Editing 1849 (section)

== Events ==

=== January–March ===
* [[January 1]] – France begins issue of the [[Ceres series (France)|Ceres series]], the nation's first [[postage stamp]]s.
* [[January 5]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Austrian army, led by [[Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz]], enters in the Hungarian capitals, [[Buda]] and [[Pest, Hungary|Pest]]. The Hungarian government and parliament flee to [[Debrecen]].
* [[January 8]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: [[Romania]]n armed groups massacre 600 unarmed Hungarian civilians, at [[Aiud|Nagyenyed]].<ref name=HungarianHistory>Hungarian History: [http://www.hungarianhistory.com/lib/sekler/A49_Nagyenyed.pdf January 8, 1849 And the Genocide of the Hungarians of Nagyenyed]</ref>
* [[January 13]]
** [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] – Battle of Tooele: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.
** The [[Colony of Vancouver Island]] is established.
* [[January 21]]
** General elections are held in the [[Papal States]].
** [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: At [[Sibiu|Nagyszeben]] (now Sibiu in Romania)– The Hungarian army in [[Transylvania]], led by [[Josef Bem]], is defeated by the [[Austrians]], led by Anton Puchner.
* [[January 23]] – [[Elizabeth Blackwell]] is awarded her M.D. by the Medical Institute of [[Geneva, New York]], thus becoming the United States' first woman doctor.
* [[January 27]]
** The [[Fayetteville and Western Plank Road]] Company is incorporated, to build a plank road from [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]] to [[Bethania, North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historync.org/plankroadslist.htm|title=Plank Roads Chartered in North Carolina|work=North Carolina Business History|year=2006|access-date=2013-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329131156/http://www.historync.org/plankroadslist.htm|archive-date=March 29, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** The [[North Carolina General Assembly]] incorporates the [[North Carolina Railroad]], to complete a rail line from [[Goldsboro, North Carolina|Goldsboro]] through [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], and [[Salisbury, North Carolina|Salisbury]] to [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historync.org/railroads.htm|title=Railroads — prior to the Civil War|work=North Carolina Business History|year=2006|access-date=2013-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726152211/http://historync.org/railroads.htm|archive-date=July 26, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[February 1]] – The abolition of the [[Corn Laws]] by the United Kingdom's Importation Act [[1846]] comes fully into effect.
* [[February 4]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: [[Battle of Vízakna]] – The Austrian army, led by Anton Puchner, defeats the Hungarians, led by general [[Josef Bem]].
* [[February 5]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Hungarian revolutionary army, led by [[Richard Guyon]], breaks through the pass of [[Battle of Branyiszkó|Branyiszkó]], defeating the Austrian defenders.
* [[February 8]] – The new [[Roman Republic (19th century)|Roman Republic]] is proclaimed.
* [[February 9]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: [[Battle of Piski]] – [[Josef Bem]]'s Hungarian army defeats Anton Puchner.
* [[February 14]] – In New York City, [[James Knox Polk]] becomes the first President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
* [[February 21]] – [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]]: [[Battle of Gujrat]] – Forces of the British [[East India Company]] defeat those of the [[Sikh Empire]] in [[Punjab (region)|Punjab]].
* [[February 27]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: [[Battle of Kápolna]] – The Austrians defeat the Hungarians.
* [[February 28]] – Regular [[steamboat]] service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins, with the arrival of the [[SS California (1848)|SS ''California'']] in [[San Francisco Bay]]. The ''California'' leaves [[New York Harbor]] on [[October 6]], [[1848]], rounds [[Cape Horn]] at the tip of South America, and arrives at [[San Francisco]] after the 4-month, 21-day journey.
* [[March 3]]
** The [[United States Department of the Interior]] is established, incorporating the [[United States Census Bureau|Census Office]], [[United States General Land Office]], [[Office of Indian Affairs]] and [[United States Patent and Trademark Office|Patent and Trademark Office]].
** [[Minnesota Territory|Minnesota]] becomes a [[Territories of the United States|United States territory]].
** The [[United States Congress]] passes the [[Gold Coinage Act]] allowing the minting of two additional denominations of [[gold]] [[coin]]s, the [[gold dollar]] and the [[double eagle]].
* [[March 4]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Habsburg emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]] promulgates at [[Olomouc]] the [[March Constitution of Austria]], which abolishes the [[April Laws]] promulgated by the Hungarian Batthyány-govern, and degrades Hungary to a simple Austrian province.
