1844

Events in 1844 61

• 1760 – 1844 William Beckford (1760-1844) Died 2 May 1844, aged 83 English novelist, art collector and very wealthy man. He wrote the Gothic novel Vathek and built the extravagant Fonthill Abbey.
• 1763 – 1844 Charles XIV John Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte A French Marshal under Napoleon elected to the Swedish throne. He founded the current dynasty.
• 1766 – 1844 John Dalton (1766-1844) Died 27 July 1844, aged 77 English chemist and physicist who developed modern atomic theory and proposed that each element is made of atoms of a distinct weight. He also gave the first scientific description of colour blindness, which is sometimes called Daltonism.
• 1767 – 1844 Jacques Laffitte (1767-1844) Died 26 May 1844, aged 76 French banker and liberal politician who helped bring Louis-Philippe to the throne in 1830. He then served as his prime minister.
• 1768 – 1844 Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844) Died 28 July 1844, aged 76 Elder brother of Napoleon, who made him King of Naples and then King of Spain. After Napoleon's fall he lived for many years in exile in the United States. He died in Florence.
• 1769 – 1844 Ivan Krylov (1769-1844) Died 21 November 1844, aged 75 Russia's best-known fabulist. Many lines from his fables, which satirised human vice and Russian society, became Russian proverbs.
• 1770 – 1844 Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) Died 24 March 1844, aged 73 Danish neoclassical sculptor who worked in Rome for four decades. His works include the Lion of Lucerne and the Christ statue in Copenhagen Cathedral.
• 1770 – 1844 Sir Francis Burdett (1770-1844) Died 23 January 1844, aged 73 British politician and long-serving radical campaigner for parliamentary reform. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1810 after a breach of parliamentary privilege.
• 1772 – 1844 Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772-1844) Died 19 June 1844, aged 72 French naturalist who argued for a single underlying plan in animal anatomy. In 1830 he publicly debated this question with Georges Cuvier. His ideas contributed to early theories of evolution.
• 1774 – 1844 Francis Baily (1774-1844) Died 30 August 1844, aged 70 English astronomer and a founder of the Royal Astronomical Society. He described "Baily's beads", the points of sunlight seen at the edge of the Moon during a solar eclipse.
• 1775 – 1844 Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (1775-1844) Died 3 June 1844, aged 68 Eldest son of Charles X of France and the last Dauphin. He led the French invasion of Spain in 1823. He nominally held the French throne for about twenty minutes in 1830 before renouncing it, and died in exile in Gorizia.
• 1777 – 1844 Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) Died 15 June 1844, aged 66 Scottish poet best known for The Pleasures of Hope and patriotic war lyrics such as "Ye Mariners of England". He also helped found University College London.
• 1780 – 1844 Charles Nodier (1780-1844) Died 27 January 1844, aged 63 French writer and librarian at the Arsenal library, where he held a salon for young writers. He was an important early figure of French Romanticism and wrote fantastic tales.
• 1784 – 1844 Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1784-1844) Died 29 January 1844, aged 60 German duke who founded the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha line. He was the father of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.
• 1786 – 1844 Nicholas Biddle (1786-1844) Died 27 February 1844, aged 58 American financier and president of the Second Bank of the United States. His fight with Andrew Jackson over renewing the bank's charter became known as the Bank War.
• 1791 – 1844 Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (1791-1844) Died 29 July 1844, aged 53 Composer, pianist and teacher, and the youngest son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He spent much of his career in Lemberg (Lviv).
• 1800 – 1844 Hyrum Smith (1800-1844) Died 27 June 1844, aged 44 American religious leader, elder brother of Joseph Smith and Assistant President of the Latter Day Saint church. He was killed alongside his brother at Carthage Jail.
• 1805 – 1844 Joseph Smith (1805-1844) Died 27 June 1844, aged 38 American religious leader who founded the Latter Day Saint movement and published the Book of Mormon. He was killed by a mob while held in Carthage Jail, Illinois.
