1820s

From top left, clockwise: Ludwig van Beethoven re-emerged as a popular composer during this decade, when his iconic Symphony No. 9 is first performed in Vienna in 1824. The First Industrial Revolution achieves peak momentum for the West, as depicted in this engraving of a textile factory operating in Manchester, arguably England's industrial hub of the 19th century; The world's oldest photograph was taken in 1826, as seen above. The decade was the start of daguerreotype development – an instrument used for motion-picture capturing and was a precursor instrument to the camera; South American wars of independence were on full swing, as countries like Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Uruguay gained their independence at this era; a turning point for regional politics, and heavily influenced South America's contemporary socio-political conditions; Crowds gather to witness the opening of the world's first railway – the Stockton and Darlington Railway – as it formally commenced in 1825; The world's first electric motor was created by Hungarian engineer Ányos Jedlik. His invention would drive to form modern-day knowledge and utilization of electricity, and forged way for studies on electrochemistry and engineering to grow; Antarctica was discovered and explored for the first time. Its inaugural expedition into continental waters was led by a Russian crew headed by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, in 1819 to 1821; As European colonialism began gaining ground in Africa and Asia, opposition from affected/exploited societies resulted, with wars such as the Java War.

The 1820s was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1820, and ended on December 31, 1829.

It saw the rise of the First Industrial Revolution. Photography, rail transport, and the textile industry were among those that largely developed and grew prominent over the decade, as technology advanced significantly. European colonialism began gaining ground in Africa and Asia, and trade with the Qing Dynasty began to open up more towards foreign traders, particularly those from Europe. As European imperialism gained momentum, opposition from affected/exploited societies resulted, with wars such as the Java War and the Greek War of Independence. Resistance in the form of separatism and nationalism (particularly in the Spanish American wars of independence) led to the independence of many countries around the world, such as Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia.

Politics and wars

The Greek War of Independence and the Russo-Turkish War were two of the decade's more important conflicts. Meanwhile, colonialism in Africa had just begun to accelerate, and global trade between Asian powers (e.g. the Qing Dynasty) with European powers (mainly the British and French empires) increased substantially. In South America, states such as Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil gained independence from the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire.

Global

1820: Anchor coinage is issued for use in some British colonies.

East Asia

Indonesia

1824 – The Dutch sign the Masang Agreement, temporarily ending hostilities in the Padri War in West Sumatra.

Java War

The Java War (also known as the "Diponegoro War") was fought in Java between 1825 and 1830. It started as a rebellion led by Prince Diponegoro after the Dutch decided to build a road across a piece of his property that contained his parents' tomb.

The troops of Prince Diponegoro were very successful in the beginning, controlling the middle of Java and besieging Yogyakarta. Furthermore, the Javanese population was supportive of Prince Diponegoro's cause, whereas the Dutch colonial authorities were initially very indecisive. As the Java war prolonged, Prince Diponegoro had difficulties in maintaining the numbers of his troops. Prince Diponegoro started a fierce guerrilla war and it was not until 1827 that the Dutch army gained the upper hand. The Dutch colonial army was able to fill its ranks with troops from Sulawesi, and later on from the Netherlands.

The rebellion finally ended in 1830, after Prince Diponegoro was tricked into entering Dutch custody near Magelang, believing he was there for negotiations for a possible cease-fire. It is estimated that 200,000^[1] died over the course of the conflict, 8,000 being Dutch.^[1]

Malaysia

November 1821 - Siamese invasion of Kedah – The Siamese forces of King Rama II achieved a rapid victory against those of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II of Kedah, in what is now northern Malaysia. The campaign initiated a period of two decades in which Kedah resisted Siamese control. The Sultan took refuge on Penang Island, then under British control.^[2] By 1822 there was a rise in the population of the British territories caused by an influx of Malays displaced by the invasion.^[3]
1826 – The Burney Treaty allowed the Siamese view of their rights to prevail in Kelah.^[4]
1826 – The British crown colony of the Straits Settlements is established in what is now Malaysia and Singapore.

Vietnam

February 14, 1820 – Minh Mang starts to rule in Vietnam.
1825 – Minh Mang outlaws the teaching of Christianity in Vietnam.

Laos

1827: King Anouvong of Vientiane declares war on Siam and successfully attacks Nakhon Ratchasima.
1828 Siamese-Lao War: The Siamese invade and sack the city of Vientiane.
November 12, 1828: Anouvong is deposed and his kingdom is annexed by Siam. Large forced population transfers are made from Laos to the more securely held area of Isan, and the Lao mueang is divided into smaller units to prevent another uprising.

Burma

1824–1826: The First Anglo-Burmese War ended in a British victory, and by the Treaty of Yandabo, Burma lost territory previously conquered in Assam, Manipur, and Arakan.^[5] The British also took possession of Tenasserim with the intention to use it as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with either Burma or Siam.^[6]

Brunei

1826–1828: The Bruneian Civil War of 1826 began in 1826, ending in 1828 with the garrote of Muhammad Alam.^[7]

Siam (Thailand)

1824–1826 - Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam): Rama II died in 1824 and was peacefully succeeded by his son Jessadabodindra (Rama III). In 1825 the British sent another mission to Bangkok led by East India Company emissary Henry Burney. They had by now annexed southern Burma and were thus Siam's neighbours to the west, and they were also extending their control over Malaya. The King was reluctant to give in to British demands, but his advisors warned him that Siam would meet the same fate as Burma unless the British were accommodated. In 1826, therefore, Siam concluded its first commercial treaty with a western power, the Burney Treaty. Under the treaty, Siam agreed to establish a uniform taxation system, to reduce taxes on foreign trade and to abolish some of the royal monopolies. As a result, Siam's trade increased rapidly, many more foreigners settled in Bangkok, and western cultural influences began to spread. The kingdom became wealthier and its army better armed.

Australia

1824 – The name Australia, recommended by Matthew Flinders in 1804, is finally adopted as the official name of the country once known as New Holland.
September 13, 1824 – With his crew and 29 convicts aboard the Amity, John Oxley arrives at and founds the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement at what is now Redcliffe in Queensland, Australia, after leaving Sydney.
December 25, 1826 – Major Edmund Lockyer arrives at King George Sound to take possession of the western part of Australia, establishing a settlement near Albany.
June 3, 1829 – The Swan River Colony (later to become the cities of Perth and Fremantle) is founded in Western Australia. This secures the western 'third' of the Australian landmass for the British.
August 12, 1829 – Mrs. Helen Dance, wife of the captain of the ship Sulphur, cuts down a tree to mark the day of the founding of the town of Perth, Western Australia.

Central Asia

Caucasian War (1817–1864)
1826 – Britain annexes Assam.

South Asia

Siege of Bharatpur – India (9 December 1825 – 18 January 1826) ended in British victory.
December 4, 1829 – India: In the face of fierce opposition, British Lord William Bentinck carries a regulation declaring that all who abet sati in India are guilty of culpable homicide.

Western Asia

October 1, 1827 – Russo-Persian War, 1826–1828: The Russians under Ivan Paskevich storm Yerevan, ending a millennium of Muslim domination in Eastern Armenia.
February 22, 1828 –Treaty of Turkmenchay: Russian-Persian peace treaty: Russia captures Eastern Armenia from Persia.

Europe

Eastern Europe

April 6 1821 – The Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire is proclaimed officially in South Greece.
June 19, 1821 – The Philikí Etaireía are decisively defeated by the Ottomans at Drăgăşani (in Wallachia).
December 1825 – The Decembrist Revolt breaks out in Russia, but is thoroughly suppressed.
December 1, 1825 – Nicholas I of Russia succeeds his older brother Alexander I.
June 14–June 15, 1826 – The Auspicious Incident: Mahmud II, sultan of Ottoman Empire, crushes the last mutiny of janissaries in Istanbul.
September 29, 1828 – Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829: Varna is taken by the Russian army.
July 2, 1829 – Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829: Russian Field-Marshal Hans Karl von Diebitsch launches the Transbalkan offensive, which brings the Russian army within 68 km of Istanbul.
September 16, 1829 – Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829: The Treaty of Adrianople gains for Russia some territory at the mouth of the Danube and along the eastern coast of the Black Sea.

