Directory

1849 CE

Hungarian Revolution of 1848: Romanian armed groups massacre 600 unarmed Hungarian civilians, at Nagyenyed. The Frankfurt Parliament completes its drafting of a liberal constitution, and elects Frederick William IV emperor of the new German national state. 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 forces.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 13 – The Colony of Vancouver Island is established.source
  • February 8 – The short-lived Roman Republic is proclaimed.source
  • February 14 – In New York City, James K. Polk becomes the first President of the United States to have his photograph taken.source
  • March 3 – Minnesota becomes a United States territory.source
  • 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.source
  • March 28 – 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.source
  • March – The Frankfurt Parliament completes its drafting of a liberal constitution, and elects Frederick William IV emperor of the new German national state.source
  • 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.source
  • April 14 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Hungarian revolutionary parliament in Debrecen declares independence from the Habsburg Empire.source
  • 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.source
  • June 5 – Denmark becomes a constitutional monarchy.source
  • 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.source
  • 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 Jews receive equality thanks to the Emancipation Decree.source
  • November 13 – The Constitution of California is ratified in a general election.source
  • December 3 – 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. 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.source
  • 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.source

Conflict & Security

  • 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. The Hungarian government and parliament flee to Debrecen.source
  • January 8 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: Romanian armed groups massacre 600 unarmed Hungarian civilians, at Nagyenyed.source
  • January 21 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: At Nagyszeben (now Sibiu in Romania)– The Hungarian army in Transylvania, led by Josef Bem, is defeated by the Austrians, led by Anton Puchner.source
  • February 4 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: Battle of Vízakna – The Austrian army, led by Anton Puchner, defeats the Hungarians, led by general Josef Bem.source
  • February 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Hungarian revolutionary army, led by Richard Guyon, breaks through the pass of Branyiszkó, defeating the Austrian defenders.source
  • February 9 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: Battle of Piski – Josef Bem's Hungarian army defeats Anton Puchner.source
  • February 27 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: Battle of Kápolna – The Austrians defeat the Hungarians.source
  • March 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: Second Battle of Szolnok – The Hungarians led by János Damjanich and Károly Vécsey defeat the Austrians.source
  • 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.source
  • March 23 – First Italian War of Independence: Battle of Novara – The Kingdom of Sardinia suffers a huge defeat after a two day battle, and King Charles Albert of Sardinia abdicates.source
  • April 1 – 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 forces.source
  • April 2 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848 – Battle of Hatvan: The Hungarian revolutionary army, under the command of András Gáspár, defeats the Austrians, led by general Franz Schlik.source
  • April 6 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848 – 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.source
  • April 21 – The Austrian government asks Russian help against the Hungarian Revolution. Tsar Nicholas I of Russia agrees to send troops against Hungary.source
  • April 25 – James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, the Governor General of Canada, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.source
  • April 26 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848 – 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 Croatian, Romanian and Serbian allies are chased out from Hungary, or near the borders of the country.source
  • June 5 – 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 Pozsony, in order to crush the Hungarian revolution.source
  • 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.source
  • 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.source
  • 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.source
  • July 11 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848 – Third Battle of Komárom: The Hungarian army, led by Arthur Görgey, is defeated by the Austrians, led by Julius Jacob von Haynau.source
  • 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. The Russians are unsuccessful in destroying the Hungarian army, which retreats towards the east.source
  • 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.source
  • 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.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • February 28 – Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins, with the arrival of the 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.source
  • November – English-born merchant Joshua Norton, the future "Emperor Norton", arrives in San Francisco.source
  • December 3 – German missionaries Johann Ludwig Krapf and Johannes Rebmann become the first Europeans to see Mount Kenya.source

Religion & Belief

  • January 21 – General elections are held in the Papal States.source
  • June 6 – The settlement of Fort Worth, Texas, is founded.source

