Events in year of 1838
- 01-011st official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide
- 01-06Samuel Morse made 1st public demonstration of telegraph
- 01-081st telegraph message sent using dots and dashes (NJ)
- 01-08Rebellion at Amherstburg, Ontario breaks out
- 01-26Tennessee becomes 1st state to prohibit alcohol
- 02-16Kentucky passes law permitting women to attend school under conditions
- 02-25London pedestrian walks 20 miles backward then forward in 8 hours
- 03-03Rebellion at Pelee Island, Ontario Canada
- 03-08US mint in New Orleans begins operation (producing dimes)
- 04-08Steamship "Great Western" maiden voyage (Bristol England to NYC)
- 04-09National Galley opens in London
- 04-22English steamship "Sirius" docks in NYC after Atlantic crossing
- 04-23English steamship "Great Western" crossing Atlantic docks in New York City
- 04-27Fire destroys half of Charleston
- 04-30Nicaragua declares independence from Central American federation
- 06-11Iowa Territory is organized
- 06-12Hopkins Observatory, dedicated in Williamstown, Massachusetts
- 06-12Iowa Territory forms
- 07-07Central American federation is dissolved
- 07-08Arabs attack Jewish community of Safed
- 08-01Emancipation of British slaves on Bahamas
- 08-181st US marine expedition
- 08-23Mt Holyoke Female Seminary (South Hadley, Massachusetts) 1st graduating class
- 09-03Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery disguised as a sailor
- 09-05Central Museum opens in Utrecht Netherlands
- 09-18Anti-Corn Law League established by Richard Cobden
- 09-19Ephraim Morris patents railroad brake
- 09-24Anti-Corn-Law League forms to repeal English Corn Law
- 10-01Civil Code enforced (- Jan 1, 1992)
- 11-05Honduras declares independence of Central American Federation
People born in year of 1838
- 01-01William Hugh Young: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
- 02-06Henry Irving [John H Brodribb]: England, United Kingdom -- Knighted 1895 / actor (Hamlet)
- 02-12Charles Carroll Walcott: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1898
- 02-14Margaret Knight: Inventor "the female Thomas Edison"
- 02-16Henry Adams: Boston, Massachusetts -- Historian, writer (Education of Henry Adams)
- 02-18Ernst Mach: Chirlitz-Turas, Austria -- Physicist / philosopher / psychologist
- 02-20James Barbour Terrill: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
- 02-22Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen: Discoverer of hydrogen in Sun
- 02-23Gilbert Moxley Sorrel: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
- 02-24Thomas Benton Smith: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1923
- 02-26Wendelin Weissheimer: Composer
- 03-02David Duffle Wood: Composer
- 03-03George W Hill: US astronomer (Moon orbit)
- 03-04Paul Lacome: Composer
- 03-12William Perkin: Inventor (1st artificial dye)
- 03-15Alice Cunningham Fletcher: Ethnologist (Stranger in Her Native Land)
- 03-18Jan B Stobbaerts: Flemish painter
- 03-18Randal Cremer: Britain -- Trade unionist, pacifist (Nobel 1903)
- 04-05Alpheus Hyatt: United States -- Invertebrate paleontologist
- 04-11Joseph Leopold Rockel: Composer
- 04-12John Shaw Billings: United States -- Librarian / army Physician
- 04-16Karel Bendl: Composer
- 04-23Alfred J Verwee: Flemish painter
- 04-28Tobias M Carel Asser: Holland, Netherlands -- Advocate of world law (Nobel 1911)
- 05-06Alfred Humphreys Pease: Composer
- 05-10James: 1st Viscount Bryce, historian / Statesman
- 05-24Paul Laband: German lawyer
- 05-28Basil Wilson Duke: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1916
- 05-31Henry Sidgwick: English philosopher (Wife at University)
- 06-04Servaas Daems [Peeter Klein]: Flemish writer (Lute & Flute)
People died in year of 1838
- 01-13Ferdinand Reis: Composer, dies at 53
- 01-20Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges: Composer, dies at 64
- 01-23Arnold A Buyskes: Dutch Vice-Admiral / colonial director, dies at 67