* [[March 5]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: [[Second Battle of Szolnok]] – The Hungarians led by [[János Damjanich]] and [[Károly Vécsey]] defeat the Austrians.
* [[March 11]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Hungarian army of [[Transylvania]], under general [[Josef Bem]], defeats the Russian-Austrian army at [[Second Battle of Nagyszeben]], capturing the city which is the headquarters of Austrian general Anton Puchner. Most of Transylvania is liberated from the Austrian rule. The Austrian and the Russian troops flee to [[Wallachia]].
* [[March 23]] –  [[First Italian War of Independence]]: [[Battle of Novara (1849)|Battle of Novara]] – The [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] suffers a huge defeat after a two day battle, and King [[Charles Albert]] of Sardinia abdicates.
* [[March 28]] 
** Four Christians are ordered to be burnt alive in [[Antananarivo]], [[Madagascar]], by Queen [[Ranavalona I]]; 14 others are executed.
** The [[Frankfurt National Assembly]] adopts the [[Frankfurt Constitution]], providing for a constitutional monarchy for Germany under a hereditary emperor and with a two-chamber parliament.
* [[March 29]] 
**The [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] ends, with the United Kingdom annexing the [[Punjab (region)|Punjab]].
**[[Maharaja Duleep Singh]] is exiled to England.
* [[March]] – The [[Frankfurt Parliament]] completes its drafting of a liberal constitution, and elects [[Frederick William IV]] emperor of the new German national state.

=== April–June ===
* [[April 1]]
** After [[Ten Days of Brescia|10 days]], the insurrection in [[Brescia]] is ended by [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] troops.
** [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Hungarian Revolutionary Army, under the leadership of [[Arthur Görgey]], starts the victorious [[Spring Campaign]], which leads to the liberation of much of Hungary from the [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] forces.
* [[April 2]]
** The [[German revolutions of 1848–49]] end in failure, as King Frederick William IV of Prussia refuses to accept the offer of the Frankfurt National Assembly, to be crowned as German emperor.
** [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Battle of Hatvan]]: The Hungarian revolutionary army, under the command of [[András Gáspár (general)|András Gáspár]], defeats the [[Austrians]], led by general [[Franz Schlik]].
* [[April 4]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Battle of Tápióbicske]]: Hungarian forces, under the generals [[György Klapka]] and [[János Damjanich]], defeat the Austrian-Croatian army, led by [[Franz Schlik]] and [[Josip Jelačić]].
* [[April 6]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Battle of Isaszeg (1849)|Battle of Isaszeg]]: The main Hungarian forces, led by [[Arthur Görgey]], defeat the main imperial forces, led by [[Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz]], forcing them to retreat westward.
* [[April 10]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Battle of Vác (1849)|Battle of Vác]]: The Hungarians, led by [[János Damjanich]], defeat the Austrians, led by Christian Götz, who dies after the battle due to his injuries.
* [[April 12]]
** [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: Because of his series of defeats suffered from the Hungarian army, [[Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz]] is released from the supreme command of the Austrian forces in Hungary, and replaced by [[Ludwig von Welden]].
** Astronomer [[Annibale de Gasparis]] discovers the asteroid [[10 Hygiea]].
* [[April 14]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Hungarian revolutionary parliament in [[Debrecen]] [[Hungarian Declaration of Independence|declares independence]] from the [[Austrian Empire|Habsburg Empire]].
* [[April 19]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Battle of Nagysalló]]: The Hungarian revolutionary army, led by [[György Klapka]] and [[János Damjanich]], defeat the Austrian army, led by Lt. Gen. [[Ludwig von Wohlgemuth]].
* [[April 21]]
** [[Great Famine (Ireland)]]: 96 inmates of the overcrowded [[Ballinrobe]] Union Workhouse died over the course of the preceding week from illness and other famine-related conditions, a record high.
** The Austrian government asks Russian help against the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848|Hungarian Revolution]]. Tsar [[Nicholas I of Russia]] agrees to send troops against Hungary.
* [[April 22]] – The first [[Kennedy family|Kennedy]] arrives in America.
* [[April 25]] – [[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]].
* [[April 26]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[First Battle of Komárom (1849)|Battle of Komárom]]: Hungarian forces relieve the city and castle with the same name from a long Austrian siege. The Austrian imperial forces and their [[Croatia]]n, [[Romania]]n and [[Serbia]]n allies are chased out from Hungary, or near the borders of the country.
