1838

Events in 1838 30

• 1754 – 1838 Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838) Died 17 May 1838, aged 84 Talleyrand, the French diplomat who served successive French governments from the Revolution through Louis-Philippe, died in Paris. He had represented France at the Congress of Vienna, helping restore its standing after Napoleon's defeat. Few statesmen of the era matched his reputation for political survival and diplomatic skill.
• 1763 – 1838 José Bonifácio de Andrada (1763-1838) Died 6 April 1838, aged 74 José Bonifácio de Andrada, statesman and naturalist known as the Patriarch of Brazilian Independence, died in Niterói. He had served as chief minister to Emperor Pedro I and tutored the young Pedro II. His writings on Brazilian independence and his opposition to slavery shaped early Brazilian political thought.
• 1767 – 1838 Black Hawk (1767-1838) Died 3 October 1838, aged 71 Black Hawk, the Sauk leader who led resistance against US expansion in the 1832 conflict bearing his name, died at a Sauk and Meskwaki settlement in Iowa. After his defeat and brief imprisonment, he dictated an autobiography that became one of the first published accounts by a Native American leader. His name was later given to numerous places and institutions across the American Midwest.
• 1770 – 1838 William Clark (1770-1838) Died 1 September 1838, aged 68 William Clark, co-leader with Meriwether Lewis of the 1804-1806 expedition that mapped a route to the Pacific, died in St. Louis. He later served for decades as governor of Missouri Territory and as federal superintendent of Indian affairs. His maps and journals remained foundational sources on the geography of the American West.
• 1802 – 1838 Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802-1838) Died 15 October 1838, aged 36 Letitia Elizabeth Landon, known by her initials L.E.L. and one of the most widely read English poets of her generation, died suddenly at Cape Coast Castle in present-day Ghana shortly after arriving with her new husband. The cause, officially ruled accidental prussic acid poisoning, has remained disputed by biographers. Her poetry and literary annuals had made her a major figure in Romantic-era British literary culture.
• 1838 – 1883 Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838-1883) Died 15 July 1883, aged 45 Known by his stage name General Tom Thumb, Stratton was an American performer who achieved international fame under showman P. T. Barnum. His small stature and charismatic performances made him one of the most celebrated entertainers of his era.
• 1838 Daguerre Captures the First Photograph of a Person A long exposure on a Paris boulevard records a human figure by chance Louis Daguerre's image of the Boulevard du Temple in Paris, made using his new daguerreotype process, captured a man having his boots shined, the long exposure erasing moving traffic but recording his stationary figure. It is considered the earliest surviving photograph to show a human being. Daguerre would publicly announce his photographic process to the French Academy of Sciences the following year.
• 1838 – 1905 John Hay (1838-1905) Died 1 July 1905, aged 66 American statesman John Hay served as private secretary to Abraham Lincoln before becoming US Secretary of State under Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt. He negotiated the Open Door Policy toward China and the treaty securing US rights to build the Panama Canal. He was also an accomplished author and biographer of Lincoln.
• 1838 – 1914 John Muir (1838-1914) Died 24 December 1914, aged 76 A Scottish-born naturalist and writer, Muir was a tireless advocate for wilderness preservation in the United States and co-founded the Sierra Club. His writing and lobbying helped establish Yosemite and other national parks. He is often called the father of the American national park system.
• 1838 – 1865 John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) Died 26 April 1865, aged 26 John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. He was tracked down and killed by Union soldiers in Virginia twelve days after the shooting.
• 1838 – present Pena Palace Romanticism in Sintra One of the finest examples of 19th-century Romantic architecture in the world.
• 1838 – 1839 Schleiden and Schwann — cell theory All living things are made of cells In 1838-1839, Matthias Schleiden (plants) and Theodor Schwann (animals) independently proposed that all living organisms are composed of cells and that the cell is the fundamental unit of life. Virchow added in 1855 that all cells come from pre-existing cells. Cell theory is one of the three pillars of modern biology alongside evolution and genetics.
• 1838 – 1905 Sir Henry Irving (1838-1905) Died 13 October 1905, aged 67 English actor Henry Irving was the leading Shakespearean performer of the Victorian stage and manager of London's Lyceum Theatre. In 1895 he became the first actor ever to be knighted, a recognition of the growing respectability of his profession. He collapsed and died shortly after a performance in Bradford.
• 1838 Samuel Morse Demonstrates the Electric Telegraph Public test of long-distance telegraphy in New Jersey Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail publicly demonstrated their electric telegraph at the Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown, New Jersey, sending messages over two miles of wire. The demonstration used an early version of Morse code to transmit text, convincing observers of the system's practical value. Congress later funded the Washington-to-Baltimore line built on this technology.
• 1838 Piet Retief and Voortrekker Delegation Killed by Zulu Forces Zulu king Dingane orders the killing of Boer negotiators Zulu king Dingane had Voortrekker leader Piet Retief and roughly seventy of his men killed at the royal kraal of uMgungundlovu after a land treaty negotiation. The killings triggered further Zulu attacks on Voortrekker encampments in Natal. The episode became a defining grievance driving Boer military retaliation later that year.
• 1838 Great Western and Sirius Complete First Steam-Powered Atlantic Crossings Sirius and Great Western reach New York within a day of each other The steamships Sirius and Great Western crossed the Atlantic almost entirely under steam power, arriving in New York in April 1838. Sirius departed Cork and arrived first, followed a day later by the purpose-built Great Western from Bristol. Their voyages proved regular transatlantic steam passenger service was commercially viable.
