Alessandro Volta: discovers electrochemical series and invents the battery.

Tags: Physics, Electricity, Electrochemistry, Energy

Alessandro Volta invents the voltaic pile, an early form of battery in Italy, based on previous works by Luigi Galvani.

Tags: Electricity, Battery, Physics

On 1 January, the bankrupt VOC is formally dissolved and the nationalized Dutch East Indies are established.

Tags: Colonialism, Dutch Empire, VOC, East Indies, Nationalization, Political Transition, Global Trade, Imperialism

Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovers the dwarf planet Ceres.

Tags: Astronomy, Planetary Science, Solar System

American politician Alexander Hamilton begins publishing the New York Evening Post as the Federalist "Vehicle" for their news.

Tags: Media, Early Republic, Freedom of the Press

Thomas Jefferson elected President of the United States by the House of Representatives, following a tie in the Electoral College.

Tags: Presidential Election, Thomas Jefferson, Early Republic, Legislative Branch

The Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merge to form the United Kingdom.

Tags: British Empire, Nationalism, Political Consolidation, Irish History, Legislation

Ranjit Singh crowned as the Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.

Tags: Sikh Empire, Indian History, Monarchy, Political Consolidation

Alexander I of Russia becomes tsar after the assassination of his father.

Tags: Russian Empire, Tsar, Monarchy, Succession, Imperialism, Political Instability

Napoleon and Pope Pius VII sign the Concordat of 1801 in Paris.

Tags: Napoleon Bonaparte, Catholicism, Religious Freedom

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck: teleological evolution.

Tags: Evolution, Biology, Scientific Theory, Ideas

Humphry Davy invents the arc lamp (exact date unclear; not practical as a light source until the invention of efficient electric generators).

Tags: Electricity, Lighting, Experimentation, Industrial Revolution

William Cobbett begins weekly Political Register

Tags: Journalism, Radicalism, Freedom of the Press

Ludwig van Beethoven performs his Moonlight Sonata for the first time.

Tags: Music, Classical Music, Romanticism, Piano, Beethoven, Musical Composition, Cultural Impact

William Symington demonstrates his Charlotte Dundas, the "first practical steamboat".

Tags: Transportation, Industrial Revolution

The United States almost doubles in size when it buys out France's territorial claims in North America in the Louisiana Purchase. This begins the Amer...

Tags: Westward Expansion, Territorial Acquisition, Manifest Destiny, American History, Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Thomas Jefferson

Lewis and Clark Expedition in western U.S.

Tags: Exploration, United States History, Mapping, Indigenous Peoples, Territorial Expansion

Morphine first isolated.

Tags: Chemistry, Medicine, Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacology

Friedrich Sertürner discovers morphine as the first active alkaloid extracted from the opium poppy plant.

Tags: Chemistry, Medicine, Pharmacology

Hanaoka Seishū creates tsūsensan, the first modern general anesthetic.

Tags: Medicine, Anesthesia, Surgery, Japanese History, Medical History

First steam locomotive begins operation.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Transportation, Steam Power

Joseph Marie Jacquard develops his automated Jacquard loom.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Textile Industry, Automation, Manufacturing, Mechanical Engineering

Richard Trevithick invents the steam locomotive.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Steam Power, Transportation

Haiti gains independence from France and becomes the first black republic.

Tags: Independence, Revolution, Colonialism, French Revolution, Toussaint Louverture, Self-determination

Austrian Empire founded by Francis I.

Tags: Austrian Empire, Francis I, Holy Roman Empire, Monarchy, Political Consolidation, Habsburgs, Empire

Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of the French.

Tags: Napoleon Bonaparte, French Empire, Coronation, French Revolution, Monarchy, European History, Imperialism

British and Foreign Bible Society founded by William Wilberforce and Thomas Charles

Tags: Christianity, Bible, Evangelicalism, Literacy, Missionary Work, Social Reform

Symphony No. 3 by Beethoven, the "Eroica" marks the start of highly creative "middle period."

Tags: Classical Music, Romanticism, Symphony, Musical Composition, Beethoven, Music History, Austrian Empire, German Culture, Artistic Innovation

John Dalton: Atomic Theory in (chemistry).

Tags: Chemistry, Atomic Theory, Scientific Revolution, Elements, Scientific Advancement, Theory

1805–1848: Muhammad Ali modernizes Egypt.

Tags: Modernization, Ottoman Empire, Muhammad Ali, Political Reform, Military Reform, Nation Building, Imperialism

Holy Roman Empire dissolved as a consequence of the Treaty of Pressburg.

Tags: Holy Roman Empire, Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon Bonaparte, German Confederation, Political Transformation, European History, Sovereignty

Napoleon makes brother Joseph Bonaparte king of Naples & brother Louis Bonaparte king of Holland.

Tags: Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleonic Wars, French Empire, Monarchy, European Politics, Political Restructuring, Imperialism

Cape Colony becomes part of the British Empire.

Tags: British Empire, Colonialism, Expansionism, Imperialism, Napoleonic Wars, Cape Colony, Political Control

Potassium and Sodium are individually isolated by Humphry Davy.

Tags: Chemistry, Elements, Experimentation

Nicéphore Niépce invents an early internal combustion engine capable of doing useful work.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Engine, Mechanization, Energy

François Isaac de Rivaz designs the first automobile powered by an internal combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen.

Tags: Transportation, Automobile, Internal Combustion Engine

Robert Fulton expands water transportation and trade with the workable steamboat.

Tags: Transportation, Steam Power, Trade, Industrial Revolution

Britain and the United States separately make the Slave Trade a criminal act.

Tags: Slavery, Abolition, Transatlantic Slave Trade, Legislation, Human Rights

First treaty of Tilsit: Russia allies with France against Britain in the War of the Fourth Coalition

Tags: Napoleonic Wars, Treaty, Alliance, Diplomacy, Napoleon Bonaparte

Second treaty of Tilsit: Napoleon reorganizes Eastern Europe; rump Prussia becomes ally.

Tags: Napoleonic Wars, Treaty, Diplomacy, Napoleon Bonaparte, Geopolitics, Alliances

Beethoven performs his Fifth Symphony.

Tags: Classical Music, Symphony, Romanticism, Music Composition, Performance, Beethoven, Art History, Cultural Impact

Herman Willem Daendels the Governor-general of the Dutch East Indies (1808–1811) begin the construction of Java Great Post Road.

Tags: Infrastructure, Dutch East Indies, Colonialism, Transportation

Sierra Leone becomes British colony.

Tags: Colonialism, British Empire, Imperialism, Political History, Atlantic Slave Trade, Slavery, Governance, Sierra Leone

Beethoven premieres his 5th Symphony at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.

Tags: Classical Music, Symphony, Romantic Period, Ludwig van Beethoven, Music History, Orchestra, Cultural Impact, Arts

Napoleon invades the Papal States and adds it to French Empire, making his young son the King of Rome.

Tags: Napoleonic Wars, French Empire, Catholicism, Annexation, Political Intrigue, European History, Expansionism, Continental System

Napoleon strips the Teutonic Knights of their last holdings in Bad Mergentheim.

Tags: Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleonic Wars, Teutonic Order, Holy Roman Empire, Territorial Changes, German History, Political Reform, Military Occupation

Pope Pius VII excommunicates Napoleon and is later imprisoned at Savon.

Tags: Catholicism, Napoleon Bonaparte, Excommunication, French Empire, Napoleonic Wars, Religious Conflict

Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, "The Emperor."

Tags: Classical Music, Music Composition, Ludwig van Beethoven, Romantic Period, Orchestral Music

Nicolas Appert invents the canning process for food.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Logistics

Abraham-Louis Breguet creates the first wristwatch.