* [[April 27]] – [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] enters Rome, to defend it from the French troops of General [[Charles Oudinot]].
* [[May]] – The [[Second Carlist War]] ends in Spain.
* [[May 2]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: A new independent Hungarian government, led by [[Bertalan Szemere]], is formed. The head of state of Hungary becomes [[Lajos Kossuth]], as governor president.
* [[May 3]]
** The [[May Uprising in Dresden]], last of the [[German revolutions of 1848–49]], begins. [[Richard Wagner]] is among the participants.
** The [[Mississippi River]] levee at [[Sauvé's Crevasse]] breaks, flooding much of [[New Orleans]].
* [[May 9]] – The [[May Uprising in Dresden]] is suppressed by the [[Kingdom of Saxony]].
* [[May 10]] – The [[Astor Place Riot]] takes place in [[Manhattan]], over a dispute between two Shakespearean actors; over 20 people are killed when troops fire on the rioters.
* [[May 15]] – Troops of the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] take [[Palermo]], and crush the [[Sicilian revolution of 1848|republican government]] of [[Sicily]].
* [[May 17]] – The [[St. Louis Fire (1849)|St. Louis Fire]] starts when a [[steamboat]] catches fire and nearly burns down the entire city.
* [[May 21]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Hungarian army, led by [[Arthur Görgey]], captures the [[Siege of Buda (1849)|Castle of Buda]], liberating the Hungarian capital city completely. The leader of the defending Austrian forces, General [[Heinrich Hentzi]], dies because of his injuries. The Hungarian government moves back from [[Debrecen]] to [[Budapest]].
* [[May 30]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]] replaces [[Ludwig von Welden]] as leader of the Austrian forces in Hungary, because of the failure of the latter to stop the advance of the Hungarian forces.
* [[June 5]]
** [[History of Denmark|Denmark]] becomes a [[constitutional monarchy]].
** [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The first Russian troops, led by Lieutenant General Fyodor Sergeyevich Panyutin, who come in the aid of the [[Habsburgs]], cross the Hungarian border at [[Bratislava|Pozsony]], in order to crush the Hungarian revolution.
* [[June 6]] – The settlement of [[Fort Worth, Texas]], is founded.
* [[June 17]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The main Russian forces, led by [[Ivan Paskevich]], cross the Hungarian border, and together with the Austrian troops, led by [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]], start the final attack against the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848|Hungarian Revolution]]. Now the Hungarian revolutionary troops, numbering 173,000 soldiers, which even before the Russian attack were in inferiority regarding their numbers, and the quality of their weapons and war industry, face a force of 370,000 Austro-Russian forces,<ref name=EgyEvszazadosPer>Egy évszázados per. A Görgey-kérdés tegnap és ma: [http://www.orvostortenet.hu/tankonyvek/tk-05/pdf/3.8.2/1997_1998_158_165_antall_jozsef_egy_evszazados.pdf The Görgey-Question Yesterday and Today] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521073608/http://www.orvostortenet.hu/tankonyvek/tk-05/pdf/3.8.2/1997_1998_158_165_antall_jozsef_egy_evszazados.pdf |date=May 21, 2015 }}</ref> and other tens of thousands of Croatian, Serbian and Romanian insurgents, who serve the Habsburg imperial interests.
* [[June 18]] – The [[Stuttgart]] Rump Parliament, made up of the remaining 154 mostly democratic and republican deputies of the [[Frankfurt National Assembly]] who moved there in early June, is dissolved by Württemberg military. Most of the liberal and conservative deputies of the National Assembly had already laid down their mandates in May under pressure of the Austrian and Prussian governments. 
* [[June 20]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: Russian troops, under the command of [[Alexander von Lüders]], break in [[Transylvania]], and, together with the Austrian forces, start to operate against the Hungarian troops, led by [[Józef Bem]].
* [[June 21]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Russo-Austrian army, led by [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]], defeats the Hungarians under the command of [[Arthur Görgey]] in the [[Battle of Pered]].
* [[June 28]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Austrian army, led by [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]], defeats the Hungarians, led by [[Ernő Poeltenberg]], in the [[Battle of Győr]]. The Hungarian army is forced to retreat towards [[Budapest]].

=== July–September ===
* [[July 2]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Second Battle of Komárom (1849)|Second Battle of Komárom]]: The Hungarian army, led by [[Arthur Görgey]], repulses the combined attack of the Austrian and Russian troops led by [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]]. During the battle Görgey suffers a heavy head injury, which prevents him from taking advantage of this success.