Economy & Finance

  • January 27 – The Fayetteville and Western Plank Road Company is incorporated, to build a plank road from Fayetteville to Bethania, North Carolina.source
  • February 1 – The abolition of the Corn Laws by the United Kingdom's Importation Act 1846 comes fully into effect.source
  • March 3 – The United States Congress passes the Gold Coinage Act allowing the minting of two additional denominations of gold coins, the gold dollar and the double eagle.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps.source
  • January 27 – The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates the North Carolina Railroad, to complete a rail line from Goldsboro through Raleigh, and Salisbury to Charlotte.source
  • March 3 – The United States Department of the Interior is established, incorporating the Census Office, United States General Land Office, Office of Indian Affairs and Patent and Trademark Office.source
  • July 15 – The first airstrike in history: Austria launches pilotless balloons against the city of Venice.source
  • September 1 – The first segment of the Pennsylvania Railroad, from Lewistown to Harrisburg, opens for service.source

Science & Discovery

  • April 12 – Astronomer Annibale de Gasparis discovers the asteroid 10 Hygiea.source
  • April 22 – The first Kennedy arrives in America.source
  • July 23 – French scientist Hippolyte Fizeau makes a measurement of the speed of light in air using a specially devised apparatus.source

Health & Medicine

  • 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.source
  • A cholera epidemic in New York kills 5,000.source
  • Global healthcare and pharmaceutical company Pfizer founded in New York, United States.source

Crime & Justice

  • July 31–August 1 – Joven Daniel wrecks at the coast of Araucanía, Chile, leading to allegations that local Mapuche tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped Elisa Bravo.source
  • November 13 – Swiss-born 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.source
  • 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.source
  • Seven of the "best known" opium clippers go missing: Sylph, Coquette, Kelpie, Greyhound, Don Juan, Mischief, and Anna Eliza.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • March 28 – Four Christians are ordered to be burnt alive in Antananarivo, Madagascar, by Queen Ranavalona I; 14 others are executed.source
  • May 17 – The St. Louis Fire starts when a steamboat catches fire and nearly burns down the entire city.source

Climate & Environment

  • May 3 – The Mississippi River levee at Sauvé's Crevasse breaks, flooding much of New Orleans.source

Culture & Society

  • November – Austin College receives a charter in Huntsville, Texas.source

Births

  • January 14 – James Moore, English winner of the first ever cycle race (d. 1935)source
  • January 18 – Sir Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)source
  • January 22 – August Strindberg, Swedish author, playwright, and painter (d. 1912)source
  • May 3 – Bernhard von Bülow, 8th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1929)source
  • July 29 – Max Nordau, Austrian author, philosopher and Zionist leader (d. 1923)source
  • August 23 – William Ernest Henley, English poet, writer, critic (d. 1903)source
  • September 2 – Emma Curtis Hopkins, American spiritual writer (d. 1925)source
  • September 14 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1936)source
  • October 7 – James Whitcomb Riley, American poet and author (d. 1916)source
  • November 24 – Frances Hodgson Burnett, English-American playwright, author (d. 1924)source
  • November 29 – Sir Ambrose Fleming, English electrical engineer, inventor (d. 1945)source
  • December 7 – Saionji Kinmochi, Japanese prince and prime minister (d. 1940)source
  • December 12 – William Kissam Vanderbilt, American railway magnate (d. 1920)source
  • December 19 – Henry Clay Frick, American industrialist, art collector (d. 1919)source

Deaths

  • March 15 – Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti, Italian Catholic cardinal, linguist (b. 1774)source
  • April 10 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848 – 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.source
  • 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.source
  • May 10 – Hokusai, Japanese Ukiyo-e Artist (b. 1760)source
  • May 21 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Hungarian army, led by Arthur Görgey, captures the 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.source
  • May 22 – Maria Edgeworth, Irish novelist (b. 1767)source
  • May 31 – Leonard du Bus de Gisignies, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1780)source
  • June 10 – Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Marshal of France, duke of Isly (b. 1784)source
  • June 15 – James Knox Polk, 53, 11th president of the United States (b. 1795)source
  • July 12 – Dolley Madison, 81, First Lady of the United States (b. 1768)source
  • July 31 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet (b. 1823)source
  • September 6 – Andreas Joseph Hofmann, German philosopher and revolutionary (b. 1752)source
  • October 17 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish-French musician, composer (b. 1810)source
  • December 2 – Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen of William IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1792)source