1838 CE
At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration of Morse's new invention, the telegraph. A combination of rain and melting snow causes the Danube River to overflow its banks, washing away villages in western Hungary and inundating the twin cities that become Budapest. More than 150 people are drowned and Europe's nations come to Hungary's aid to prevent the spread of famine and disease. Austria: Moravia opens the final section of Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (Rajhrad–Brno) for exhibition (preliminary) use.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- April 30 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Federal Republic of Central America.source
- May 26 – Trail of Tears: The Cherokee Nation is forcibly relocated in the United States.source
- May 28 – Braulio Carrillo is sworn in as Head of State of Costa Rica, thus beginning his second term in office.source
- July 4 – In the United States, the Iowa Territory is formally established, following the signing of a bill by President Martin Van Buren on June 12. In addition to Iowa, which will become a state on December 28, 1846, the Territory also includes most of what will become the states of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Robert Lucas, former Governor of Ohio, takes office as the first Territorial Governor.source
- August 1 – Most former slaves in the British Empire are released from apprenticeships, giving them full emancipation under terms of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.source
- November 5 – Dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America: Honduras and Costa Rica follow the example of Nicaragua and secede from the federation.source
- The People's Charter is drawn up in the United Kingdom, demanding universal suffrage.source
- The Pitcairn Islands become a Crown colony of the United Kingdom, and women there are the first in the world to be granted and maintain women's suffrage.source
- An insurrection breaks out in Tizimín, beginning the campaign for the independence of Yucatán from Mexico.source
Conflict & Security
- February 17 – Weenen massacre: Zulu impis massacre about 532 Voortrekkers, Khoikhoi and Basuto around the site of Weenen in South Africa.source
- February 24 – U.S. Representatives William J. Graves of Kentucky and Jonathan Cilley of Maine face each other in a duel with rifles at 80 yards near Bladensburg, Maryland. On the third attempt, Congressman Cilley is fatally wounded and bleeds to death.source
- June 10 – Myall Creek massacre: 28 Indigenous Australians are killed.source
- October 1 – First Carlist War – Battle of Maella: Supporters of Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain are victorious.source
- October 5 – Killough massacre, believed to be both the largest and last Native American attack on white settlers in East Texas. 18 casualties are either killed or carried away.source
- November 27 – Pastry War: Mexico is invaded by French forces.source
- December 16 – Battle of Blood River: The Boers win a decisive victory over the Zulus.source
- December – First Anglo-Afghan War: British and Presidency armies set out from Punjab in support of Shah Shujah Durrani's claim to the throne of Afghanistan.source
- Lord Durham and his entourage arrive in Upper Canada, to investigate the cause of the 1837 rebellion in that province. This leads to Durham submitting the Durham Report to Britain.source
Exploration & Expansion
- February 6 – Boer explorer Piet Retief and 60 of his men are massacred by King Dingane kaSenzangakhona of the Zulu people, after Retief accepts an invitation to celebrate the signing of a treaty, and his men willingly disarm as a show of good faith.source
- April 4–22 – The paddle steamer makes the transatlantic crossing to New York from Cork, Ireland in 18 days, though not using steam continuously.source
- September 7 – Grace Darling and her father rescue 13 survivors from the Forfarshire, off the Farne Islands.source
- Sylvain Charles Valée founds Skikda, Algeria.source
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
- January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration of Morse's new invention, the telegraph.source
- April 8–23 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel's paddle steamer (1838) makes the transatlantic crossing to New York from Avonmouth, England, in 15 days, inaugurating a regular steamship service.source
- November 16 – Austria: Moravia opens the final section of Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (Rajhrad–Brno) for exhibition (preliminary) use.source
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
- October 27 – Lilburn Boggs, Governor of Missouri, by Missouri Executive Order 44, declares Mormons to be enemies of the state, and encourages the extermination or exile of the religious minority, forcing nearly 10,000 Mormons out of the state. It was later rescinded in 1976.source
Crime & Justice
- The 5th century BC bronze Chatsworth Head is acquired by the 6th Duke of Devonshire at Smyrna, from H. P. Borrell.source
Disasters & Accidents
- January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London.source
Climate & Environment
- January 21 – The first known report about the lowest temperature on Earth is made, indicating -60 °C °F in Yakutsk.source
- January 23 – A 7.5 earthquake strikes the Romanian district of Vrancea causing damage in Moldavia and Wallachia, killing 73 people.source
- March 13 – A combination of rain and melting snow causes the Danube River to overflow its banks, washing away villages in western Hungary and inundating the twin cities that become Budapest. More than 150 people are drowned and Europe's nations come to Hungary's aid to prevent the spread of famine and disease.source
Culture & Society
- March 31 – The first installment of Nicholas Nickleby, the new novel by Charles Dickens, is released as the opener of a 20-part serialization in London.source
- August 6 – The Polytechnic Institution, predecessor of the University of Westminster and Britain's first polytechnic, opens in Regent Street, London.source
- September 18 – The Anti-Corn Law League is established in Britain by Richard Cobden.source
- November 3 – The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce is founded (renamed The Times of India in 1861).source
- Duke University is established in North Carolina.source
Births
- January 29 – Edward W. Morley, American chemist noted for working on the Michelson–Morley experiment (d. 1923)source
- February 9 – Sir Evelyn Wood, British field marshal, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1919)source
- March 15 – Alice Cunningham Fletcher, American ethnologist, anthropologist, and social scientist (d. 1923)source
- April 21 – John Muir, American ecologist (d. 1914)source
- June 14 – Yamagata Aritomo, Japanese field marshal, Prime Minister (d. 1922)source
- July 8 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German military officer, founder of the Zeppelin Company (d. 1917)source
- July full date unknown – Bass Reeves, one of the first black Deputy U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi River (d. 1910)source
- September 2 – Liliuokalani, last Queen of Hawaii (d. 1917)source
- September 21 – Victoria Woodhull, American woman's suffrage leader; first woman to run for U.S. President (d. 1927)source
- September 27 – Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Confederate brigadier general, Texas governor and president of Texas A&M University (d. 1898)source
- September 28 – Sai Baba, Indian spiritual master and National saint (d. 1918)source
- October 8 – John Hay, diplomat, private secretary to Abraham Lincoln, 37th United States Secretary of State (d. 1905)source
- November 8 – Rufus W. Peckham, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1909)source
- November 13 – Joseph F. Smith, 6th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1918)source
Deaths
- January 5 – Anthony Van Egmond, leader in Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 (d. in jail) (b. 1778)source
- January 13 – John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1751)source
- March 7 – Robert Townsend (spy), American member of the Culper Spy Ring (b. 1753)source
- April 6 – José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, Brazilian statesman, naturalist (b. 1763)source
- May 17 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French politician (b. 1754)source
- May 23 – Jan Willem Janssens, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1762)source
- August 1 – John Rodgers, American naval officer (b. 1772)source
- August 17 – Lorenzo Da Ponte, librettist for Mozart (b. 1749)source
- September 1 – William Clark, American explorer (b. 1770)source
- September 15 – Alexandra Branitskaya, Russian political activist, courtier and businessperson (b. 1754)source
- October 1 – Charles Tennant, Scottish chemist, industrialist (b. 1768)source
- October 3 – Black Hawk, Sauk Indian chief, autobiographer (b. 1767)source
- November 7 – Anne Grant, Scottish poet (b. 1755)source
- November 21 – Georges Mouton, count of Lobau, Marshal of France (b. 1770)source