Events in year of 1847
- 01-01Michigan is 1st state to abolish capital punishment
- 01-03California town of Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco
- 01-091st SF newspaper published (California Star)
- 01-14Conspiracy in New Mexico against US
- 01-151st Swedish magazine in US, Skandinavia, published in New York City
- 01-241,500 New Mexican Indians and Mexicans defeated by US Col Price
- 01-30Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco
- 02-041st US telegraph co established in Maryland
- 02-22Battle of Buena Vista: US troops beat Mexican army
- 02-25State University of Iowa is approved
- 03-01Michigan becomes 1st English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the state)
- 03-03Post Office Department authorized to issue postage stamps
- 03-07US General Scott occupies Vera Cruz Mexico
- 03-101st money minted in Hawaii
- 03-17"Macbeth" opera premieres in Florence
- 03-181st Dutch public telegram
- 03-25Pope Pius IX encyclical "On aid for Ireland"
- 04-05Opera "Die Fledermaus" is produced (Vienna)
- 04-14Persia and Osmaanse sign 2nd Treaty of Erzurum
- 04-28George B Vashon becomes 1st black to enter New York State Bar
- 05-02Sabbath famine
- 05-04New York State creates a Board of Commissioners of Emigration
- 05-05American Medical Association organized (Philadelphia)
- 05-07American Medical Association organizes (Philadelphia)
- 05-08Robert Thompson patents rubber tire
- 06-10Chicago Tribune begins publishing
- 06-14Robert von Bunsen invents the Bunsen burner
- 06-22Doughnut created
- 06-27New York and Boston linked by telegraph wires
- 07-02Envelope bearing 1st US 10 cent stamps, still exists today
People born in year of 1847
- 01-04Hendrik Goeman Borgesius: Dutch politician
- 01-20W R Pettiford: Founder (Alabama Penny Savings Bank)
- 02-02Jules Francois Blasini: Curacaos pianist / composer
- 02-07Ernst Franck: German composer / conductor
- 02-14Anna Howard Shaw: United States -- Suffragette
- 02-16Ludwig Philipp Scharwenka: German composer (Album polonaise)
- 02-25John Watson: Canada -- Philosopher (Objective Idealism)
- 02-27Ellen Alice Terry: Coventry, England -- Actress / director (Imperial Theatre)
- 03-08Karl von Bach: German engineer (Maschinenelemente)
- 03-14Antonio de Castro Alves: Brazilian poet (Espumas Flutuantes)
- 03-19Constantin Dimitrescu: Composer
- 03-23Alexandru D Xenopol: Romania -- Historian
- 03-27Otto Wallach: Germany -- Chemist (Nobel 1910)
- 03-31Jarolslaw Zielinski: Composer
- 04-01Gavriil Musicescu: Composer
- 04-01Jules-Nicolas Crevaux: French explorer (South America)
- 04-07J P Jacobsen: Writer
- 04-09Francesco Paolo Tosti: Composer
- 04-09Francis William Davenport: Composer
- 04-10Charles Swinnerton Heap: Composer
- 04-10Joseph Pulitzer: Hungary -- Publisher (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, New York World)
- 04-13Cornelis Pijnacker Hordijk: Governor-General (Netherlands East Indies)
- 05-07Archibald Primrose: Earl of Rosebery (Lib), British Prime Minister (1894-95)
- 05-13Johannes Haarklou: Composer
- 05-25Alphonse Goovaerts: Composer
- 05-25John Alexander Dowie [Elijah the Restorer]: United States -- Evangelist
- 05-30Alice Sophia Stopford Green: Ireland -- Proponent of Irish independence
- 06-06Gerben Postma [Ids]: Frisian writer (Swealtsjeblommen)
- 06-08Ida Sazton McKinley: 1st lady (1897-1901)
- 06-24Gervais Bernard Gaston Salvayre: Composer
People died in year of 1847
- 01-11Caroline von Wolzogen [von Lengefeld]: German author, dies at 83
- 01-14Gov Bent: 5 others in US occupation, killed by revolt in New Mexico
- 01-22Georges-Julien Sieber: Composer, dies at 71
- 03-28Mariano Rodriguiz de Ledesma: Composer, dies at 67
- 03-29Auguste De Polignac: Premier France, dies at 66
- 04-23Erik Gustaf Geijer: Composer, dies at 64
