1851

Events in 1851 26

• 1769 – 1851 Jean-de-Dieu Soult (1769-1851) Died 26 November 1851, aged 82 Jean-de-Dieu Soult was a French general and Marshal of the Empire under Napoleon, who later served three times as Prime Minister of France. He was one of the most prominent military commanders of the Napoleonic Wars.
• 1775 – 1851 J. M. W. Turner Romanticism · England J. M. W. Turner (April 23, 1775 – December 19, 1851) was an English Romantic painter famous for his luminous seascapes and atmospheric landscapes. He anticipated Impressionism by decades and is considered Britain's greatest painter.
• 1777 – 1851 Hans Christian Ørsted (1777-1851) Died 9 March 1851, aged 73 Hans Christian Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, founding the field of electromagnetism. The SI unit of magnetic field strength, the oersted, is named after him.
• 1785 – 1851 John James Audubon (1785-1851) Died 27 January 1851, aged 65 John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist and painter best known for "The Birds of America," a landmark work documenting North American bird species in life-sized illustrations. The National Audubon Society was later named in his honor.
• 1789 – 1851 James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) Died 14 September 1851, aged 61 James Fenimore Cooper was an American novelist best known for "The Last of the Mohicans" and his other Leatherstocking Tales set on the American frontier. He was among the first American writers to achieve international renown.
• 1797 – 1851 Mary Shelley English novelist Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, a foundational science fiction and Gothic novel exploring creation and responsibility.
• 1804 – 1851 Carl Gustav Jacobi (1804-1851) Died 18 February 1851, aged 46 Carl Gustav Jacobi was a German mathematician who made fundamental contributions to elliptic functions, differential equations, and number theory. The Jacobian determinant is named after him.
• 1851 – 1941 Arthur Evans (1851-1941) Died 11 July 1941, aged 90 Arthur Evans was the British archaeologist who excavated the palace of Knossos on Crete. He named the Minoan civilisation and died weeks after the German conquest of Crete.
• 1851 – 1929 Emile Berliner (1851-1929) Died 3 August 1929, aged 78 German-born American inventor of the gramophone and the flat disc record. He also developed an improved telephone microphone.
• 1851 – 1929 Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) Died 20 March 1929, aged 77 French marshal and Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front in 1918. He accepted the German armistice at Compiègne, which ended the First World War.
• 1851 – 1931 Melvil Dewey (1851-1931) Died 26 December 1931, aged 80 American librarian who devised the Dewey Decimal Classification system. He was a founder of the American Library Association. He also set up the first school for training librarians.
• 1851 – 1940 Oliver Lodge (1851-1940) Died 22 August 1940, aged 89 British physicist who did pioneering work on radio. In later life he was a prominent investigator of spiritualism.
• 1851 – 1931 Vincent d'Indy (1851-1931) Died 2 December 1931, aged 80 French composer and teacher, best known for his Symphony on a French Mountain Air. He co-founded the Schola Cantorum de Paris. Through it he influenced a generation of French musicians.
• 1851 – 1902 Walter Reed (1851-1902) Died 22 November 1902, aged 51 Reed was a US Army physician who led the research confirming that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct contact. His findings enabled effective mosquito-control measures that dramatically reduced yellow fever outbreaks, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center was later named in his honor.
• 1851 Taiping Rebellion begins Hong Xiuquan launches uprising against the Qing dynasty On 11 January 1851, Hong Xiuquan proclaimed the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace in Guangxi province, starting a civil war against the ruling Qing dynasty. The rebellion grew into one of the deadliest conflicts in history, lasting fourteen years and killing tens of millions.
• 1851 Australian gold rush begins Edward Hargraves announces a payable gold find near Bathurst On 12 February 1851, prospector Edward Hargraves announced his discovery of payable gold near Bathurst, New South Wales. The find triggered a gold rush that transformed Australia's population and economy.
• 1851 The Great Exhibition Crystal Palace The first in a series of World’s Fairs, showcasing British industrial achievement.
• 1851 Maine enacts statewide prohibition First US state law banning the sale of alcohol On 2 June 1851, Maine became the first US state to pass a law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. The "Maine law" became a model adopted by temperance movements in other states.
• 1851 Colony of Victoria established Victoria separates from New South Wales On 1 July 1851, Victoria was formally separated from New South Wales to become a self-governing British colony in Australia. Gold was discovered within its borders weeks later, triggering a major gold rush.
• 1851 Isaac Singer patents his sewing machine Improved design accelerates the garment industry On 12 August 1851, Isaac Singer received a US patent for an improved sewing machine that stitched continuously and vertically. The company he founded went on to dominate the global sewing machine market for decades.
• 1851 First America's Cup race The schooner America wins the Royal Yacht Squadron's race On 22 August 1851, the American schooner America defeated a fleet of British yachts in a race around the Isle of Wight. The trophy she won became known as the America's Cup, now the oldest active trophy in international sport.
• 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie US and Plains nations set tribal territorial boundaries Signed on 17 September 1851, the treaty between the United States government and numerous Plains Indian nations attempted to define tribal territories and secure safe passage for settlers along overland trails. Encroachment by settlers and miners led to its breakdown within a few years.
• 1851 The New York Times founded Henry Raymond and George Jones launch a new daily newspaper Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones founded The New York Times in New York City on 18 September 1851. The paper grew into one of the most influential newspapers in the United States.
• 1851 Moby-Dick published Herman Melville's whaling novel appears in print Herman Melville's novel about Captain Ahab's obsessive hunt for the white whale was first published in London on 18 October 1851 as "The Whale," followed by the American edition weeks later. It sold poorly in its time but was later recognized as a cornerstone of American literature.
• 1851 First Channel submarine telegraph cable Dover and Calais linked by undersea cable On 13 November 1851, the first successful permanent submarine telegraph cable began operating between Dover and Calais. It allowed near-instant communication between London and Paris for the first time.
• 1851 Louis-Napoleon's coup d'état President seizes absolute power in France On 2 December 1851, President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the National Assembly and seized dictatorial power in a coup. A rigged plebiscite ratified his rule, and within a year he declared himself Emperor Napoleon III, founding the Second French Empire.