| January 1 | 1st recorded bowling match in U.S., Knickerbocker Alleys, New York City |
| January 3 | 1st deep sea sounding |
| January 5 | Records show 95,820 licensed public houses in England on this date |
| January 10 | Penny Post mail system is starts |
| January 18 | Electro-Magnetic Intelligencer, 1st U.S. electrical journal, appears |
| January 19 | Antarctica discovered, Charles Wilkes expedition (U.S. claim) |
| January 20 | Dumont D'Urville discovers Adelie Land, Antarctica |
| January 20 | Dutch King Willem II crowned |
| February 1 | Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, 1st in U.S., incorporated |
| February 6 | Waitangi Day; treaty signed between Britain and Maoris of New Zealand |
| February 10 | British queen Victoria marries her cousin Albert von Saksen-Coburg |
| February 11 | Gaetano Donizetti's Opera "La Fille du Regiment," premieres in Paris |
| February 12 | Housatonic Railroad opens |
| February 16 | American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
| March 14 | Jose Zorilla's "El Zapatero y el Rey," premieres in Madrid |
| March 23 | Draper takes 1st successful photo of the Moon (daguerrotype) |
| May 1 | 1st adhesive postage stamps ("Penny Blacks" from England) issued |
| May 7 | Tornado strikes Natchez Miss, kills 317 |
| May 8 | Alexander Wolcott patents Photographic Process |
| May 21 | New Zealand became a British colony |
| June 12 | Meteorite hits Uden, Netherlands |
| June 20 | Samuel Morse patents his telegraph |
| July 6 | Christian Hebbel's "Judith," premieres in Berlin |
| July 15 | England, Russia, Austria and Prussia signs Quadruple Alliance |
| July 23 | Union Act passed by British Parliament, uniting Upper and Lower Canada |
| August 18 | Organization of American Society of Dental Surgeons founded in New York |
| August 28 | 9 Jewish prisoners are released from Damascus jails |
| September 12 | Composer Robert Schumann marries Clara Wieck |
| October 7 | Willem I resigns as king of Netherlands |
| October 8 | 1st Hawaiian constitution proclaimed |
| December 2 | Gaetano Donizetti's opera "La Favorita," premieres in Paris |
| December 2 | Opera "Die Favoritin" is produced (Paris) |
| December 2 | William H Harrison elected president of US |