- 01-30Osceola: Chief of Seminole indians, dies in jail
- 02-01Abraham de Veer: Dutch Governor-General of Suriname (1822-28), dies at 71
- 02-05Philippe Libon: Composer, dies at 62
- 02-22Friedrich Johann Eck: Composer, dies at 70
- 03-16Nathaniel Bowditch: Astronomer / navigation expert, dies at 64
- 03-22Hendrik Fagel: Dutch / English baron, dies at 73
- 03-24Thomas Attwood: Composer, dies at 72
- 04-06Jose B de Andrada e Silva: Premier of Brazil (1822-23), dies at 74
- 04-11Pieter L Uys: South African pioneer (Great Pull), murdered at 40
- 04-17J Schopenhauer: Writer, dies at 71
- 05-28Thomas Busby: Composer
- 07-10Willem Earl van Hogendorp: Dutch colonial governor, dies at about 43
- 07-17John Whites: Hydraulic engineer, dies at 82
- 07-19Frederic Nicolas Duvernoy: Composer, dies at 72
- 07-28Bernhard Henrik Crusell: Composer, dies at 62
- 07-29Jonathan Huntington: Composer, dies at 66
- 08-21A v Chamisso: Writer, dies at 57
- 09-01William Clark: 2nd lt of Lewis & Clark Expedition, dies at 68
- 09-07Joseph Panny: Composer, dies at 43
- 09-08Pietro Rovelli: Composer, dies at 45
- 10-04Eleanore Sophia Maria Westenholz: Composer, dies at 79
- 10-19Henry Fagel: Baron / court clerk of States-General / diplomat, dies at 73
- 11-24Karl Ludwig Hellwig: Composer, dies at 65
Events in year of 1839
- 01-021st photo of the Moon (French photographer Louis Daguerre)
- 01-062 day storm off Irish and English coast immortalized as "Big Wind"
- 01-09Daguerrotype photo process announced at French Academy of Science
- 01-09Thomas Henderson measures 1st stellar parallax (Alpha Centauri)
- 01-10Tea from India 1st arrives in the UK
- 01-11Earthquake at Martinique destroys half of Port Royal-700 die
- 01-12Anthracite coal 1st used to smelt iron, Mauch Chunk, Penn
- 01-19Aden conquered by British East India Company
- 01-24Charles Darwin elected member of Royal Society
- 01-29Charles Darwin marries Emma Wedgwood
- 02-07Henry Clay declares in Senate "I had rather be right than President"
- 02-12Aroostock War: Boundary dispute between Maine and New Brunswick
- 02-18Detroit Boat Club forms
- 02-20Congress prohibits dueling in District of Columbia
- 02-24Steam shovel patented by William Otis, Philadelphia
- 02-25Seminoles and black allies shipped from Tampa Bay Florida, to West
- 02-26Jem Mason on Lottery wins 1st Grand National Steeplechase (Britain)
- 03-09Prussian government limits work week for children to 51 hours
- 03-231st known use of term OK (Boston)
- 03-261st Henley Royal Regatta
- 04-17Guatemala forms Republic
- 04-19Treaty of London constitutes Belgium an independent kingdom and Luxembourg a Grand Duchy
- 05-04The Cunard Steamship Company Ltd forms San Bonifacio
- 06-07Hawaiian Declaration of Rights is signed
- 06-121st baseball game played in America
- 06-141st Henley Regatta held
- 06-18Dutch Prince Willem Alexander PFL weds niece Princess Sophia
- 07-031st state normal school in US opens, Lexington, Mass, with 3 students
- 07-27Chartist riots break out in Birmingham England
- 07-30Slave rebels, take over slaver Amistad
People born in year of 1839
- 01-09John Knowles Paine: Portland, Maine -- Composer
- 01-11Eugenio Maria de Hostos: Puerto Rico -- Patriot / Scholar
- 01-14Emil Bohn: Composer
- 01-19Bohumil Pazdirek: Composer
- 01-25Seldon Connor: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1917
- 02-01James A Herne [J Aherne]: US playwright (Hearts of Oak)
- 02-07Nicolaas G Pierson: Dutch banker / Suriname Premier (1897-1901)
- 02-11Josiah Willard Gibbs: Theoretical physicist / chemist
- 03-08James Mason Crafts: US chemist (Friedel-Crafts-synthesis)
- 03-09Felix Huston Robertson: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1928
- 03-10Dudley Buck: Hartford, Connecticut -- Organist / church composer
- 03-17Josef Rheinberger: Vaduz, Liechtenstein -- Opera composer (Munich Conser)
