1840

Events in 1840 31

• 1752 – 1840 Frances Burney (1752-1840) Died 6 January 1840, aged 87 Frances Burney, also known as Madame d'Arblay, was an English novelist and diarist best known for her novel Evelina. Her detailed journals offer a vivid record of 18th-century British society. She died on 6 January 1840 in London.
• 1770 – 1840 Frederick William III of Prussia (1770-1840) Died 7 June 1840, aged 69 Frederick William III was King of Prussia from 1797, leading his kingdom through the Napoleonic Wars and subsequent reforms. He joined the alliance that defeated Napoleon and later helped shape the German Confederation. He died on 7 June 1840 and was succeeded by his son, Frederick William IV.
• 1774 – 1840 Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) Died 7 May 1840, aged 65 Caspar David Friedrich was a German Romantic painter celebrated for his allegorical landscapes featuring solitary figures confronting vast natural scenes. His work, including Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, became a defining image of Romanticism. He died in relative obscurity in Dresden on 7 May 1840.
• 1775 – 1840 Lucien Bonaparte (1775-1840) Died 29 June 1840, aged 65 Lucien Bonaparte was a French statesman and the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose support as President of the Council of Five Hundred helped enable the 1799 coup that brought Napoleon to power. He later broke with his brother and lived largely in Italy, where he was made Prince of Canino. He died on 29 June 1840.
• 1781 – 1840 Simeon Denis Poisson (1781-1840) Died 25 April 1840, aged 58 Simeon Denis Poisson was a French mathematician and physicist known for his work on probability theory, statistics, and mechanics, including the Poisson distribution that bears his name. He contributed significantly to electricity, magnetism, and celestial mechanics. He died on 25 April 1840 in Paris.
• 1782 – 1840 Niccolò Paganini Violin virtuoso & composer Italian violinist and composer whose dazzling technique revolutionised violin playing. His 24 Caprices remain among the most challenging violin works ever written.
• 1792 – 1840 John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham (1792-1840) Died 28 July 1840, aged 48 John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, was a British statesman who served as Governor General of British North America and authored the influential 1839 Durham Report. His recommendations, including responsible government and the union of the Canadas, shaped the Act of Union 1840. He died on 28 July 1840, shortly after the act received royal assent.
• 1820 – 1840 Antarctica confirmed as a continent The seventh continent discovered by three expeditions Between 1820 and 1840, Russian, British, and American expeditions independently confirmed the existence of a massive continental landmass at the South Pole. Fabian von Bellingshausen, Edward Bransfield, and Nathaniel Palmer all sighted the Antarctic coast in 1820. The continent was confirmed by the Wilkes Expedition in 1840, completing the map of the Earth's major landmasses.
• 1840 – 1897 Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897) Died 16 December 1897, aged 57 Alphonse Daudet was a French novelist best known for Letters from My Windmill and the comic character Tartarin of Tarascon. He wrote extensively about Provencal life and later works reflecting his long struggle with illness. He died in Paris on 16 December 1897.
• 1840 – 1913 August Bebel (1840-1913) Died 13 August 1913, aged 73 Bebel co-founded the Social Democratic Party of Germany and led it for decades, building it into the largest socialist party in Europe. He was a longtime member of the Reichstag and a leading theorist of the Second International. His death removed the most prominent figure of German social democracy before the First World War.
• 1840 – 1917 Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) Died 17 November 1917, aged 77 Auguste Rodin was a French sculptor widely regarded as the progenitor of modern sculpture, celebrated for works including "The Thinker" and "The Kiss". His death came shortly after the opening of a museum dedicated to his work in Paris.
• 1840 – 1927 Charlotte of Belgium (1840-1927) Died 19 January 1927, aged 86 Charlotte of Belgium was Empress of Mexico as the wife of Maximilian I. She suffered a mental breakdown in 1866 and lived in seclusion in Belgium for six decades after his execution.
• 1840 – 1901 Empress Frederick (1840-1901) Died 5 August 1901, aged 60 Victoria, Princess Royal of Britain, was Empress consort of Germany and Queen consort of Prussia during her husband Frederick III's brief reign in 1888. Widowed after 99 days, she spent her later years at Friedrichshof and died of cancer on 5 August 1901. She was the eldest child of Queen Victoria and mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
• 1840 – 1905 Ernst Abbe (1840-1905) Died 14 January 1905, aged 64 German physicist Ernst Abbe developed the theory of optical resolution that transformed microscope design and co-founded the Carl Zeiss optical company. His formula for the diffraction limit of microscopes remains fundamental to optics. He also pioneered progressive labor policies at Zeiss, including profit-sharing and the eight-hour workday.