Northern Europe

February 3, 1825 – Vendsyssel-Thy, once part of the Jutland peninsula that formed westernmost Denmark, becomes an island after a flood drowns its 1 km wide isthmus.
September 27, 1825 - The world's first modern railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, opens with engineer George Stephenson driving the first public train pulled by the steam engine Locomotion No 1.^[8]
September 4, 1827 – Finland: The Great Fire of Turku destroys 3/4 of the city, with many human casualties.

Central Europe

October 25, 1820 –November 20 – The Congress of Troppau (Opava) is convened between the rulers of Russia, Austria and Prussia.
October–December, 1822 – Congress of Verona: Russia, Austria and Prussia approve French intervention in Spain.
July 6, 1825 – The Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck gains possession of Glücksburg and changes his title to Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. The line of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg later becomes the royal house of Greece, Denmark and Norway.

Southern Europe

January 1, 1820 – A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7) (see Mid-nineteenth century Spain).
March 9, 1820 – King Ferdinand VII of Spain accepts the new constitution, beginning the Liberal Triennium ("Trienio Liberal").
July 1820 – A Constitutionalist revolution occurs in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
August 24, 1820 – A Constitutionalist insurrection breaks out at Oporto, Portugal.
September 15, 1820 – A revolution breaks out in Lisbon (see Portugal's crises of the Nineteenth Century).
September 22, 1822 – Portugal approves its first Constitution.^[9]
January 4, 1825 – King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies is succeeded by his son Francis I of the Two Sicilies.
May 28, 1826 – Pedro I of Brazil abdicates as King of Portugal.
June 23, 1828 – Portugal: King Miguel I overthrows his niece Queen Maria II, beginning the Liberal Wars.

Greek War of Independence

October 20: *Naval Battle of Navarino* by Ambroise Louis Garneray

At the start of the decade, most of Greece was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, as it had been since 1453, despite frequent revolts.^[10] In early 1821, a secret organization called the Filiki Eteria instigated several battles that, together with the blessing of a Greek flag and proclamation of uprising by Bishop Germanos of Patras on March 25, marked the beginning of the revolution.^[11]^[12]^[13] The uprising successfully established a foothold in the Peloponnese, seizing Tripolitsa in September 1821, and had some success in Crete, Macedonia and Central Greece.

Between 1821 and 1824, first and second national assemblies were held, and the constitutions of 1822 and of 1823 were established. However, revolutionary activity was fragmented, resulting in the civil wars of 1824–1825. The Greek side withstood the Turkish attacks because, during this period, the Ottoman military campaigns were periodic and uncoordinated.

That changed when the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II negotiated with Mehmet Ali of Egypt, who agreed to send his son Ibrahim Pasha to Greece with an army to suppress the revolt in return for territorial gain. Ibrahim landed in the Peloponnese in February 1825 and secured most of the peninsula by the end of 1825. He then helped break the siege of Missolonghi. Although Ibrahim was defeated in Mani, he had succeeded in suppressing most of the revolt in the Peloponnese and Athens had been retaken.

Following years of negotiation, three Great Powers, Russia, the United Kingdom and France had come to agree to the formation of an autonomous Greek state under Ottoman suzerainty, as stipulated in the Treaty of London. Ottoman refusal to accept these terms led to the Battle of Navarino, which effectively secured complete Greek independence. That year, the Third National Assembly at Troezen established the First Hellenic Republic. With the help of a French expeditionary force, the Greeks drove the Turks out of the Peloponnese and proceeded to the captured part of Central Greece by 1828. As a result of years of negotiation, Greece was finally recognized as an independent nation in May 1832.

Western Europe

United Kingdom

In the 1820s, the British government was formally headed by King George IV, but in practice, was led by his prime ministers Lord Liverpool (1812–1827), George Canning (1827), Lord Goderich (1827–1828), and Duke of Wellington (1828–1830). This decade was largely peaceful for Britain, with some foreign intervention. The British supported the Portuguese liberals in the Liberal Wars, and supported Greek rebels in the war for independence. During this time, London became the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Beijing.^[14]

Domestic tensions ran high at the start of the decade, with the Peterloo Massacre (1819), the Cato Street Conspiracy (1820), and the Radical War (1820) in Scotland. However, by the end of the 1820s, many repressive laws were repealed. In 1822, Britain repealed the death penalty for over 100 crimes, and punishments such as drawing and quartering and flagellation fell out of use. Seditious Meetings prevention Act (barring large assemblies) and the Combination Act (banning trade unions) were repealed in 1824. The Roman Catholic Relief Act by Parliament of the United Kingdom granted a substantial measure of Catholic emancipation in Britain and Ireland.^[8]

France

May 5, 1821 – Emperor Napoleon I dies in exile on Saint Helena of stomach cancer.
September 16, 1824 – Charles X succeeds his brother Louis XVIII as King of France.
January 4, 1828 – France: The Vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Comte de Villèle as Prime Minister of France.
August 8, 1829 – France: The Prince de Polignac succeeds the Vicomte de Martignac as Prime Minister of France.

Africa

February 6, 1820: 86 free African American colonists sail from New York City to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Americo-Liberians begin to settle in the Colony of Liberia with the support of the American Colonization Society
June 14, 1821 – King Badi VII of Sennar surrenders his throne and realm to Ismail Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, ending the existence of that Sudanese kingdom.
1822 – The first group of freed slaves from the United States arrive in modern-day Liberia and found Monrovia (see History of Liberia).
January 22, 1824 – The Ashanti crush British forces in the Gold Coast, killing the British governor Sir Charles MacCarthy (see also Wars between Britain and Ashanti in Ghana and Ashanti Confederacy).
August 18, 1826 – Explorer Alexander Gordon Laing becomes the first European to reach Timbuktu.^[8]
April 1827 – Ottoman Algeria: Husain Dei slaps the French consul Decalina on the face, eventually leading to war and French rule in Algeria.

North America

British North America

July 8, 1822 – The Chippewas turn over huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.
November 30, 1824 – The first sod is turned in Ontario, for the first of four Welland Canals (the canal opens for a trial run exactly 5 years later to the day).

United States

At the beginning of the 1820s, the United States stretched from the Atlantic Ocean through to (roughly) the western edge of the Mississippi basin, though Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and all present-day states fully west of the Mississippi had yet to be granted statehood. Two states were admitted to the union during this decade: Maine in 1820 and Missouri in 1821. The Adams–Onís Treaty, signed in 1819 and ratified by Spain in 1821, ceded Florida (already conquered by USA in 1818) to the United States, and established a boundary between New Spain and the United States.

Slavery was widespread throughout the southern United States. According to the 1820 U.S. Census, the slave population at that time was 1,538,000.^[15] The Missouri Compromise of 1820 prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri. By the 1830 U.S. Census, the slave population had risen to 2,009,043.^[15] With the coordination of the American Colonization Society, many freed African-Americans repatriated to Africa during this decade to the newly formed colony of Liberia.

The political mood at the start of the 1820s was referred to as the Era of Good Feelings, following the collapse of the Federalist party. James Monroe, the sitting U.S. president since 1817, was re-elected in 1820, virtually unopposed. In 1823, Monroe introduced the Monroe Doctrine in the State of the Union Address, declaring that any European attempts to recolonize the Americas would be considered a hostile act towards the United States.

The feeling of unity during the Monroe administration was dispelled in the presidential election of 1824, which due to an Electoral College stalemate, was decided in the United States House of Representatives. John Quincy Adams was chosen as the sixth U.S. president, despite receiving only 30.9% of the popular vote to Andrew Jackson's 41.3%. This gave rise to Jacksonian Nationalism and the rise of the modern Democratic Party,^[16] with Andrew Jackson elected in the 1828 election.

Mexico

After ten years of civil war in Mexico (then called the "Viceroyalty of New Spain") and the death of two of its founders, by early 1820 the Mexican independence movement was stalemated and close to collapse. However, the Army of the Three Guarantees was formed under the command of Colonel Agustín de Iturbide with the support of patriots and loyalists to secure independence for Mexico and the protection of Roman Catholicism. Iturbide's army was joined by rebel forces from all over Mexico, and quickly gained control of Mexico. On August 24, 1821, representatives of the Spanish crown and Iturbide signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which recognized the Mexican Empire under the terms of the Plan of Iguala.

On September 27 the Army of the Three Guarantees entered Mexico City, and the following day Iturbide proclaimed the independence of the Mexican Empire. The newly formed Mexican congress eventually declared Iturbide emperor of Mexico on May 19, 1822. Later that year, Iturbide dissolved Congress and replaced it with a sympathetic junta. However, on March 19, 1823 Iturbide abdicated.

