1809 CE

Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire. When he announces that the Pope's secular power has ended, the Pope excommunicates him. The city of La Paz (in modern-day Bolivia) declares its independence from the Spanish Crown and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led by Pedro Domingo Murillo. Prince Klemens von Metternich becomes foreign minister of the Austrian Empire.

In the 1800s, the 19th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded.source
  • January 14 – The Apodaca–Canning treaty is signed in London between Britain and Spainsource
  • February 3 – The Illinois Territory is created from the western part of the Indiana Territory.source
  • February 20 – United States v. Peters: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the power of the federal government is greater than any individual state.source
  • March 4 – James Madison is sworn in as the fourth president of the United States, and George Clinton is sworn in for a second term as the fourth vice president.United Statessource
  • March 29 – At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland's four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the future Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden. The Emperor, in return, promises to retain and uphold former laws and privileges, as well as the dominant Lutheran religion. His pledge is later interpreted by the Finns as a confirmation of constitutional laws, which had, effectively, established Finland as a separate state in real union with Russia.source
  • March 29 – King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after the Coup of 1809 and is later exiled.source
  • May 5 – The Swiss canton of Aargau declares Jews citizens.source
  • May 10 – Gustav IV Adolf is officially deposed from the Swedish throne, by the Riksdag of the Estates.source
  • 24 May – Lachlan Macquarie receives his commission as next governor of New South Wales, including instructions to reinstate Bligh temporarily on his arrival.Australiasource
  • May - The Committee on the Constitution (Parliament of Sweden) is established.Swedensource
  • June 6 – Sweden promulgates a new Instrument of Government, which restores political power to the Riksdag of the Estates, after authoritarian rule since 1772. On the same day, Duke Charles (uncle of the deposed king Gustav IV Adolf) is elected King, under the name Charles XIII. In November he is affected by a heart attack and will be largely incapacitated for the remainder of his reign (until 1818).source
  • June 7 – Shoja Shah of the Durrani Empire signs a treaty with the British; only weeks later, he is succeeded by Mahmud Shah.source
  • 7 June – Shoja Shah of Afghanistan signs a treaty with the British. Only weeks later, he is succeeded by Mahmud Shah.United Kingdomsource
  • June 26 – Danish adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen deposes Count Frederich Trampe as governor of Iceland in the Revolution of 1809 and declares himself "Protector of Iceland".source
  • 26 June: Jørgen Jørgensen's Revolution: Danish adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen arrived in Iceland, declared the country independent from Denmark–Norway and pronounced himself its ruler. However, with the arrival of HMS Talbot two months later, Danish rule in Iceland was restored and Jørgensen was arrested.Icelandsource
  • July 16 – The city of La Paz (in modern-day Bolivia) declares its independence from the Spanish Crown and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led by Pedro Domingo Murillo.source
  • August 10 – Ecuador declares independence from Spain.source
  • September 17 – Finnish War: The Peace of Hamina is signed between Russia and Sweden. The future Grand Duchy of Finland is ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn.source
  • September 17 - Treaty of Fredrikshamn - Sweden cedes Finland to RussiaRussiasource
  • October 8 – Prince Klemens von Metternich becomes foreign minister of the Austrian Empire.source
  • October 14 – The Treaty of Schönbrunn cedes the Illyrian Provinces to France, and ensures peace between The First French Empire, and The Austrian Empire.source
  • British recruits to the British East India Company (and subsequently to the Indian Civil Service) are required to learn at least one Indian language fluently.source
  • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach formed from a merger and raised to a grand duchyGermanysource
  • Dingiswayo (formerly Gogongwana) takes chieftainship from his brother, proclaims himself Chief of the AmaMthethwa, and rules autocratically.South Africasource

