Directory

1814 CE

War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. War of 1812 – Battle of Horseshoe Bend: In northern Alabama, United States forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek Indians. Walter Scott's Waverley, his first prose fiction and one of the first significant historical novels in English, is published anonymously by Archibald Constable in Edinburgh, selling out in two days.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 14 – Treaty of Kiel: Frederick VI of Denmark cedes the Kingdom of Norway into personal union with Sweden, in exchange for west Pomerania. This marks the end of the real union of Denmark-Norway.source
  • January 31 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.source
  • February 11 – Norway's independence is proclaimed, marking the ultimate end of the Kalmar Union.source
  • February – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, represents Britain at the Congress of Chatillon.source
  • March 9 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Treaty of Chaumont signed by four Allied powers, deepening their alliance against France.source
  • April 11 – Napoleonic Wars – Treaty of Fontainebleau: The War of the Sixth Coalition ends, and Napoleon is forced to abdicate unconditionally as Emperor of the French.source
  • April 12 – The Royal Norwegian Navy is re-established.source
  • May 3 – Treaty of Lircay signed between Royalists and Patriots during the Chilean War of Independence.source
  • May 4 – Ferdinand VII abolishes the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolute monarchy.source
  • May 17 – The occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian hands.source
  • May 17 – The Constitution of Norway is signed and the Danish Crown Prince Christian Frederik is elected King of Norway, by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.source
  • May 30 – Napoleonic Wars: The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning France's borders to their 1792 extent. Napoleon is exiled to Elba on the same day.source
  • June 4 – Charter of 1814: Louis XVIII of France issues the Charter of 1814, a written constitution that retains royal supremacy and will remain in force from 1814 to 1815 and again from 1815 to 1830.source
  • June 17 – In London, Alexander, Frederick William and George exchange their ratifications of the Peace Treaty ending the war with France.source
  • June 21 – The secret Eight Articles of London are signed between the Great Powers, uniting the Low Countries under William I of the Netherlands.source
  • July 22 – War of 1812 – The Treaty of Greenville is signed between the U.S. government and Native American tribes.source
  • July 28 – The revived Ligurian Republic is dissolved.source
  • August 9 – Creek War – The Treaty of Fort Jackson is signed, ending the Creek War.source
  • August 13 – The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 is signed in London, returning most possessions of the Dutch Empire acquired by the United Kingdom since 1803 to the Netherlands, although Britain retains the Cape of Good Hope and the South American settlements of Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice (later consolidated as British Guiana). In addition, the British cede the island of Banca off the island of Sumatra, in exchange for the settlement of Cochin, India.source
  • November 1 – The Congress of Vienna formally opens in Austria to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, with the European powers agreeing upon the redrawing of national borders following the victory over France; it will last until June 9, 1815.source
  • December 24 – War of 1812: The Treaty of Ghent is signed, formally ending the war.source

Conflict & Security

  • January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine.source
  • January 3 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Metz: Allied armies lay siege to the French city and fortress of Metz.source
  • January 11 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Hoogstraten: Prussian forces under Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow defeat the French.source
  • January 14 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Antwerp: Allied forces besiege French Antwerp.source
  • January 29 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Brienne: A French army led by Napoleon is victorious against von Blücher.source
  • February 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of La Rothière: Blücher's Allied army defeats the French under Napoleon.source
  • February 10 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Champaubert: A French army led by Napoleon effectively destroys a small Russian corps led by Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev, opening the Six Days' Campaign.source
  • February 11 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Montmirail: A French army led by Napoleon is victorious against Fabian Gottlieb von der Osten-Sacken and Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg in the Six Days' Campaign.source
  • February 12 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Château-Thierry (1814): A French army led by Napoleon is victorious against Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg and Fabian Gottlieb von der Osten-Sacken in the Six Days' Campaign.source
  • February 14 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Vauchamps: A French army led by Napoleon is victorious against von Blücher, the last major action of the Six Days' Campaign.source
  • February 15 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Garris: An Allied army led by the Duke of Wellington is victorious against the French under Jean Isidore Harispe.source
  • February 18 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Montereau: A French army led by Napoleon is victorious against Austrian forces.source
  • February 27 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Orthez: An Allied army led by the Duke of Wellington is victorious against the French under Jean-de-Dieu Soult.source
  • March 5 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Berry-au-Bac: French cavalrymen led by Napoleon defeat Cossacks under Ferdinand von Wintzingerode.source
  • March 27 – War of 1812 – Battle of Horseshoe Bend: In northern Alabama, United States forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek Indians.source
  • March 28 – War of 1812 – Battle of Valparaíso: Two British Royal Navy ships easily defeat and capture USS Essex and a sister ship off the coast of Chile.source
  • May 6 – War of 1812 – Battle of Fort Oswego: British forces attack Fort Ontario at Oswego, New York.source
  • May 28 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Barcelona is restored to Spanish Bourbon rule as the French garrison leaves the city.source
  • June 20 – Gaspar de Vigodet, Spain's last colonial administrator of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (covering nearly all of modern-day Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay), surrenders the city of Montevideo to independence fighters, led by General Carlos María de Alvear.source
  • July 13 – The Carabinieri (the national military police of Italy) is established by Victor Emmanuel, as the police force of the Kingdom of Sardinia.source
  • August 24 – War of 1812 – Burning of Washington: British troops, after defeating American forces at the Battle of Bladensburg, occupy Washington, D.C., setting numerous buildings on fire, including the Capitol and Presidential Mansion.source
  • September 11 – War of 1812 – Battle of Lake Champlain: An American squadron under Thomas Macdonough defeats the British squadron, ultimately forcing the invading army to retreat back into Canada.source
  • November 1 – Francis Rawdon-Hastings, the Governor-General of India declares war on Kingdom of Nepal and Anglo-Nepalese War begins.source
  • December 15 – War of 1812: The Hartford Convention is convened, by members of the American Federalist Party.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • June 6 – Beginning of the Allied sovereigns' visit to England: Tsar Alexander I of Russia and King Frederick William III of Prussia sail from Boulogne-Sur-Mer to Dover on board the Royal Navy ship HMS Impregnable as guests of George, Prince of Wales, the regent during the incapacity of King George III.source

