle Poule (1834)|''Belle Poule'']] arrives in Cherbourg, bringing back the remains of [[Napoleon]] from [[Saint Helena]] to [[France]]. He is buried in the [[Invalides]].
[[File:Repatriación de las cenizas de Napoleón a bordo de la Belle Poule, por Eugène Isabey.jpg|thumb|right|The frigate Belle Poule brings back the remains of Napoleon to France.]]
* [[December 15]], [[1840]] – The corpse of [[Napoleon]] is placed in the [[Hotel des Invalides]] in [[Paris]].
* [[February 23]], [[1848]] – [[François Guizot]], [[Prime Minister of France]], resigns. 52 people from the Paris mob are killed by soldiers guarding public buildings.
* [[February 24]], [[1848]] – [[Louis Philippe]], King of the French, abdicates in favour of his grandson, [[Philippe, comte de Paris]], and flees to England after days of revolution in Paris. The [[French Second Republic]] is later proclaimed by [[Alphonse de Lamartine]] in the name of the provisional government elected by the Chamber under the pressure of the mob.
* [[May 15]], [[1848]] – [[Radicalism (historical)|Radicals]] invade the French [[Chamber of Deputies (France)|Chamber of Deputies]].
* [[June 22]], [[1848]] – The French government dissolves the national workshops in Paris, giving the workers the choice of joining the army or going to workshops in the provinces.
* [[August 28]], [[1848]] – Mathieu Luis becomes the first black member to join the French [[Parliament]] as a representative of [[Guadeloupe]].
* [[November 4]], [[1848]] – France ratifies a new constitution. The Second Republic of France is set up, ending the state of temporary government lasting since the Revolution of 1848.
* [[December 10]], [[1848]] – [[Prince]] [[Napoleon III|Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte]] is elected first [[president (government title)|president]] of the [[French Second Republic]].
* [[December 20]], [[1848]] – [[President (government title)|President]] [[Napoleon III|Bonaparte]] takes his [[Oath of Office]] in front of the [[French National Assembly]].
* [[January 1]], [[1849]] – [[France]] issues [[Ceres series (France)|Ceres]], the nation's first [[postage stamp]].

=== Southern Europe ===

==== Greece ====
* [[September 3]], [[1843]] – Popular uprising in [[Athens]], [[Greece]], including citizens and military captains, to require from [[Otto, King of Greece|King Otto]] the issue of a liberal [[Constitution]] to the state, which has been governed since independence ([[1830]]) by various domestic and foreign business interests.

==== Italian Peninsula ====
* [[January 12]], [[1848]] – The [[Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848|Palermo rising]] erupts in [[Sicily]], against the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] kingdom of the [[Two Sicilies]].
* [[March 22]], [[1848]] – [[Republic of San Marco]] comes into existence in [[Venice]].
* [[January 21]], [[1849]] – General elections are held in the [[Papal States]].
* [[February 8]], [[1849]] – The new [[Roman Republic (19th century)|Roman Republic]] is proclaimed.
* [[April 27]], [[1849]] – [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] enters [[Rome]] to defend it from the French troops of General [[Oudinot]].
* [[May 15]], [[1849]] – Troops of the [[Two Sicilies]] take [[Palermo]] and crush the republican government of [[Sicily]].
* [[July 3]], [[1849]] – French troops occupy [[Rome]]; the [[Roman Republic (19th century)|Roman Republic]] surrenders.

==== Spain ====
{{Main|Carlist Wars}}This period saw the 1840 end of the [[First Carlist War]], a [[civil war]] in [[Spain]] over the succession to the throne and the nature of the [[Monarchy of Spain|Spanish monarchy]]. This was the first full decade of the [[reign of Isabella II of Spain]]. Since she was only 10 years old in 1840, her true reign started in 1843, for which the first portion was referred to as [[Década moderada]]. The [[Affair of the Spanish Marriages]] (1846) was a series of intrigues between [[July Monarchy|France]], [[Mid-nineteenth century Spain|Spain]], and the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] relating Isabella II's marriages, which was shortly followed by [[Second Carlist War]] (1847–1849).

==== Portugal ====
* [[May 16]], [[1846]] – [[Revolution]]ary insurrection in Portugal (crushed by royalist troops on [[February 22]], [[1847]])

=== Africa ===
* [[December 7]], [[1840]] – [[David Livingstone]] leaves Britain for Africa.
* [[August 10]], [[1845]] – The French Consul in [[Zanzibar]] (M. Broquant) receives the final letter sent by [[Eugène Maizan]] during his expedition into tropical Africa.<ref name="Giraud">{{cite book|language=fr|first=Victor|last=Giraud|title=Les lacs de l'Afrique Équatoriale : voyage d'exploration exécuté de 1883 à 1885|location=[[Paris]]|publisher=[[Hachette (publisher)|Librairie Hachette et Cie]]|year=1890|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1048705/f36.image|page=31}}</ref>
* [[December 20]], [[1848]] – [[Slavery]] is abolished on the island of [[Réunion]].

==== Algeria ====
* [[December 21]], [[1847]] – [[Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri|Abd al-Kader]] surrenders and is imprisoned by the French.

==== Ethiopia ====
* [[February 7]], [[1842]] – [[Battle of Debre Tabor]]: Ras [[Ali II of Yejju|Ali Alula]], Regent of the [[Emperor of Ethiopia]], defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of [[Semien province|Semien]].

==== South Africa ====
* [[June 4]], [[1842]] – In [[South Africa]], hunter [[Richard Philip King|Dick King]] rides into a British military base in [[Grahamstown]] to warn that the [[Boer]]s have besieged [[Durban]] (he had left 11 days earlier). The British army dispatches a relief force.
* [[December 13]], [[1843]] – [[Basutoland]] becomes a British protectorate.<ref name=CBH_266>{{cite book|last1=Palmer|first1=Alan|last2=Palmer|first2=Veronica|year=1992|title=The Chronology of British History|publisher=Century Ltd|location=London|pages=266–267|isbn=978-0-7126-5616-0}}</ref>

==== Morocco ====
[[File:Vernet - Bataille d'Isly - 1846.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Battle of Isly]] during the [[Franco-Moroccan War]]]]
* [[August 14]], [[1844]] – [[Abdelkader El Djezairi]] is defeated at Isly in [[Morocco]]; the [[sultan]] of [[Morocco]] soon repudiates his ally.

==== Liberia ====
* [[July 26]], [[1847]] – [[Liberia]] gains independence.
* [[January 3]], [[1848]] – [[Joseph Jenkins Roberts]] is sworn in as the first [[President of Liberia|president]] of the independent African [[Republic of Liberia]].

=== North America ===

==== Canada ====

In the prior decade, the desire for [[responsible government]] resulted in the abortive [[Rebellions of 1837–1838]]. The [[Report on the Affairs of British North America|Durham Report]] subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture.<ref name=Buckner>{{cite book|title=Canada and the British Empire|editor= Buckner, Philip|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|pages=37–40, 56–59, 114, 124–125|isbn=978-0-19-927164-1}}</ref> The [[Act of Union 1840]] merged the Canadas into a united [[Province of Canada]] and responsible government was established for all British North American provinces by 1849.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Romney|first=Paul|date=Spring 1989|title=From Constitutionalism to Legalism: Trial by Jury, Responsible Government, and the Rule of Law in the Canadian Political Culture|journal=Law and History Review|volume=7|issue=1|page=128|doi=10.2307/743779|jstor=743779|s2cid=147047853 }}</ref> The signing of the [[Oregon Treaty]] by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the [[Oregon boundary dispute]], extending the border westward along the [[49th parallel north|49th parallel]]. This paved the way for British colonies on [[Colony of Vancouver Island|Vancouver Island (1849)]] and in [[Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)|British Columbia (1858)]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Evenden|first=Leonard J|author2=Turbeville, Daniel E|title=Geographical snapshots of North America|editor=Janelle, Donald G|publisher=Guilford Press|year=1992|page=[https://archive.org/details/geographicalsnap0000unse/page/52 52]|chapter=The Pacific Coast Borderland and Frontier|isbn=978-0-89862-030-6|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/geographicalsnap0000unse/page/52}}</ref>
* [[March 11]], [[1848]] – [[Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine]] and [[Robert Baldwin]] became the first [[Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada]] to be democratically elected under a system of [[responsible government]].
* [[April 25]], [[1849]] – [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin]], the [[Governor General of Canada]], signs the [[Rebellion Losses Bill]], outraging [[Montreal]]'s [[English-Canadian|English]] population and triggering the [[Montreal Riots]].