• 1840 – 1921 John Boyd Dunlop (1840-1921) Died 23 October 1921, aged 81 John Boyd Dunlop, the Scottish inventor who developed and patented the practical pneumatic tyre, died in Dublin. His invention transformed cycling and later the automobile industry, and the company that bore his name grew into a major global tyre manufacturer. He had largely stepped back from the business decades before his death.
• 1840 – 1928 Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) Died 11 January 1928, aged 87 English novelist and poet, author of Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd and Jude the Obscure. After the hostile reception of Jude he gave up fiction for poetry. His ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner.
• 1840 Treaty of Waitangi signed Founding agreement between the British Crown and Maori chiefs On 6 February 1840 at Waitangi, British representative William Hobson and a group of Maori rangatira signed a treaty establishing British sovereignty over New Zealand in exchange for guarantees over Maori land and rights. Differences between the English and Maori texts later caused lasting disputes. The treaty is regarded as New Zealand's founding document.
• 1840 Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert Royal wedding at St James's Palace On 10 February 1840, Queen Victoria married her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace in London. The marriage produced nine children and shaped the British monarchy for decades. Albert later became a major influence on British cultural and scientific life.
• 1840 – 1902 Emile Zola French novelist Zola led the Naturalist movement, depicting social conditions with scientific realism and political critique.
• 1840 Transportation of convicts to New South Wales ends British penal transportation policy shifts In 1840, the British government ended the transportation of convicts to New South Wales following decades of settler opposition to the practice. Transportation continued to other Australian colonies, including Van Diemen's Land and later Western Australia. The change marked a turning point in the colony's shift away from a penal economy.
• 1840 Penny Black postage stamp enters use First adhesive postage stamp in the world The Penny Black, the world's first adhesive postage stamp, went on sale on 1 May 1840 and became valid for use on 6 May 1840 across the United Kingdom. It featured a profile of Queen Victoria and was part of postal reforms led by Rowland Hill. The stamp established the prepaid postage model still used worldwide.
• 1840 – 1893 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Russian Romantic composer Russian composer whose Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty ballets and 1812 Overture are among the most beloved works in classical music.
• 1840 Frederick William IV becomes King of Prussia Accession following his father's death Frederick William IV ascended to the Prussian throne on 7 June 1840 upon the death of his father, Frederick William III. His reign was marked by growing tensions over constitutional reform that would erupt in the 1848 revolutions. He ruled Prussia until 1861.
• 1840 Samuel Morse patents the telegraph US patent granted for electric telegraph system On 20 June 1840, Samuel Morse received a United States patent for his electric telegraph and the dot-dash code system that bore his name. The invention enabled rapid long-distance communication and was commercially deployed across the United States within a few years. It became the foundation of the 19th-century telegraph network.
• 1840 Cunard Line launches first transatlantic steamship service Britannia departs Liverpool for North America On 4 July 1840, the paddle steamer Britannia departed Liverpool on the maiden voyage of Samuel Cunard's British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. The crossing to Halifax and Boston established the first regular transatlantic steamship mail service. The company later became known simply as the Cunard Line.
• 1840 British forces capture Chusan Early action of the First Opium War On 5 July 1840, a British fleet bombarded and captured the island of Chusan (Zhoushan) off the Chinese coast, one of the first major engagements of the First Opium War. The seizure gave Britain a strategic base for pressuring Qing China. The war continued until 1842 and ended with the Treaty of Nanking.
• 1840 Convention of London signed over Egyptian-Ottoman crisis Great powers intervene to contain Muhammad Ali of Egypt On 15 July 1840, Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia signed the Convention of London to resolve the Oriental Crisis by compelling Muhammad Ali of Egypt to withdraw from Syria and accept Ottoman overlordship. France was excluded, straining relations with its allies. The agreement led to a brief Anglo-Ottoman military campaign against Egyptian forces later that year.
• 1840 Act of Union unites Upper and Lower Canada British Parliament creates the Province of Canada The Act of Union received royal assent on 23 July 1840, merging the colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada into a single Province of Canada. The measure followed Lord Durham's report on the 1837 rebellions and aimed to assimilate French Canadians into an English-speaking majority. It took effect in February 1841.
• 1840 – 1849 William II King during constitutional reform William II accepted major constitutional reforms that transformed the Netherlands into a parliamentary democracy.
• 1840 – 1926 Claude Monet Impressionism · France Claude Monet (November 14, 1840 – December 5, 1926) was the founder of French Impressionism, whose series paintings of haystacks, Rouen Cathedral and water lilies are among the most beloved works in art history.
• 1840 Napoleon's remains returned to Paris The Retour des Cendres ceremony Napoleon Bonaparte's remains, exhumed from Saint Helena in October 1840, arrived in Paris on 15 December 1840 and were interred at the Hotel des Invalides. The ceremony, ordered by King Louis-Philippe, drew huge crowds and marked a revival of Napoleonic memory in France. It became known as the Retour des Cendres.