Religion & Belief

  • June 12 – The poem "She Walks in Beauty" is written by Lord Byron.source
  • August 7 – Pope Pius VII decrees the bull Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum, reestablishing the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) all over the world, after having approved their survival and existence in Russia.source
  • December 25 – Samuel Marsden of the Church Missionary Society preaches the first sermon in New Zealand, probably in the Māori language, at Oihi.source

Economy & Finance

  • February 21 – The Great Stock Exchange Fraud is exposed in London.source
  • March 25 – De Nederlandsche Bank is established.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • July 25 – George Stephenson tests his first locomotive Blücher successfully in England.source
  • The world's first complex machine mass-produced from interchangeable parts, Eli Terry's wooden pillar-and-scroll clock, comes off the production line in Plymouth, Connecticut.source

Crime & Justice

  • August 12 – In England, the last hanging under the Black Act is carried out, of William Potter for cutting down an orchard (although the judge petitions for reprieve).source

Disasters & Accidents

  • February 12 – A fire destroys the Custom House in the City of London.source
  • July 30 – The Great fire of Tirschenreuth in Bavaria destroys the town and 907 buildings.source
  • September 1 – War of 1812 – Sinking of HMS Avon by the USS Wasp.source

Climate & Environment

  • February 1 – Mount Mayon in the Philippines erupts for the second time; more than 1,200 people die and the Cagsawa Church is destroyed.source
  • October 17 – London Beer Flood: A large vat full of porter owned by Meux's Brewery of London bursts, demolishing buildings and killing 8 people.source

Culture & Society

  • February 1 – Lord Byron's semi-autobiographical tale in verse The Corsair is published by John Murray in London, and sells 10,000 copies on this day.source
  • April 6 – Napoleonic Wars – Bourbon Restoration: Louis XVIII is invited to occupy the restored French throne.source
  • May 3 – The Duke of Provence, the future Louis XVIII, returns to Paris.source
  • July 7 – Walter Scott's Waverley, his first prose fiction and one of the first significant historical novels in English, is published anonymously by Archibald Constable in Edinburgh, selling out in two days.source
  • August 1 – The Grand Jubilee of 1814 is held in Britain, celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the Hanoverian Successionsource
  • November 4 – King Charles XIII of Sweden becomes King of Norway, as Charles II .source

Births

  • January 27 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect (d. 1879)source
  • February 9 – Samuel J. Tilden, 25th Governor of New York, 1876 Democratic Party Presidential Nominee (d. 1886)source
  • March 9 – Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet (d. 1861)source
  • April 3 – Lorenzo Snow, 5th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1901)source
  • April 21 – Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts, English philanthropist (d. 1906)source
  • May 30 – Mikhail Bakunin, Russian anarchist (d. 1876)source
  • August 23 – James Roosevelt Bayley, American bishop (d. 1877)source
  • August 28 – Sheridan Le Fanu, Irish writer (d. 1873)source
  • September 6 – George-Étienne Cartier, Canadian lawyer, politician (d. 1873)source
  • September 8 – Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, French writer, historian (d. 1874)source
  • October 15 – Mikhail Lermontov, Russian writer (d. 1841)source
  • November 6 – Adolphe Sax, Belgian musical instrument maker, inventor (d. 1894)source
  • November 22 – Serranus Clinton Hastings, American politician (d. 1893)source
  • December 18 – Sarah T. Bolton, née Sarah Tittle Barrett, American poet (d. 1893)source

Deaths

  • January 7 – Ira Allen, founder of Vermont, leader of the Green Mountain Boys (b. 1751)source
  • January 26 – Manuel do Cenáculo, Portuguese prelate and antiquarian (b. 1724)source
  • January 27 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1762)source
  • April 1 – Joseph de Ferraris, Austrian cartographer of the Austrian Netherlands (b. 1726)source
  • July 19 – Captain Matthew Flinders, English explorer of the coasts of Australia (b. 1774)source
  • July 25 – Charles Dibdin, English composer (b. 1745)source
  • August 21 – Benjamin Thompson, American physicist, inventor (b. 1753)source
  • August 31 – Arthur Phillip, British admiral, 1st Governor of New South Wales (b. 1738)source
  • September 8 – Maria Carolina of Austria, queen of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, and de facto ruler (b. 1752)source
  • October 4 – Samuel Jackson Pratt, English writer, poet and actor (b. 1749)source
  • November 18 – Aleijadinho, Colonial Brazil-born sculptor and architect (b. 1730 or 1738)source
  • November 23 – Elbridge Gerry, 5th Vice President of the United States (b. 1744)source
  • December 2 – Marquis de Sade, French writer for whom sadism is named (b. 1740)source
  • December 13 – Charles-Joseph, 7th Prince of Ligne, Austrian field marshal (b. 1735)source