| January 5 | James Clark Ross (UK) is 1st to enter pack ice near Ross Ice Shelf |
| January 20 | China cedes Hong Kong to British |
| January 26 | Hong Kong proclaimed a sovereign territory of Britain |
| February 17 | Dutch ex-king Willem I marries Henriette d'Oultremont de Wegimont |
| February 18 | 1st continuous filibuster in U.S. Senate began, lasting until March 11 |
| March 4 | Dion Boucicault's "London Assurance," premieres in London |
| March 4 | Longest inauguration speech (8,443 words), William Henry Harrison |
| March 22 | Cornstarch patented (Orlando Jones) |
| March 27 | 1st U.S. steam fire engine tested, New York City |
| March 31 | 1st performance of Robert Schumann's 1st Symphony in B |
| April 6 | Cornerstone laid for 2nd Mormon temple, Nauvoo, Missouri |
| April 10 | New York "Tribune" begins publishing under editor Horace Greeley |
| April 14 | Edgar Allen Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," published |
| April 20 | 1st detective story (Poe's "Murders in Rue Morgue") published |
| April 26 | "Bombay Gazette" begins publishing on silk |
| April 27 | Imakita Kosen, 1st Zen teacher of D. T. Suzuki, found the awakening |
| May 1 | 1st emigrant wagon train leaves Independence, Missouri for California |
| June 14 | 1st Canadian parliament opens in Kingston, Ontario |
| June 24 | Fordham University, then St. John's College, opens in the Bronx |
| July 3 | John Couch Adams decides to determine position of an unknown planet by irregularities it causes in the motion of Uranus |
| July 5 | Thomas Cook opens 1st travel agency |
| July 17 | British humor magazine "Punch" 1st published |
| August 9 | Erie boat in Buffalo New York catches fire; 242 die |
| August 21 | John Hampton patents venetian blind |
| September 9 | Great Lakes steamer "Erie" sinks off Silver Creek NY, kills 300 |
| September 24 | Britain obtains Sarawak from Brunei, James Brooke appointed Rajah |
| September 30 | Samuel Slocum patented the stapler |
| October 16 | Queens University in Kingston is chartered |
| November 2 | Akbar Khan successfully revolts against Shah Shuja in Afghanistan |
| November 4 | 1st wagon train arrives in California |
| November 16 | Life preservers made of cork are patented by Napoleon Guerin (New York City) |
| November 16 | N E Guerin of New York patents cork-filled life preserver |
| November 25 | 35 Amistad survivors return to Africa |
| November 26 | 1st date in James Clavell's novel Tai-Pan |
| December 6 | Robert Schumann's 4th Symphony in D, premieres |
| December 29 | King/grand duke Willem II installs Order of Eikenkroon |
| December 31 | Alabama becomes 1st state to license dental surgeons |
BrainyHistory