• 1844 – 1924 Anatole France (1844-1924) Died 12 October 1924, aged 80 Anatole France was a French novelist and Nobel laureate in Literature (1921), known for works such as Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard and Penguin Island. He was one of the most celebrated French writers of his era.
• 1844 – 1929 Carl Benz (1844-1929) Died 4 April 1929, aged 84 German engineer who built the Benz Patent-Motorwagen of 1885, widely regarded as the first practical automobile. His company merged with Daimler in 1926 to form Daimler-Benz.
• 1844 – 1889 Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) Died 8 June 1889, aged 44 An English Jesuit priest and poet, Hopkins wrote densely innovative verse using his own "sprung rhythm" that went almost entirely unpublished in his lifetime. Poems such as "The Windhover" and "Pied Beauty" were released posthumously in 1918 and later recognized as among the finest of the Victorian era.
• 1844 – 1910 Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) Died 2 September 1910, aged 66 French post-impressionist painter, known as Le Douanier, celebrated for his naive, dreamlike jungle scenes despite having no formal artistic training. Largely dismissed by critics during his lifetime, he was championed by younger artists including Pablo Picasso. His work later became a major influence on modern and surrealist art.
• 1844 – 1930 Ilya Repin (1844-1930) Died 29 September 1930, aged 86 Russian realist painter whose works include Barge Haulers on the Volga and Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan. He was the leading figure of the Peredvizhniki movement. He died at his home in Kuokkala, then part of Finland.
• 1844 – 1885 Louis Riel (1844-1885) Died 16 November 1885, aged 41 Métis political leader who led two rebellions against the Canadian government in defense of Métis land rights and culture, founding the province of Manitoba in the process. Convicted of treason for leading the North-West Rebellion, he was hanged in Regina, and remains a deeply contested and symbolically important figure in Canadian history.
• 1844 – 1885 Muhammad Ahmad, the Mahdi (1844-1885) Died 22 June 1885, aged 40 Sudanese religious leader who declared himself the Mahdi and led a successful revolt against Egyptian and British rule, capturing Khartoum in January 1885. He died of typhus just months after his victory, and the Mahdist state he founded survived under his successor until its defeat by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1898.
• 1844 – 1908 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) Died 21 June 1908, aged 64 Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer and a member of "The Five," known for orchestral works including "Scheherazade" and "Capriccio Espagnol." He also taught composition and orchestration, influencing generations of Russian composers including Stravinsky. He died at his estate near Luga, Russia.
• 1844 – 1896 Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) Died 8 January 1896, aged 51 Paul Verlaine was a leading French Symbolist poet known for works such as Poemes saturniens and Romances sans paroles. His turbulent life, including a relationship with poet Arthur Rimbaud, became as well known as his verse. He died in Paris on 8 January 1896.
• 1844 – 1925 Queen Alexandra (1844-1925) Died 20 November 1925, aged 80 Alexandra of Denmark, queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King Edward VII, died at Sandringham House. She had been a prominent public figure for over six decades, known for her charitable work and fashion influence. She was the mother of King George V.
• 1844 – 1930 Robert Bridges (1844-1930) Died 21 April 1930, aged 85 English poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 until his death. He published the poetry of his friend Gerard Manley Hopkins after Hopkins died. His best-known work is The Testament of Beauty.
• 1844 – 1923 Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) Died 26 March 1923, aged 78 Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage actress widely regarded as the most famous performer of the late 19th century, celebrated across Europe and the Americas as "the Divine Sarah." She continued performing despite having a leg amputated in 1915. She died in Paris after a long career that helped define modern celebrity.
• 1844 – 1900 Umberto I (1844-1900) Died 29 July 1900, aged 56 King of Italy from 1878, Umberto I was shot and killed in Monza by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci, who said he was avenging victims of an earlier crackdown on protesters. His assassination brought his son Victor Emmanuel III to the throne. It was one of several anarchist killings of European heads of state around the turn of the century.
• 1844 Dominican Republic declares independence from Haiti Separatists seize Santo Domingo and end Haitian rule Members of the secret society La Trinitaria, led by Juan Pablo Duarte's associates, proclaimed independence at the Puerta del Conde in Santo Domingo. This ended 22 years of Haitian control over the eastern part of Hispaniola. The date is celebrated as the Dominican Republic's national independence day.