- 04-30Charles L J: Archduke of Austria / Governor-General (Austria-Netherland)
- 05-14Fanny Cacilia Mendelssohn Hensel: Composer, dies at 41
- 05-16Kaspar Ett: German Organist / composer, dies at 59
- 05-20Mary Lamb: Writer
- 07-01George F Kersting: German painter, dies at 61
- 07-11Joachim G le Sage at Trousers: RC foreman / publicist, dies at 71
- 07-19Johann Wilhelm Wilms: Composer, dies at 75
- 09-23Henri MG Earl the Merode: Belg revolutionary (Souvenirs), dies at 65
- 10-14William Michael Rooke: Composer, dies at 53
- 11-04Jacob L Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: German pianist / composer, dies at 38
- 12-11Moritz Grave von Strachwitz: German poet, dies at 25
- 12-29William Crotch: Composer, dies at 72
Events in year of 1848
- 01-01Britain takes Mosquito Coast from Nicaragua
- 01-08Austrian soldiers kill 10 students, Pavia
- 01-091st commercial bank in SF established
- 01-28King of Naples grants his subjects a constitution
- 01-29Sicily accepts new Constitution (choose parliament / freedom of press)
- 02-021st ship load of Chinese arrive in San Francisco
- 02-02Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends Mexican War; US acquires Texas California, New Mexico and Arizona for $15 million
- 02-12Ballet "Faust" premieres, Milan
- 02-14James K Polk became 1st President photographed in office (Matthew Brady)
- 02-15Sarah Roberts barred from white school in Boston
- 02-17Toscane gets liberal Constitution
- 02-24King Louis-Philippe abdicates, 2nd French Republic declared
- 02-262nd French Republic forms
- 02-262nd French Republic proclaimed
- 02-26Marx and Engels publish "Communist Manifesto"
- 02-29Neufchatel declares independence of Switzerland
- 03-04Sardinia-Piemonte gets new Constitution
- 03-07In Hawaii, Great Mahele (division of lands) signed
- 03-122nd Republic established in France
- 03-20King Louis I of Bayern abdicates to marry dancer Lola Montez
- 03-24State of siege proclaimed in Amsterdam
- 03-27John Parker Paynard originates medicated adhesive plaster
- 03-29Niagara Falls stops flowing for 30 hours due to an ice jam
- 04-03Thomas Douglas becomes 1st SF public teacher
- 04-06Jews of Prussia granted equality
- 04-081st battle at Gioto: Sardinia-Piemonte beats Austrians
- 04-08Battle at Xaquixaguana, Peru: Pedro de la Gasca beats Gonzalo Pizarro
- 04-11Hungary becomes constitutional monarchy under King Ferdinand of Aust
- 04-28Free last slaves in French colonies
- 05-06Otto Tank ends slavery in Suriname colony
People born in year of 1848
- 01-05Khristo Botev: Hero of Bulgarian revolt against Turkey, poet
- 01-21Henri Duparc: French composer
- 01-22Samuel Muller Fzn: Dutch historian / archivist (Middle Ages)
- 02-04[Francois-Victor-]Jean Aicard: French playwright / poet (Jeune Croyances)
- 02-05Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley]: US female outlaw (wild west)
- 02-05Joris-Karl Huysmans: France -- Writer (Against the Grain)
- 02-06Luigi Mancinelli: Composer
- 02-16Hugo de Vries: Dutch Botanist (How species emerge)
- 02-18Louis Comfort Tiffany: Glassmaker (stained glass windows)
- 02-23Thomas Paine Westendorf: Composer
- 02-24C Grant B Allen: Canadian writer (Woman Who Did)
- 02-24Johanna C P Barbiers: Actress (Voddenraper of Paris)
- 02-27Charles Hubert H Parry: England, United Kingdom -- Musicologist / composer (Jerusalem)
- 03-01Augustus Saint-Gaudens: United States -- Sculptor / designer (1907 $20 gold piece)
- 03-09Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick: Composer
- 03-12Cyrill Kistler: Composer
- 03-17Horace Wadham Nicholl: Composer
- 03-18Nathaniel Herreshoff: America Cup yacht designer
- 03-19Wyatt Earp: Monmouth, Illinois -- Sheriff (OK Corral)
- 03-29Aleksei Kuropatkin: Russian General / Minister of War