- 03-18Francis Fessenden: Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1906
- 03-25William Bell Wait: United States -- Educated the blind
- 03-31Nikolay Przhevalsky: Naturalist, explorer of east central Asia (OS)
- 04-05Robert Smalls: Beaufort, South Carolina -- Black congressman 1875-87 (Rep-SC)
- 04-05Stanislaw Pilinski: Composer
- 04-12Victorin de Joncieres: Composer
- 04-18Frantz Jehin-Prume: Composer
- 04-18Henry Clarence Kendall: NSW, Australia -- Poet (Bell Birds)
- 04-20Carol I: King of Romania (1881-1914)
- 04-22August W Eichler: German Botanist
- 04-26Cyrus Hamblin: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1867
- 05-01Chardonnet: Inventor (rayon)
- 05-08Francis W Warre-Cornish: English vice-provost of Eton / writer
- 05-19Alice Mary Smith: Composer
- 05-25John Eliot: English meteorologist
- 05-27Luigi Capuana: Sicilian author / critic (Roccaverdina)
- 06-03Paul Lindau: German playwright / critic (Der Herr im Hause)
- 06-18William Henry Seward, Jr.: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1920
People died in year of 1839
- 01-12Joseph A Koch: Aust Painter / cartoonist / etcher / illustrator, dies at 70
- 01-19Georg Abraham Schneider: Composer, dies at 38
- 02-01Giuseppe Valadier: Italian Architect / archaeologist, dies at 76
- 03-04Ignace Antoine Ladurner: Pianist / composer, dies at 72
- 03-13Robert Gallenberg: Composer, dies at 55
- 03-29Bernardus JC Dibbets: Dutch Baron / General Major (Maastricht), dies at 56
- 04-11John Galt: Scottish writer (Last of the Lairds), dies at 59
- 04-20Giuseppe Rossini: Father of Italian Composer Gioacchino Rossini
- 05-03Ferdinando Paer: Composer, dies at 67
- 05-13Israel Ashkenazi of Shklov: Found Ashkenazic community (1815)
- 05-13Joseph Fesch: French Cardinal / war commission / Earl / senator
- 05-18Carolina [Maria A] Bonaparte: Countess Lipona, dies at 57
- 06-02Wijnand YY Nuijen: Painter / lithographer (Wrecked), dies at 26
- 06-09Gerrit J Pijman: Dutch Minister of War (1798-1800), dies at 89
- 06-10Nathaniel Pryor: Sgt of Lewis & Clark Expedition
- 06-13Martin-Pierre Dalvimare: Composer, dies at 66
- 06-15Hans Skramstad: Composer, dies at 41
- 06-27Ranjit Singh: Gov of Lahore
- 06-30Johan O Wallin: Swedish Poet / Archbishop (Dead Angel)
- 07-01Mahmud II: Sultan of Turkey (1808-39), dies at 53
- 07-10Fernando Joseph Maria Sor: Composer, dies at 61
- 07-12Christian Traugott Tag: Composer, dies at 62
- 07-15Winthrop Mackworth Praed: Politician / poet
- 08-23Charles Philippe Lafont: Composer, dies at 57
- 09-10Pieter Fontijn: Dutch painter, dies at 66
- 09-17Ethel Mary Dell [Mrs G T Savage]: Romantic Novelist
- 09-20Jose Gaspar de Francia: Dictator of Paraguay (1816-39), dies at 74
- 09-21Jacob Gottfried Weber: German composer, dies at 60
- 10-11Leonor de Almeida marquesa de Alorna: Portuguese poet, dies at 88
- 10-18French Jozef Kinsoen: Flemish portrait painter, dies at 68
Events in year of 1840
- 01-011st recorded bowling match in US, Knickerbocker Alleys, New York City
- 01-031st deep sea sounding
- 01-05Records show 95,820 licensed public houses in England on this date
- 01-10Penny Post mail system is starts
- 01-18Electro-Magnetic Intelligencer, 1st US electrical journal, appears
- 01-19Antarctica discovered, Charles Wilkes expedition (US claim)
- 01-20Dutch King Willem II crowned
- 02-01Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, 1st in US, incorporated
- 02-06Waitangi Day; treaty signed between Britain and Maoris of New Zealand
- 02-10British Queen Victoria marries her cousin Albert von Saksen-Coburg
- 02-12Housatonic Railroad opens
- 02-16American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica
- 03-23Draper takes 1st successful photo of the Moon (daguerrotype)
- 05-011st adhesive postage stamps ("Penny Blacks" from England) issued
- 05-061st postage stamps (Penny Black) issued (Great Britain)
- 05-07Tornado strikes Natchez Miss, kills 317
- 05-08Alexander Wolcott patents Photographic Process