Tags: Luxury Goods

The trumpet receives valves.

Tags: Music, Musical Instruments, Classical Music

Friedrich Koenig invents the first powered printing press, which was also the first to use a cylinder.

Tags: Printing, Industrial Revolution, Mass Production, Communication

May 14: Paraguay declares independence from the Spanish empire (recognized May 15).

Tags: Independence, Colonialism, Spanish Empire, Nation Building, South American History

William Reid Clanny pioneered the invention of the safety lamp which he improved in later years. Safety lamps based on Clanny's improved design were u...

Tags: Mining, Safety, Industrial Revolution

British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated.

Tags: Assassination, British Politics, Prime Minister, Political Violence, Napoleonic Wars

William Hedley's Puffing Billy demonstrates power of steam locomotives.

Tags: Steam Engine, Transportation, Industrial Revolution, Mining

Jane Austen publishes Pride and Prejudice.

Tags: Literature, Novel, Romanticism, British Literature, Social Commentary, Gender Roles

James Fox invents the modern planing machine, though Matthew Murray of Leeds and Richard Roberts of Manchester have also been credited at times with i...

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing

Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.

Tags: Napoleon Bonaparte, French Empire, Abdication, Exile, Monarchy, Coalition Wars, European History, Political Transition

The Congress of Vienna redraws the European map. Reaction and conservatism dominate all of Europe. The Concert of Europe attempts to preserve this set...

Tags: Restoration, Conservatism, Nationalism, Liberalism, Geopolitics, European History

Jane Austen publishes Emma in December.

Tags: Literature, Novel, British Literature, Social Commentary, Fiction, Social Class

Dandy horse/velocipede bicycle invented.

Tags: Transportation, Mechanical Engineering

René Laennec invents the first Stethoscope.

Tags: Medicine, Medical Technology, Scientific Innovation, French History, Healthcare

Francis Ronalds builds the first working electric telegraph using electrostatic means.

Tags: Telegraphy, Communication, Electricity, Scientific Revolution, Information Technology

Robert Stirling invents the Stirling engine.

Tags: Engine, Thermodynamics, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Revolution

1816–1828: Shaka's Zulu Kingdom becomes the largest in Southern Africa.

Tags: African History, Monarchy, Military Expansion, Political Development

Independence of Argentina.

Tags: Independence, Revolution, Colonialism, Spanish Empire, Nationalism

Baron Karl von Drais invents the dandy horse, an early velocipede and precursor to the modern bicycle.

Tags: Transportation, Mechanical Engineering

Principality of Serbia becomes suzerain from the Ottoman Empire. Officially independent in 1867.

Tags: Nationalism, Ottoman Empire, Serbian Revolution, Independence, Sovereignty

Marc Isambard Brunel invents the tunnelling shield.

Tags: Construction, Infrastructure, Transportation, Industrial Revolution

Independence of Chile.

Tags: Independence, Chile, Colonialism, Spanish Empire, Revolution

The Old Vic is established (under the name of the Royal Coburg).

Tags: Theatre, Performance Arts, Entertainment

Mary Shelley publishes Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

Tags: Literature, Novel, Romanticism, Science Fiction

Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward.

Tags: Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Corporations, Judicial Review, John Marshall, Federalism

Peterloo Massacre in England.

Tags: Political Protest, Social Reform, Cavalry, Violence, Human Rights, British History, Radicalism

The modern city of Singapore is established by the British East India Company.

Tags: British Empire, Colonialism, East India Company, Trade, Geopolitics

Théodore Géricault paints his masterpiece The Raft of the Medusa, and exhibits it in the French Salon of 1819 at the Louvre.

Tags: French Art, Romanticism, Painting, Realism, French Revolution

John Keats writes his odes of 1819.

Tags: Poetry, Romanticism, British Literature, English Literature, Literature

Hans Christian Ørsted discovers that a current passed through a wire will deflect the needle of a compass, establishing the deep relationship between ...

Tags: Physics, Electromagnetism, Electricity, Magnetism, Experimentation, Scientific Revolution, Discovery

Michael Faraday and James Stoddart discover alloying iron with chromium produces a stainless steel resistant to oxidising elements (rust).

Tags: Metallurgy, Chemistry, Materials Science, Industrial Revolution, Michael Faraday, Steel

Missouri Compromise on the slavery issue in U.S.

Tags: Slavery, Political Crisis, Expansionism, Sectionalism, Legislative Action

Dissolution of the Maratha Empire in India.

Tags: British Empire, Colonialism, Maratha Empire, East India Company, Political Transition, Annexation, Imperialism

Thomas Johann Seebeck is the first to observe a property of semiconductors.

Tags: Physics, Semiconductors, Electricity, Energy, Experimentation

Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena.

Tags: Napoleon Bonaparte, Exile, French Empire, European History, Leadership, Legacy

Mexico gains independence from Spain with the Treaty of Córdoba.

Tags: Independence, Colonialism, Nationalism, Political Change, Revolution

Thomas Blanchard invents the pattern-tracing lathe (actually more like a shaper). The lathe can copy symmetrical shapes and is used for making gun sto...

Tags: Manufacturing, Industrial Revolution, Automation

Nicéphore Niépce invents Heliography, the first photographic process.

Tags: Photography, Visual Arts

Charles Babbage, considered the "father of the computer", begins building the first programmable mechanical computer.

Tags: Computer Science, Mechanical Computer, Industrial Revolution, Algorithms

1822–1823: First Mexican Empire, as Mexico's first post-independent government, ruled by Emperor Agustín I of Mexico.

Tags: Monarchy, Independence, Government, Post-Colonialism, Political History

Prince Pedro of Brazil proclaimed the Brazilian independence on 7 September. On 1 December, he was crowned as Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil.

Tags: Independence, Monarchy, Brazilian Empire, Colonialism, Political Transition

Denmark Vesey is arrested and executed for attempting to incite a slave insurrection in South Carolina.

Tags: Slavery, South Carolina, Antebellum Era, African American History, Resistance, Social Justice, Conspiracy

Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner invents the first lighter.

Tags: Chemistry, Lighting

Monroe Doctrine declared by US President James Monroe in cooperation with Britain.

Tags: US Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Imperialism, American Expansionism

Carnot: described the Carnot cycle, the idealized heat engine.

Tags: Thermodynamics, Physics, Industrial Revolution, Energy

Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse invents the bolt-action rifle.

Tags: Weaponry, Military Technology, Industrial Revolution, Warfare

William Sturgeon invents the electromagnet.

Tags: Electricity, Magnetism, Physics, Industrial Revolution

Joseph Aspdin develops Portland cement (concrete), by heating ground limestone, clay and gypsum, in a kiln.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Construction, Materials Science, Concrete

Gibbons v. Ogden, a landmark decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the power to regulate interstate commerce encompassed the power to re...

Tags: Supreme Court, Judicial Review, Federalism, Navigation, Constitutional Law, John Marshall, Early Republic

Premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Tags: Classical Music, Romantic Period, Symphony, Orchestra, Ludwig van Beethoven, Composition, Performance, Arts

First isolation of aluminum.

Tags: Chemistry, Material Science

The Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first public railway in the world, opens in England.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Transportation, Railways, Economic Development

Independence of Bolivia.

Tags: Independence, Colonialism, Spanish Empire, Nationalism

The Decembrist revolt in Russia is suppressed.

Tags: Russian Empire, Rebellion, Political Repression, Autocracy, Tsarist Russia, Secret Societies, Liberalism

American Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Patents

John Walker invents the friction match.

