1838

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( 1830s: )     1838
A British-Indian force attacks Ghazni fort during the First Afghan War, (c.1839.)
year 1838

Events

January–March

• January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London.
• January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration of Morse's new invention, the telegraph.
• January 21 – The first known report about the lowest temperature on Earth is made, indicating −60 °C (−76 °F) in Yakutsk.
• February 6 – Boer explorer Piet Retief and 60 of his men are massacred by King Dingane kaSenzangakhona of the Zulu people, after Retief accepts an invitation to celebrate the signing of a treaty, and his men willingly disarm as a show of good faith.
• February 17 – Weenen massacre: Zulu impis massacre about 532 Voortrekkers, Khoikhoi and Basuto around the site of Weenen in South Africa.
• February 24 – U.S. Representatives William J. Graves of Kentucky and Jonathan Cilley of Maine face each other in a duel with rifles at 80 yards near Bladensburg, Maryland. On the third attempt, Congressman Cilley is fatally wounded and bleeds to death.
• March 13 – A combination of rain and melting snow cause the Danube River to overflow its banks, washing away villages in western Hungary and inundating the twin cities that become Budapest. More than 150 people are drowned and Europe's nations come to Hungary's aid to prevent the spread of famine and disease.
• March 31 – The first installment of Nicholas Nickleby, the new novel by Charles Dickens, is released as the opener of a 20-part serialization in London.

April–June

• April 4 – 22 – The paddle steamer SS Sirius makes the transatlantic crossing to New York from Cork, Ireland in 18 days, though not using steam continuously.
• April 8 – 23 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel's paddle steamer SS Great Western (1838) makes the transatlantic crossing to New York from Avonmouth, England, in 15 days, inaugurating a regular steamship service.
• April 30 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Federal Republic of Central America.
• May
  • The People's Charter is drawn up in the United Kingdom, demanding universal suffrage.
  • Lord Durham and his entourage arrive in Upper Canada, to investigate the cause of the 1837 rebellion in that province. This leads to Durham submitting the Durham Report to Britain.
  • An insurrection breaks out in Tizimín, beginning the campaign for the independence of Yucatán from Mexico.
• May 26 – Trail of Tears: The Cherokee Nation is forcibly relocated in the United States.
• May 28 – Braulio Carrillo is sworn in as Head of State of Costa Rica, thus beginning his second term in office.
• June 10 – Myall Creek massacre: 28 Indigenous Australians are killed.
• June 28 – The coronation of Queen Victoria takes place at Westminster Abbey in London.

July–September

• July 4 – In the United States, the Iowa Territory is formally established, following the signing of a bill by President Martin Van Buren on June 12. In addition to Iowa, which will become a state on December 28, 1846, the Territory also includes most of what will become the states of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Robert Lucas, former Governor of Ohio, takes office as the first Territorial Governor.
• August 1 – Former slaves in Jamaica are freed of their indentures.
• August 6 – The Polytechnic Institution, predecessor of the University of Westminster and Britain's first polytechnic, opens in Regent Street, London.
• September 7 – Grace Darling and her father rescue 13 survivors from the Forfarshire, off the Farne Islands.
• September 18 – The Anti-Corn Law League is established by Richard Cobden.

October–December

• October 1 – First Carlist War – Battle of Maella: Supporters of Infante Carlos, Count of Molina, are victorious.
• October 5 – Killough massacre, believed to be both the largest and last Native American attack on white settlers in East Texas. 18 casualties are either killed or carried away.
• October 27 – Lilburn Boggs, Governor of Missouri, by Missouri Executive Order 44, declares Mormons to be enemies of the state, and encourages the extermination or exile of the religious minority, forcing nearly 10,000 Mormons out of the state.
• November 3 – The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce is founded (renamed The Times of India in 1861).
• November 5 – Dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America: Honduras and Costa Rica follow the example of Nicaragua and secede from the federation.
• November 16 – Austria: Moravia opens the final section of Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (Rajhrad–Brno) for exhibition (preliminary) use.
• November 27 – Pastry War: Mexico is invaded by French forces.
• December 16 – Battle of Blood River: The Boers win a decisive victory over the Zulus.
• December – First Anglo-Afghan War: British and Presidency armies set out from Punjab in support of Shah Shujah Durrani's claim to the throne of Afghanistan.

Date unknown

• Proteins are discovered by Gerardus Johannes Mulder.
• Friedrich Bessel makes the first accurate measurement of distance to a star.
• Biblical criticism: Christian Hermann Weisse proposes the two-source hypothesis.

 

Event

Event	Start	End
Pax Brittanica	1815	1915

 

New Groups

Group	Image	Type	Description
Duke University		Military ranks
Melbourne Club			Australian deep state milieu
Australian Club (Sydney)			The oldest establishment club in Australia
University of Neuchâtel		Public	French-speaking university based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland
University of Westminster			Public university based in London, United Kingdom

 

A Birth

Title	Born	Place of birth	Died	Summary	Description
James Bryce	10 May 1838	Belfast Eire	22 January 1922	Politician Academic Historian Deep state actor	President of the Pilgrims Society 1915 - 1917

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