- 05-21New Zealand became a British colony
- 06-12Meteorite hits Uden, Netherlands
- 06-20Samuel Morse patents his telegraph
- 07-15England, Russia, Austria and Prussia signs Quadruple Alliance
- 07-23Union Act passed by British Parliament, uniting Upper and Lower Canada
- 08-18Organization of American Society of Dental Surgeons founded (NY)
- 08-289 Jewish prisoners are released from Damascus jails
- 09-12Composer Robert Schumann marries Clara Wieck
- 10-07Willem I resigns as King of the Netherlands
- 10-081st Hawaiian constitution proclaimed
- 12-02Opera "Die Favoritin" is produced (Paris)
- 12-02William H Harrison elected President of US
People born in year of 1840
- 01-03Father Joseph Damien de Veuster: Belgium -- Helped lepers in Hawaii
- 01-05John Doby Kennedy: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1896
- 01-18Austin Dobson: England, United Kingdom -- Poet / critic / biographer
- 01-18Ernst Rudorff: Composer
- 01-21Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake: Pioneer English woman Physician
- 01-23Ernst Abbe: Germany -- Physicist (Carl Zeiss Optics Company)
- 02-02Louis Bourgault-Ducoudray: Composer
- 02-05Hiram Stevens Maxim: Inventor (automatic single-barrel rifle)
- 02-05John Boyd Dunlop: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Developer (pneumatic rubber tire)
- 02-11Sanuel Dana Greene: Lieutenant Commander (Union Navy), died in 1884
- 02-13Georg Jacobi: Composer
- 02-22F August Bebel: German social-democrat
- 02-23Carl Menger: Austrian economist
- 02-25Alexis Hollander: Composer
- 02-25Otto Liebmann: German philosopher (Climax of Theories)
- 02-29John Philip Holland: Liscannor, Ireland -- Pioneer in submarine building
- 03-05Constance Fenimore Woolson: New Hampshire, United States -- Writer (Jupiter Lights)
- 03-08Franco Faccio: Italian composer / conductor
- 03-11Edmund Kirby, Jr.: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1863
- 03-26Carli Zoeller: Composer
- 03-26George Smith: London, England -- Assyriologist (cuneiform (script))
- 03-28Mehemed Emin Pasja: German explorer / Governor (Equatoria)
- 03-31John Herbert Kelly: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
- 04-11John Conrad Nordqvist: Composer
- 04-12Edmond Audran: Composer
- 04-19Andrea Bezzola: Writer
- 04-21Franz Xaver Haberl: German priest / musicologist (Magister choralis)
- 04-25James Dearing: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1865
- 04-27Edward Whymper: 1st to climb Matterhorn (1865)
- 05-11Filippo Capocci: Composer
People died in year of 1840
- 03-02Heinrich Olbers: German astronomer (comets and asteroids), dies at 81
- 03-12Friedrich Westenholz: Composer, dies at 61
- 03-28Simon-Antoine-Jean Lhuillier: Swiss mathematician, dies at 89
- 03-30George (Beau) Brummell: Dandy
- 05-05Gottlob Benedikt Bierey: Composer, dies at 67
- 05-05Matthaus Fischer: Composer, dies at 76
- 05-17Niccolo Paganini: Composer, dies at 57
- 05-30Dominique J de Eerens: Governor-General of Dutch-Indies, dies at 59
- 06-07Frederik Willem III: King of Prussia (1797-1840), dies at 69
- 06-19John Cockerill: English / Belgian industrial / orangist, dies at 50
- 06-25Leopold Count of Limburg Stirum: Dutch General / politician, dies at 82
- 06-29Lucien Bonaparte: Prince of Canino / Musignano, dies at 65
- 07-22Josef Jawurek: Composer, dies at 83
- 07-23Frantisek Max Knize: Composer, dies at 55
- 08-18Antony CW Staring: Dutch patriot / Poet (Jaromir), dies at 73
- 08-24Joseph Waast Aubert Nonot: Composer, dies at 89
- 08-25K L Immermann: Writer, dies at 44
- 08-27William Kneass: 3rd US chief engraver (1824-40), dies in office
- 09-08John H van de Palm: Theologist / literature / speaker, dies at 77
- 09-15Franz Xaver Pechacek: Composer, dies at 47
- 09-25Jacques-Etienne-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald: Duc de Tarente, soldier
- 11-24Cornelis RT Krayenhoff: Fortress Architect / cartographer, dies at 82