January 1 Yucatan declares independence from Mexico January 21 1st edition of Charles Dickens' "Daily News" January 28 Battle of Allwal, Brits beat Sikhs in Punjab (India) February 1 Theophile Gautier publishes "Hashish Club" about his initiation February 4 Mormons leave Nauvoo, Mo for settlement in west February 5 "Oregon Spectator" is 1st newspaper to be published on the West Coast February 10 Beginning of Mormon march to west US February 10 British defeat Sikhs in battle of Sobraon, India February 16 Battle of Sobraon ends 1st Sikh War in India February 19 Texas state government formally installed in Austin February 20 British occupy Sikh citadel of Lahore February 21 1st U.S. woman telegrapher, Sarah G. Bagley, Lowell, Mass February 23 Polish revolutionaries march on Cracow, but are defeated March 13 Friedrich Hebbel's "Maria Magdalena," premieres in Konigsberg May 1 Ida Pfeiffer (48) begins trip around world May 3 Mexican army surrounds fort in Texas May 4 U.S. state Michigan ends death penalty May 8 1st major battle of Mexican War fought at Palo Alto Texas May 9 Battle of Resaca de la Palma-U.S. sends Mexico back to Rio Grande May 13 U.S. declares war on Mexico, 2 months after fighting begins May 17 Saxophone is patents by Antoine Joseph Sax May 18 U.S. troops attack Rio Grande occupying Matamoros May 21 1st steamship arrives in Hawaii May 24 General Zachary Taylor captures Monterey in Mexican War June 5 Telegraph line opens between Philadelphia and Balt June 8 Battle at Gwanga: British troops beat Bantu June 10 Robert Thomson obtains an English patent on a rubber tire June 14 Belgian Liberal Party forms June 14 California declares independence from Mexico in Sonoma June 15 Oregon Treaty signed, setting US-British boundary at 49 degrees N June 19 1st baseball game (Cartwright Rules)-NY Nines 23, Knickerbockers 1 June 24 Residency tax on Jews of Hungary abolished July 7 U.S. annexs California July 9 Captain Montgomery claims Yerba Buena, San Francisco, for U.S. July 21 Mormons found 1st English settlement in California (San Joaquin Valley) August 5 Oregon country divided between U.S. and Britain at 49th parallel August 10 Congress charters "nation's attic," Smithsonian Institution August 14 Henry David Thoreau jailed for tax resistance August 16 Gioacchino Rossini marries Olympe Pelissier in Paris August 17 U.S. fleet officer Robert F Stockton annexes California August 18 General Stephen W Kearney's U.S. forces captures Santa Fe, New Mexico August 22 U.S. annexes New Mexico August 26 Felix Mendelssohn's "Elijah," premieres August 26 W A Bartlett appointed 1st U.S. mayor of Yerba Buena (SF) September 10 Elias Howe patents sewing machine September 10 Japan invents the rickshaw September 15 Jung Bahadur Rana grabs power in Nepal September 18 Elizabeth Barrett and R Browning exchange last letters before eloping September 19 Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning elopes September 23 Johann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich d'Arrest find Neptune September 25 U.S. troops under General Taylor occupies Monterey Mexico September 30 Anesthetic ether used for 1st time (Dr. Wm Morton extracts a tooth) October 10 Alexis the Tocqueville writes about "Algerian problem" October 10 Neptune's moon Triton discovered by William Lassell October 15 Dr. William Thomas Green Morton 1st public use of ether October 16 Dentist William T Morton demonstrates effectiveness of ether October 28 Pioneers suffer blizzard in Sierra Nevada; 42 die October 31 Donner party, unable to cross the Donner Pass, construct a winter camp November 4 Benjamin Palmer patents artificial leg November 5 Robert Schumann's 2nd Symphony in C, premieres December 5 C F Schoenbein obtains patent for cellulose nitrate explosive December 6 Opera "La Damnation de Faust" is produced (Paris) December 8 Hector Berlioz's "La Damnation de Faust," premieres December 28 Iowa becomes 29th state