The First Federal Republic was established on October 4, 1824. In the new constitution, the republic took the name of United Mexican States, and was defined as a representative federal republic, with Catholicism as the official and unique religion.^[17] Guadalupe Victoria was the first President of Mexico from 1824 until 1829.

After Manuel Gómez Pedraza won the election to succeed Victoria, Vicente Guerrero staged a coup d'état and took the presidency on April 1, 1829.^[18] Guerrero was deposed in a rebellion under Vice-president Anastasio Bustamante in December 1829.

Caribbean

December 1, 1821 – The Dominican Republic declares independence from Spain only to be invaded by Haiti in 1822 (see History of the Dominican Republic).
February 9, 1822 – The invading Haitian forces led by Jean-Pierre Boyer arrive in Santo Domingo, to overthrow the newly founded Republic.
April 17, 1825 – Charles X of France recognizes Haiti, 21 years after it expelled the French following the successful Haitian Revolution, and demands the payment of 150 million gold francs, 30 million of which Haiti must finance through France itself, as down payment.

Central America

February 20, 1820 – A revolt begins in Santa María Chiquimula, Totonicapán department of Guatemala.
The United Provinces of Central America were formed in 1823.
September 15, 1821 – Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica gain independence from Spain (see History of Central America).
November 28, 1821 – Panama declares independence from Spain (see History of Panama).
July 1– The congress of Central America declares absolute independence from Spain, Mexico, and any other foreign nation, including North America and a Republican system of government is established.
June 22, 1826 – The Pan-American Congress of Panama tries (unsuccessfully) to unify the American republics.

South America

*La Batalla de Carabobo* by Martín Tovar y Tovar, depicting the Battle of Carabobo, in which Simón Bolívar secured Venezuela's independence from Spain in 1821

Gran Colombia

October 9, 1820 – Guayaquil declares independence from Spain (see also History of Ecuador).
June 24, 1821 – Battle of Carabobo: Simón Bolívar wins Venezuela's independence from Spain (see Venezuela's independence).
September 7, 1821 – The Republic of Gran Colombia (a federation covering much of present-day Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador) is established, with Simón Bolívar as the founding President and Francisco de Paula Santander as vice president.
May 24, 1822 – Battle of Pichincha: Simón Bolívar secures the independence of Quito.
July 26, 1822 – José de San Martín arrives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to meet with Simón Bolívar.
July 27, 1822 – Simón Bolívar and General José de San Martín meet in Guayaquil. Bolívar later annexes Guayaquil (See Guayaquil Conference).
June 3, 1828 – Gran Colombia – Peru War: President Simón Bolívar declares war on Peru.
August 27, 1828 – Simón Bolívar declares himself dictator of Gran Colombia.

Bolivia

August 6, 1825 – Bolivia gains its independence from Spain as a republic with the instigation of Simón Bolívar.

Peru

July 28, 1821 – Peru declares independence from Spain (see Peru's Independence from Spain).
September 10, 1823 – Simón Bolívar is named President of Peru.
February 10, 1824 – Simón Bolívar is proclaimed dictator of Peru.
December 9, 1824 – Battle of Ayacucho: Peruvian forces defeat the Spanish.
February 10, 1825 – Simón Bolívar gives up his title of dictator of Peru and takes the alternative title of Liberator.

Brazil

1822: Brazil gains independence
September 7, 1822 – Brazil declares its independence from Portugal (see Brazilian independence).
October 12, 1822 – Peter I of Brazil is declared the constitutional emperor of the Brazilian Empire.
December 1, 1822 – Peter I is crowned as Emperor of Brazil (see The reign of Pedro I, 1822–31).
April 26, 1828 – Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed between Brazil and Denmark, establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.^[19]

Argentina–Brazil War

March 7, 1827 – Brazilian marines sail up the Rio Negro and attack the temporary naval base of Carmen de Patagones, Argentina; they are defeated by the local citizens.
April 7–April 8, 1827 – Battle of Monte Santiago: A squadron of the Brazilian Imperial Navy defeats Argentine vessels in a major naval engagement.
February 20, 1827 – Battle of Ituzaingo (Passo do Rosário): A force of the Brazilian Imperial Army meets Argentine–Uruguayan troops in combat.
August 27, 1828 – South America: Brazil and Argentina recognize the independence of Uruguay.

Uruguay

July 18, 1825 – Uruguay declares independence from Brazil (see Uruguay's independence).
August 27, 1828 – South America: Brazil and Argentina recognize the independence of Uruguay.

Argentina

1820: The Argentine Confederation (Argentina) establishes a penal colony in the Malvinas.
February 8, 1826 – Unitarian Bernardino Rivadavia becomes the first President of Argentina.

Chile

February 6, 1820 – Lord Cochrane occupies Valdivia in the name of the Republic of Chile.
September 4, 1821 – Chilean general José Miguel Carrera is executed by an Argentinian military tribunal in the city of Mendoza.

Pacific Islands

August 21, 1821 – Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the Eliza Frances.
July 14, 1827 – Kingdom of Hawaii: The Diocese of Honolulu is founded.

Economics and commerce

1821: High-quality cotton is introduced in Egypt.
1822 – Ashley's Hundred leave from St. Louis, setting off a major increase in fur trade.
1822 – Coffee is no longer banned in Sweden.
1824 – The construction of Fort Vancouver trading post started on the North shore of the lower Columbia River by the Hudson's Bay Company. Inauguration occurred the following year when Fort George was closed.
August 18, 1825 – Gregor MacGregor issues a £300,000 loan with 2.5% interest through the London bank of Thomas Jenkins & Company. His actions lead to the Panic of 1825, the first modern stock market crash in London.

Slavery, serfdom and labor

March 3, 1820 and March 6, 1820 – Slavery in the United States: The Missouri Compromise becomes law.
1820: Robert Owen devises the labour voucher.
1820: 18,957 black slaves leave Luanda, Angola.
1828 – 32,000 Angolans are sold in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
June 5, 1829 – Slave trade: HMS Pickle captures the armed slave ship Voladora off the coast of Cuba.

Science and technology

January 28, 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev approaches the Antarctic coast (see History of Antarctica).
January 30, 1820 – Edward Bransfield lands on the Antarctic mainland (see History of Antarctica).
April 1820 – Hans Christian Ørsted discovers the relationship between electricity and magnetism.
May 11, 1820 – HMS Beagle (the ship that later takes young Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage) is launched.
1820: The 6th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica appears.
June 14, 1822 – Charles Babbage proposes a Difference engine.
1822 – Hieroglyphs are deciphered by Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion, using the Rosetta Stone.
1822 – Galileo Galilei's Dialogue is taken off the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, the Roman Catholic Church's list of banned books.
1822 – The Graham Cracker is developed in Bound Brook, New Jersey by the Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham.

1823 – Olbers' paradox is described by the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers.
January 8, 1824 – After much controversy, Michael Faraday is finally elected as a member of the Royal Society with only one vote against him.
October 21, 1824 – Joseph Aspdin patents Portland Cement.
1824 – The Panoramagram is developed, creating the first volumetric display.
1824- Gideon Mantell and Mary Anning discover an Iguanodon tooth and Megalosaurus skeletons not far from their home in England giving birth to Paleontology.
1825 – Hans Christian Ørsted reduces aluminium chloride to make aluminium.
June 1826 – Photography: Nicéphore Niépce makes a true photograph.
1826 – Aniline is first isolated from the destructive distillation of indigo by Otto Unverdorben.
May 25, 1827 – Romanian inventor Petrache Poenaru receives a French patent for the invention of the first fountain pen with a replaceable ink cartridge.
1827 – Englishman John Walker invents the first friction match which he names Lucifer.
1828 – Friedrich Wöhler synthesizes urea, implicitly discrediting a cornerstone of vitalism.
1828 – Ányos Jedlik creates the world's first electric motor.
1828 – Casparus van Houten Sr. (father of Coenraad Johannes van Houten) patents an inexpensive method for pressing cocoa butter from roasted cocoa beans,^[20] leaving cocoa solids. This is an important step in modern solid chocolate production.
May 6, 1829 – The patent for an instrument called the accordion is applied for by Cyrill Demian (Officially approved on May 23.)
July 23, 1829 – In the United States, William Burt obtains the first patent for a form of typewriter.

