Explore 436 historical events from 1840–1849.
On 8 May 1842, a train crashed in the cutting between Meudon and Bellevue stations on the railway between Versailles and Paris, France. The train was travelling to Paris when it de…
A train derailed and caught fire near Versailles, France, killing at least 52 people
The Lombard Street riot was a racially motivated mob attack on the free Black community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 1, 1842.
Three days of rioting erupted after a parade in Philadelphia, celebrating the end of slavery in the West Indies, was…
The Paris Opera Ballet is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet …
The Paris Opera Ballet premieres Giselle in the Salle Le Peletier
Thomas James Lempriere was a British colonial administrator in the Australian colony of Van Diemen's Land. He is known for his diaries depicting the convict period in Van Diemen's …
Thomas Lempriere and James Clark Ross carve a marker on the Isle of the Dead in Van Diemen's Land to measure tidal…
Thomas Cook was the founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was born into a poor family in Derbyshire and left school at the age of ten to start work as a gardener's boy…
Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
Dom Pedro II, known as "the Magnanimous", was the second and final emperor of the Empire of Brazil. He reigned from 1831 until his deposition in the military coup of 1889, presidin…
Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.
Clarence Edward Dutton was an American geologist and US Army officer.
Clarence Dutton, American commander and geologist (died 1912)
Abraham Catulle Mendès was a French poet and man of letters. He was associated with the Parnassianist school.
Catulle Mendès, French poet, author, and playwright (died 1909)
Sakaigawa Namiemon was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Katsushika District, Shimōsa Province. He was the sport's 14th yokozuna. Nicknamed "Tanikaze of the Meiji era", h…
Sakaigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 14th Yokozuna (died 1887)
In the London Straits Convention concluded on 13 July 1841 between the Great Powers of Europe at the time—Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Austria and Prussia—the "ancient rule"…
Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and Russia conclude the London Straits Convention, which prevents warships to cross…
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government an…
U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States.…
James Gordon Bennett Jr. was an American publisher. He was the publisher of the New York Herald, founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett Sr. (1795–1872), who emigrated from Sco…
James Gordon Bennett Jr
Eliza Orzeszkowa was a Polish novelist and a leading writer of the Positivism movement during the foreign Partitions of Poland. In 1905, together with Henryk Sienkiewicz, she was n…
Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (died 1910)
Watson Fothergill was a British architect who designed over 100 unique buildings in Nottingham in the East Midlands of England. His influences were mainly from the Gothic Revival a…
Watson Fothergill, English architect, designed the Woodborough Road Baptist Church (died 1928)
William Collins Whitney was an American political leader and financier and a prominent member of the Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration …
William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (died 1904)
Otto Koloman Wagner was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and …
Otto Wagner, Austrian architect, designed the Austrian Postal Savings Bank and Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station (died 1918)
Alexander Nikolai von Glehn, was a Baltic German landowner and public figure, most notable for being the founder of the town of Nõmme.
Nikolai von Glehn, Estonian-German architect and activist (died 1923)
Carl Robert Jakobson was an Estonian writer, politician and teacher active in the Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire. He was one of the most important persons of the Estonian n…
Carl Robert Jakobson, Estonian journalist and politician (died 1882)
Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen was a Norwegian physician, remembered for his identification of the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae in 1873 as the etiologic agent of leprosy. His dist…
Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (died 1912)
Johnny Mullagh was an Australian cricketer from Victoria who was the leading player on the famous 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England. He was a skilful all-rounder, being a rig…
Johnny Mullagh, Australian cricketer (died 1891)
William Halford was a sailor, and later an officer, in the United States Navy. He also received the Medal of Honor.
William Halford, English-American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1919)
Emil Theodor Kocher was a Swiss physician and medical researcher who received the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in the physiology, pathology and surgery o…
Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1917)
Peter Louis Marie Chanel, SM, was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr. Chanel was a member of the Society of Mary and was sent as a missionary to Oceania. He arrived on the i…
Peter Chanel, French priest, missionary, and martyr (born 1803)
Peter Andreas Heiberg was a Danish-Norwegian author and philologist. He was born in Vordingborg, Denmark-Norway. The Heiberg ancestry can be traced back to Norway, and has produced…
Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish philologist and author (born 1758)