Tags: Inventions, Industrial Revolution, Chemistry, Lighting, Consumer Goods

James Sharp invents and goes on to manufacture the first practical gas stove.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Domestic Life

Évariste Galois development of group theory.

Tags: Mathematics, French Revolution, Algebra, Mathematical Innovation

Georg Ohm: Ohm's law (Electricity).

Tags: Physics, Electricity, Scientific Revolution, Mathematics, Energy, Electronics

Amedeo Avogadro: Avogadro's law (Gas law).

Tags: Chemistry, Physics, Scientific Revolution

Nicéphore Niépce invents photography.

Tags: Photography, Visual Arts

Deaths of William Blake and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Tags: Art, Music, Literature, Romanticism, Composer, Death

Friedrich Wöhler synthesized urea, refuting vitalism.

Tags: Chemistry, Scientific Revolution, Modern Science

James Beaumont Neilson develops the hot blast process.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Metallurgy

Patrick Bell invents the reaping machine.

Tags: Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Revolution, Agriculture

Hungarian physicist Ányos Jedlik invents the first commutated rotary electromechanical machine with electromagnets.

Tags: Electricity, Electromagnetism, Physics, Mechanical Engineering

Prime Minister Robert Peel secures repeal of Test & Corporation Acts, This gives religious liberty to Nonconformists in Britain but deeply splits Tory...

Tags: Religious Freedom, Robert Peel, British Politics, Political Reform, Civil Liberties

First electric motor built.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Electricity, Michael Faraday

Louis Braille invents the Braille reading system for the blind.

Tags: Literacy, Education, Social Impact

William Mann invents the compound air compressor.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, Steam Power

Henry Robinson Palmer is awarded a patent for corrugated galvanised iron.

Tags: Patent, Industrial Revolution, Metalworking

Gioachino Rossini, William Tell Italian opera.

Tags: Opera, Classical Music, Romanticism, Music Composition, Theater

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust premieres.

Tags: Literature, German Literature, Drama, Poetry, Romanticism, Playwright, Philosophy, Cultural Impact

Nikolai Lobachevsky created Non-Euclidean geometry.

Tags: Mathematics, Geometry, Russian Empire, Scientific Revolution

Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Transportation, Railways, Economic Development

Edwin Budding invents the lawn mower.

Tags: Inventions, Industrial Revolution, Mechanical Engineering, Agriculture

U.S. Congress passes the Indian Removal Act which authorized the President to negotiate removal treaties with many native tribes living east of the Mi...

Tags: Indigenous Peoples, Forced Migration, Manifest Destiny, Andrew Jackson, Treaties, American Expansion, Sovereignty

Anglo-Russian rivalry over Afghanistan, the Great Game, commences and concludes in 1895.

Tags: Great Game, Imperialism, Geopolitics, Colonialism, British Empire, Russian Empire, Diplomacy

July Revolution in France.

Tags: Revolution, Monarchy, Constitutionalism, Liberalism

The Belgian Revolution in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands led to the creation of Belgium.

Tags: Revolution, Independence, Nationalism, Monarchy, Liberalism, Political Change

Greater Colombia dissolved and the nations of Colombia (including modern-day Panama), Ecuador, and Venezuela took its place.

Tags: Independence Movements, South American History, Political Fragmentation, Post-Colonialism, Nationalism, Political Divisions

The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints is established by Joseph Smith as prophet and president of the Church.

Tags: Mormonism, Christianity, Religious Movements, Theology, American History

Felix Mendelssohn, "Hebrides" overture

Tags: Romanticism, Music, Classical Music, Composition

Hector Berlioz issues "Symphonie fantastique", an early highlist of Romanticism

Tags: Romanticism, Classical Music, Symphony, Orchestra, Artistic Innovation, Musical Composition

1831–1836: Charles Darwin's journey aboard HMS Beagle.

Tags: Biology, Evolution, Natural History, Exploration, Voyages of Discovery, Charles Darwin, Scientific Revolution

Michael Faraday invents a method of electromagnetic induction. It would be independently invented by Joseph Henry the following year. Faraday is credi...

Tags: Physics, Electricity, Magnetism, Electromagnetism, Michael Faraday

Ioannis Kapodistrias, the First Governor of Greece is murdered at Nauplion.

Tags: Assassination, Civil War, Monarchy, Diplomacy

The Belgian constitution is ratified and Leopold I is crowned as first "King of the Belgians".

Tags: Monarchy, Constitutionalism, Independence, Nationalism, Political History, European History

Chief John Ross of the Cherokee Nation defends Cherokee rights and sovereignty in the U.S. Supreme Court case The Cherokee Nation v. The State of Geor...

Tags: Indigenous Rights, Supreme Court, Legal History, Immigration, Irish History, Manifest Destiny

Évariste Galois invents Group theory in mathematics.

Tags: Mathematics, French Revolution, Algebra, Theory

The British Parliament passes the Great Reform Act.

Tags: Political Reform, Parliament, Suffrage, Voting Rights, Democracy

Anselme Payen isolates first enzyme, diastase.

Tags: Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 bans slavery throughout the British Empire; owners are reimbursed.

Tags: Abolitionism, Slavery, British Empire, Colonialism, Human Rights, Legislation, Social Reform, Economic Impact

Moritz von Jacobi invents the first practical electric motor.

Tags: Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Revolution, Physics

Spanish Inquisition officially ends.

Tags: Catholicism, Inquisition, Religious Violence, Religious Institutions, Enlightenment, Reform

Joseph Henry invents the electromechanical relay.

Tags: Electrical Engineering, Electromagnetism, Communication, Telegraphy, American History

September laws restrict freedom of press, in France.

Tags: Censorship, Government, Freedom of Speech, Media

Samuel Colt popularizes the revolver and sets up a firearms company to manufacture his invention of the Colt Paterson revolver a six bullets firearm s...

Tags: American History, Firearms, Weapons, Manufacturing

Telegraphy patented.

Tags: Communication, Samuel Morse, Telegraph, Industrial Revolution

Samuel Morse invents Morse code.

Tags: Communication, Telegraph, Samuel Morse, Electrical Engineering

Charles Babbage proposes a design for the construction of a Turing complete, general purpose Computer, to be called the Analytical Engine.

Tags: Computer Science, Algorithm, Mechanical Computer

1837–1838: Rebellions of 1837 fail in Canada.

Tags: Rebellion, Colonialism, Political Reform, British Empire, Canadian History, Lower Canada, Upper Canada

1837–1901: Queen Victoria reigns during the apex of the British Empire; this is the Victorian era.

Tags: British Empire, Monarchy, Queen Victoria, Imperialism, Colonialism, Global Power

Charles Dickens publishes Oliver Twist.

Tags: Novel, Literature, Social Commentary, Poverty, Childhood, Fiction

Death of Alexander Pushkin.

Tags: Literature, Russian Literature, Poetry, Romanticism, Authors, Cultural Impact, Imperial Russia

Matthias Schleiden: all plants are made of cells.

Tags: Biology, Cell Theory, Botany, Scientific Revolution, Microscopy

Friedrich Bessel: first successful measure of stellar parallax (to star 61 Cygni).

Tags: Astronomy, Physics, Scientific Revolution, Observational Astronomy, Stars, Measurement

Moritz von Jacobi invents electrotyping.

Tags: Electrochemistry, Printing, Communication, Materials Science

1838–1840: Civil war in the Federal Republic of Central America led to the foundings of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Tags: Civil War, Independence, Political Instability, Nationalism

1838–1857: Chartism a working-class reform movement in Britain.