- 03-31John Henry Roberts: Composer
- 04-09Helena Lange: German feminist
- 04-28Ludvig Schytte: Composer
- 05-05Adalbert von Goldschmidt: Composer
- 05-23Helmuth J L von Moltke: German General / Chief of Staff (WWI)
- 05-23Otto Lilienthal: Pioneer aviator
- 06-01Otto Valdemar Malling: Composer
- 06-07Paul Gaugin [Eugene Henri]: French post-impressionist painter
- 06-23Antoine Joseph Sax: Inventor (saxophone)
- 06-24Brooks Adams: US philosopher (Theory of Social Revolutions)
People died in year of 1848
- 01-05Ferdinando Orlandi: Composer, dies at 73
- 02-20[Willem] Alexander FCNM: Prince of the Netherlands / General Major, dies at 29
- 02-23John Quincy Adams: 6th US President (1825-1829), dies of a stroke at 80
- 03-03Heinrich Olivier: German painter
- 03-20Abraham des Amorie van der Hoeven: Dutch Theologist / poet, dies at 27
- 03-29John Jacob Astor: Charted American Fur Company, dies at 84
- 04-08Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti: Italian composer, dies at 50
- 04-08Gaetano Donizetti: Composer, dies at 50
- 04-10Godert AGP baron van Capellen: Governor-General of Dutch-Indies, dies at 69
- 04-30Friedrich Freiherr Gagern: German / Dutch army commandant, dies at 53
- 05-18William A Leidesdorf: Black, dies at 38 in San Francisco
- 06-27Denis-Auguste Affre: Archbsp of Paris (1840-48), shot to death at 54
- 06-27Zschokke: Writer
- 07-04Francois Rene de Chateaubriand: French Novelist (Atala) / diplomat
- 07-22Karl Guhr: Composer, dies at 60
- 08-06Nicola Vaccai: Italian composer, dies at 58
- 08-09Frederick Marryat: English captain / Author (Mr Midshipman Easy)
- 08-12George Stephenson: Locomotive engineer
- 08-15Timothy Olmstead: Composer, dies at 88
- 09-11Henri-Philippe Gerard: Composer, dies at 87
- 10-04Louis Massonneau: Composer, dies at 82
- 10-26Vissarion G Belinski: Russian literature critic
- 10-27Alexander Egorovich Varlamov: Composer, dies at 46
- 11-09Robert Blum: German MP (Liberal), executed
- 11-15P Rossi: Italian, murdered
- 11-17Jozef B "Olim" Cannaert: Flemish lawyer
- 11-23Alfred Julius Becher: Composer, dies at 45
- 11-24William Lamb 2nd viscount Melbourne: British Prime Minister (1834-41), dies at 69
- 12-19Adam FJA van Duyn: Governor of South Holland, dies at 77
- 12-25Johann Erik Nordblom: Composer, dies at 60
Events in year of 1849
- 01-23Mrs Elizabeth Blackwell becomes 1st woman Physician in US
- 01-23Patent granted for an envelope-making machine
- 01-31Corn Laws abolished in Britain
- 02-04University of Wisconsin begins in 1 room with 20 students
- 02-09Roman Republic declared
- 02-181st regular steamboat service to California starts (or 02 / 28)
- 02-281st boat load of gold rush prospectors arrives in SF from east coast
- 03-03Gold Coinage Act authorizes $20 Double Eagle gold coin
- 03-03Home Dept (Interior Dept), forms
- 03-03Minnesota Territory is organizes
- 03-03Territory of Minnesota organizes
- 03-03US Department of the Interior established by Congress
- 03-05Zachary Taylor sworn in as 12th President
- 03-09Carl Nikolais opera "Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, " premieres
- 03-10Abraham Lincoln applies for a patent; only US President to do so
- 03-121st gold seekers arrive in Nicaragua en route to California
- 03-23Battle of Novara (King Charles Albert vs. Italian Republic)
- 03-27Joseph Couch patents steam-powered percussion rock drill
- 03-28Dutch Princess Marianne and Prince Albert of Prussia separate
- 03-29Britain formally annexs Punjab after defeat of Sikhs in India
- 03-31Colonel John W Geary arrives as 1st postmaster of San Francisco
- 04-10Safety pin patented by Walter Hunt (NYC); sold rights for $100
- 04-13Hungarian Republic proclaimed
- 04-16Opera "Il Profeta, " premieres in Paris