==== United States ====
* [[January 18]], [[1840]] – ''The Electro-Magnetic and Mechanics Intelligencer'' used electricity for power of the [[Printing press|press to print]] it.
* [[February 18]], [[1841]] – The first ongoing [[filibuster]] in the [[United States Senate]] begins and lasts until [[March 11]].
* [[August 16]], [[1841]] – U.S. President [[John Tyler]] vetoes a [[Bill (law)|bill]] which called for the re-establishment of the [[Second Bank of the United States]]. Enraged [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] members riot outside the [[White House]] in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.
* March – [[Commonwealth v. Hunt]]: the Massachusetts Supreme Court makes strikes and unions legal in the United States.
* [[May 19]], [[1842]] – [[Dorr Rebellion]]: Militiamen supporting [[Thomas Wilson Dorr]] attack the arsenal in [[Providence, Rhode Island]], but are repulsed.
* [[January 23]], [[1845]] – The [[United States Congress]] establishes a uniform date for federal elections, which will henceforth be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
* [[March 4]], [[1845]] – The [[United States Congress]] passes legislation overriding a presidential [[veto]] for the first time.
* [[February 26]], [[1846]] – The [[Liberty Bell]] is cracked while being rung for George Washington's birthday.
* [[March 1]], [[1847]] – The state of [[Michigan]] formally abolishes the [[death penalty]].
* [[March 4]], [[1847]] – The [[30th United States Congress]] is sworn into office.
[[File:First US Stamps 1847 Issue.jpg|thumb|300px|<div style="text-align: center;">The first U.S. postage stamps have portraits of [[Benjamin Franklin]] and [[George Washington]]. Though highly collectable, they are far from being the most valuable.</div>]]
* [[July 1]], [[1847]] – The United States issues its first [[postage stamp]]s ''(pictured)''.
* [[January 31]], [[1848]] – Construction of the [[Washington Monument]] begins in [[Washington, D.C.]]
* [[March 3]], [[1849]] – The [[United States Congress]] passes the [[Gold Coinage Act]] allowing the minting of [[gold]] [[coin]]s.

===== Slavery =====
* [[March 9]], [[1841]] – ''[[United States v. The Amistad|Amistad]]'': The [[Supreme Court of the United States]] rules in the case that the Africans who seized control of the ship had been taken into [[slavery]] illegally.
* [[August 11]] (Wednesday) Frederick Douglass spoke in front of the [[Anti-Slavery Convention]] in [[Nantucket, Massachusetts]].
* May – [[Frederick Douglass]]'s ''[[Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave]]'' written by himself is published by the [[Boston]] Anti-Slavery Society.

===== Settlement =====
[[File:USA Territorial Growth 1850.jpg|thumb|300px|United States territorial growth from 1840 to 1850]]
* [[May 11]], [[1841]] – [[Charles Wilkes|Lt. Charles Wilkes]] lands at [[Fort Nisqually]] in [[Puget Sound]].
* [[August 4]], [[1842]] – The [[Armed Occupation Act]] is signed, providing for the armed occupation and settlement of the unsettled part of the Peninsula of [[East Florida]].
* [[August 9]], [[1842]] – The [[Webster–Ashburton Treaty]] is signed, settling the dispute over the location of the [[Maine]]–[[New Brunswick]] [[Canada–United States border|border between the United States and Canada]], and establishing the United States–Canada border east of the [[Rocky Mountains]].
* [[May 22]], [[1843]] – The first major [[wagon train]] headed for the American Northwest sets out with one thousand pioneers from [[Elm Grove, Missouri]], on the [[Oregon Trail]].
* [[March 3]], [[1845]] – [[Florida]] is admitted as the 27th [[U.S. state]].
* [[December 2]], [[1845]] – [[Manifest destiny]]: U.S. President [[James K. Polk]] announces to Congress that the [[Monroe Doctrine]] should be strictly enforced and that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.
* [[December 29]], [[1845]] – [[Texas]] is admitted as the 28th [[U.S. state]].
* [[June 15]], [[1846]] – The [[Oregon Treaty]] establishes the [[49th parallel north|49th parallel]] as the border between the United States and Canada, from the [[Rocky Mountains]] to the [[Strait of Juan de Fuca]].
* [[1846]] – The portion of the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] that was ceded by [[Virginia]] in [[1790]] is re-ceded to [[Virginia]].
* [[December 28]], [[1846]] – [[Iowa]] is admitted as the 29th [[U.S. state]].
* [[July 24]], [[1847]] – After 17 months of travel, [[Brigham Young]] leads 148 [[Mormon pioneers]] into [[Salt Lake Valley]], resulting in the establishment of [[Salt Lake City]].[[File:Flag of Wisconsin.svg|thumb|[[May 29]]: [[Wisconsin]] admitted as the 30th [[U.S. state]].]]
* [[May 29]], [[1848]] – [[Wisconsin]] is admitted as the 30th [[U.S. state]].
* [[1848]] – The [[Illinois and Michigan Canal]] is completed.
* [[March 3]], [[1849]] – [[Minnesota]] becomes a [[Territories of the United States|United States territory]]

===== Native Americans =====
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce was predicted to have been born in the 1840s.

===== Presidents =====
The United States had five different Presidents during the decade. Only the [[1880s]] would have as many. [[Martin Van Buren]] was president when the decade began, but was defeated by [[William Henry Harrison]] in the [[U.S. presidential election, 1840|U.S. presidential election of 1840]]. Harrison's service was the shortest in history, starting with [[Inauguration of William Henry Harrison|his inauguration]] on March 4, 1841, and ending when he died on April 4, 1841.

Harrison's vice president, [[John Tyler]], replaced him as President (the first such Presidential succession in U.S. history), and served out the rest of his term. Tyler spent much of his term in conflict with the Whig party. He ended his term having made an alliance with the Democrats, endorsing [[James K. Polk]] and signing the resolution to annex Texas into the United States.

In the [[1844 United States presidential election|Presidential election of 1844]], [[James K. Polk]] defeated [[Henry Clay]]. During his presidency, Polk oversaw the U.S. victory in the Mexican–American War and subsequent annexation of what is now the southwest United States. He also negotiated a split of the Oregon Territory with Great Britain.
[[File:ElectoralCollege1848-Large.png|thumb|180px|[[November 7]]: [[U.S. presidential election, 1848|The first US presidential election held in every state on the same day]] sees [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] [[Zachary Taylor]] of [[Virginia]] defeat [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Lewis Cass]] of [[Michigan]].]]
In the [[1848 United States presidential election|U.S. presidential election of 1848]], [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] [[Zachary Taylor]] of [[Louisiana]] defeated [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Lewis Cass]] of [[Michigan]]. Taylor's term in office was cut short by his death in 1850.

===== California =====
{{Main|Alta California|Mexican Cession|California Gold Rush}}
In the first part of the 1840s, the modern state of [[California]] was part of a larger province of [[Mexico]], called "[[Alta California]]". The region included all of the modern American states of [[California]], [[Nevada]] and [[Utah]], and parts of [[Arizona]], [[Wyoming]], [[Colorado]] and [[New Mexico]].

The [[United States]], embarked on the [[Conquest of California]] in an early military campaign of the [[Mexican–American War]] in Alta California. The California Campaign was marked by a series of small battles throughout 1846 and early 1847. The [[Treaty of Cahuenga]] was signed on January 13, 1847, and essentially terminated hostilities in Alta California. Shortly thereafter, [[John C. Frémont]] was appointed Governor of the new [[California]] Territory, and [[Yerba Buena, California]], was renamed [[San Francisco]].

The [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]], signed in February 1848, marked the end of the Mexican–American War. By the terms of the treaty, [[Mexican Cession|Mexico formally ceded]] Alta California along with its other northern territories east through [[Texas]], receiving [[USD|$]]15,000,000 in exchange. This largely unsettled territory constituted nearly half of its claimed territory with about 1% of its then population of about 4,500,000.<ref>Note: A new international boundary was drawn; [[San Diego Bay]] is one of the only two main natural harbors in California south of [[San Francisco Bay]]; the border was aligned from one Spanish league south of San Diego Bay east to the [[Gila River]] – [[Colorado River]] confluence, to include strategic San Diego and its harbor.</ref><ref>Two years after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, U.S. statehood was granted in 1850.</ref>

The discovery of gold in [[Northern California]] (and subsequent discourse about that discovery in 1848) led to the [[California Gold Rush]]. In October 1848, the [[SS California (1848)|SS ''California'']] left [[New York Harbor]], rounded [[Cape Horn]] at the tip of South America, and arrived in [[San Francisco]] after the 4-month-21-day journey. Thereafter, regular [[steamboat]] service continued from the west to the east coast of the United States. During 1848, only an estimated 6,000 to 6,500 people traveled to California to seek gold that year.<ref name="Starr48">Starr, Kevin and Orsi, Richard J. (eds.) (2000), pp. 50–54.</ref> By the beginning of 1849, word of the Gold Rush had spread around the world, and an overwhelming number of gold-seekers and merchants began to arrive from virtually every continent. In 1849, an estimated 90,000 people arrived in [[California]] in 1849—of which 50,000 to 60,000 were from the United States.<ref name="Starr49note">Starr, Kevin and Orsi, Richard J. (eds.) (2000), pp. 57–61. Other estimates range from 70,000 to 90,000 arrivals during 1849 (''ibid.'' p. 57).</ref><ref name="Starr492">Starr, Kevin and Orsi, Richard J. (eds.) (2000), pp. 57–61.</ref> In 1850, [[California]] joined the union as the [[Order of U.S. statehood|31st state]].