Tags: Working Class, Political Reform, Suffrage, Social Reform, Political Activism

William Otis invents the steam shovel.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Construction, Transportation, Mining

James Nasmyth invents the steam hammer.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Steam Power, Manufacturing, Mechanization

Edmond Becquerel invents a method for the photovoltaic effect, effectively producing the first solar cell.

Tags: Physics, Energy

Charles Goodyear invents vulcanized rubber.

Tags: Rubber, Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing, Materials Science, Transportation

Louis Daguerre invents daguerreotype photography.

Tags: Photography, Visual Arts, Communication

Kingdom of Belgium declared.

Tags: Kingdom, Independence, Nationalism, European History, Monarchy

John Herschel invents the blueprint.

Tags: Photography, Printing, Communication

New Zealand is founded, as the Treaty of Waitangi is signed by the Māori and British.

Tags: Colonialism, Treaty, Indigenous Rights, British Empire, Nationalism, Political Agreements, Settler Colonialism

Upper and Lower Canada are merged into the Province of Canada.

Tags: British Empire, Colonialism, Political Union, Canadian History

The word "dinosaur" is coined by Richard Owen.

Tags: Paleontology, Zoology, Fossil Discovery, Natural History

Alexander Bain devises a printing telegraph.

Tags: Telegraph, Communication, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Revolution

William Henry Harrison is the first US president to die in office.

Tags: American History, Political Transition, Executive Branch

Anaesthesia used for the first time.

Tags: Medicine, Surgery, Anesthesia, Massachusetts, Medical History

Christian Doppler: Doppler effect.

Tags: Physics, Astronomy, Sound, Light

William Robert Grove invents the first fuel cell.

Tags: Electricity, Electrochemistry

John Bennet Lawes invents superphosphate, the first man-made fertilizer.

Tags: Agriculture, Industrial Revolution, Scientific Advancement, Farming

Treaty of Nanking cedes Hong Kong to the British.

Tags: Imperialism, Colonialism, Treaties, British Empire, Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, Trade

James Prescott Joule: Law of Conservation of energy (First law of thermodynamics), also 1847 – Helmholtz, Conservation of energy.

Tags: Physics, Thermodynamics, Energy, Scientific Revolution

Short stories A Christmas Carol and The Tell-Tale Heart published.

Tags: Literature, Fiction, Writing

The great auk is rendered extinct.

Tags: Extinction, Wildlife, Natural History, Conservation, Biodiversity

First publicly funded telegraph line in the world—between Baltimore and Washington—sends demonstration message on 24 May, ushering in the age of the t...

Tags: Telegraph, Communication, American History, Samuel Morse, Transportation

Friedrich Gottlob Keller and, independently, Charles Fenerty come up with the wood pulp method of paper production.

Tags: Paper, Printing, Communication, Industrial Revolution

Francis Rynd invents the hypodermic needle.

Tags: Medicine, Medical Technology, Health, Surgery, Healthcare

Treaty of Wanghia was signed by the United States and China.

Tags: Diplomacy, Treaty, Trade, Foreign Relations, Imperialism, Qing Dynasty

May 23: Persian Prophet the Báb announces his revelation, founding Bábísm. He announced to the world of the coming of "He whom God shall make manifest...

Tags: Religion, Prophet, Religious Movement, Shia Islam

October 22: Millerite movement awaits the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. Christ's non-appearance becomes known as the Great Disappointment.

Tags: Christianity, Prophecy, Apocalypticism

Isaac Charles Johnson invents modern Portland cement.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Construction, Materials Science, Infrastructure

Unification of the Kingdom of Tonga under Tāufaʻāhau (King George Tupou I).

Tags: Monarchy, Unification, Political Consolidation

Texas annexed by the United States and becomes the 28th state.

Tags: United States History, Manifest Destiny, Expansionism, Territorial Expansion, Slavery, Mexican-American War, Texas Revolution, Statehood

Johann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich Louis d'Arrest: discovery of Neptune.

Tags: Astronomy, Planets, Solar System

Henri-Joseph Maus invents the tunnel boring machine.

Tags: Infrastructure, Industrial Revolution, Transportation, Construction, Mining

The Wilmot Proviso unsuccessfully attempts to ban slavery in western territories acquired after the Mexican-American War.

Tags: Slavery, United States History, Antebellum Era, Mexican-American War, Territorial Expansion, Sectionalism, Political Divisions, Westward Expansion

The Oregon Treaty is signed between the United Kingdom and the United States, ceding the modern states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as pa...

Tags: Treaty, Border Dispute, Territorial Expansion, Manifest Destiny, Diplomacy, Pacific Northwest

1846–1847: Mormon migration to Utah.Liberal and nationalist pressure led to the European revolutions of 1848.

Tags: Mormonism, Religious Migration, Westward Expansion, American History, Religious Violence, Pioneers

1846–1878: Ultraconservative Pope Pius IX battles modernity

Tags: Catholicism, Modernity, Conservatism, Religious History, Counter-Reformation, Secularism, Italian Unification

Ignaz Semmelweis proposes hand washing as a way to stop the spread of diseases.

Tags: Medicine, Public Health, Hygiene, Germ Theory, Medical History

George Boole: publishes The Mathematical Analysis of Logic, defining Boolean algebra; refined in his 1854 The Laws of Thought.

Tags: Logic, Mathematics, Computer Science, Intellectual History

Ascanio Sobrero invents Nitroglycerin, the first explosive made that was stronger than black powder.

Tags: Chemistry, Explosives, Industrial Revolution, Warfare, Mining

The Brontë sisters publish Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey.

Tags: Novel, Literature, Social Commentary

Lord Kelvin: absolute zero.

Tags: Physics, Thermodynamics, Temperature

Jonathan J. Couch invents the pneumatic drill.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Construction, Mining, Tools

Linus Yale Sr. invents the first modern pin tumbler lock.

Tags: Security, Industrial Revolution, Mechanical Engineering

Revolutions of 1848 across Europe; crushed by conservatives.

Tags: Revolution, Liberalism, Conservatism, Nationalism, Unification, Monarchy, Social Reform, Working Class

William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti found the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Tags: Painting, Romanticism

The safety pin and the gas mask are invented.

Tags: Inventions, Industrial Revolution, Safety, Public Health, Military Technology

Walter Hunt invents the first repeating rifle to use metallic cartridges (of his own design) and a spring-fed magazine.

Tags: Firearms, Weaponry, American History, Military Technology

James B. Francis invents the Francis turbine.

Tags: Hydropower, Industrial Revolution, Energy

Walter Hunt invents the Safety pin.

Tags: Patent, Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing

Roman Republic's constitutional law becomes the first to abolish capital punishment.

Tags: Ancient rome, Capital Punishment, Legal History, Constitutional Law, Abolitionism, Human Rights, Justice

The Little Ice Age ends around this time.

Tags: Climate Change, Environmental History, Weather, Global Warming, Temperature, Ecology

William Armstrong invents the hydraulic accumulator.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing

Alfred Tennyson is appointed Poet Laureate after the death of William Wordsworth.

Tags: Poetry, Literature, Arts, Cultural History

George Jennings offers the first public flush toilets, accessible for a penny per visit, and in 1852 receives a UK patent for the single piece, free s...

Tags: Public Health, Urbanization, Infrastructure

Louis Napoleon assumes power in France in a coup.

Tags: Coup d'état, French History, Authoritarianism, European History, Imperialism

Herman Melville publishes Moby-Dick.

Tags: American Literature, Novel, Romanticism, Literature, Global Impact

Robert Bunsen is the first to use a chemical vapor deposition technique.

Tags: Chemistry, Scientific Innovation, Research, Materials Science

Elisha Otis invents the safety brake elevator.

