| January 1 | 1st official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide |
| January 6 | Samuel Morse made 1st public demonstration of telegraph |
| January 8 | 1st telegraph message sent using dots and dashes in New Jersey |
| January 8 | Rebellion at Amherstburg, Ontario breaks out |
| January 26 | Tennessee becomes 1st state to prohibit alcohol |
| February 16 | Kentucky passes law permitting women to attend school under conditions |
| February 25 | London pedestrian walks 20 miles backward then forward in 8 hours |
| March 3 | Rebellion at Pelee Island, Ontario Canada |
| March 6 | Franz Grillparzer's "Weh dem, der Lugt," premieres in Vienna |
| March 8 | U.S. Mint in New Orleans begins operation (producing dimes) |
| April 8 | Steamship "Great Western" maiden voyage (Bristol England to New York City) |
| April 9 | National Galley opens in London |
| April 18 | Wilkes' expedition to South Pole sails |
| April 22 | English steamship "Sirius" docks in New York City after Atlantic crossing |
| April 23 | English steamship "Great Western" crossing Atlantic docks in New York City |
| April 27 | Fire destroys half of Charleston |
| April 30 | Nicaragua declares independence from Central American federation |
| June 11 | Iowa Territory is organized |
| June 12 | Hopkins Observatory, dedicated in Williamstown, Massachusetts |
| June 12 | Iowa Territory forms |
| June 28 | Britain's Queen Victoria crowned in Westminster Abbey |
| July 7 | Central American federation is dissolved |
| July 8 | Arabs attack Jewish community of Safed |
| August 1 | Emancipation of British slaves on Bahamas |
| August 18 | 1st U.S. marine expedition |
| August 23 | Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (South Hadley, Mass) 1st graduating class |
| September 3 | Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery disguised as a sailor |
| September 5 | Central Museum opens in Utrecht Netherlands |
| September 10 | Hector Berlioz' opera "Benvenuto Cellini," premieres in Paris |
| September 18 | Anti-Corn Law League established by Richard Cobden |
| September 19 | Ephraim Morris patents railroad brake |
| September 24 | Anti-Corn-Law League forms to repeal English Corn Law |
| October 1 | Civil Code enforced (- Jan 1, 1992) |
| November 5 | Honduras declares independence of Central American Federation |
| November 8 | Victor Hugo's "Ruy Blas," premieres in Paris |
| November 11 | Emma Wedgwood accepts Charles Darwin's marriage proposal |
| November 30 | Mexico declares war on France |
| December 16 | Boers beat Zulu chieftain Dingaan in South Africa |
BrainyHistory