==== Texas ====
{{main|Texas Annexation|History of Texas (1845–1860)}}

The [[Republic of Texas]] had [[Texas Declaration of Independence|declared independence]] in 1836, as part of breaking away from Mexico in the [[Texas Revolution]]. The following year, an ambassador from Texas approached the United States about the possibility of becoming an American state. Fearing a war with Mexico, which did not recognize Texas independence, the United States declined the offer.<ref>Richard Bruce Winders, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mcc9EciebFYC ''Crisis in the Southwest: The United States, Mexico, and the Struggle over Texas''] (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002), p. 41.</ref>

In 1844, [[James K. Polk]] was elected the United States president after promising to annex Texas. Before he assumed office, the outgoing president, [[John Tyler]], entered negotiations with Texas. On February 26, 1845, six days before Polk took office, the U.S. Congress approved the annexation. The Texas legislature approved annexation in July 1845 and constructed a [[Constitution of the State of Texas|state constitution]]. In October, Texas residents approved the annexation and the new constitution, and Texas was officially inducted into the United States on December 29, 1845, as the 28th U.S. state.<ref>Fehrenbach, ''Lone Star'', pp. 264–267</ref> Mexico still considered Texas to be a renegade Mexican state, and never considered land south of the [[Nueces River]] to be part of Texas. This border dispute between the newly expanded United States and Mexico triggered the [[#Mexican–American War|Mexican–American War]].

When the war concluded, Mexico relinquished its claim on Texas, as well as other regions in what is now the southwestern United States. Texas' annexation as a state that tolerated slavery had caused tension in the United States among slave states and those that did not allow slavery. The tension was partially defused with the [[Compromise of 1850]], in which Texas ceded some of its territory to the federal government to become non-slave-owning areas but gained El Paso.

==== Mexican–American War ====
{{Main|Mexican–American War}}
[[File:Nebel Mexican War 08 Molino del Rey Molino (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Mexican–American War]]]]

[[Territorial expansion of the United States|American territorial expansion]] to the [[Pacific coast of the United States|Pacific coast]] was a major goal of U.S. President [[James K. Polk]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vfhAAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA658|title=The United States and Mexico, vol. 2|last=Rives|year=1913|pages=658}}</ref> In 1845, the United States of America [[Texas Annexation|annexed Texas]], which had won independence from [[Centralist Republic of Mexico]] in the [[Texas Revolution]] of 1836. Mexico did not accept the annexation, while also continuing to claim the [[Nueces River]] as its border with Texas<s>,</s> and also still considering Texas to be a province of Mexico. In 1845, newly elected U.S. President [[James K. Polk]] sent troops to the disputed area, and a diplomatic mission to Mexico. After Mexican forces [[Thornton Affair|attacked American forces]], the U.S. declared the [[Mexican–American War]] (1846–1848).

Combat operations lasted a year and a half, from the spring of 1846 to the fall of 1847. U.S. forces quickly occupied the capital town of [[Santa Fe de Nuevo México]] along the upper Rio Grande and began the [[Conquest of California]] in Mexico's [[Alta California]] Department. They then invaded to the south into parts of central Mexico (modern-day northeastern Mexico and northwest Mexico). Meanwhile, the [[Pacific Squadron]] of the [[United States Navy]] conducted a blockade and took control of several garrisons on the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast farther south in lower [[Baja California Territory]]. The U.S. Army eventually captured the capital [[Mexico City]], having marched west from the port of [[Veracruz (city)|Veracruz]], where the Americans staged their first amphibious landing on the [[Gulf of Mexico]] coast.

The 1848 [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]], forced onto the remnant Mexican government, ended the war and specified its major consequence, the [[Mexican Cession]] of the northern territories of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México to the United States. The U.S. agreed to pay $15 million compensation for the physical damage of the war. In addition, the United States assumed $3.25 million of debt already owed earlier by the Mexican government to U.S. citizens. Mexico acknowledged the loss of their province, later the Republic of Texas (and now the [[Texas|State of Texas]]), and thereafter cited and acknowledged the Rio Grande as its future northern national border with the United States. Including Texas, Mexico ceded an area of approximately {{convert|2500000|km2}} – by its terms, around 55% of its former national territory.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=26|title=Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)}}</ref>

==== Mexico ====
{{See also|Territorial evolution of Mexico|Centralist Republic of Mexico|Antonio López de Santa Anna}}
The 1840s for Mexico were the end of the [[Centralist Republic of Mexico|centralist government]] and the waning years the "Age of Santa Anna". In 1834, President [[Antonio López de Santa Anna]] dissolved Congress, forming a new government. That government instituted the new Centralist Republic of Mexico by approving a new centralist constitution ("[[Siete Leyes]]"), From its formation in 1835 until its dissolution in 1846, the Centralist Republic was governed by eleven [[President of Mexico|presidents]] (none of which finished their term). It called for the state militias to disarm, but many states resisted, including [[Mexican Texas]], which won its independence in the [[Texas Revolution]] of 1836.

The [[Republic of the Rio Grande]] declared its independence from Mexico in January 1840. However, the border with Texas was never determined (whether the [[Nueces River]] or the [[Rio Grande]]). The new Republic fought a brief and unsuccessful war for independence, returning to Mexico late in the year.

In 1841, Generals [[Antonio López de Santa Anna|Santa Anna]] and [[Mariano Paredes (President of Mexico)|Paredes]] led a rebellion against [[Anastasio Bustamante|President Bustamante]], resulting in Santa Anna becoming president of the [[Centralist Republic of Mexico|centralist government]] for a fifth time . Local officials in Yucatán declared independence in 1841, opposing strong autocratic rule and demanding the restoration of the [[1824 Constitution of Mexico|Constitution of 1824]], thus establishing the second [[Republic of Yucatán]].

In 1842, the region of [[Soconusco]] was annexed by Mexico as part of the state of [[Chiapas]], following the dissolution of the [[Federal Republic of Central America]].

In 1846, [[Mariano Paredes (President of Mexico)|President Paredes]] and the Congress of Mexico declared war at the beginning of the Mexican–American War. Paredes' presidential successor was deposed in a coup, replaced by [[José Mariano Salas]]. Salas issued a new decree that restored the [[1824 Constitution of Mexico|Constitution of 1824]], ending the Centralist Republic and beginning the [[Second Federal Republic of Mexico]]. After the conclusion of the Mexican–American War, [[José Joaquín de Herrera]] became the second president of Mexico to finish his term (Mexico's first president completed his in 1829). It was during this time that Yucatán reunited with Mexico. A decisive factor for the reunion was the [[Caste War of Yucatán]] (a revolt by the indigenous [[Maya peoples|Maya]] population) for which Yucatán initially sought help from Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, but ultimately reunited with Mexico for help.

Herrera peacefully turned over the presidency to the winner of the Federal Elections of 1850, General [[Mariano Arista]]. Despite being exiled from Mexico in 1848, Santa Anna would [[Antonio López de Santa Anna#President for the last time, 1853–1855|return to the presidency one last time]] during the [[1850s]].

==== El Salvador ====
* February – [[El Salvador]] proclaims itself an independent republic, bringing an end to the (already ''de facto'' defunct) [[Federal Republic of Central America]].

=== Caribbean ===

==== Barbados ====
* [[June 6]], [[1843]] – In [[Barbados]], [[Samuel Jackman Prescod]] is the first non-white person elected to the House of Assembly.

==== Dominican Republic ====
* [[February 27]], [[1844]] – The [[Dominican Republic]] gains independence from [[Haiti]].
* [[November 6]], [[1844]] – The [[Dominican Republic]] drafts its first [[Constitution]].

==== Haiti ====
* [[March 1]], [[1847]] – [[Faustin Soulouque]] declares himself [[Emperor]] of [[Haiti]].

==== Trinidad ====
* [[May 30]], [[1845]] – ''[[Fatel Razack]]'' (''Fath Al Razack'', "Victory of Allah the Provider", [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: قتح الرزاق) is the first ship to bring indentured labourers from [[India]] to [[Trinidad]], landing in the [[Gulf of Paria]] with 227 immigrants.<ref>When the British decided they were going to bring Indians to Trinidad this year, most of the traditional British ship owners did not wish to be involved. The ship was originally named ''Cecrops'', but upon delivery was renamed to ''Fath Al Razack''. The ship left [[Calcutta]] on [[February 16]].</ref>

=== South America ===

==== Brazil ====
* [[July 23]], [[1840]] – [[Pedro II of Brazil|Pedro II]] is declared "of age" prematurely and begins to reassert central control in [[Brazil]].
* [[July 18]], [[1841]] – [[Coronation]] ceremony of Emperor [[Pedro II of Brazil]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]].
* [[January 20]], [[1843]] – [[Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná]], becomes ''de facto'' first [[Prime Minister of Brazil|prime minister]] of the [[Empire of Brazil]].
* [[September 4]], [[1843]] – The Emperor Dom [[Pedro II of Brazil]] marries Dona [[Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies]] in a state ceremony in [[Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro|Rio de Janeiro Cathedral]].