Conflict & Security

  • January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean Lannes begins the Siege of Zaragoza.source
  • February 25 – Battle of Valls: Spanish forces are defeated in Catalonia by Marshal Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr.source
  • March 12 – Marques de Someruelos, captain-general of Cuba, issues a proclamation that causes 9,000 Francophone Saint-Domingue refugees to sail for New Orleans.United Statessource
  • March 13 – A military coup ousts Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden; he is confined in Gripsholm Castle.source
  • March 28 – Battle of Medellín at Extremadura: Massive casualties are suffered, in a rout by French cavalry, under Marshal Victor.source
  • April 8 - September 4 - Campaign of DobrujaRussiasource
  • April 9 – Tiroleans rise, under the command of Andreas Hofer, against French and Bavarian occupation.source
  • 9 April – Tiroleans rise, under the command of Andreas Hofer, against French and Bavarian occupation.Germanysource
  • April 10 – Napoleonic Wars – The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.source
  • April 11–15 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of the Basque Roads: The British Royal Navy defeats the French fleet in the mouth of the Charente, although officers on both sides face subsequent courts-martial.source
  • April 20 – Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria: Napoleon defeats Austria.source
  • April 21 – Battle of Landshut: Napoleon defeats Austria, in yet another battle.source
  • April 22 – Battle of Eckmühl: French troops under Napoleon I and Marshal Davout defeat the Austrians, under Archduke Charles.source
  • April 23 – Battle of Ratisbon: Napoleon I fights his last battle during the Bavarian phase of the War of the Fifth Coalitionsource
  • May 3 – Battle of Ebelsberg: André Masséna defeats Austrian General Johann von Hiller, forcing him to retreat.source
  • May 10–11 – Peninsular War – Battle of Grijó: the Anglo-Portuguese Army, commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, defeats the French army, commanded by Marshal Soult, in Portugal.source
  • May 12 – Peninsular War – Second Battle of Porto: The Anglo-Portuguese Army, commanded by Wellesley, drives the French army, commanded by Marshal Soult, out of Porto, and forces them to retreat from the country.source
  • May 22 – Battle of Aspern-Essling: Austrian troops under Archduke Karl beat the French under Napoleon, in a hard-fought battle.source
  • June 14 – A French victory, in the battle of Raab, prevents archduke John of Austria from bringing any significant force to the Battle of Wagram.source
  • July 5 – Battle of Wagram begins.source
  • July 6 – Napoleon defeats the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram.source
  • July 8–9 – Finnish War – Naval Battle of Porkala: The Swedish archipelago fleet defeats the Russians.source
  • 10 July – 1,800 men under the command of Major General Georg Frederik von Krogh attacked Jemtland from Norway.Norwaysource
  • July 27–28 - Battle of TalaveraSpainsource
  • July 28 – Peninsula War – Battle of Talavera: Sir Arthur Wellesley's British, Portuguese and Spanish army defeats a French force.source
  • July 30 – Walcheren Campaign: A British invasion army lands on Walcheren.source
  • September 21 – British Secretary of War Lord Castlereagh and Foreign Secretary George Canning meet in a duel on Putney Heath, with Castlereagh wounding Canning in the thigh.source
  • 8 November – Boyd massacre: The Boyd, Captain John Thompson, leaves Port Jackson for New Zealand with two Māori as crew including Te Aara ('George'). During the trip George is flogged for not working as instructed.New Zealandsource
  • November 18 – Napoleonic Wars: Action of 18 November 1809 – In the Bay of Bengal, a French frigate squadron captures three British East Indiamen mainly carrying recruits for the presidency armies in India.source
  • December – Boyd massacre: Whangaroa Māori people kill and eat 66 crew and passengers of the brigantine Boyd in New Zealand.source
  • From 1809 to 1811, Tecumseh, Shawnee chief, and the Prophet campaign to unite tribes of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and Southeast against the United States. His brother Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet, is defeated at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.Canadasource
  • More Xhosa clans push westward into the neutral zone between the Sundays and the Great Fish Rivers. The British send in seasoned troops.South Africasource