* [[July 3]] – French troops occupy Rome; the [[Roman Republic (19th century)|Roman Republic]] surrenders.
* [[July 6]] – [[Battle of Fredericia]]: The Danish Army beats the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] army at [[Fredericia]], [[Jutland]], thereby putting an end to the Prussian-Danish War until [[1864]].
* [[July 11]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Third Battle of Komárom (1849)|Third Battle of Komárom]]: The Hungarian army, led by [[Arthur Görgey]], is defeated by the Austrians, led by [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]].
* [[July 13]] – [[Charleston Workhouse Slave Rebellion]]: A slave uprising led by Nicholas Kelly took place at the Workhouse in [[Charleston, South Carolina]]; the white community quickly suppressed the revolt, captured 37 freedom seekers, and tried and hanged 3 of the leaders.
* [[July 14]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]:
** Because of the imminent Austrian attack, the Hungarian government moves from [[Budapest]] to [[Szeged]].
** Hungarian troops, led by [[Richard Guyon]], defeat the [[Croatia]]n-Austrian army led by [[Josip Jelačić]] in the [[Battle of Kishegyes]], securing southern Hungary for the revolutionary government.
*[[July 15]] – The first [[airstrike]] in history: Austria launches pilotless balloons against the city of [[Venice]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://airminded.org/2009/08/22/the-first-air-bomb-venice-15-july-1849/|first=Brett|last=Holman|title=The first air bomb: Venice, 15 July 1849|publisher=Airminded|date=2009-08-22|access-date=2024-07-15}}</ref>
* [[July 17]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: Hungarians, led by [[Arthur Görgey]], and the Russians, led by [[Ivan Paskevich]], battle indecisively in the [[Second Battle of Vác (1849)|Second Battle of Vác]]. The Russians are unsuccessful in destroying the Hungarian army, which retreats towards the east.
* [[July 23]] 
** French scientist [[Hippolyte Fizeau]] makes a [[Fizeau's measurement of the speed of light in air|measurement of the speed of light in air]] using a specially devised apparatus.
** German revolutionaries capitulate in the [[Rastatt Fortress]] in Baden to Prussian troops, marking the end of the [[Imperial Constitution campaign]] in which radical democrats tried to defend the revolution. Other centres of resistance had been [[Palatine uprising|the Bavarian Palatinate]], Westphalia, and the Rhineland but these had quickly been subdued by counter-revolutionary forces.
* [[July 28]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Hungarian government, led by [[Bertalan Szemere]] promulgates the Nationality Law, which gives important rights to the nationalities of Hungary, like the right to use their mother tongue in school, church, army, court and administration. The [[Romanians]] are declared a nation, and not a minority, in [[Transylvania]]. The [[History of the Jews in Hungary|Jews]] receive equality thanks to the Emancipation Decree.<ref name="TörténelmiSzemle">Történelmi Szemle: [http://epa.oszk.hu/00600/00617/00002/tsz98_3_4_szasz_zoltan.htm Szász Zoltán A nemzetiségek és az 1848-as magyar forradalom]</ref>
* [[July 31]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Battle of Segesvár]]: The Russian troops in [[Transylvania]], led by [[Alexander von Lüders]], crush the Hungarian forces, under the lead of [[Józef Bem]]. Hungarian poet and revolutionary [[Sándor Petőfi]] is killed in the battle by the Russians.
* [[July 31]]–[[August 1]] – ''[[Joven Daniel]]'' wrecks at the coast of [[Araucanía (historic region)|Araucanía]], Chile, leading to allegations that local [[Mapuche]] tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped [[Elisa Bravo]].<ref name=Munoz2010>{{Cite journal|title=El naufragio del bergantín Joven Daniel, 1849. El indígena en el imaginario histórico de Chile|journal=Tiempo Histórico|last=Muñoz Sougarret|first=Jorge|issue=1|year=2010|language=es|pages=133–148}}</ref>
* [[August 2]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Russian main forces, under [[Ivan Paskevich]], defeat the Hungarian army under [[József Nagysándor]], in the [[Battle of Debrecen (1849)|Battle of Debrecen]].
* [[August 3]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The Hungarian defenders of [[Komárom]], led by [[György Klapka]], destroy the besieging Austrian forces in the [[Fourth Battle of Komárom (1849)|Fourth Battle of Komárom]], liberating [[Győr]] and [[Székesfehérvár]]. But this victory comes too late to change the course of military events in the eastern part of the country, where the Hungarian forces are about to crumble under the heavy Austro-Russian pressure.