==== Uruguay ====
* [[February 3]], [[1843]] – [[Argentina]] supports Rosas of [[Uruguay]] and begins a siege of [[Montevideo]].

==== Paraguay ====
* [[1844]] – [[Carlos Antonio López]] becomes dictator of [[Paraguay]].

==== Argentina ====
* [[September 18]], [[1845]] – [[Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata]] formally declared.
* [[November 20]], [[1845]] – Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata: [[Battle of Vuelta de Obligado]]: The [[Argentine Confederation]] is narrowly defeated by an [[Anglo]]-[[France|French]] fleet on the waters of the [[Paraná River]] but Argentina attracts political support in South America.

==== Venezuela ====
* [[1843]] – [[Germans]] from the [[Black Forest]] region of Southern [[Baden]] migrate to [[Venezuela]].

==== Peru ====
* [[April 20]], [[1845]] – [[Ramón Castilla]] becomes president of [[Peru]].

==== Chile ====
* [[May 23]], [[1843]] – [[Chile]] takes possession of the [[Strait of Magellan]].

== Science and technology ==
[[File:Goodyear-Charles-LOC-closeup.jpg|thumb|115px|right| [[June 15]]: [[Charles Goodyear]].]]

=== Astronomy ===
* [[Eta Carinae]] is temporarily the second-brightest star in the night sky.
* [[September 23]], [[1846]] – [[Discovery of Neptune]]: The planet is observed for the first time by German astronomers [[Johann Gottfried Galle]] and [[Heinrich Louis d'Arrest]] as predicted by the British astronomer [[John Couch Adams]] and the French astronomer [[Urbain Le Verrier]].
* [[September 16]], [[1848]] – [[William Cranch Bond]] and [[William Lassell]] discover [[Hyperion (moon)|Hyperion]], [[Saturn]]'s [[natural satellite|moon]].

=== Photography ===

The 1840s saw the rise of the [[Daguerreotype]]. Introduced in 1839, the Daguerreotype was the first publicly announced photographic process and came into widespread use in the 1840s. Numerous events in the 1840s were captured by photography for the first time with the use of the Daguerreotype. A number of daguerreotypes were taken of the occupation of Saltillo during the Mexican–American War, in 1847 by an unknown photographer. These photographs stand as the first ever photos of warfare in history.

=== Telegraph ===
[[File:The first telegram. Professor Samuel Morse sending the despatch as dictated by Miss Annie Ellsworth.jpg|thumb|180px|The first telegram. Professor [[Samuel Morse]] sending the dispatch as dictated by Miss Annie Ellsworth]]
* The first [[electrical telegraph]] sent by [[Samuel Morse]] on May 24, 1844, from [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] to [[Washington, D.C.]]

=== Computers ===
* [[1843]] – [[Ada Lovelace]] translates and expands [[Luigi Federico Menabrea|Menabrea]]'s notes on [[Charles Babbage]]'s [[analytical engine]], including an [[algorithm]] for calculating a sequence of [[Bernoulli numbers]], regarded as the world's first [[computer program]].<ref>{{cite journal|first1=John|last1=Fuegi|first2=Jo|last2=Francis|title=Lovelace & Babbage and the creation of the 1843 'notes'|journal=[[IEEE Annals of the History of Computing]]|volume=25|issue=4 |pages=16–26|doi=10.1109/MAHC.2003.1253887|date=October{{ndash}}December 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cs-www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/Files/ada-bio.html|title=Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace|access-date=2010-07-11| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100721013509/http://cs-www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/Files/ada-bio.html| archive-date= 21 July 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Menabrea|first=L. F.|author-link=Luigi Federico Menabrea|year=1843|title=Sketch of the Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage|journal=[[Scientific Memoirs]]|volume=3|url=http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/sketch.html|access-date=2010-10-01| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100913042032/http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/sketch.html| archive-date= 13 September 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

=== Chemistry ===
* [[June 15]], [[1844]] – [[Charles Goodyear]] receives a [[patent]] for [[vulcanization]], a process to strengthen [[rubber]].
* [[1844]] – Swedish chemistry professor [[Gustaf Erik Pasch]] invents the [[safety match]].
* [[1846]] – [[Abraham Pineo Gesner]] develops a process to refine a liquid fuel, which he calls [[kerosene]], from [[coal]], [[bitumen]] or [[oil shale]].

=== Geology ===
* [[1840]] – [[Louis Agassiz]] publishes his ''Etudes sur les glaciers'' ("Study on Glaciers", 2 volumes), the first major scientific work to propose that the Earth has seen an [[ice age]].

=== Physics ===
* [[1840]] – The first English translation of Goethe's ''[[Theory of Colours]]'' by [[Charles Lock Eastlake|Charles Eastlake]] is published.
* [[1842]] – [[Julius Robert von Mayer]] proposes that [[work (thermodynamics)|work]] and [[heat]] are equivalent.<ref>{{cite journal|last=von Mayer|first=J. R.|year=1842|title=Bemerkungen über die Kräfte der unbelebten Nature ("Remarks on the forces of inorganic nature")|journal=[[Liebigs Annalen|Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie]]|volume=43|issue=2|pages=233–40|doi=10.1002/jlac.18420420212|hdl=2027/umn.319510020751527|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
* [[October 16]], [[1843]] – [[William Rowan Hamilton]] discovers the calculus of [[quaternions]] and deduces that they are non-commutative.<ref>{{cite web|title=William Rowan Hamilton Plaque|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/347941|website=Geograph|year=2007|access-date=2011-03-08}}</ref>
* [[1843]] – [[James Joule]] experimentally finds the [[mechanical equivalent of heat]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=On the Mechanical Equivalent of Heat|last=Joule|first=J. P.|journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society|Abstracts of the Papers Communicated to the Royal Society of London]]|year=1843|volume=5|page=839|doi=10.1098/rspl.1843.0196|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Biology ===
[[File:Greatauk-london.jpg|thumb|115px|right| [[July 3]]: [[great auk]].]]
* [[July 3]], [[1844]] – The last definitely recorded pair of [[great auk]]s are killed on the [[Iceland]]ic island of [[Eldey]].
* [[1844]] – The anonymously written ''[[Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation]]'' is published and paves the way for the acceptance of [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]]'s book ''[[The Origin of Species]]''.

==== Paleontology ====
* [[1842]] – [[English people|English]] [[Palaeontology|palaeontologist]] [[Richard Owen]] coins the name ''Dinosauria'', hence the [[Anglicization|Anglicized]] ''[[dinosaur]]''.<ref>Owen, R. (1842). "Report on British Fossil Reptiles." Part II. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Plymouth, England.</ref>

=== Psychology ===
* [[November 13]], [[1841]] – Scottish surgeon [[James Braid (surgeon)|James Braid]] first sees a demonstration of ''[[animal magnetism]]'' by [[Charles Lafontaine]] in [[Manchester]], which leads to his study of the phenomenon that he (Braid) eventually calls ''[[hypnotism]]''.

=== Archaeology ===

* [[May 15]], [[1840]] – Discovered by several workmen, the [[Cuerdale Hoard]] becomes one of the largest haul of Viking-period jewellery, coins and other items totalling 8,600 finds.<ref>''Viking Age Archaeology'' 1995:46.</ref>

=== Economics ===
* [[June 20]], [[1842]] – Anselmo de Andrade, Portuguese economist and politician, is born in [[Vila Real de Santo António Municipality|Vila Real de Santo António]].
* [[August 28]], [[1844]] – [[Friedrich Engels]] and [[Karl Marx]] meet in [[Paris, France]].
* [[1845]] – [[Friedrich Engels]]' treatise ''[[The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844]]'' is published in [[Leipzig]] as ''Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England''.
* [[June 1]], [[1847]] – The first congress of the [[Communist League]] is held in London.
[[File:Communist-manifesto.png|thumb|[[February 21]]: [[Karl Marx]] publishes ''[[The Communist Manifesto]]''.]]
* [[February 21]], [[1848]] – [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]] publish ''[[The Communist Manifesto]]'' (''Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei'') in London.

=== Medicine ===
* [[March 30]], [[1842]] – [[Anesthesia]] is used for the first time in an operation (Dr. [[Crawford Long]] performed the operation using [[diethyl ether|ether]]).
* [[December 27]], [[1845]] – Anesthesia is used for childbirth for the first time (Dr. Crawford Long in [[Jefferson, Georgia]]).
* [[November 4]] – [[November 8|8]], [[1847]] – [[James Young Simpson]] discovers the [[anesthetic]] properties of [[chloroform]] and first uses it, successfully, on a patient, in an [[obstetric]] case in [[Edinburgh]].<ref>First communicated to the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Edinburgh, November 10, and published in a pamphlet, ''Notice of a New Anæsthetic Agent'', in Edinburgh, November 12.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=H. Laing|title=Sir James Young Simpson and Chloroform (1811–1870)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pYer05UwKBYC|access-date=2011-11-11|year=2002|publisher=Minerva Group, Inc|isbn=978-1-4102-0291-8}}</ref>
* [[January 23]], [[1849]] – [[Elizabeth Blackwell (doctor)|Elizabeth Blackwell]] is awarded her M.D. by the Medical Institute of [[Geneva, New York]], thus becoming the [[United States]]' first woman doctor.