Tags: Safety, Industrial Revolution, Urbanization, Transportation, Modernization

Henri Giffard becomes the first person to make a manned, controlled and powered flight using a dirigible.

Tags: Aviation, Early Aviation, Transportation

King Victor Emmanuel the Second names Count Camillo di Cavour prime minister of Piedmont, thus kickstarting the push for Italian unification.

Tags: Italian Unification, Nationalism, Monarchy, Diplomacy

François Coignet invents reinforced concrete.

Tags: Construction, Materials Science, Industrial Revolution

William Wells Brown (1814–1884) wrote first novel published by an African American, Clotel.

Tags: Literature, African American History, Novel, Slavery, American Literature, Civil Rights

Twelve Years a Slave is a memoir and slave narrative by American Solomon Northup as told to and edited by David Wilson.

Tags: Slavery, American History, Civil War, Literature, Social Commentary, Abolitionism

The Convention of Kanagawa formally ends Japan's policy of isolation. This would open up two ports in Japan to American ships and offered protection t...

Tags: Imperialism, Isolationism, Trade, Diplomacy, Treaty, Meiji Restoration, Globalization

Cocaine is isolated by Friedrich Gaedcke.

Tags: Chemistry, Pharmaceuticals, Extraction

Bessemer process enables steel to be mass-produced.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Steel, Metallurgy, Manufacturing, Mass Production, Economic Development

James Clerk Maxwell invents the first practical method for color photography, whether chemical or electronic.

Tags: Photography, Optics, James Clerk Maxwell

Henry Bessemer patents the Bessemer process for making steel, with improvements made by others over the following years.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Steel Production, Metallurgy, Manufacturing, Economy

Walt Whitman publishes Leaves of Grass.

Tags: Poetry, American Literature, Modernism

Neanderthal man first identified. Age still unknown.

Tags: Paleontology, Anthropology, Human Evolution, Fossil Discovery, 19th Century Science, Scientific Revolution

World's first oil refinery in Romania.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Oil Industry, Petroleum, Energy, Romania, Economic Development

Alexander Parkes invents parkesine, also known as celluloid, the first man-made plastic.

Tags: Plastic, Materials Science, Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing, Chemical Engineering

James Harrison produces the world's first practical ice making machine and refrigerator using the principle of vapour compression in Geelong, Australi...

Tags: Industrial Revolution

William Henry Perkin invents mauveine, the first synthetic dye.

Tags: Chemistry, Textiles, Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing

Robert Forester Mushet develops a process for the decarbonisation, and re-carbonisation of iron, through the addition of a calculated quantity of spie...

Tags: Steel, Industrial Revolution, Metallurgy, Manufacturing, Economy

Rana dynasty of Nepal established by Jung Bahadur Rana.

Tags: Monarchy, Autocracy

Heinrich Geissler invents the Geissler tube.

Tags: Physics, Electricity, Experimentation

The phonautograph, the earliest known device for recording sound, is patented and invented by Frenchman Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville.

Tags: Sound Recording, Communication, Audio Technology

1857–1858: Indian Rebellion of 1857: The British Empire assumes control of India from the East India Company.

Tags: British Empire, Colonialism, Rebellion, East India Company, Governance, Imperialism, Political Transition

Rudolf Virchow: cells can only arise from pre-existing cells.

Tags: Cell Theory, Biology, Scientific Revolution, Microscopy, Medicine

Invention of the phonautograph, the first true device for recording sound.

Tags: Sound Recording, Communication, Audio

1858–1947: British Empire in India lasts for 90 years.

Tags: British Empire, Colonialism, Imperialism, Political History, Decolonization, East India Company

Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species.

Tags: Evolution, Biology, Charles Darwin, Scientific Revolution, Heredity, Ideas

Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace: Theory of evolution by natural selection.

Tags: Biology, Evolution, Charles Darwin, Scientific Revolution, Theory, Global Impact

1859–1869: Suez Canal is constructed.

Tags: Canals, Infrastructure, Transportation, Trade, Colonialism, Globalization, Ottoman Empire

Construction of Big Ben is completed.

Tags: Architecture, Clockmaking, Public Works, Infrastructure, Timekeeping

Gaston Planté invents the lead acid battery, the first rechargeable battery.

Tags: Battery, Electricity, Energy, Industrial Revolution

The Pony Express started.

Tags: Transportation, Communication, Westward Expansion, American West, Infrastructure

Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville creates the first audio recording of the human voice.

Tags: Sound, Communication

Joseph Swan produces carbon fibers.

Tags: Materials Science

James Clerk Maxwell publishes On Physical Lines of Force, formulating the four Maxwell's Equations.

Tags: Physics, Electromagnetism, Scientific Revolution, Theoretical Physics, James Clerk Maxwell, Global Impact

Louis Pasteur: Germ theory.

Tags: Biology, Medicine, Germ Theory, Louis Pasteur, Infectious Diseases, Scientific Revolution, Public Health, Microbiology

John Tyndall: Experiments in Radiant Energy that reinforced the Greenhouse effect.

Tags: Physics, Atmospheric Science, Global Warming

1861–1867: French intervention in Mexico and the creation of the Second Mexican Empire, ruled by Maximilian I of Mexico and his consort Carlota of Mex...

Tags: Imperialism, Colonialism, French Empire, Mexican History, Maximilian I, Intervention, Warfare

Victor Hugo publishes Les Misérables.

Tags: French Literature, Novel, Social Commentary, Romanticism, Class Struggle, Humanitarianism, Literary Influence

First section of the London Underground opens.

Tags: Transportation, Urbanization, Infrastructure, Industrial Revolution

November 30: Andres Bonifacio, founder of the Katipunan, was born.

Tags: Revolution, Nationalism, Independence Movement, Political Activism

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring slaves in Confederate territories free, a pivotal step to...

Tags: American Civil War, Slavery, Emancipation, Abolitionism, Abraham Lincoln, Civil Rights

France annexes Cambodia.

Tags: Colonialism, French Empire, Protectorate, Imperialism, Political Expansion

Bahá'u'lláh declares his station as "He whom God shall make manifest". This date is celebrated in the Baháʼí Faith as The Festival of Ridván.

Tags: Religion, Prophecy, Religious Movement, Ottoman Empire

Édouard Manet exhibits his painting The Luncheon on the Grass, sparking public outrage.

Tags: Modern Art, Painting, Realism, Art History

James Clerk Maxwell: Theory of electromagnetism.

Tags: Physics, Electromagnetism, Scientific Theory, Theoretical Physics, Global Impact

June: The first railway track in Indonesia was laid between Semarang and Tanggung, Central Java by the Dutch colonial government.

Tags: Railroad, Transportation, Colonialism, Dutch East Indies, Infrastructure, Economy

Louis Pasteur invents the pasteurization process.

Tags: Public Health, Louis Pasteur, Microbiology, Hygiene, Industrial Revolution, Medical Advancement

July 23: Apolinario Mabini, the Brains of the Revolution, was born.

Tags: Revolution, Nationalism, Political Thought, Colonialism, Independence

Gregor Mendel: Mendel's laws of inheritance, basis for genetics.

Tags: Genetics, Biology, Heredity, Scientific Revolution, Experimentation, Evolution, Austro-Hungarian Empire

Rudolf Clausius: Definition of entropy.

Tags: Thermodynamics, Physics, Energy, Scientific Revolution

Carl Wilhelm Siemens and Pierre-Émile Martin invented the Siemens-Martin process for making steel.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Steel, Manufacturing, Metallurgy

1865–1877: Reconstruction in the United States; Slavery is banned in the United States by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Tags: Reconstruction, Civil Rights, Slavery, Abolition, Civil War, Post-War, Legislation

April 14: United States President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor and Confederate sympathiser John Wilkes Booth, while attending a performanc...