Transportation

1825 – The first horse-drawn omnibuses established in London.
September 27, 1825 – The world's first modern railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, opens in England.
October 26, 1825 – The Erie Canal opens, providing passage from Albany, New York to Buffalo and Lake Erie.
1825: The Ohio and Erie Canal is dug to extend settlement access and commercial traffic to the Ohio River.
January 30, 1826 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales.
April 1, 1826 – Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine.
October 1, 1826 – Opening of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway in Scotland.^[21]
September 21, 1826 – Construction of the Rideau Canal begins in Canada.
October 7, 1826 – The first train operates over the Granite Railway in Massachusetts.^[22]^[23]
1826 – The first railway tunnel is built en route between Liverpool and Manchester in England.
February 28, 1827 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in United States offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
April 26–May 24, 1827 - The Royal Netherlands Navy's British-built paddle steamer Curaçao makes the first Transatlantic Crossing by steam, from Hellevoetsluis to Paramaribo.^[24]
July 4, 1829 – George Shillibeer begins operating the first bus service in London.^[25]
October 8, 1829 – Rail transport: Stephenson's Rocket wins the Rainhill Trials.
November 30, 1829 – The original Welland Canal opens for a trial run with a ceremony at Port Dalhousie.

Culture

Literature

1824–1825: American Writers by John Neal, the earliest history of American literature, is published in Blackwood's Magazine^[26]

Music

February 3, 1823 – Gioachino Rossini's Semiramide is first performed.
April 13, 1823 – Eleven-year-old Franz Liszt gives a concert after which he is personally congratulated by Ludwig van Beethoven.
May 7, 1824 – One of Beethoven's most notable pieces, his Symphony No. 9, premieres in Vienna.
Early July, 1826 – Ludwig van Beethoven puts the finishing touches on the String Quartet in C sharp Minor, Opus 131.
1826 – Ludwig van Beethoven composes the Große Fuge.
March 11, 1829 – Felix Mendelssohn performs Bach's St Matthew Passion.
April–September – Felix Mendelssohn pays his first visit to Britain. This includes the first London performance of his concert overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream and his trip to Fingal's Cave.^[27]

Art

1820: Venus de Milo is found on the island of Melos (Milos).

Poetry

1820: John Keats completes Ode on Melancholy, one in a series of his famous Odes.
1820: John Clare 13 July 1793 - 20 May 1864 publishes Poems Descriptive of Rural life 1820
1826: Felicia Hemans publishes Casabianca, a poem commemorating the sinking of a French ship called the Orient during The Battle of the Nile in 1798.

Sports

1823 – William Webb Ellis "invents" Rugby football.
August 10, 1826 – The first Cowes Regatta is held on the Isle of Wight in the UK.^[25]
June 10, 1829 – The Oxford University Boat Club wins the very first boat race.^[8]^[28]
August 10, 1829 – First ascent of Finsteraarhorn, the highest summit of the Bernese Alps.

Theatre

January 19, 1829 – August Klingemann's adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust premieres in Braunschweig.^[29]

Fashion

During the 1820s in European and European-influenced countries, fashionable women's clothing styles transitioned away from the classically influenced "Empire"/"Regency" styles of ca. 1795–1820 (with their relatively unconfining empire silhouette) and re-adopted elements that had been characteristic of most of the 18th century (and were to be characteristic of the remainder of the 19th century), such as full skirts and clearly visible corseting of the natural waist.

The silhouette of men's fashion changed in similar ways: by the mid-1820s coats featured broad shoulders with puffed sleeves, a narrow waist, and full skirts. Trousers were worn for smart day wear, while breeches continued in use at court and in the country.

Miscellaneous

May 26, 1828 – Feral child: Kaspar Hauser is discovered in Nuremberg, Germany.
1822 Jean-François Champollion cracks the hieroglyphic code by using the Rosetta Stone.

Establishments

July 20, 1820 – Saint Cronan's Boys National School opens in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland under the title Bray Male School. It is the oldest school in Bray and its notable past pupils include the former president of Ireland, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh.
1820: Indiana University is founded as the Indiana State Seminary and renamed the Indiana College in 1846, to later be renamed Indiana University.
February 9, 1821 – The George Washington University is chartered as The Columbian College of the District of Columbia by President Monroe.
June 27, 1821 – The New Hampton School is founded in the United States state of New Hampshire.
September 18, 1821 – Amherst College is founded in Massachusetts.
1822 – Aban Palace is completed.
August 12, 1822 – St David's College (now the University of Wales, Lampeter) is founded by Bishop Thomas Burgess.
November 13, 1822 – founding of the Congregation of St. Basil
June 5, 1823 – Raffles Institution, then the Singapore Institution, was founded by the founder of Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles.
1823 – Jackson Male Academy, precursor of Union University, is founded in Tennessee.
1823 – The Oxford Union is founded.
January 24, 1824 – The Westminster Review, No1. is published.
June 16, 1824 – Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is established in Great Britain.
October 10, 1824 – The Edinburgh Town Council makes a decision to found the Edinburgh Municipal Fire Brigade, the first fire brigade in Britain.
November 5, 1824 – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (the first technological university in the English-speaking world) is founded in Troy, New York.
December 24, 1824 – The First American Fraternity, Chi Phi (ΧΦ), is founded at Princeton University.
1824 – The Cimetière du Montparnasse is established in Paris, France.
September 1825 – The Lady Margaret Boat Club is founded by 12 members of St John's College, Cambridge.
1825 – The City of Brisbane is founded (see History of Brisbane).
1825 – The United States Postal Service started a dead letter office.
February 11, 1826 – University College London is founded, under the name University of London.
February 13, 1826 – The American Temperance Society is founded.
March 16, 1827 – Freedom's Journal, the first African-American owned and published newspaper in the United States, is founded in New York City by John Russwurm.
1827 – Egypt: Cairo University School of Medicine is established as the first African medical school in the Middle East.
1827 – J. J. Audubon begins publishing Birds of America.
April 11, 1828 – Bahía Blanca is founded.
June 1, 1829 – The Philadelphia Inquirer is founded as The Pennsylvania Inquirer.
October 1, 1829 – South African College inaugurated in Cape Town.
1829 – King's College London is founded under the patronage of King George IV and the prime minister The Duke of Wellington. It will become the third official university in England.
1829 – The Chalmers University of Technology is founded in Gothenburg.

Disasters, natural events, and notable mishaps

November 20, 1820 After the sinking of the Essex (1799 whaleship) of Nantucket by a whale the survivors were left floating in three small whaleboats. They eventually resorted, by common consent, to cannibalism to allow some to survive.
1820: Mount Rainier erupts over what is today Seattle.
February 6, 1822 – Chinese junk Tek Sing sinks in the South China Sea with the loss of around 1600 people on board.
May 26, 1822 – 116 people die in the Grue Church fire, the biggest fire disaster in Norway's history.
1822 – An earthquake in Chile raises the coastal area.
July 15, 1823 – The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome is almost completely destroyed by fire.
November 7, 1824 – In the worst flood to date in Saint Petersburg, water rises 421 cm above normal and 200 lose their lives.
October 7, 1825 – The Miramichi Fire breaks out in New Brunswick.
August, 1826 – The town of Crawford Notch suffers a landslide, killing nine people. Those killed include seven members of the Willey family, after whom Mount Willey is named.
1828 – A typhoon kills approximately 10,000 people in Kyūshū, Japan.