=== Technology ===

* 1840s – The [[Wenham Lake Ice Company]], in collaboration with [[Frederic Tudor]], played a pioneering role in the mass production and commercial distribution of ice on an industrial scale. This laid the groundwork for the eventual standardization of ice as a commonplace commodity for domestic and everyday use.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bryson |first=Bill |url=http://archive.org/details/athomeshorthisto00brys |title=At Home: A Short History of Private Life |publisher=Doubleday |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7679-1938-8 |location=New York |pages=71–73 |language=en}}</ref>
* 1845 – The [[Underwater]] [[telescope]] is patented by [[Sarah Mather]], permitting sea-going vessels to survey the depths of the ocean

[[File:Launch-of-the-SS-GB.jpg|thumb|The 1843 launch of the ''[[SS Great Britain|Great Britain]]'', the revolutionary ship of [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]]]

=== Exploration ===

==== Antarctica ====
* [[January 19]], [[1840]] – Captain [[Charles Wilkes]]' [[United States Exploring Expedition]] sights what becomes known as [[Wilkes Land]] in the southeast quadrant of [[Antarctica]], claiming it for the [[United States]] and providing evidence that Antarctica is a complete continent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/antarctica/exploration.shtml|title=Antarctic Exploration — Chronology|access-date=2006-10-20|publisher=Quark Expeditions|year=2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908120017/http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/antarctica/exploration.shtml |archive-date=2006-09-08}}</ref>
* [[January 21]], [[1840]] – [[Dumont D'Urville]] discovers [[Adélie Land]] in [[Antarctica]], claiming it for [[France]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Guillon|first=Jacques|title=Dumont d'Urville|publisher=France-Empire|year=1986|location=Paris|isbn=978-2-7048-0472-6}}</ref>
* [[January 27]], [[1841]] – The active [[volcano]] [[Mount Erebus]] in [[Antarctica]] is discovered and named by [[James Clark Ross]].<ref>Ross, ''Voyage to the Southern Seas'', '''1''', pp. 216–8.</ref>
* [[January 28]], [[1841]] – Ross discovers the "Victoria Barrier", later known as the [[Ross Ice Shelf]]. On the same voyage, he discovers the [[Ross Sea]], [[Victoria Land]] and [[Mount Terror (Antarctica)|Mount Terror]].
* [[January 23]], [[1842]] – [[Antarctic]] explorer [[James Clark Ross]], charting the eastern side of [[James Ross Island]], reaches a [[Farthest South]] of 78°09'30"S.<ref>{{cite book|last=Coleman|first=E. C.|title=The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration, from Frobisher to Ross|publisher=Tempus Publishing|location=Stroud|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7524-3660-9|page=335}}</ref>
* [[January 6]], [[1843]] – [[Antarctic]] explorer [[James Clark Ross]] discovers [[Snow Hill Island]].

=== Transportation ===

==== Rail ====
[[File:James Pollard - The Louth-London Royal Mail Travelling by Train from Peterborough East, Northamptonshire - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|The Louth-London [[Royal Mail]] travelling by train from [[Peterborough East railway station|Peterborough East]], 1845]]
Widespread interest to invest in rail technology led to a [[Stock market bubble|speculative frenzy]] in [[United Kingdom|Britain]], known there as [[Railway Mania]]. It reached its zenith in 1846, when no fewer than 272 [[Acts of Parliament]] were passed, setting up new railway companies, and the proposed routes totalled {{convert|9500|mi|km}} of new railway. Around a third of the railways authorised were never built – the company either collapsed due to poor financial planning, was bought out by a larger competitor before it could build its line, or turned out to be a fraudulent enterprise to channel investors' money into another business.

==== Steam power ====
[[File:Awful conflagration of the steam boat Lexington.jpg|thumb|right|230px| [[January 13]]: Steamship ''Lexington'' sinks.]]
[[File:RMS Britannia 1840 paddlewheel.jpg|thumb|210px|right|[[July 4]]: {{RMS|Britannia}}.]]
* [[July 4]], [[1840]] – The [[Cunard Line]]'s 700-[[ton]] wooden paddlewheel steamer {{RMS|Britannia}} departs from [[Liverpool]], bound for [[City of Halifax|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], on the first steam transatlantic passenger mail service.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Palmer|first1=Alan|last2=Palmer|first2=Veronica|year=1992|title=The Chronology of British History|publisher=Century Ltd|location=London|pages=263–264|isbn=978-0-7126-5616-0}}</ref>
[[File:Ss Great Britain.jpg|thumb|200px|right| [[July 19]]: [[SS Great Britain|SS ''Great Britain'']] launch.]]
* [[July 19]], [[1843]] – [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]'s {{SS|Great Britain}} is launched from [[Bristol]]; it will be the first iron-hulled, propeller-driven ship to cross the [[Atlantic Ocean]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Royal Visit|work=The Bristol Mirror|pages=1–2|date=20 July 1843}}</ref>
* [[1843]] – The steam powered [[rotary printing press]] is invented by [[Richard March Hoe]] in the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Meggs|first=Philip B.|author-link=Philip B. Meggs|title=A History of Graphic Design|publisher=Wiley|year=1998|edition=3rd|page=147|isbn=978-0-471-29198-5}} It receives {{US Patent|5199}} in [[1847 in science|1847]] and is placed in commercial use the same year.</ref>
* [[July 26]] – [[August 10]], [[1845]] – [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]'s iron [[steamship]] ''[[SS Great Britain|Great Britain]]'' makes the [[Transatlantic Crossing]] from [[Liverpool]] to [[New York City|New York]], the first [[Propeller|screw propelled]] vessel to make the passage.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fox|first=Stephen|year=2003|title=Transatlantic: Samuel Cunard, Isambard Brunel, and the Great Atlantic Steamships|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-019595-3|url=https://archive.org/details/transatlanticsam00foxs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Great Britain |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/pictures/Greatbritain.htm |website=The Ships List |access-date=2010-10-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528131641/http://www.theshipslist.com/pictures/Greatbritain.htm |archive-date=2010-05-28 }}</ref>

=== Other inventions ===
* [[October 5]], [[1842]] – [[Josef Groll]] brews the first [[pilsner]] beer in the city of [[Plzeň|Pilsen]], [[Bohemia]] (now the [[Czech Republic]]).
* [[September 10]], [[1846]] – [[Elias Howe]] is awarded the first United States patent for a [[sewing machine]] using a [[lockstitch]] design.<ref>{{US patent|4750}}</ref>

== Commerce ==
* In the mid-1840s several harvests failed across Europe, which caused famines. Especially the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Irish Famine]] (1845–1849) was severe and caused a quarter of Ireland's population to die or emigrate to the United States, Canada and Australia.
* The [[Panic of 1837]] triggered by the failing [[bank]]s in America is followed by a severe depression lasting until 1845.
* [[May 6]], [[1840]] – The [[Penny Black]], the world's first [[postage stamp]], becomes valid for the pre-payment of postage.
* [[August 10]], [[1840]] – [[Fortsas hoax]]: A number of book [[Collecting|collectors]] gather in [[Binche]], [[Belgium]], to attend a non-existent book auction of the late "Count of Fortsas".
* December – The world's first [[Christmas card]]s, commissioned by Sir [[Henry Cole (inventor)|Henry Cole]] in London from the artist [[John Callcott Horsley]], are sent.<ref>{{cite journal|first=György|last=Buday|year=1992|title=The history of the Christmas card|page=8|journal=Omnigraphics}}</ref>
* [[1843]] – The export of British textile machinery and other equipment is allowed.{{Vague|date=May 2012}}
* [[1844]] – Annual British iron production reaches 3 million tons.
* [[January 4]], [[1847]] – [[Samuel Colt]] sells his first [[revolver]] pistol to the U.S government.
* The [[California Gold Rush]] follows on the heels of the [[Mexican–American War]], bringing tens of thousands of immigrants to [[California]] and eliminating the United States' dependence on foreign gold.

== Civil rights ==

=== Women's rights ===
* [[July 19]], [[1848]] – [[Women's rights]], [[1848]] – [[Seneca Falls Convention]]: The 2-day [[Women's Rights Convention]] opens in [[Seneca Falls (town), New York|Seneca Falls, New York]], and the "[[Bloomers (clothing)|Bloomers]]" are introduced at the [[feminism|feminist]] convention.