• 1838 National Gallery Opens New Building on Trafalgar Square London's national art collection moves to a purpose-built home The National Gallery's new building, designed by William Wilkins, opened to the public on Trafalgar Square in London. The gallery had previously been housed in a townhouse on Pall Mall since its founding in 1824. The new site placed it at the symbolic center of the city, alongside the Royal Academy.
• 1838 Federal Republic of Central America Breaks Apart Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica secede from the federation The Federal Republic of Central America, formed in 1823 from the former Spanish colonial provinces, disintegrated as Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica each declared formal independence during 1838. Ongoing civil wars and regional rivalries had already weakened the federal government. Guatemala and El Salvador followed with their own secessions soon after, ending the union entirely.
• 1838 The People's Charter Launches the Chartist Movement London radicals publish a six-point program for political reform The London Working Men's Association published the People's Charter, demanding universal male suffrage, secret ballots, and annual parliaments among six core reforms. The document became the founding manifesto of Chartism, Britain's first mass working-class political movement. Chartist petitions to Parliament over the following decade drew millions of signatures.
• 1838 Forced Removal of the Cherokee Along the Trail of Tears US troops drive the Cherokee Nation from their homeland Following the expiration of a forced-removal deadline, the US Army rounded up Cherokee families and marched them west toward Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Thousands died from disease, exposure, and starvation during the detachments' overland journeys that began in 1838. The removal followed the Indian Removal Act and the disputed Treaty of New Echota.
• 1838 Myall Creek Massacre Stockmen kill Aboriginal Wirrayaraay men, women, and children in New South Wales A group of twelve armed stockmen massacred around twenty-eight unarmed Wirrayaraay Aboriginal people at Myall Creek station in New South Wales. Seven of the perpetrators were later tried and hanged, the first time white colonists were executed in Australia for killing Aboriginal people. The case remains a landmark in the history of colonial violence and its legal reckoning in Australia.
• 1838 Coronation of Queen Victoria Victoria is crowned at Westminster Abbey Queen Victoria, who had acceded to the throne in June 1837 at age eighteen, was formally crowned at Westminster Abbey. The ceremony marked the start of a reign that would last over six decades and come to define an era of British history. Large crowds gathered in London to witness the procession and celebrations.
• 1838 Iowa Territory Organized US Congress creates a new territory west of the Mississippi Congress established the Iowa Territory, separating it from the Wisconsin Territory, with its capital initially at Burlington. The territory encompassed land opened to settlement after earlier treaties with the Sauk and Meskwaki nations. Iowa would be admitted to the Union as a state in 1846.
• 1838 Treaty of Balta Liman Opens Ottoman Markets Anglo-Ottoman trade convention abolishes Ottoman monopolies Britain and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Balta Liman, eliminating Ottoman state trade monopolies and fixing low tariffs on British goods entering Ottoman markets. The agreement opened the empire to large-scale European imports and is widely seen by historians as accelerating Ottoman economic dependency on Europe. Other European powers soon negotiated similar terms.
• 1838 Frederick Douglass Escapes Slavery Future abolitionist leader flees Baltimore disguised as a sailor Frederick Douglass escaped enslavement in Baltimore, Maryland, traveling by train and boat to freedom in New York City using borrowed identification papers. He went on to become one of the most prominent abolitionist orators and writers in the United States. His 1845 autobiography later made his escape and enslavement widely known.
• 1838 Anti-Corn Law League Founded in Manchester Free-trade campaigners organize against British grain tariffs Manchester merchants and manufacturers founded the Anti-Corn Law League to campaign for repeal of the Corn Laws, which imposed tariffs on imported grain to protect domestic landowners. Led by Richard Cobden and John Bright, the League became one of the most effective pressure groups in British political history. The Corn Laws were eventually repealed in 1846.
• 1838 First Anglo-Afghan War Begins British India issues the Simla Manifesto and invades Afghanistan The British East India Company issued the Simla Manifesto, announcing its intention to install Shah Shuja on the Afghan throne in place of Dost Mohammad Khan. The Army of the Indus subsequently advanced into Afghanistan from British India, beginning the First Anglo-Afghan War. The campaign aimed to counter perceived Russian influence in the region.
• 1838 – 1875 Georges Bizet French opera composer French composer best known for his opera Carmen, one of the most performed operas in the repertoire, which he completed shortly before his death at 36.
• 1838 Battle of the Windmill Patriot Hunters' invasion of Upper Canada is defeated near Prescott A force of American-based Patriot Hunters seeking to incite rebellion in Upper Canada occupied a stone windmill near Prescott, Ontario, before being besieged and defeated by British and Canadian militia forces. The engagement was among the largest clashes of the broader Patriot War along the Canada-US border. Survivors were later tried, and several were executed or transported to Australia.
• 1838 Battle of Blood River Voortrekkers defeat a much larger Zulu army in Natal A Voortrekker commando under Andries Pretorius defeated a Zulu army several times its size at the Ncome River in Natal, suffering no fatalities while inflicting heavy Zulu casualties. The victory, attributed by the Voortrekkers to a religious vow made before the battle, became a foundational event in Afrikaner nationalist memory as the Day of the Vow. It followed months of conflict sparked by the killing of Piet Retief's party earlier that year.