Tags: Assassination, American Civil War, Reconstruction Era, Abraham Lincoln, Political Violence

Lewis Carroll publishes Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Tags: Literature, Children's Literature, Fantasy, Novel, Storytelling, Cultural Impact

Successful transatlantic telegraph cable follows an earlier attempt in 1858.

Tags: Communication, Telegraph, Globalization, Infrastructure

1866–1869: After the Meiji Restoration, Japan embarks on a program of rapid modernization.

Tags: Meiji Restoration, Modernization, Industrialization, Political Reform, Westernization, Imperialism

Austro-Prussian War results in the dissolution of the German Confederation and the creation of the North German Confederation and the Austrian-Hungari...

Tags: Warfare, Nationalism, Unification, German Confederation, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Realpolitik, Otto von Bismarck, European History

Alfred Nobel invents dynamite, the first safely manageable explosive stronger than black powder.

Tags: Explosives, Mining, Construction, Warfare, Alfred Nobel, Industrial Revolution, Safety

Lucien B. Smith invents barbed wire, which Joseph F. Glidden will modify in 1874, leading to the taming of the West and the end of the cowboys.

Tags: American West, Agriculture, Industrial Revolution, Frontier

The United States purchases Alaska from Russia.

Tags: Expansionism, Territorial Acquisition, Diplomacy, United States History, Russian Empire, Manifest Destiny, Geopolitics, Alaska

Canadian Confederation formed.

Tags: Confederation, British Empire, Political Development, Self-Government, Canadian History, Federalism

The Principality of Serbia passes a Constitution which defines its independence from the Ottoman Empire. International recognition followed in 1878.

Tags: Nationalism, Independence, Ottoman Empire, Constitution, Diplomacy, Self-determination

The Luxembourg Crisis: diplomatic confrontation between France and Prussia on the status of Luxembourg and the towns fortifications are torn down.

Tags: Diplomacy, Nationalism, Geopolitics, Fortifications, Otto von Bismarck

Cro-Magnon man first identified.

Tags: Paleontology, Anthropology, Human Evolution, Archaeology, Fossil Discovery

Safety bicycle invented.

Tags: Transportation, Industrial Revolution, Cycling, Social Change

Robert Forester Mushet discovers that alloying steel with tungsten produces a harder, more durable alloy.

Tags: Steel, Metallurgy, Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing, Materials Science

The Expatriation Act of 1868 is approved by the U.S. Congress, one of the early blows which would eventually lead to the death of the common law doctr...

Tags: Citizenship, Law, Legal History, American History, Nationalism, Civil Rights, Immigration

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is approved.

Tags: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Reconstruction Era, Equality, Citizenship, American Politics, Legal History

Dmitri Mendeleev created the Periodic table.

Tags: Chemistry, Scientific Revolution, Elements, Periodic Table, Classification, Global Impact

First transcontinental railroad completed in United States on 10 May. – United States

Tags: Railroad, Transportation, Infrastructure, Westward Expansion, American Civil War, Economic Development, Manifest Destiny

Leo Tolstoy publishes War and Peace.

Tags: Literature, Russian Literature, Novel, Realism, Warfare, Peace, Russian Empire, Social Commentary

Rasmus Malling-Hansen's invention, the Hansen Writing Ball, becomes the first commercially sold typewriter.

Tags: Communication, Industrial Revolution, Denmark

Lord Rayleigh: Diffuse sky radiation (Rayleigh scattering) explains why sky appears blue.

Tags: Physics, Optics, Atmospheric Science, Light, 19th Century Science, Scientific Theory

1914: Second Industrial Revolution.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Mass Production, Globalization, Electricity, Steel Production, Transportation, Urbanization, Capitalism

The Paris Commune briefly rules the French capital.

Tags: Revolution, Socialism, Communism, Political Ideology, Workers' Rights, Civil War

The feudal system is dismantled in Japan.

Tags: Meiji Restoration, Feudalism, Abolition, Political Reform, Samurai, Daimyo, Centralization, Modernization, Imperialism

1871–1878: In Germany, Otto von Bismarck attacks the privileges of the Catholic Church in the Kulturkampf ("Culture War").

Tags: Religion, Catholicism, Otto von Bismarck, Religious Conflict, Secularism

Royal Albert Hall opens in London.

Tags: Architecture, Performing Arts, Music, Queen Victoria

Polyvinyl chloride, more commonly known as vinyl, is synthesized by German chemist Eugen Baumann

Tags: Chemistry, Material Science, Industrial Revolution

J.E.T. Woods and J. Clark invented stainless steel. Harry Brearley was the first to commercialize it.

Tags: Metallurgy, Material Science, Industrial Revolution, Steel, Manufacturing

February 17: Filipino priests José Burgos, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora, collectively known as Gomburza, are executed in Bagumbayan Fields, Manila...

Tags: Colonialism, Spanish Empire, Execution, Political Repression, Nationalism, Religious Figures

Maxwell's A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism published.

Tags: Physics, Electromagnetism, Scientific Revolution, James Clerk Maxwell, Theory, Mathematics, Global Impact

William Crookes, a chemist, invents the Crookes radiometer as the by-product of some chemical research.

Tags: Physics, Chemistry, Scientific Instruments, Experimentation

Johannes Diderik van der Waals: was one of the first to postulate an intermolecular force: the van der Waals force.

Tags: Physics, Chemistry, Physical Chemistry

Frederick Guthrie discovers thermionic emission.

Tags: Physics, Electricity, Experimentation

Willoughby Smith discovers photoconductivity.

Tags: Physics, Electricity, Semiconductors, Materials Science, Telecommunications

Blue jeans and barbed wire are invented.

Tags: Inventions, Industrial Revolution, Westward Expansion, Agriculture, Material Culture

Frederick Ransome invents the rotary kiln.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing, Construction, Materials Science

Zénobe Gramme invents the first commercial electrical generator, the Gramme machine.

Tags: Electricity, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Revolution, Power Generation

The samurai class is abolished in Japan.

Tags: Meiji Restoration, Samurai, Feudalism, Social Reform, Modernization, Military Reform, Political Transformation, Imperial Japan

Gustave Trouvé invents the first metal detector.

Tags: Electronics, Metalworking

1874–1875: First Republic in Spain.

Tags: Republic, Political Instability, Monarchy, Civil War, European History, Government, Failed State

The Home Rule Movement is established in Ireland.

Tags: Self-Government

The Société Anonyme Coopérative des Artistes Peintres, Sculpteurs, and Graveurs, better known as the Impressionists, organize and present their first ...

Tags: French Art, Modern Art, Painting, Exhibition, Realism

HMS Challenger surveys the deepest point in the Earth's oceans, the Challenger Deep.

Tags: Oceanography, Exploration, Scientific Expedition, Mapping, Geography, British Empire

William Crookes invented the Crookes tube and studied cathode rays.

Tags: Physics, Experimentation

Fyodor Pirotsky invents the first electric tram near Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Tags: Transportation, Urban Development, Industrial Revolution, Public Transit

Georges Bizet's opera Carmen premiers in Paris.

Tags: Opera, Music, Romanticism, Performance Arts, Cultural Impact

Josiah Willard Gibbs founded chemical thermodynamics, the phase rule.

Tags: Thermodynamics, Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Scientific Revolution, Global Impact, Physics

Nicolaus August Otto invents the four-stroke cycle.

Tags: Internal Combustion Engine, Industrial Revolution, Transportation, Manufacturing

Alexander Graham Bell has a patent granted for the telephone. However, other inventors before Bell had worked on the development of the telephone and ...