== Popular culture ==

=== Literature ===
* [[Charles Dickens]] publishes ''[[The Old Curiosity Shop]]'', ''[[Barnaby Rudge]]'', ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', ''[[Martin Chuzzlewit]]'', ''[[Dombey and Son]]'' and ''[[David Copperfield]]''.
* [[Nikolai Gogol]]'s ''[[Dead Souls]]'' (Russian: Мёртвые души, Myortvyje dushi) is published in 1842.
* [[Søren Kierkegaard]] publishes his philosophical book ''Enten ‒ Eller'' (''[[Either/Or (Kierkegaard book)|Either/Or]]'') in 1843.
* [[Alexandre Dumas]] publishes ''Les Trois Mousquetaires'' (''[[The Three Musketeers]]'') in 1844 and ''Le Comte de Monte-Cristo'' (''[[The Count of Monte Cristo]]'') in 1844/45.
* [[William Makepeace Thackeray]] publishes ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]'' in 1848.
* [[July 17]], [[1841]] – First edition of the humorous magazine ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' published in [[London]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of "Punch"|url=https://archive.org/details/historypunch04spiegoog|first=Marion Harry|last=Spielmann|year=1895|page=27}}</ref>
* [[1843]] – [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s short story ''[[The Tell-Tale Heart]]'' is first published.
* [[Hans Christian Andersen]] publishes well-known fairy tales, such as ''[[The Ugly Duckling]]'' (1843) and ''[[The Snow Queen]]'' (1844).
* [[January 29]], [[1845]] – "[[The Raven]]" by [[Edgar Allan Poe]] is published for the first time (''[[New York Mirror|New York Evening Mirror]]''), earning him $10.
* [[1845]] – [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]] writes her ''[[Sonnets from the Portuguese]]'' (1845–1846).
* [[1845]] – [[Heinrich Hoffmann (author)|Heinrich Hoffmann]] publishes a book (''Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder'') introducing his character [[Struwwelpeter]], in Germany.
* [[October 16]], [[1847]] – [[Charlotte Brontë]] publishes ''[[Jane Eyre]]'' under the pen name of Currer Bell.
* [[December 14]], [[1847]] – [[Emily Brontë]] and [[Anne Brontë]] publish ''[[Wuthering Heights]]'' and ''[[Agnes Grey]]'', respectively, in a 3-volume set under the pen names of Ellis Bell and Acton Bell.
* [[1848]] – [[Elizabeth Gaskell]] publishes ''[[Mary Barton]]'' anonymously.

=== Theatre ===
* [[February 6]], [[1843]] – The [[Virginia Minstrels]] perform the first [[minstrel show]], at the [[Bowery Amphitheatre]] in [[New York City]].

=== Music ===
* 1840s – [[Franz Liszt]] performs a series of concerts throughout Europe, which generate international euphoria and fascination known as [[Lisztomania]].
* [[February 11]], [[1840]] – [[Gaetano Donizetti]]'s opera ''[[La fille du régiment]]'' premieres in [[Paris]].
* [[June 28]], [[1841]] – [[Ballet]] ''[[Giselle]]'' first presented by the [[Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique]] at the [[Salle Le Peletier]] in [[Paris, France]].
* [[March 9]], [[1842]] – [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s third opera ''[[Nabucco]]'' premieres in [[Milan]]; its success establishes [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] as one of [[Italy]]'s foremost opera writers.
* [[February 11]], [[1843]] – [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s opera ''[[I Lombardi alla prima crociata]]'' premieres at [[La Scala]] in [[Milan]].
* [[November 3]], [[1844]] – [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s ''[[I due Foscari]]'' debuts at [[Largo di Torre Argentina|Teatro Argentina]], Rome.
* [[March 13]], [[1845]] – The ''[[Violin Concerto (Mendelssohn)|Violin Concerto]]'' by [[Felix Mendelssohn]] premieres in [[Leipzig]], with [[Ferdinand David (musician)|Ferdinand David]] as soloist.
* [[July 7]], [[1845]] – [[Jules Perrot]] presents the [[ballet]] [[divertissement]] ''[[Pas de Quatre]]'' to an enthusiastic London audience.
* [[June 28]], [[1846]] – The [[Saxophone]] is [[patent]]ed by [[Adolphe Sax]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Hugh|last=Hart|title=June 28, 1846: Parisian Inventor Patents Saxophone|url=https://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/06/0628saxophone-patent|magazine=Wired|date=2010-06-28|access-date=2011-12-07}}</ref>
* [[March 14]], [[1847]] – [[Verdi]]'s opera ''[[Macbeth (Verdi)|Macbeth]]'' premieres at [[Teatro della Pergola]] in [[Florence]], Italy.
* [[1847]] – [[Franz Liszt|Liszt]] surprisingly ends his career as a concert [[pianist]] and from then on fully dedicates himself to [[Musical composition|composition]].
* [[1848]] – The Shaker song ''[[Simple Gifts]]'' is written by [[Joseph Brackett]] in [[Alfred, Maine]].
* [[1848]] – [[Richard Wagner]] begins writing the [[libretto]] that will become ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' (''The Ring of the Nibelung'').

=== Sports ===
[[File:James_Pollard_-_The_Derby_Pets-_The_Winner_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|thumb|The [[Epsom Derby]]; painting by [[James Pollard]], c. 1840]]
* [[March 2]], [[1842]] – [[Gaylad (horse)|Gaylad]], ridden by [[Tom Olliver]], wins the [[Grand National]] at [[Aintree Racecourse]].
* [[September 25]] – [[September 27]], [[1844]] – The first ever [[international cricket]] match is played in New York City, [[United States v Canada (1844)|United States v Canadian Provinces]].
* [[Baseball]] – During the 1840s, "[[town ball]]" evolved into the modern game of [[baseball]], with the development of the "[[Knickerbocker Rules|New York game]]" in the 1840s. The [[Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York|New York Knickerbockers]] were founded in 1845, and played the first known competitive game between two organized clubs in 1846. The "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers at [[Elysian Fields, Hoboken, New Jersey|Elysian Fields]] in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], by a score of 23 to 1.

=== Fashion ===
{{Main|1840s in Western fashion}}

[[Image:Windsor modern times detail.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort at home, 1841. Her dress shows the fashionable silhouette, with its pointed waist, sloping shoulder, and bell-shaped skirt.]]
Fashion in European and European-influenced [[clothing]] is characterized by a narrow, natural shoulder line following the exaggerated puffed sleeves of the [[1820s in fashion|later 1820s fashion]] and [[1830s in fashion|1830s fashion]]. The narrower shoulder was accompanied by a lower waistline for both men and women.

=== Art ===
* [[1840]] – [[J. M. W. Turner]] first displays his painting ''[[The Slave Ship]]''.