• 1844 Oscar I becomes King of Sweden and Norway Succeeds his father Charles XIV John Oscar I succeeded to the thrones of Sweden and Norway on the death of his father, the former French marshal Bernadotte. His reign brought moderate liberal reforms, including equal inheritance rights for women in Sweden.
• 1844 The Three Musketeers serialised Dumas's novel appears in Le Siècle Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers was published in instalments in the Paris newspaper Le Siècle. It followed d'Artagnan and the musketeers Athos, Porthos and Aramis. It became one of the most widely read adventure novels ever written.
• 1844 – 1897 Minna Canth Social Reformer The first major female writer and social activist whose work focused on women’s rights and the poor.
• 1844 Greece adopts its first constitution under King Otto Constitutional monarchy follows the 3 September Revolution After the military uprising of September 1843, a national assembly drafted a constitution that King Otto accepted. It turned Greece into a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament and an appointed senate.
• 1844 – 1926 Mary Cassatt Impressionism · USA Mary Cassatt (May 22, 1844 – June 14, 1926) was an American Impressionist painter who spent most of her career in France. Degas invited her to exhibit with the Impressionists. Her intimate depictions of women and children are among the finest in the movement.
• 1844 Declaration of the Báb Founding moment of the Bábí faith in Shiraz In Shiraz, Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad announced to Mullá Husayn that he was the Báb, the "Gate". The new religious movement soon spread across Persia and faced severe persecution. Bahá'ís also mark the date as a holy day.
• 1844 Morse sends "What hath God wrought" First long-distance telegraph message on the Washington-Baltimore line Samuel Morse sent the message "What hath God wrought" from the US Capitol in Washington to Alfred Vail in Baltimore. The demonstration proved that electric telegraphy worked over long distances. Within a few years, telegraph networks were spreading across the United States and Europe.
• 1844 The Pencil of Nature begins publication First commercially published book illustrated with photographs William Henry Fox Talbot published the first instalment of The Pencil of Nature, illustrated with his calotype prints. The work showed how photography could be used in art and in documentation.
• 1844 Last confirmed great auks killed Final breeding pair taken on Eldey, Iceland Fishermen killed the last confirmed pair of great auks on the island of Eldey off Iceland and crushed their egg. The specimens were collected for a dealer. The flightless bird is now regarded as extinct.
• 1844 Silesian weavers' revolt Starving linen weavers riot in Peterswaldau and Langenbielau Impoverished home weavers in Prussian Silesia attacked the houses and warehouses of local textile merchants. Prussian troops crushed the uprising and killed several people. The revolt became a symbol of early industrial misery in German literature, notably in Heine's poem "The Silesian Weavers".
• 1844 YMCA founded in London George Williams founds the Young Men's Christian Association George Williams and a group of fellow drapery workers founded the Young Men's Christian Association in London. It began as a source of Christian fellowship for young men working in the city. It went on to become one of the largest youth organisations in the world.
• 1844 Texas annexation treaty rejected by US Senate Senate votes down Tyler's treaty with Texas The US Senate rejected President John Tyler's treaty to annex the Republic of Texas by 35 votes to 16. Opposition was driven by concerns over slavery and the risk of war with Mexico. Texas was eventually annexed by joint resolution the following year.
• 1844 Goodyear patents vulcanized rubber US patent granted for heat-cured rubber Charles Goodyear received a US patent for vulcanization, a process of curing rubber with sulfur and heat. The process made rubber durable and stable at different temperatures. It became the basis of the modern rubber industry.
• 1844 Kierkegaard publishes The Concept of Anxiety Pseudonymous work on dread and freedom Søren Kierkegaard published The Concept of Anxiety under the pseudonym Vigilius Haufniensis in Copenhagen. The book examined anxiety as a condition of human freedom and original sin. It later had a strong influence on existentialist philosophy and psychology.