* [[August 5]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Battle of Szőreg]]: Austrian forces, under [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]], defeat the Hungarian main forces under [[Henryk Dembiński]].
* [[August 9]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] – [[Battle of Temesvár]]: The main Russo-Austrian forces, led by [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]], win a decisive victory against the [[Hungarians]], led by [[Józef Bem]].
* [[August 11]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: [[Lajos Kossuth]] and the Hungarian Government of [[Bertalan Szemere]] resign, and give all powers to the hands of [[Arthur Görgey]]. After this Kossuth, the ministries and many military officers leave Hungary and seek asylum in Turkey.
* [[August 13]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: The main Hungarian army, under the lead of [[Arthur Görgey]], capitulates to the Russian troops, led by [[Theodor von Rüdiger]], at [[Surrender at Világos|Világos]]. The official end of the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848|Hungarian Revolution]], although the fortress of Komárom continue to resist.
* [[August 28]] – [[Venice]] (the [[Republic of San Marco]]) surrenders to Austrian troops after a 4-month siege.
* [[September 1]] – The first segment of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]], from [[Lewistown, Pennsylvania|Lewistown]] to [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]], opens for service.
* [[September 17]] – African-American abolitionist [[Harriet Tubman]] escapes from slavery.

=== October–December ===
* [[October 4]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: [[Komárom]], the last bastion of the Hungarian Revolution, surrenders to the Austrian forces.
* [[October 6]] – [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]: [[The 13 Martyrs of Arad]] are executed after the Hungarian War of Independence, in repression by the Austrian authorities led by [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]] (these martyrs being the generals of the Hungarian revolutionary army, who did not flee from Hungary after the suppression of the Hungarian revolution by the Russo-Austrian forces). Also today, [[Lajos Batthyány]], the first Hungarian [[List of Prime Ministers of Hungary|prime minister]], is executed by Austrian authorities in [[Pest, Hungary|Pest]].
* [[November]] – [[Austin College]] receives a charter in [[Huntsville, Texas]].
* [[November 13]]
** The [[Constitution of California]] is ratified in a general election.
** Swiss-born [[Marie Manning (murderer)|Marie Manning]] and her husband Frederick are publicly hanged for the murder of her lover in London, before a crowd of 30,000-50,000.
* [[November 16]] – A Russian court sentences [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]] 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]].
* [[December 3]]
** German missionaries [[Johann Ludwig Krapf]] and [[Johannes Rebmann]] become the first Europeans to see [[Mount Kenya]].<ref>J. W. Gregory, ''The Great Rift Valley: Being the Narrative of a Journey to Mount Kenya and Lake Baringo with Some Account of the Geology, Natural History, Anthropology and Future Prospects of British East Africa'' (Frank Cass and Company, 1896) (reprinted 1968) p182</ref>
** The ''Abgeordnetenhaus'', lower house of the parliament of the [[Kingdom of Bavaria]], passes a bill granting German Jews the same legal rights as German Christians.<ref>James F. Harris, ''The People Speak!: Anti-Semitism and Emancipation in Nineteenth-century Bavaria'' (University of Michigan Press, 1994) p159</ref> The measure draws a strong reaction from Christians across Bavaria, who sign petitions urging the upper house to prevent the equal rights measure from becoming law.<ref>Helmut Walser Smith, ''The Continuities of German History: Nation, Religion, and Race across the Long Nineteenth Century'' (Cambridge University Press, 2008) p133</ref>
* [[December 22]] – After 17 days of deadlock and 63 votes, Democrat [[Howell Cobb]] of Georgia is elected [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives]], by a plurality of 102 votes to 99 for the former Speaker, the Whig Party's [[Robert C. Winthrop]] of Massachusetts. Neither the Democrats nor the Whigs have a majority of the 230 seats in the House, and after neither candidate can obtain the required 116 votes, the Representatives agree that the plurality will decide the leadership.<ref>Holman Hamilton, ''Prologue to Conflict: The Crisis and Compromise of 1850'' (University Press of Kentucky, 2015) p42</ref>

=== Date unknown ===
* 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>
* A [[cholera]] [[epidemic]] in New York kills 5,000.
* Global [[healthcare]] and [[pharmaceutical]] company [[Pfizer]] founded in [[New York City|New York]], United States.