Religion

1820: Joseph Smith receives his First Vision in the spring in Palmyra, New York.
September 22, 1823 – Joseph Smith says that he was directed by God through the angel Moroni to the place where the Golden plates are stored.
February 11, 1826 – Swaminarayan writes the Shikshapatri, an important text within the Swaminarayan faith.
July 26, 1826 – The last auto-da-fé is held in Valencia, Spain.
March 31, 1829 – Pope Pius VIII succeeds Pope Leo XII as the 253rd pope.
June 19, 1829 – Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police Act establishes the Metropolitan Police Service in London, the first modern police force. The first officers, known by the nicknames "bobbies" or "peelers", go on patrol on September 29.^[8]

People

Authors

Composers

Births

1820

January 10 – Louisa Lane Drew, actress, prominent theater manager, grandmother of the Barrymores (d. 1897)
January 14 – Bezalel HaKohen, Russian rabbi (d. 1878)^[30]
January 17 – Anne Brontë, English author (d. 1849)^[31]
January 20 – Alexandre-Émile Béguyer de Chancourtois, French chemist and mineralogist (d. 1886)
January 30 – Concepción Arenal, Spanish feminist writer, activist (d. 1893)^[32]
February 8 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American Civil War general (d. 1891)^[33]
February 13 – James Geiss, English businessman (d. 1878)
February 15
- Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist (d. 1906)^[34]
- Arvid Posse, 2nd Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1901)^[35]
February 17 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1881)^[36]
February 28 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (d. 1914)^[37]
March 2 – Eduard Douwes Dekker, Dutch writer (d. 1887)^[38]
March 3 – Henry D. Cogswell, American temperance movement pioneer who endowed a number of Cogswell fountains (d. 1900)
March 4 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (d. 1856)
March 4 – Alexander Worthy Clerk, Jamaican Moravian teacher and missionary (d. 1906)
March 9 – Samuel Blatchford, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1893)
March 14 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (d. 1878)^[39]
March 17 – Martin Jenkins Crawford, American politician (d. 1883)
March 20 – Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Romania's first reigning Domnitor (d. 1873)^[40]
April 27 – Herbert Spencer, English philosopher (d. 1903)^[41]
April 26 – Alice Cary, American poet, sister to Phoebe Cary (1824-1871) (d. 1871)^[42]
May 5 – Elkanah Billings, Canadian paleontologist (d. 1876)
May 12 – Florence Nightingale, English nurse (d. 1910)^[43]
May 23 – Lorenzo Sawyer, 9th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California (d. 1891)
May 25 – François Claude du Barail, French general and Minister of War (d. 1902)
May 27 – Mathilde Bonaparte, Italian princess (d. 1904)^[44]

July 5 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, engineer (d. 1872)
July 22 – Oliver Mowat, Canadian lawyer, politician (d. 1903)
July 23 – Julia Gardiner Tyler, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
July 25 – Henry Doulton, English potter (d. 1897)^[45]
September 17
- Émile Augier, French dramatist (d. 1889)^[46]
- Earl van Dorn, American Confederate general (d. 1863)
September 20 – John F. Reynolds, American general (d. 1863)
September 27 – Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel, German classical scholar (d. 1878)
September 29 – Henri, Count of Chambord, claimant to the French throne (d. 1883)^[47]
October 5 – David Wilber, American politician (d. 1890)
October 6 – Jenny Lind, Swedish soprano (d. 1887)^[48]
October 16 – Gillis Bildt, 5th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1894)^[49]
October 20 – Benjamin F. Cheatham, American Confederate general (d. 1886)
November 23
- Isaac Todhunter, English mathematician (d. 1884)
- Ludwig von Hagn, German painter (d. 1898)^[50]
November 28 – Friedrich Engels, German social philosopher (d. 1895)^[51]
December 21 – William H. Osborn, American railroad executive (d. 1894)

Song Qing, Chinese general (d. 1902)

1821

January 1 – Francisco de Paula Milán Mexican officier of the Mexican Army (d. 1883)
January 2 – Catherine Huggins, British actor, singer, director and manager (d. 1887)
January 8
- James Longstreet, American Confederate general (d. 1904)
- W. H. L. Wallace, American Civil War general (d. 1862)
February 3 – Elizabeth Blackwell, first American female physician (d. 1910)
February 11 – Auguste Edouard Mariette, French Egyptologist (d. 1881)
February 17 – Lola Montez, Irish-Spanish dancer, royal mistress (d. 1861)
February 19
- Francis Preston Blair Jr., American politician, American Civil War officer (d. 1875)
- August Schleicher, German linguist (d. 1868)
March 1 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German Old Catholic bishop (d. 1896)
March 9 – John Watts de Peyster, American author, philanthropist, and soldier (d. 1907)
March 12 – Sir John Abbott, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1893)
March 31 – Henry Dunning Macleod, Scottish economist (d. 1902)

April 1 – Princess Anka Obrenović, Serbian princess (d. 1868)
April 3 – Fr. Thomas Pelham Dale, English mystic (d. 1892)
April 9 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet, writer (d. 1867)^[52]
April 12 – Beauchamp Seymour, British admiral (d. 1895)
May 6
- Edmund Colhoun, American admiral (d. 1897)
- Emilie Hammarskjöld, Swedish-American musician (d. 1854)
May 8 – William Henry Vanderbilt, American entrepreneur (d. 1885)
May 16 – Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician (d. 1894)
May 17 – Sebastian Kneipp, German naturopath (d. 1897)
May 18 – Eduard von Pestel, Prussian military officer and German general (d. 1908)
May 24 – Juan Bautista Topete, Spanish admiral and politician (d. 1885)
June 2 – Ion C. Brătianu, 2-Time Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1891)
June 16 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (d. 1908)
June 26 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentine statesman, military figure, and author, 6th President of Argentina (d. 1906)

July 1 – Anatole Jean-Baptiste Antoine de Barthélemy, French archaeologist (d. 1904)
July 2 – Sir Charles Tupper, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
July 6 – Edmund Pettus, American politician (d. 1907)
July 9
- George Cavendish-Bentinck, British Conservative politician (d. 1891)
- Adolphus Frederick Alexander Woodford, British parson (d. 1887)
July 13 – Nathan Bedford Forrest, American Confederate Civil War General, first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (d. 1877)
July 16 – Mary Baker Eddy, American founder of Christian Science (d. 1910)
July 17 – Friedrich Engelhorn, German industrialist and founder of BASF (d. 1902)
July 18
- Lucy Smith Millikin, early Latter Day Saint and sister of Joseph Smith (d. 1882)
- Pauline Viardot, French mezzo-soprano, composer (d. 1910)
July 24 – William Poole, infamous member of New York City's Bowery Boys gang (d. 1855)
July 27 – George H. Cooper, United States Navy admiral (d. 1891)
August 10 – Jay Cooke, American financier (d. 1905)
August 16 – Arthur Cayley, English mathematician (d. 1895)
August 21 – Louis Vuitton, French fashion designer (d. 1892)
August 31 – Hermann von Helmholtz, German physician and physicist (d. 1894)
September 21 – Andrei Alexandrovich Popov, Russian admiral (d. 1898)
September 28 – Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, African-American minister, politician (d. 1874)

October 13 – Rudolf Virchow, German physician, pathologist, biologist, and politician (d. 1902)
October 17 – Alexander Gardner, Scottish photographer (d. 1882)
November 7 – Andrea Debono, Maltese trader and explorer (d. 1871)^[53]
November 11 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian writer (d. 1881)^[54]
November 24 – Henry Thomas Buckle, English historian sometimes called "the father of scientific history" (d. 1862)
November 30 – Frederick Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1902)
December 1 – John M. B. Clitz, American admiral (d. 1897)
December 12 – Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880)^[55]
December 22 – Junius Brutus Booth Jr., American actor, theatre manager (d. 1883)
December 24 – Gabriel García Moreno, former President of Ecuador (d. 1875)
December 25 – Clara Barton, first president of American Red Cross (d. 1912)

Giuseppe Bonavia, Maltese architect (d. 1885)
Mazhar Nanautawi, Indian freedom struggle activist (d. 1885)

1822

January 2 – Rudolf Clausius, German physicist (d. 1888)
January 6
- Menyhért Lónyay, 5th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1884)
- Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (d. 1890)
January 9 – Carol Benesch, Silesian and Romanian architect (d. 1896)
January 12 – Étienne Lenoir, Belgian engineer (d. 1900)
January 25 – Charles Reed Bishop, American businessman, philanthropist in Hawaii (d. 1915)
January 28 – Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
February 4 – Edward Fitzgerald Beale, American Navy Lieutenant, explorer (d. 1893)
February 16 – Sir Francis Galton, English biologist (d. 1911)
c. March – Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross), African-American abolitionist, humanitarian and spy (d. 1913)
March 14 – Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies, Empress consort of Brazil (d. 1889)
April 3 – Edward Everett Hale, American writer (d. 1909)
April 26 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (d. 1903)
April 27 – Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (d. 1885)
May 3 – István Bittó, 7th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1903)
May 18 – Mathew Brady, American photographer (d. 1896)
May 20 – Frédéric Passy, French economist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1912)
May 26 – Edmond de Goncourt, French writer (d. 1896)
May 11 – Henry Baker Tristram, English clergyman, ornithologist. (d. 1906)
June 10 – John Jacob Astor III, American businessman (d. 1890)