• 1844 Killing of Joseph Smith at Carthage Jail Mormon founder shot by a mob in Illinois Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother Hyrum were killed by an armed mob that stormed Carthage Jail in Illinois. Their deaths caused a succession crisis in the movement. Brigham Young later led most of the members west to Utah.
• 1844 – 1908 Pablo de Sarasate Spanish violin virtuoso Spanish violinist and composer whose Carmen Fantasy and Zigeunerweisen remain showpieces for every great violinist.
• 1844 Treaty of Wanghia First treaty between the United States and China Caleb Cushing and the Qing official Qiying signed the treaty at Wangxia near Macau. It gave the United States trading rights in the treaty ports and extraterritorial jurisdiction over American citizens in China. These terms were similar to those Britain had won after the First Opium War.
• 1844 Hōne Heke cuts down the Kororāreka flagstaff Māori chief's protest opens the Flagstaff War Ngāpuhi chief Hōne Heke cut down the British flagstaff on Maiki Hill above Kororāreka in protest at colonial rule. He cut it down several more times in the months that followed. The dispute grew into the Flagstaff War of 1845–46.
• 1844 Bank Charter Act Bank of England given control of banknote issue Robert Peel's Bank Charter Act limited the issue of new banknotes to the Bank of England. It also required that notes issued beyond a fixed amount be backed by gold. The act formed the basis of British monetary policy for much of the nineteenth century.
• 1844 Battle of Isly French army routs Moroccan forces near Oujda French forces under Marshal Thomas-Robert Bugeaud defeated a much larger Moroccan army commanded by the sultan's son near the Isly river. Morocco had given shelter to the Algerian resistance leader Abd al-Qadir. The defeat forced Morocco to sign the Treaty of Tangier that September.
• 1844 Marx and Engels meet in Paris Start of a lifelong intellectual partnership Friedrich Engels met Karl Marx at the Café de la Régence in Paris and spent ten days with him. The two found they agreed on most questions and began their collaboration. Their joint work led to The Communist Manifesto four years later.
• 1844 The Count of Monte Cristo begins serialisation Dumas's revenge novel starts in the Journal des Débats Alexandre Dumas began publishing The Count of Monte Cristo in instalments in the Journal des Débats. The story of Edmond Dantès's imprisonment and revenge ran until 1846. It became one of the best-known novels in French literature.
• 1844 Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation published Anonymous book on cosmic and biological evolution Robert Chambers anonymously published Vestiges, which argued that the universe and living things had developed over time through natural law. It became a sensational bestseller and caused fierce controversy. The book helped prepare the public for Darwin's On the Origin of Species fifteen years later.
• 1844 – 1900 Friedrich Nietzsche German philosopher Nietzsche challenged morality and religion, influencing existentialism and modern philosophy.
• 1844 The Great Disappointment Millerites' predicted Second Coming fails to occur Followers of the Baptist preacher William Miller expected Jesus Christ to return on 22 October 1844. When nothing happened, the movement fell apart. Groups that came out of it included the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
• 1844 Treaty of Whampoa France secures trading rights in China France and Qing China signed a commercial treaty aboard a French warship at Whampoa. It gave France trade and extraterritorial rights comparable to those granted to Britain and the United States. China also agreed to tolerate Catholic missionaries in the treaty ports.
• 1844 James K. Polk elected US President Expansionist Democrat defeats Henry Clay Democrat James K. Polk, a dark-horse candidate, defeated Whig leader Henry Clay in a campaign dominated by the annexation of Texas and the Oregon question. Polk's victory was taken as a mandate for territorial expansion.
• 1844 First dental extraction under nitrous oxide Horace Wells tests anaesthesia on himself Hartford dentist Horace Wells had one of his own teeth pulled while he was under nitrous oxide and felt no pain. He went on to use the gas on his patients. It was one of the first practical uses of surgical anaesthesia.
• 1844 Rochdale Pioneers open their co-operative shop Founding store of the modern co-operative movement The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers opened a shop on Toad Lane in Rochdale, Lancashire. Its principles of democratic member control and dividends on purchases became the model for co-operatives around the world.