Editing 1850 (section)

=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 29]] &ndash; [[Henry Clay]] introduces the [[Compromise of 1850]] to the [[United States Congress]].
* [[January 31]] &ndash; The [[University of Rochester]] is founded in [[Rochester, New York]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/2309|title=University of Rochester History: Chapter 3, The Year of Decisions: 1850|work=rbscp.lib.rochester.edu}}</ref>
* [[January]] – [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] [[Floods in California|floods]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sacramento; an illustrated history: 1839 to 1874, from Sutter's Fort to Capital City|url=https://archive.org/details/sacramentoillust00seve|website=Archive.org|year=1973}}</ref>
* [[February 28]] &ndash; The [[University of Utah]] opens in [[Salt Lake City]].
* [[March 5]] &ndash; The [[Britannia Bridge]] opens over the [[Menai Strait]] in Wales.
* [[March 7]] &ndash; [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] [[Daniel Webster]] gives his "Seventh of March" speech, in which he endorses the [[Compromise of 1850]], in order to prevent a possible [[civil war]].
* [[March 16]] &ndash; [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]]'s historical novel ''[[The Scarlet Letter]]'' is published in [[Boston]], Massachusetts.
* [[March 19]] &ndash; [[American Express]] is founded by [[Henry Wells]] and [[William Fargo]].
* [[March 31]] &ndash; The [[paddle steamer]] {{RMS|Royal Adelaide|1838|6}}, bound from [[Cork (city)|Cork]] to London, is wrecked in the [[English Channel]] with the loss of all 250 on board.