- 05-10Pack destroys Astor Place opera house in NYC (22 killed)
- 05-12Willem Alexander PFL crowned King Willem III in Amsterdam
- 05-15Philadelphia Turngemeinde founded
- 05-17Fire destroy Centrum in St. Louis, Missouri
- 05-22Abraham Lincoln patents a buoying device
- 05-28Princess WFLC Marianne and Albrecht of Prussia separate
People born in year of 1849
- 01-11Oskar Lassar: German dermatologist (bath house)
- 01-18Edmund Barton: 1st Prime Minister of Australia (1900-03)
- 01-22August Strindberg: Sweden -- Dramatist / Novelist (Apologia)
- 02-04Jean Richepin: French poet / writer (Les Chansons de Gueux)
- 02-17Selwyn Image: Bodiam, Sussex -- Painter
- 02-18Alexander L Kielland: Norwegian writer / politician (Garman og Worse)
- 03-03Jacques Oppenheim: Dutch lawyer
- 03-16James E Smith: Became father at 100 with woman 64 years younger
- 04-13Enrique Jose Varona: Cuban sociologist / psychologist
- 04-21Oskar Hertwig: Germany -- Embryologist - discovered fertilization
- 04-25Felix Klein: German mathematician (Evanston Colloquium)
- 05-03Jacob Riis: Denmark -- Reporter (NY Tribune, New York Evening Sun)
- 05-05Hambletonian: Chester, New York -- Greatest standardbred horse
- 05-06Wyatt Eaton: Artist
- 05-27"Blind" Tom Bethune: Pianist / composer
- 06-02Paul-Albert Besnard: French painter / graphic artist (La femme)
- 06-08Juliaan Dillens: Flemish sculptor (Anspach Monument)
- 06-09Joseph Vezina: Composer
- 06-22Stephen C Massett: Opens at courthouse as 1st pro entertainer
- 06-27Harriet Hubbard Ayers: Beauty cream maufacturer and expert / columnist
- 06-29Sergei J Witte: Netherlands -- Russian count / Premier Russia
- 07-12William Osler: Canada -- Physician / author (circulatory system)
- 07-15Moritz Heuzenroeder: Composer
- 07-19F A Alphonse Aulard: French historian
- 07-22Emma Lazarus: Jewish poet ("New Colossus"-base of Statue of Liberty)
- 07-23Geza Zichy: Composer
- 08-12Abbott Handerson Thayer: Painter / naturalist
- 08-18Benjamin Louis Paul Godard: Composer
- 08-29Titus A J van Asch van Wijck: Dutch Governor Suriname (1891-97)
- 08-30Joseph Mallaby Dent: Dutch publisher
People died in year of 1849
- 01-09Jan Kops: Dutch agriculturist / vicar, dies at 83
- 01-16Wilhelm M L de Wette: German theologist, dies at 69
- 02-08France Preseren: Slovenian Poet (Sonetni Venec), dies at 48
- 02-08Francois-Antoine Habeneck: Composer, dies at 68
- 02-09Corneille Vander Planken: Composer, dies at 76
- 02-13Christian Rummel: Composer, dies at 61
- 02-15Pierre F Verhulst: Belgian Mathematician (logistic curve), dies at 44
- 02-22Alexander Ernst Fesca: Composer, dies at 28
- 03-17Willem II Frederik GL: King of the Netherlands (1840-49), dies at 56
- 03-28Stephan L Endlicher: Austrian priest / botany, dies at 44
- 04-03Juliusz Slowacki: Pol Poet (Father of the Plague-Patient), dies at 39
- 05-10Katsushika Hokusai: Japanese painter, dies at 89
- 05-11Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai: Composer, dies at 38
- 05-11Otto Nicolai: German Composer / conductor, dies at 39
- 05-25Andreas Michiels: Dutch Military gov of West Sumatra, dies in battle at 52
- 06-03Francois de Paule Jacques Raymond de Fossa: Composer, dies at 73
- 06-10Friedrich Wilhelm Michael Kalkbrenner: Composer, dies at 63
- 06-15James Knox Polk: 11th President (1845-1849), dies at 53 in Nashville, Tennessee
- 07-28Charles Albert: King of Sardinia (1831-49)
- 08-02Mehemet Ali: British Viceroy to Egypt
- 08-12Abraham AA "Albert" Gallatin: Minister of Finance (1801-14), dies at 88
- 08-26Jacques-Fereol Mazas: Composer, dies at 66
- 09-03Earnest Freiherr von Feuchtersleben: Austria writer / physician
- 10-07Edgar Allen Poe: Poet (Raven), dies in Baltimore at 40
- 11-13William Etty: English Painter (nudist), dies at 62
- 12-14Conradin Kreutzer: Composer, dies at 69