== Religion and philosophy ==
* The American [[Transcendentalism]] movement is in full form mostly during this decade.
* February [[1840]] – The [[Rhodes blood libel]] is made against the [[Jew]]s of [[Rhodes]].
* [[February 5]], [[1840]] – The murder of a Capuchin friar and his Greek servant leads to the [[Damascus affair]], a highly publicized case of [[blood libel against the Jews]] of [[Damascus]].
* [[June 6]], [[1841]] [[Marian Hughes]] becomes the first woman to take [[religious vows]] in communion with the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] [[Province of Canterbury]] since the [[English Reformation|Reformation]], making them privately to [[E. B. Pusey]] in [[Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Valerie|last=Bonham|title=Hughes, Marian Rebecca (1817–1912)|website=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/39553|access-date=2010-11-26}} {{ODNBsub}}</ref>
* July – [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[missionary]] [[David Livingstone]] arrives at [[Kuruman]] in the [[Northern Cape]], his first posting in [[Africa]].
* [[May 18]], [[1843]] – The [[Disruption of 1843|Disruption]] in Edinburgh of the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)|Free Church of Scotland]] from the [[Church of Scotland]].
* [[October 16]], [[1843]] – [[Søren Kierkegaard]]'s philosophical book ''[[Fear and Trembling]]'' is first published.
* [[March 21]], [[1844]] – The [[Baháʼí calendar]] begins.
* [[March 23]], [[1844]] – [[Edict of Toleration 1844|Edict of Toleration]], allowing [[Jews]] to settle in the [[Holy Land]].
* [[May 23]], [[1844]] – [[Persian people|Persian]] [[Prophet]] The [[Báb]] privately announces his revelation to [[Mullá Husayn]], just after sunset, founding the [[Bábism|Bábí faith]] (later evolving into the Baháʼí Faith as the Báb [[He whom God shall make manifest|intended]]) in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran). Contemporaneously, on this day in nearby Tehran, was the birth of [[`Abdu'l-Bahá]]; the eldest Son of [[Bahá'u'lláh]], Prophet-Founder of the [[Baháʼí Faith]], the inception of which, the Báb's [[He whom God shall make manifest|proclaimed His own mission was to herald]]. `Abdu'l-Bahá Himself was later proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh to be His own successor, thus being the third "central figure" of the Baháʼí Faith.
* [[June 27]], [[1844]] – [[Joseph Smith]], founder of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]], and his brother [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]], are killed in [[Carthage Jail]], [[Carthage, Illinois]], by an armed mob, leading to a [[Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)|Succession crisis]]. [[John Taylor (Mormon)|John Taylor]], future president of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] is severely injured but survives.
* [[August 8]], [[1844]] – During a meeting held in [[Nauvoo, Illinois]], the [[Quorum of the Twelve]], headed by [[Brigham Young]], is chosen as the leading body of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].
* [[October 22]], [[1844]] – This second date, predicted by the [[Millerites]] for the [[Second Coming]] of [[Jesus]], leads to the [[Great Disappointment]]. The [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] denomination of the [[Christianity|Christian]] religion believe this date to be the starting point of the [[Investigative judgment]] just prior to the [[Second Coming]] of [[Jesus]] as declared in the 26th of 28 fundamental doctrines of Seventh-day Adventists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html|title=Beliefs|publisher=Seventh-day Adventist Church|access-date=2013-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060310104717/http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html|archive-date=2006-03-10|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[October 23]], [[1844]] – The [[Báb]] publicly proclaimed to be the promised one of [[Islam]] (the [[Al-Qāʾim Āl Muḥammad|Qá'im]], or [[Mahdi]]). He is also considered to be simultaneously the return of [[Elijah]], [[John the Baptist]], and the "[[Ushídar-Máh]]" referred to in the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] scriptures.<ref name="gpb_58">{{cite book|first=Effendi |last=Shoghi |author-link=Shoghi Effendi |year=1944 |title=God Passes By |publisher=Baháʼí Publishing Trust |location=Wilmette, Illinois, USA |isbn=978-0-87743-020-9 |url=http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/GPB/gpb-5.html#pg58 |pages=58 |access-date=2012-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119172544/http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/GPB/gpb-5.html |archive-date=2012-01-19 |url-status=live }}</ref> He announces to the world the coming of "[[He whom God shall make manifest]]". He is considered the forerunner of [[Bahá'u'lláh]], [[1844]] – the founder of the [[Baháʼí Faith]], [[1844]] – whose claims include being the return of [[Jesus]].
* [[October 9]], [[1845]] – The eminent and controversial [[Anglicanism|Anglican]], [[John Henry Newman]], is received into the [[Roman Catholic Church]].
* [[February 10]], [[1846]] – Many [[Mormons]] begin their migration west from [[Nauvoo, Illinois]], to the [[Great Salt Lake]], led by [[Brigham Young]].
* [[June 16]], [[1846]] – [[Pope Pius IX]] succeeds [[Pope Gregory XVI]] as the 255th [[pope]]. He will reign for 31½ years (the longest definitely confirmed).
* [[September 19]], [[1846]] – [[Our Lady of La Salette|The Virgin Mary]] is said to have appeared to two children in [[La Salette, Isère|La Salette]], France.
* [[1848]] – [[John Bird Sumner]] becomes [[archbishop of Canterbury]].
* [[March 28]], [[1849]] – Four [[Christians]] are ordered burnt alive in [[Antananarivo]], [[Madagascar]] by Queen [[Ranavalona I]] and 14 others are executed.

== Disasters, natural events, and notable mishaps ==
* [[January 13]], [[1840]] – The steamship [[Steamship Lexington|''Lexington'']] burns and sinks in icy waters, four miles off the coast of [[Long Island]]; 139 die, only four survive.
* [[May 7]], [[1840]] – The [[Great Natchez Tornado]]: A massive tornado strikes [[Natchez, Mississippi]], during the early afternoon hours. Before it is over, 317 people are killed and 109 injured. It is the second deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
* [[January 30]], [[1841]] – A fire ruins and destroys two-thirds of the villa (modern-day city) of [[Mayagüez, Puerto Rico]].
* [[February 20]], [[1841]] – The ''Governor Fenner'', carrying emigrants to the United States, sinks off [[Holyhead]] ([[Wales]]) with the loss of 123 lives.
* [[March 12]], [[1841]] – {{SS|President}} under the command of the legendary captain [[Richard Roberts (sea captain)|Richard Roberts]] founders in rough seas with all passengers and crew lost.
* [[October 30]], [[1841]] – A fire at the [[Tower of London]] destroys its Grand Armoury and causes a quarter of a million pounds worth of damage.<ref>{{cite book|title=The London Encyclopaedia|first=Ben|last=Weinreb|author2=Hibbert, Christopher|publisher=Macmillan|year=1995|isbn=978-0-333-57688-5|page=287}}</ref>
* [[October 29]], [[1842]] – The [[Iberian Peninsula]] is struck by a [[1842 Spain hurricane|category 2 hurricane]].
* [[1842]] – [[Dzogchen Monastery]] is almost completely destroyed by an [[earthquake]].
[[File:USS Princeton (1843).jpg|thumb|150px|right| [[February 28]]: [[USS Princeton (1843)|USS ''Princeton'']] deaths.]]
* [[February 8]], [[1843]] an earthquake causes La Soufriere volcano to erupt in Caribbean Island of [[Guadeloupe]] and kill over 5000 people.<ref>{{Cite book |doi = 10.1007/978-90-481-3325-3_38|chapter = Guadeloupe Earthquake, Antilles, 1843|title = The Illustrated History of Natural Disasters|pages = 163|year = 2010|isbn = 978-90-481-3324-6|last1 = Kozák|first1 = Jan|last2 = Cermák|first2 = Vladimir}}</ref>
* [[February 28]], [[1844]] – A gun on the {{USS|Princeton|1843|6}} [[USS Princeton disaster of 1844|explodes]] while the boat is on a [[Potomac River]] cruise, killing 2 [[United States Cabinet]] members and several others.
* June–July – The [[Great Flood of 1844]] hits the [[Missouri River]] and [[Mississippi River]].
* [[February 7]], [[1845]] – In the [[British Museum]], a drunken visitor smashes the [[Portland Vase]], which takes months to repair.
* [[April 10]], [[1845]] – A great fire destroys much of the American city of [[Pittsburgh]].
* [[May 2]], [[1845]] – the [[Yarmouth suspension bridge]] in [[Great Yarmouth]], England, collapses leaving around 80 dead, mostly children.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Great Yarmouth Suspension Bridge Disaster – May 2nd 1845 |url=http://www.broadlandmemories.co.uk/documents/news/news_pre1900/gy_suspensionbridge_1845.pdf |website=Broadland Memories |access-date=2010-10-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718231354/http://www.broadlandmemories.co.uk/documents/news/news_pre1900/gy_suspensionbridge_1845.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-18 }}</ref>
* [[May 19]], [[1845]] – [[HMS Erebus (1826)|HMS ''Erebus'']] and [[HMS Terror (1813)|HMS ''Terror'']] with 134 men, comprising Sir [[John Franklin]]'s [[Franklin's lost expedition|expedition]] to find the [[Northwest Passage]], sail from [[Greenhithe, Kent|Greenhithe]] on the [[River Thames|Thames]]. They will last be seen in August entering [[Baffin Bay]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Hutchinson Factfinder|publisher=Helicon|year=1999|isbn=978-1-85986-000-7|page=549}}</ref>
* [[1846]] – [[The Donner Party]], a party of American settlers in wagon trains, became stranded in the snow-covered [[Sierra Nevada]] in California and resorted to [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]] to survive.
* [[April 25]], [[1847]] – The [[brig]] ''Exmouth'' carrying Irish emigrants from [[Derry]] bound for [[Quebec]] is wrecked off [[Islay]] with only three survivors from more than 250 on board.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Exmouth – a terrible tragedy on Islay|url=http://www.islayinfo.com/exmouth-islay-tragedy.html|website=Isle of Islay|year=2011|access-date=2012-07-13|archive-date=2013-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204134917/http://www.islayinfo.com/exmouth-islay-tragedy.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Exmouth shipwreck off the Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland|url=http://www.my-secret-northern-ireland.com/the-exmouth.html|website=My Secret Northern Ireland|access-date=2012-07-13|archive-date=2012-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926050132/http://www.my-secret-northern-ireland.com/the-exmouth.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[August 24]], [[1848]] – The U.S. [[barque]] ''[[Ocean Monarch (barque)|Ocean Monarch]]'' is burnt out off the [[Great Orme]], [[North Wales]], with the loss of 178, chiefly [[emigrant]]s.
* [[May 3]], [[1849]] – The [[Mississippi River]] levee at [[Sauvé's Crevasse]] breaks, flooding much of [[New Orleans, Louisiana]].
* [[May 10]], [[1849]] – The [[Astor Place Riot]] takes place in [[Manhattan]] over a dispute between two Shakespearean actors. Over 20 people are killed.
* [[May 17]], [[1849]] – The [[St. Louis Fire (1849)|St. Louis Fire]] starts when a [[steamboat]] catches fire and nearly burns down the entire city.
* [[1849]] – Seven of the "best known" [[Clipper#China clippers and the epitome of sail|opium clippers]] go missing: ''[[Sylph (1831 ship)|Sylph]]'', ''Coquette'', ''Kelpie'', ''Greyhound'', ''Don Juan'', ''Mischief'', and ''Anna Eliza.''<ref name="lubbock">{{cite book|last=Lubbock|first=Basil|title=The Opium Clippers|publisher=Charles E. Lauriat Co|year=1933|location=Boston, MA|page=310}}</ref>