July 4 – Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume, French sculptor (d. 1905)
July 19 – Princess Augusta of Cambridge (d. 1916)
July 20 – Gregor Mendel, Czech geneticist (d. 1884)
July 21 – Elizabeth Herbert, Baroness Herbert of Lea, English Catholic writer, translator, philanthropist, and influential social figure (d. 1911)
July 25 – Andrew Bryson, American admiral (d. 1892)
August 12 – August von Bulmerincq, Baltic German legal scholar (d. 1890)
August 27 – William Hayden English, American politician (d. 1896)
September 22 – Avraamy Aslanbegov, Russian admiral and historian (d. 1900)
October 4 – Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States (d. 1893)
October 6 – Benjamin F. Isherwood, American admiral, United States Navy Engineer-in-Chief (d. 1915)
December 10 – César Franck, Belgian composer, organist (d. 1890)
December 24 – Matthew Arnold, English poet (d. 1888)
December 27 – Louis Pasteur, French microbiologist, chemist (d. 1895)

1823

January 1 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet, revolutionary (d. 1849)
January 3 – Robert Whitehead, English engineer, inventor (d. 1905)
January 8 – Alfred Russel Wallace, British naturalist, biologist (d. 1913)
January 11 – Pierre Philippe Denfert-Rochereau, French military officer and politician (d. 1878)
January 27 – Édouard Lalo, French composer (d. 1892)
February 15 – Li Hongzhang, Chinese politician, general and diplomat (d. 1901)
February 28
- Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (d. 1883)
- Ernest Renan, French philosopher, philologist, historian and writer (d. 1892)
March 3 – John George Adair, Scots-Irish businessman and landowner; also known as "Black Jack" for his eviction of 244 people in 1861; financier of JA Ranch (d. 1885)
March 8 – Gyula Andrássy, 4th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1890)
March 14 – Théodore de Banville, French writer (d. 1891)
March 18 – Antoine Chanzy, French general and colonial governor (d. 1883)
April 1 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, American soldier, politician and Confederate soldier (d. 1914)
April 3 – William M. Tweed, American political boss (d. 1878)
April 4 – Carl Wilhelm Siemens, German engineer (d. 1883)
April 24 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, 27th President of Mexico (d. 1889)
April 25 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1861)
May 2 – Emma Hardinge Britten (b. Emma Floyd), English-born spiritualist (d. 1899)
May 9 – Sir Frederick Weld, 6th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1891)
May 15
- Thomas Lake Harris, American poet (d. 1906)
- Youssef Bey Karam, Lebanese nationalist leader (d. 1889)^[56]
May 17 – Henry Eckford, British horticulturist (d. 1905)
May 22 – Solomon Bundy, American politician (d. 1889)
May 26 – William Pryor Letchworth, American businessman, philanthropist, founder of Letchworth State Park, New York
July 6 – Sophie Adlersparre, Swedish feminist (d. 1895)
June 21 – Jean Chacornac, French astronomer (d. 1873)

July 9 (date uncertain) – Phineas Gage, improbable American head injury survivor (d. 1860)
July 18
- Félix du Temple de la Croix, French Army Captain, aviation pioneer (d. 1890)
- Leonard Fulton Ross, American Civil War general (d. 1901)
July 23 – Coventry Patmore, English poet (d. 1896)
August 3 – Thomas Francis Meagher, American Civil War general (d. 1867)
August 4 – Oliver P. Morton, American politician (d. 1877)
August 5 – Eliza Tibbets, mother of the California orange industry (d. 1898)
August 10
- Hugh Stowell Brown, Manx preacher (d. 1886)
- Charles Keene, English artist, illustrator (d. 1891)
August 11 – Charlotte Mary Yonge, English author (d. 1901)
August 13 – Goldwin Smith, English historian (d. 1910)
August 14 – Karel Miry, Belgian composer (d. 1889)
August 15 – Orris S. Ferry, American Civil War general and politician (d. 1875)
August 23 – Nil Izvorov, Bulgarian Orthodox priest and venerable (d. 1905)
September 16 – Ludwik Teichmann, Polish anatomist (d. 1895)
September 28 – Alexandre Cabanel, French painter (d. 1889)
November 1 – Lascăr Catargiu, 4-time prime minister of Romania (d. 1899)
November 8 – Joseph Monier, French inventor (d. 1906)
November 16 – Henry G. Davis, American politician (d. 1916)
November 18 – Charles H. Bell, American politician (d. 1893)
November 21 – Andrzej Jerzy Mniszech, Polish painter (d. 1905)
November 25 – Henry Wirz, Swiss-born American Confederate military officer, prisoner-of-war camp commander (d. 1865)
December 6 – Friedrich Max Müller, German-born Orientalist (d. 1900)
December 9 – Rosalie Olivecrona, Swedish women's rights activist (d. 1898)
December 13 – Ferdinand Büchner, German composer (d. 1906)
December 22 – Thomas Wentworth Higginson, American Unitarian minister, abolitionist (d. 1911)
December 27 – Sir Mackenzie Bowell, 5th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1917)

Manolache Costache Epureanu, 2-time prime minister of Romania (d. 1880)
Julian Gutowski, Polish politician (d. 1890)

1824

January 7 – Julia Kavanagh, Irish novelist (d. 1877)
January 8 – Wilkie Collins, English novelist (d. 1889)
January 15 – Marie Duplessis, French courtesan (d. 1847)
January 21 – Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, American Confederate general (d. 1863)
January 26 – Emil Czyrniański, Polish chemist (d. 1888)
February 7 – Sir William Huggins, British astronomer (d. 1910)
February 8 – Barnard Elliott Bee, Jr., American Confederate general (d. 1861)
February 12 – Dayananda Saraswati, Hindu religious leader, Vedic scholar who founded the reform movement Arya Samaj (d. 1883)
February 14 – Winfield Scott Hancock, American Civil War Union general, Democratic presidential candidate (d. 1886)
February 27 – Prince Kuni Asahiko of Japan (d. 1891)
March 2 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (d. 1884)
March 9 – Amasa Leland Stanford, American tycoon, industrialist and politician, 8th Governor of California (d. 1893)
March 12 – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (d. 1887)
March 19 – William Allingham, Irish author (d. 1889)
March 22 – Charles Pfizer, German-American chemist, co-founder of Pfizer (d. 1906)
March 25 – Clinton L. Merriam, American politician (d. 1900)
March 26 – Julie-Victoire Daubié, French journalist (d. 1874)
March 27 – Johann Wilhelm Hittorf, German physicist (d. 1914)
April 6 – George Waterhouse, 7th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1906)
April 7 – Edward Jones, trespasser who continually broke into Buckingham Palace (d. 1895)
April 13 – William Alexander, Anglican bishop, Primate of All Ireland (d. 1911)
May 3 – Pio Siotto, Italian artist, cameo engraver (d. ?)^[57]
May 6 – Tokugawa Iesada, 13th shōgun of Tokugawa shogunate of Japan (d. 1858)
May 9 – Jacob ben Moses Bachrach, noted Polish-born apologist of Rabbinic Judaism (d. 1896)
May 23 – Ambrose Burnside, American Civil War general, inventor, politician from Rhode Island (d. 1881)
June 7 – Bernhard von Gudden, German neuroanatomist, psychiatrist (d. 1886)
June 8 – Arthur von Mohrenheim, Russian diplomat (d. 1906)
June 20 – George Edmund Street, British architect (d. 1881)
June 26 – William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish-born physicist, engineer (d. 1907)
June 27 – Ednah Dow Littlehale Cheney, American writer, reformer, philanthropist (d. 1904)
June 28 – Paul Broca, French physician, anthropologist (d. 1880)