Tags: Communication, Patent, Telecommunications, Industrial Revolution, Global Impact

Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India.

Tags: British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Queen Victoria, Governance, Political Power, Monarchy

Karl g. maeser is born

Tags: Religious Figures, Education, Mormonism, United States History

Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle is first performed in its entirety.

Tags: Opera, Music, Romanticism, German Culture, Drama, Mythology

Asaph Hall discovers the moons of Mars.

Tags: Astronomy, Space Exploration, Planetary Science, Mars

Ludwig Boltzmann: Statistical definition of entropy.

Tags: Physics, Thermodynamics, Scientific Revolution, Energy, Theoretical Physics

Thomas Edison invents the phonograph.

Tags: Sound Recording, Communication, Entertainment, Industrial Revolution, Global Impact

1877–1878: Following the Russo-Turkish War, the Treaty of Berlin recognizes formal independence of the Principality of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania....

Tags: Treaty, Independence, Autonomy, Nationalism, Russo-Turkish War, Geopolitics, Diplomacy, Eastern Question

First commercial telephone exchange in New Haven, Connecticut.A barricade in the Paris Commune, 18 March 1871. Around 30,000 Parisians were killed, an...

Tags: Communication, Infrastructure

Henry Fleuss is granted a patent for the first practical rebreather.

Lester Allan Pelton invents the Pelton wheel.

Tags: Inventions, Hydropower, Industrial Revolution, Energy, Mechanics

Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison independently patented functional incandescent light bulbs, ending decades of unsuccessful experimentation. Edison's hig...

Tags: Electricity, Lighting, Industrial Revolution, Thomas Edison, Global Impact

1879–1884: Belgium is engulfed in a political crisis, dubbed the First School War, over the role of religion in state education.

Tags: Political Crisis, Education, Religion, Catholicism, Secularism, Church and State, Liberalism, Conflict

Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie: Piezoelectricity.

Tags: Physics, Electricity, Materials Science

First electrical power plant and grid in Godalming, Britain.

Tags: Electricity, Power Generation, Industrial Revolution

Nikolay Benardos presents carbon arc welding, the first practical arc welding method.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Metalworking, Manufacturing

Tsar Alexander II is assassinated.

Tags: Assassination, Tsar, Political Violence, Autocracy, Populism, Imperialism

President James A. Garfield is assassinated.

Tags: Assassination, Gilded Age, American History

The quagga is rendered extinct.

Tags: Extinction, Zoology, Conservation, Wildlife, Natural History, Environmental Impact

Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island is published.

Tags: Novel, Children's Literature, Adventure, Piracy, Fiction

Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff: discovered the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions (in his work "Études de dynamique chimique").

Tags: Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Thermodynamics, Scientific Publication

First electric car produced by Thomas Parker in Wolverhampton.

Tags: Automobile, Transportation, Industrial Revolution

Paul Vieille invents Poudre B, the first smokeless powder for firearms.

Tags: Military Technology, Firearms, Weapons, Industrial Revolution, Defense, Warfare

Sir Charles Parsons invents the modern steam turbine.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Steam Power, Energy, Manufacturing, Transportation

Hungarian engineers Károly Zipernowsky, Ottó Bláthy and Miksa Déri invent the closed core high efficiency transformer and the AC parallel power distri...

Tags: Electrical Engineering, Industrial Revolution, Scientific Innovation

1884–1885: The Berlin Conference signals the start of the European "scramble for Africa".

Tags: Imperialism, Colonialism, Scramble for Africa, European Expansion, Diplomacy, International Relations, Otto von Bismarck

Germany gains control of Cameroon.

Tags: Colonialism, Imperialism, Scramble for Africa, German Empire, Protectorate, Expansionism, European Powers

Mark Twain publishes Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Tags: Literature, American Literature, Novel, Satire, Slavery, Social Commentary

Louis Pasteur creates the first successful vaccine against rabies for a young boy who had been bitten 14 times by a rabid dog.

Tags: Medicine, Vaccination, Infectious Diseases, Public Health, Louis Pasteur, Biology, Scientific Breakthrough

Karl Benz produced first car with internal combustion engine.

Tags: Automobile, Transportation, Internal Combustion Engine, Industrial Revolution

Singer begins production of the 'Vibrating Shuttle'. which would become the most popular model of sewing machine.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Textiles, Mass Production

John Kemp Starley invents the modern safety bicycle.

Tags: Transportation, Industrial Revolution, Urbanization

King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State as a personal fiefdom.

Tags: Colonialism, Imperialism, Scramble for Africa, Exploitation, Human Rights

Britain establishes a protectorate over Bechuanaland (modern Botswana).

Tags: Colonialism, British Empire, Protectorate, Imperialism, Diplomacy, Territorial Expansion

Karl Benz sells the first commercial automobile.

Tags: Automobile, Transportation, Industrial Revolution

Carl Gassner invents the zinc–carbon battery, the first dry cell battery, making portable electronics practical.

Tags: Battery, Electricity, Industrial Revolution

Charles Martin Hall and independently Paul Héroult invent the Hall–Héroult process for economically producing aluminum in 1886.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Metallurgy, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Global Trade

Burma is presented to Queen Victoria as a birthday gift.

Tags: British Empire, Colonialism, Imperialism, Queen Victoria, Annexation, Expansionism, Political History

Construction of the Statue of Liberty (formally Liberty Englightening the World)

Tags: Sculpture, Monument, Symbolism, Immigration, French Third Republic, Gilded Age, Liberty

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is published.

Tags: Novel, British Literature, Human Nature, Popular Culture, Literary Influence

Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley: Michelson–Morley experiment which showed a lack of evidence for the aether.

Tags: Physics, Relativity, Global Impact, Scientific Revolution

Carl Josef Bayer invents the Bayer process for the production of alumina.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Chemistry, Metallurgy, Mining, Materials Science

James Blyth invents the first wind turbine used for generating electricity.

Tags: Renewable Energy, Wind Power, Industrial Revolution, Energy

John Stewart MacArthur, working in collaboration with brothers Dr. Robert and Dr. William Forrest, develops the process of gold cyanidation.

Tags: Mining, Gold Rush, Metallurgy, Industrial Revolution, Extraction

The British Empire takes over Balochistan.

Tags: British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Geopolitics, Annexation, Great Game

Arthur Conan Doyle publishes his first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet.

Tags: Literature, British Literature, Novel

Heinrich Hertz publishes a conclusive proof of James Clerk Maxwell's electromagnetic theory in experiments that also demonstrate the existence of radi...

Tags: Physics, Electromagnetism, Scientific Revolution, Communication, Global Impact

Friedrich Reinitzer discovers liquid crystals.

Tags: Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science

Louis Le Prince records the Roundhay Garden Scene, the earliest surviving film.

Tags: Film, Cinema, Motion Pictures, Entertainment

John J. Loud invents the ballpoint pen.

Tags: Inventions, Writing, Patents, Industrial Revolution

Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Dickson invent the Kinetoscope.

Tags: Film, Motion Pictures, Cinema, Thomas Edison, Entertainment, Mass Media

The first practical pneumatic tire was made by Scotsman John Boyd Dunlop, the patent was from 1847 by Robert William Thomson

Tags: Transportation, Automobile, Rubber, Industrial Revolution, Patent

Year of the Three Emperors in Germany marks the beginning of Kaiser Wilhelm II's 30-year reign.

Tags: German Empire, Monarchy, Succession, Imperialism, Weltpolitik, European History, World War I

End of the Brazilian Empire and the beginning of the Brazilian Republic.