=== Cholera ===
{{Main|Third cholera pandemic|Cholera outbreaks and pandemics}}The [[third cholera pandemic]] happened during the 1840s, which researchers at [[UCLA]] believe may have started as early as 1837 and lasted until 1863.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/pancholera3.html|title=Asiatic Cholera Pandemics During the Life of John Snow : Asiatic Cholera Pandemic of 1846–63|last=Frerichs|first=Ralph R.|website=John Snow – a historical giant in epidemiology|publisher=UCLA Department of Epidemiology – Fielding School of Public Health|access-date=2018-07-29}}</ref> This pandemic was considered to have the highest fatalities of the 19th-century epidemics.<ref name="CBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/cholera-s-seven-pandemics-1.758504|title=Cholera's seven pandemics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216071746/http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/05/09/f-cholera-outbreaks.html|archive-date=16 December 2008|url-status=live|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> It originated in India (in [[Bengal Presidency|Lower Bengal]]), spreading along many shipping routes in 1846.<ref name=":0" /> Over 15,000 people died of cholera in [[Mecca]] in 1846.<ref name="Pandemic">[http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/Snow/pandemic1846-63.html Asiatic Cholera Pandemic of 1846–63]. UCLA School of Public Health.</ref> In [[Russian Empire|Russia]], between 1847 and 1851, more than one million people died in the country's epidemic.<ref>Geoffrey A. Hosking (2001). "''[https://books.google.com/books?id=oh-5AAmboMUC&pg=PA9 Russia and the Russians: a history]''". Harvard University Press. p.&nbsp;9. {{ISBN|0-674-00473-6}}</ref>

A two-year outbreak began in [[England and Wales]] in 1848, and claimed 52,000 lives.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/cholera-s-seven-pandemics-1.758504 Cholera's seven pandemics], cbc.ca, December 2, 2008.</ref> In London, it was the worst outbreak in the city's history, claiming 14,137 lives, over twice as many as the 1832 outbreak. Cholera hit [[Ireland]] in 1849 and killed many of the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Irish Famine]] survivors, already weakened by starvation and fever.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/2807/irishfamine.html|title=The Irish Famine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027105918/http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/2807/irishfamine.html|archive-date=October 27, 2009|url-status=dead|access-date=2014-06-09}}</ref> In 1849, cholera claimed 5,308 lives in the major port city of [[Liverpool]], [[England]], an embarkation point for immigrants to North America, and 1,834 in [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], England.<ref name="Rosenberg">{{cite book|title=The Cholera Years: The United States in 1832, 1849, and 1866|last=Rosenberg|first=Charles E.|date=1987|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-72677-9}}</ref> In 1849, a second major outbreak occurred in Paris.

Cholera, believed spread from Irish immigrant ship(s) from England to the [[United States]], spread throughout the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi river system]], killing over 4,500 in [[St. Louis]]<ref name="Rosenberg" /> and over 3,000 in [[New Orleans]].<ref name="Rosenberg" /> Thousands died in [[New York (state)|New York]], a major destination for Irish immigrants.<ref name="Rosenberg" /> The [[Nashville cholera epidemic (1849-1850)|outbreak that struck Nashville in 1849–1850]] took the life of former U.S. President [[James K. Polk]]. During the [[California Gold Rush]], cholera was transmitted along the [[California Trail|California]], [[Mormon Trail|Mormon]] and [[Oregon Trail]]s as 6,000 to 12,000<ref>{{cite book|title=The plains across: the overland emigrants and the trans-Mississippi West, 1840–60|author=Unruh, John David|publisher=University of Illinois Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-252-06360-2|location=Urbana, IL|pages=408–10|title-link=The Plains Across (book)}}</ref> are believed to have died on their way to [[Utah]] and [[Oregon]] in the cholera years of 1849–1855.<ref name="Rosenberg" /> It is believed cholera claimed more than 150,000 victims in the United States during the two pandemics between 1832 and 1849,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Beardsley GW|year=2000|title=The 1832 Cholera Epidemic in New York State: 19th Century Responses to Cholerae Vibrio (part 2)|url=http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2000_fall/1832_cholera_part2.html|journal=The Early America Review|volume=3|issue=2|access-date=2010-02-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jiang |first=Sunny C. |year=2001 |title=Vibrio cholerae in recreational beach waters and tributaries of Southern California |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=460 |issue=1–3 |pages=157–164 |doi=10.1023/A:1013152407425 |s2cid=20591955|doi-access=free }}</ref> and also claimed 200,000 victims in [[Mexico]].<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Pvi-ksuKFIC&pg=PA101|title=Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues: A-M|last=Byrne|first=Joseph Patrick|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2008|isbn=978-0-313-34102-1|page=101}}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Establishments ==

=== Publications ===
* September 1843 –''[[The Economist]]'' newspaper is first published in London.
* [[1843]] – ''[[The Friend (Quaker)|The Friend]]'', a [[Quaker]] weekly, is first published in London.
* [[August 28]], [[1845]] – The journal ''[[Scientific American]]'' begins publication.

=== Institutions ===

==== Asia ====
* [[July 18]], [[1841]] – The sixth bishop of [[Calcutta]], [[Daniel Wilson (bishop)|Daniel Wilson]], and Dr. James Taylor, Civil Surgeon at [[Dhaka]], establish the first modern educational institution in the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Dhaka College]].

==== Australia ====
* [[October 1]], [[1846]] – [[Christ College, Tasmania]], opens with the hope that it would develop along the lines of an [[Oxbridge]] college and provide the basis for university education in Tasmania. By the 21st century it will be the oldest tertiary institution in Australia.

==== Europe ====
[[File:Kopenhaga tivoli jan2004 ubt.jpeg|thumb|220x220px|[[Tivoli Gardens]]]]
* [[April 15]], [[1840]] – [[King's College Hospital]] opens in [[London]].
* [[August 15]], [[1843]] – [[Tivoli Gardens]], one of the oldest still intact [[amusement park]]s in the world, opens in [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]].
* [[June 6]], [[1844]] – [[George Williams (YMCA)|George Williams]] founds the [[YMCA|Young Men's Christian Association]] ([[YMCA]]) in London.
* [[December 21]], [[1844]] – The [[Rochdale Pioneers]] commence business at their [[cooperative]] in [[Rochdale|Rochdale, England]].
* [[April 5]], [[1847]] – The world's first municipally-funded civic public [[park]], [[Birkenhead Park]] in [[Birkenhead]] on [[Merseyside]] in England, is opened.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/670/content_0001110.html |title=The History of Birkenhead Park |access-date=2007-09-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626164507/http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/670/content_0001110.html |archive-date=2008-06-26 }}</ref>
* [[October 12]], [[1847]] – [[Germans|German]] inventor and industrialist [[Werner von Siemens]] founds [[Siemens AG]] & Halske.
* [[February 2]], [[1848]] – [[John Henry Newman]] founds the first [[Oratory of Saint Philip Neri|Oratory]] in the English-speaking world when he establishes the [[Birmingham Oratory]] at 'Maryvale', [[Old Oscott]], England.

==== Africa ====
* [[1845]] – [[Eugénie Luce]] founds the Luce Ben Aben School in [[Algiers]].<ref name="WDL">{{cite web|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/8800/|title=Luce Ben Aben School of Arab Embroidery I, Algiers, Algeria|year=1899|website=[[World Digital Library]]|access-date=2013-09-26}}</ref>

==== North America ====
* [[1843]] – [[Saint Louis University School of Law]] becomes the first law school west of the [[Mississippi River]].
* [[January 15]], [[1844]] – The [[University of Notre Dame]] receives its charter from [[Indiana]].
* [[February 1]], [[1845]] – [[Anson Jones]], President of the [[Republic of Texas]], signs the charter officially creating [[Baylor University]]. Baylor is the oldest university in the State of [[Texas]] operating under its original name.
* [[October 10]], [[1845]] – In [[Annapolis, Maryland]], the Naval School (later renamed the [[United States Naval Academy]]) opens with fifty midshipmen and seven professors.
* [[November 1]], [[1848]] – In [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], the first [[medical school]] for women, The Boston Female Medical School (which later merges with [[Boston University School of Medicine]]), opens.
* November 1849 – [[Austin College]] receives a charter in [[Huntsville, Texas]].

=== Other ===

* [[1841]]- [[Dallas|Dallas Texas]] was settled on this year.

* [[February 4]], [[1841]] – First known reference to [[Groundhog Day]], in the diary of a James Morris.

== References ==
* [[Robert Sobel]] ''Conquest And Conscience: The 1840s'' (1971)
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|author =Joseph Irving |title=Annals of Our Time...1837 to...1871 |url=https://archive.org/details/annalsourtimeto00unkngoog|year=1880|publisher=Macmillan and Co. |location=London |author-link=Joseph Irving }}

{{19th century}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1840s| ]]