July 1 – Casto Méndez Núñez, Spanish admiral (d. 1869)
July 12 – Eugène Boudin, French painter (d. 1898)
July 19 – Horace W. Carpentier, American politician, 1st governor of Oakland, California (d. 1918)
July 21 – Stanley Matthews, American politician, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1889)
July 27 – Alexandre Dumas, fils, French writer (d. 1895)
August 3 – William Burnham Woods, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1887)
August 7 – Gideon T. Stewart, American temperance movement leader (d. 1907)
August 13 – John J. Robison, American politician in Michigan (d. 1897)^[58]
August 26 – Marie Simon, German nurse (d. 1877)^[59]
September 4
- Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer (d. 1896)
- Phoebe Cary, American poet, sister to Alice Cary (1820–1871) (d. 1871)
September 27 – Benjamin Apthorp Gould, American astronomer (d. 1896)
October 2 – Henry C. Lord, American railroad executive (d. 1884)
October 5 – Henry Chadwick, English-born American baseball writer, historian (d. 1908)
October 18 – Juan Valera y Alcalá-Galiano, Spanish author (d. 1905)
October 26 – Edward Cooper, 83rd Mayor of New York City (d. 1905)
October 27 – Edward Maitland, British writer (d. 1897)
November 20 – Sydenham E. Ancona, American educator, politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from 1861 to 1867 (d. 1913)
November 24 – Frederick Miller, German-born American brewer, businessman (d. 1888)
December 10 – George MacDonald, Scottish writer (d. 1905)
December 11 – Jonathan Letterman, American surgeon, "Father of Battlefield Medicine" (d. 1872)
December 14 – Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter (d. 1898)
December 18 – Sir John Hall, 12th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1907)
December 27 – Charlotta Norberg, Swedish ballerina (d. 1892)

1825

January 11 – Clement V. Rogers, Cherokee politician, father of Will Rogers (d. 1911)
January 25 – George Pickett, American Confederate general (d. 1876)
January 31 – Miska Magyarics, Slovene poet in Hungary (d. 1883)
February 8 – Henri Giffard, French engineer, pioneer in airship technology (d. 1882)
February 10 – Geoffrey Hornby, British admiral (d. 1895)
March 13 – Hans Gude, Norwegian romanticist landscape painter (d. 1903)^[60]
March 16 – Camilo Castelo Branco, Portuguese writer (d. 1890)
March 21 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian aeronautical pioneer (d. 1890)
March 22 – Jane Sym, second wife of Canada's second prime minister (d. 1893)
April 11 – Ferdinand Lassalle, Prussian-German philosopher, socialist and politician (d. 1864)
April 24 – Robert Michael Ballantyne, Scottish novelist (d. 1894)
May 4 – Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist (d. 1895)
May 8 – George Bruce Malleson, English officer, author (d. 1898)
May 9 – George Davidson, English-born geodesist, astronomer, geographer, surveyor, and engineer in the United States (d. 1911)
June 3 – Sophie Sager, Swedish women's rights activist (d. 1902)

July 2 – Émile Ollivier, French statesman (d. 1913)
July 19 – George H. Pendleton, American politician (d. 1889)
July 21 – Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, Spanish politician, eight-time prime minister of Spain (d. 1903)
August 31 – Robert Dunsmuir, Scottish industrialist, politician (d. 1889)
September 4 – Dadabhai Naoroji, Indian politician (d. 1917)
September 11 – Eduard Hanslick, Austrian music critic (d. 1904)
September 13 – William Henry Rinehart, American sculptor (d. 1874)
September 17 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, American politician, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1893)
September 25 – Joachim Heer, Swiss politician (d. 1879)
October 8 – Paschal Beverly Randolph, American occultist (d. 1875)
October 10 – Paul Kruger, Boer resistance leader (d. 1904)
October 11 – Maria Firmina dos Reis, Brazilian abolitionist and author (d. 1917)
October 13 – Charles Frederick Worth, English-born fashion designer, father of haute couture (d. 1895)
October 25
- Francis March, American comparative linguist (d. 1911)
- Johann Strauss, Junior, Austrian composer (d. 1899)
November 9 – A. P. Hill, American Confederate general (d. 1865)
November 29 – Jean-Martin Charcot, French physician, neurologist (d. 1893)
November 30 – William-Adolphe Bouguereau, French painter and educator (d. 1905)
December 2 – Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (d. 1891)
December 18 – Mariano Ignacio Prado, Peruvian general and statesman, twice President of Peru (d. 1901)^[61]
December 30 – Samuel Newitt Wood, American politician (d. 1891)
December 31 – Elizabeth Martha Olmsted, American poet (d. 1910)

Sher Ali Khan, ruler of Afghanistan (d. 1879)
Juan Williams Rebolledo, Chilean admiral and politician (d. 1910)

1826

January 1 – Mikhail Loris-Melikov, Russian statesman, general (d. 1888)
January 12 – William Chapman Ralston, American banker, financier (d. 1875)
January 15 – Marie Pasteur, French chemist (d. 1910)
January 24 – William Daniel, American temperance movement leader (d. 1897)
January 26 – Louis Favre, Swiss engineer (d. 1879)
January 27
- Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian writer (d. 1889)
- Richard Taylor, American Confederate general (d. 1879)
January 30 – Robert F. R. Lewis, American naval officer (d. 1881)
February 3 – Walter Bagehot, English economist and journalist (d. 1877)
February 7 – James Edward Jouett, American admiral (d. 1902)
February 9 – John A. Logan, American soldier, political leader (d. 1886)
February 15 – George Johnstone Stoney, Anglo-Irish physicist (d. 1911)
February 16
- Hans Peter Jørgen Julius Thomsen, Danish chemist (d. 1909)
- Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German poet (d. 1886)
- Julia Grant, First Lady of the United States (d. 1902)
March 3 – Joseph Wharton, American industrialist (d. 1909)
March 4
- John Buford, American general (d. 1863)
- Theodore Judah, American railroad engineer (d. 1863)
March 24 – Matilda Joslyn Gage, American feminist (d. 1898)
March 29 – Wilhelm Liebknecht, German journalist, politician (d. 1900)
April 3
- Cyrus K. Holliday, cofounder of Topeka, Kansas, first president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (d. 1900)
- Reginald Heber, English priest (b. 1783)^[62]
April 6 – Gustave Moreau, French painter (d. 1898)
May 3 – King Charles XV of Sweden and Norway (d. 1872)
May 4 – Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
May 7 – Varina Davis, First Lady of the Confederate States of America (d. 1906)
May 8 – Miguel Ângelo Lupi, Portuguese painter (d. 1883)
May 24 – Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin, Swiss international women's rights activist, pacifist (d. 1899)
May 26 – Richard Christopher Carrington, English astronomer (d. 1875)
May 28 – Benjamin Gratz Brown, American politician (d. 1885)
June 24 – George Goyder, surveyor-general of South Australia (d. 1898)
June 26 – Warren F. Daniell, American politician (d. 1913)
June 30 – Ozra Amander Hadley, American politician (d. 1915)

July 4
- Stephen Foster, American songwriter, poet (d. 1864)
- Green Clay Smith, American temperance movement leader (d. 1895)
July 8 – Benjamin Grierson, American Civil War general (d. 1911)
July 31 – William S. Clark, American chemist, 3rd President of the Massachusetts Agricultural College (d. 1886)
August 7 – August Ahlqvist, Finnish professor, poet, scholar of the Finno-Ugric languages, author, and literary critic (d. 1889)^[63]
August 11 – Andrew Jackson Davis, American spiritualist (d. 1910)
August 21 – Carl Gegenbaur, German anatomist, professor (d. 1903)
September 8 – Sir James Corry, 1st Baronet, British politician (d. 1891)
September 13 – Zeng Laishun, Chinese interpreter and educator (d. 1895)
September 17 – Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician (d. 1866)
October 8 – Emily Blackwell, American physician (d. 1910)
October 24 – Léopold Victor Delisle, French medievalist and Administrator General of the Bibliothèque Nationale
November 10 – Jacob Hamburger, German rabbi and author (d. 1911)^[64]
November 24 – Carlo Collodi, Italian writer (d. 1890)
November 27 – Jonathan Young, United States Navy commodore (d. 1885)
December 3 – George B. McClellan, American general, politician (d. 1885)
December 8 – John Brown, Scottish personal servant and favourite of Queen Victoria (d. 1883)

Cetshwayo kaMpande, Zulu king (d. 1884)
Ellen Morton Littlejohn, American quilter (d. 1899)