Tags: Republic, Monarchy, Political Transition, Coup d'état, Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian History, Military, Independence

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad establishes the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a reform sect of Islam.

Tags: Islam, Religious Reform, Religious Movement, Missionary Work

Vincent van Gogh paints The Starry Night.

Tags: Art, Painting, Modern Art, French Art, Visual Arts

Gottlieb Daimler founds his manufacturing company in Germany, ancestor of Mercedes-Benz.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Automobile Industry, Transportation, German Empire, Manufacturing

Robert Gair would invent the pre-cut cardboard box.

Tags: Packaging, Manufacturing, Industrial Revolution, Commerce, Business

Italy annexes Eritrea.

Tags: Colonialism, Imperialism, Scramble for Africa, Italian Empire, Annexation, European Powers

Kaiser Wilhelm II dismisses Germany's longtime chancellor Otto von Bismarck, thereafter embarking on the foreign policy of Weltpolitik, as opposed to ...

Tags: Imperialism, German Empire, Weltpolitik, Realpolitik, Otto von Bismarck, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, European History

Death of Vincent van Gogh.

Tags: Painting, Art History, Modern Art, Mental Health

Whitcomb Judson invents the zipper.

Tags: Manufacturing, Textiles, Fashion, Industrial Revolution, Patent

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya movement, claims to be Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi.

Tags: Islam, Religious Movements, Religious Reform, Apocalypticism

Pope Leo XIII issues the encyclical Rerum Novarum, the first major Catholic document on social justice.

Tags: Catholicism, Social Justice, Labor Rights, Industrial Revolution, Christianity

Fingerprinting is officially adopted for the first time.

Tags: Forensics, Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement

Dmitri Ivanovsky discovers viruses.

Tags: Biology, Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, Medicine, Research

John Froelich develops and constructs the first gasoline/petrol-powered tractor.

Tags: Agriculture, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Revolution

Léon Bouly invents the cinematograph.

Tags: Early Cinema, Photography, Motion Pictures, Technology History

Thomas Ahearn invents the electric oven.

Tags: Domestic Life, Electricity

Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite premières in St Petersburg.

Tags: Classical Music, Performing Arts, Romanticism

Rudolf Diesel invents the diesel engine (although Herbert Akroyd Stuart had experimented with compression ignition before Diesel).

Tags: Internal Combustion Engine, Transportation, Industrial Revolution, Energy

William Stewart Halsted, invents the rubber glove for his wife Caroline Hampton as he noticed her hands were affected by the daily surgeries she had p...

Tags: Medicine, Surgery, Medical Technology, Hygiene, Health

Business coalition overthrows the royal government of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Tags: Imperialism, Colonialism, Annexation, Monarchy, Republic, Political Transition

The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation is formed.

Tags: Nationalism, Revolution, Ottoman Empire, Insurgency, Political Organization

New Zealand becomes the first country to enact women's suffrage.

Tags: Suffrage, Women's Rights, Democracy, Political Reform, Social Change, Voting Rights, New Zealand, Gender Equality, Progressive Era

The Coremans-de Vriendt law is passed in Belgium, creating legal equality for French and Dutch languages.

Tags: Equality, Social Reform, Constitutional Law

First gramophone record.

Tags: Sound Recording, Communication, Music, Entertainment, Industrial Revolution, Mass Media

Karl Elsener invents the Swiss Army knife.

Tags: Manufacturing

First commercial film release by Jean Aimé Le Roy.

Tags: Cinema, Film, Motion Pictures, Early Cinema, Entertainment

Wilhelm Röntgen identifies x-rays.

Tags: Physics, Medical Imaging, Experimentation, Electromagnetism

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen invented the first radiograph (X-ray).

Tags: Medical Imaging, Physics, Discovery

Guglielmo Marconi invents a system of wireless communication using radio waves.

Tags: Radio, Wireless Communication, Guglielmo Marconi, Communication, Electrical Engineering, Global Impact

Taiwan is ceded to the Empire of Japan as a result of the First Sino-Japanese war.

Tags: Imperialism, Colonialism, Sino-Japanese War, Meiji Restoration, Territorial Expansion, Treaty of Shimonoseki, Japanese Empire, Qing Dynasty

Trial of Oscar Wilde and premiere of his play The Importance of Being Earnest.

Tags: Literature, Playwright, Trial, Comedy, Social Commentary

Henri Becquerel and Marie Curie discover radioactivity; J. J. Thomson identifies the electron, though not by name.

Tags: Physics, Radioactivity, Atomic Theory, Marie Curie, J.J. Thomson, Modern Science

Svante Arrhenius derives the basic principles of the greenhouse effect

Tags: Climate Change, Atmospheric Science, Physics, Environmental Science, Global Warming

Surgical masks made of cloth were developed in Europe by physicians Jan Mikulicz-Radecki at the University of Breslau and Paul Berger in Paris, as a r...

Tags: Medicine, Hygiene, Germ Theory, Surgery, Medical Technology

J.J. Thomson discovers the electron in cathode rays

Tags: Physics, Particle Physics, Atomic Theory, J.J. Thomson, Scientific Revolution, Modern Science, Discovery

First electric bicycle produced by Hosea Libbey.

Tags: Transportation, Electric Vehicles, Technology History

Gojong, or Emperor Gwangmu, proclaims the short-lived Korean Empire: lasts until 1910.

Tags: Imperialism, Monarchy, Joseon Dynasty, Political Transition, Sovereignty, Modernization, Korean History

Bram Stoker writes Dracula.

Tags: Literature, Novel, Cultural Impact, Popular Culture

Martinus Beijerinck: concluded that a virus is infectious—replicating in the host—and thus not a mere toxin, and gave it the name "virus"

Tags: Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Germ Theory, Medical History, 19th Century Science

J.J. Thomson proposed the plum pudding model of an atom

Tags: Atomic Theory, Physics, Scientific Revolution, J.J. Thomson

Marie Curie discovered radium and polonium

Tags: Physics, Chemistry, Radioactivity, Marie Curie, Nobel Prize, Elements

J. J. O'Donnell discovers and documents the order-of-sequence for the sound of an approaching tornado

Tags: Meteorology, Natural Disaster, Weather, Observation, United States History

1900: Zeppelin LZ 1 airship first produced.

Tags: Aviation, Industrial Revolution

Hans von Pechmann synthesizes polyethylene, now the most common plastic in the world.

Tags: Chemistry, Materials Science, Industrial Revolution

United States annexes the Republic of Hawaii

Tags: Imperialism, Expansionism, Hawaii, Political History, Territorial Acquisition, Foreign Policy, Manifest Destiny

June 12: Philippine Independence from Spain is declared by Filipino revolutionaries, led by Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo, in Kawit, Cavite.

Tags: Nationalism, Independence Movements, Colonialism, Revolution, Political Change

Empress Dowager Cixi of China engineers a coup d'état, marking the end of the Hundred Days' Reform; the Guangxu Emperor is arrested.

Tags: Qing Dynasty, Coup d'état, Political Reform, Imperialism, Monarchy

Empress Elisabeth of Austria is assassinated by anarchist Luigi Lucheni.

Tags: Assassination, Austria-Hungary, Anarchism, Political Violence, Monarchy

H. G. Wells publishes The War of the Worlds.

Tags: Science Fiction, Literature, Novel

Waldemar Jungner invents the rechargeable nickel-cadmium battery (NiCd) as well as the nickel-iron electric storage battery (NiFe) and the rechargeabl...

Tags: Battery, Electricity, Energy, Industrial Revolution

1899–1900: Open Door Policy proclaimed to protect China.

Tags: Imperialism, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Trade, International Relations