| January 1 | German Tolunie goes into effect |
| January 5 | Kiowa Indians record this as the night the stars fell |
| January 9 | HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin arrive in Port San Julian, Patagonia |
| January 29 | President Jackson orders 1st use of U.S. troops to suppress a labor dispute |
| February 18 | 1st U.S. labor newspaper, "The Man," published, New York City |
| February 26 | 1st U.S. interstate crime compact (New York - New Jersey) ratified |
| March 6 | Toronto incorporated with William Lyon Mackenzie as its 1st mayor |
| March 16 | HMS Beagle anchors at Berkeley Sound, Falkland Islands |
| March 18 | 1st railroad tunnel in U.S. completed, in Pennsylvania (275 m long) |
| March 28 | Senate censure President Jackson for taking federal deposits from Bank of U.S. |
| April 13 | HMS Beagle anchors at river mouth of Rio Santa Cruz, Patagonia |
| April 18 | Charles Darwin sails to Rio Santa Cruz up Patagonia |
| April 29 | Charles Darwin's expedition sees top of Andes from Patagonia |
| May 1 | Belgian parliament accept railway laws |
| May 4 | Charles Darwin's expedition reaches 200 km from Atlantic Ocean |
| May 5 | Charles Darwin's expedition begins at Rio Santa Cruz |
| May 8 | Charles Darwin's expedition returns to the Beagle |
| May 8 | Prussia, Austria and Russia sign classified accord about Belgium |
| May 26 | Portuguese Civil war ends, Dom Miguel capitulates |
| June 1 | HMS Beagle for anchor in Port Famine, Magallanes Street |
| June 2 | 5th national black convention meet, New York City |
| June 8 | HMS Beagle sails from Port Famine to Cape Turn |
| June 10 | HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin sails Pacific Ocean |
| June 14 | Hardhat diving suit patented by Leonard Norcross, Dixfield, Maine |
| June 14 | Isaac Fischer, Jr. patents sandpaper |
| June 14 | Sandpaper patented by Isaac Fischer, Jr., Springfield, Vermont |
| June 15 | Rioters in Safed Palestine kills many Jews |
| June 21 | Cyrus Hall McCormick patents reaping machine |
| June 25 | Pope Gregory XVI's encyclical "Singulari nos" published |
| June 30 | Congress creates Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) |
| July 5 | Provisional government forms in Oregon Country |
| July 23 | HMS Beagle anchors in Bay of Valparaiso |
| August 1 | Slavery abolished through out the British Empire |
| August 16 | Charles Darwin climbs Mount Campana in Chile |
| August 17 | Charles Darwin reaches top of Campana, Chile |
| August 18 | Mount Vesuvius erupts |
| September 14 | Charles Darwin's company passes Tagua-tagua-more Chile |
| September 27 | Charles Darwin returns to Valparaiso |
| October 4 | Franz Grillparzer's "Der Traum ein Leben," premieres in Vienna |
| October 14 | 1st black to obtain a U.S. patent, Henry Blair, for a corn planter |
| October 16 | London parliament catches fire; historic documents burn |
| November 1 | 1st published reference to poker (as Mississippi riverboat game) |
| November 10 | HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin sails from Valparaiso |
| November 14 | William Thomson enters Glasgow University at 10 years 4 months |
| November 21 | HMS Beagle anchors at Bay of San Carlos, Chile |
| November 23 | Hector Berlioz's "Harold in Italy," premieres |
| November 25 | Delmonico's, one of New York's finest restaurants, provides a meal of soup, steak, coffee and half a pie for 12 cents |
| December 3 | 1st U.S. dental society organized (NY) |
| December 23 | Joseph Hansom of London receives patent for Hansom cabs |
| December 25 | Charles Darwin celebrates Christmas on Beagle at Tres Montes, Chile |