1827

January 7 – Sir Sandford Fleming, Scottish-Canadian engineer, inventor (d. 1915)
January 10 – Amanda Cajander, Finnish medical reformer (d. 1871)^[65]
January 28 – Jean Antoine Villemin, French physician (d. 1892)
February 17 – Elisabeth Blomqvist, Swedish-Finnish educator, feminist (d. 1901)
March 7 – John Hall Gladstone, English chemist (d. 1902)
March 8 – Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist (d. 1875)
March 25 – Stephen Luce, American admiral (d. 1917)
April 2 – William Holman Hunt, British Pre-Raphaelite painter (d. 1910)
April 5 – Joseph Lister, English surgeon, medical pioneer (d. 1912)
April 8 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican politician, medical doctor and diplomat (d. 1898)
May 11 – Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French sculptor, painter (d. 1875)
May 19 – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French statesman (d. 1896)
May 21 – William P. Sprague, American politician from Ohio (d. 1899)
May 27 – Samuel F. Miller, American politician (d. 1892)
May 31 – Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, British general (d. 1905)
June 11 – Natalie Zahle, Danish educator, women's rights activist (d. 1913)
June 12 – Johanna Spyri, Swiss author (d. 1901)
June 13 – Alberto Henschel, German-Brazilian photographer, businessman (d. 1882)
June 24 – Louis Brière de l'Isle, French general (d. 1897)
June 26 – Amédée Courbet, French admiral (d. 1885)

July 17 – Sir Frederick Augustus Abel, British chemist (d. 1902)
July 18 – Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (d. 1857)
July 24 – Francisco Solano López, President of Paraguay (d. 1870)
August 5 – Deodoro da Fonseca, 1st President of Brazil (d. 1892)
August 23 – Lord John Hay, British admiral and politician (d. 1916)
August 28 – Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia, granddaughter of Tsar Paul I (d. 1894)
September 3 – John Drew Sr., Irish-American stage actor, manager (d. 1862)
September 27 – Georgiana Archer, German (originally Scottish) women's rights activist and educator (d. 1882)
September 30 – Ellis H. Roberts, American politician (d. 1918)
October 12 – Josiah Parsons Cooke, American chemist (d. 1894)
October 16 – Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter (d. 1901)
October 25 – Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist (d. 1907)
October 29 – Antonio Borrero, 10th President of Ecuador (d. 1911)
November 1 – Friedrich Haase, German actor (d. 1911)
November 7 – Antti Ahlström, Finnish industrialist (d. 1896)
November 18 – Mehmed Ali Pasha, Prussian-born Ottoman military leader (d. 1878)
November 26 – Ellen G. White, American religious leader, cofounder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (d. 1915)
November 29 – William Crichton, Scottish engineer and shipbuilder (d. 1889)^[66]^[67]
December 3
- Jain Acharya Rajendrasuri, Indian religious reformer (d. 1906)
- Lombe Atthill, Northern Irish obstetrician and gynaecologist (d. 1910)^[68]
December 17 – Baron Alexander Wassilko von Serecki, Governor of the Duchy of Bucovina, member of the Herrenhaus (d. 1893)
December 23 – Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, Austrian admiral (d. 1871)
December 27 – Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (d. 1900)

Wazir Beg, Indian Semitic scholar and Presbyterian minister (d. 1885)

1828

January 17 – Alexandru Cernat, Moldavian-born Romanian general and politician (d. 1893)
January 22 – Dora d'Istria, Romanian-Albanian writer (d. 1888)
January 23 – Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai (d. 1877)
February 8 – Jules Verne, French science fiction author (d. 1905)
March 13 – Sébastien Lespès, French admiral (d. 1897)
March 17 – Patrick Cleburne, Irish soldier, Confederate general (d. 1864)
March 18 – Sir Randal Cremer, English politician, pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1908)
March 20 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright (d. 1906)
March 24 – Horace Gray, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1902)
March 25 – George Montgomery White, American politician (d. 1860)^[69]
April 17 – Johanna Mestorf, German prehistoric archaeologist (d. 1909)
April 20 – Josephine Butler, British social reformer (d. 1906)
April 26 – Martha Finley, American teacher, author (d. 1909)
April 29 – Étienne Stéphane Tarnier, French obstetrician, inventor (d. 1897)
May 8
- Henry Dunant, Swiss founder of the Red Cross, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1910)
- Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI (d. 1898)
May 12 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet, painter (d. 1882)
June 21 – Ferdinand André Fouqué, French geologist, petrologist (d. 1904)
June 28 – Alexandre Franquet, French admiral (d. 1907)

July 9 – Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian Catholic churchman (d. 1913)
July 23 – Sir Jonathan Hutchinson, English physician (d. 1913)
July 28 – Iosif Gurko, Russian field marshal (d. 1901)
July 31 – Ignacio de Veintemilla, 11th President of Ecuador (d. 1908)
August 6 – Andrew Taylor Still, American father of osteopathy (d. 1917)
August 17 – Maria Deraismes, French feminist (d. 1894)
August 28 – William A. Hammond, American military physician, neurologist and 11th Surgeon General of the United States Army (1862–1864) (d. 1900)
September 1 – Anthony Hoskins, British admiral (d. 1901)
September 8
- Joshua Chamberlain, Governor of Maine, President of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine (d. 1914)
- Clarence Cook, American art critic, writer (d. 1900)
September 9 (O.S.)/August 28 (N.S.) – Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer (d. 1910)
October 2 – Charles Floquet, Prime Minister of France (d. 1896)
October 20 – Horatio Spafford, American author of the hymn It Is Well with My Soul (d. 1888)
October 31 – Sir Joseph Swan, English physicist, chemist (d. 1914)
November 17 – Milton Wright, American bishop, father of aviation pioneers the Wright brothers (d. 1917)
November 19 – Rani Lakshmibai, queen of the Maratha-ruled princely Indian state of Jhansi (d. 1858)
November 24 – Henry Lomb, German-American optician, co-founder of Bausch & Lomb (d. 1908)
November 26 – René Goblet, Prime Minister of France (d. 1905)
December 8 – Clinton B. Fisk, American temperance movement leader (d. 1890)

William Robert Woodman, British co-founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (d. 1891)
Ely S. Parker, Seneca lieutenant colonel and first Native Commissioner of Indian Affairs

1829

January 1 – Tommaso Salvini, Italian actor (d. 1915)
January 3 – Konrad Duden, German philologist (d. 1911)
January 10 – Epameinondas Deligeorgis, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1879)
January 17 – Catherine Booth, English Mother of The Salvation Army (d. 1890)
January 21 – King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway (d. 1907)
January 27 – Isaac Roberts, Welsh astronomer (d. 1904)
February 2
- Alfred Brehm, German zoologist (d. 1884)
- William Stanley, British inventor, engineer (d. 1909)
February 22 – Princess Sumiko, Japanese princess (d. 1881)
February 26 – Levi Strauss, American clothing designer (d. 1902)
March 2 – Carl Schurz, German revolutionary, American statesman (d. 1906)
March 14 – Pierre-Hector Coullié, Cardinal-Archbishop of Lyon (d. 1912)
March 16 – George M. Robeson, American politician (d. 1897)
March 19 – Carl Frederik Tietgen, Danish financier, industrialist (d. 1901)
April 6 – Anna Haslam, Irish women's rights activist, suffragist (d. 1922)
April 10 – William Booth, British founder of The Salvation Army (d. 1912)
May 8 – Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American composer, pianist (d. 1869)
June 4 – Allan Octavian Hume, British civil servant (d. 1912)
June 5 – George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, Scottish-Canadian businessman, philanthropist (d. 1921)
June 6 – Shusaku Honinbo, Japanese Go player (d. 1862)
June 8 – Sir John Everett Millais, British Pre-Raphaelite painter (d. 1896)
June 14 – Bernard Petitjean, French Catholic missionary to Japan (d. 1884)
June 16 – Geronimo, indigenous American (Apache) leader (d. 1909)

July 2 – Martis Karin Ersdotter, Swedish businesswoman (died 1902)
July 14 – Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1896)
July 26 – Auguste Beernaert, Belgian statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1912)
August 24 – Emanuella Carlbeck, Swedish social reformer (d. 1901)
September 3 – Adolf Eugen Fick, German-born physician, physiologist (d. 1901)
September 7 – August Kekulé, German chemist (d. 1896)
September 12 – Anselm Feuerbach, German painter (d. 1880)
October 1 – Sidney Hill, English philanthropist (d. 1908)
October 5 – Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States (d. 1886)
October 13 – Jules Pellechet, French architect (d. 1903)
October 15 – Asaph Hall, American astronomer (d. 1907)
November 9 – Sir Peter Lumsden, British general in the Indian army (d. 1918)
November 10 – Newton Knight, American farmer, soldier and Southern Unionist in Mississippi and Civil War guerrilla (d. 1922)
November 28 – Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist, composer (d. 1894)

Deaths