Exploration & Expansion

  • March 20–22 - Crossing the Gulf of BothniaRussiasource
  • May 31 – Mauritius campaign of 1809–11 – Action of 31 May 1809 in the Bay of Bengal: The French frigate Caroline, operating from Isle de France (Mauritius), captures most of a British East India Company fleetsource
  • 7 August – The Pegasus discovers Port Pegasus on Stewart Island/Rakiura.New Zealandsource
  • August 8 – Seventy disciples of Vilna Gaon arrive in Palestine.source
  • 28 August – The convict ship Ann leaves England with Samuel Marsden and William Hall and John King and their wives as passengers. Marsden discovers Ruatara on board.New Zealandsource
  • September – The Pegasus is at the Chatham Islands. William Stewart finishes charting the islands left incomplete by their discoverer William R. Broughton.New Zealandsource
  • 9 November – The Brothers, Captain Robert Mason sailing for Campbell & Co of Sydney, leaves what is now the coast of Dunedin having landed eight men, including William Tucker, on "The Isle of Wight" and three more on "Ragged Rock", perhaps modern Green Island and White Island respectively, to hunt for seals. The gang leader is Robert Brown. The men stay in the area and the ship does not return until the following year.New Zealandsource
  • Arorae an atoll of the Gilbert Islands was sighted by Captain John Patterson, on British brig Elizabeth.source
  • Black Brunswickers establishedGermanysource
  • The first Roman Catholic Magdalene asylum in Ireland is opened in Cork.Irelandsource
  • Gola's Xhosa community settles at Pramberg.South Africasource

Religion & Belief

  • May 17 – Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire. When he announces that the Pope's secular power has ended, the Pope excommunicates him.source
  • July 6 – French troops arrest Pope Pius VII, and take him to Liguria.source
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland separates from the Swedish Lutheran churchRussiasource
  • Church of the Transfiguration, Yekaterinburg consecratedRussiasource
  • The Scottish Bible Society is established as the Edinburgh Bible Society, a missionary organization, by Christopher Anderson.Scotlandsource
  • Highland Clearances – first commissioner for clearance of the Leveson-Gower family estates in Scotland for sheep farming, William Young, is appointed.Scotlandsource
  • Zaccheus Davies - Cân am y FarnWalessource
  • Henry Parry (editor) Grammatica Britannica, 2nd edition (1st edition by John Davies of Mallwyd)Walessource
  • Edward Davies - The Mythology and Rites of the British DruidsWalessource
  • Thomas Evans (Tomos Glyn Cothi) - An English-Welsh Dictionary neu Eir-Lyfr Saesneg a ChymraegWalessource

Economy & Finance

  • March 1 – The Embargo Act of 1807 is repealed in the United States; the Non-Intercourse Act replaces it.source
  • 11 November – the North British and Mercantile Insurance company commences business as a fire insurance office in Edinburgh.Scotlandsource
  • Kagalnitskaya stanitsa foundedRussiasource
  • Blackie and Son, publishers, are established in Glasgow by John Blackie as Blackie, Fullarton and Company.Scotlandsource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • 9 February - South Stack Lighthouse off Anglesey first illuminated.Walessource
  • February 11 – Robert Fulton patents the steamboat in the United States.source
  • 25 April – First post office in Sydney established. Ex-convict Isaac Nichols is the first postmaster.Australiasource
  • May 5 – Mary Kies is the first American woman to be awarded a patent (for a technique of weaving straw hats with silk and thread).source
  • May 5 – Mary Dixon Kies becomes the first recipient of a patent granted to a woman by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She invented a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.United Statessource
  • November 3: John Molson's steamboat, PS Accommodation, starts for Quebec City. It is 85 ft overall, has a 6 hp engine, and makes the distance in 36 hours, but stops at night and reaches Quebec on November 6. The Accommodation is the second steamboat in America, and probably the world.Canadasource
  • November 21 – First stone laid of first 'guided bus' passenger wagonway Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad.source
  • November – Thomas Telford certifies completion of his Dunkeld–Birnam bridge. His bridges at Ballater and Conon Bridge are also completed this year.Scotlandsource
  • Sporgø Lighthouse is constructed by Poul de Løvenørn.Denmarksource
  • Inauguration of the Malmö Teater in Malmö.Swedensource
  • Stalybridge Old Band formed, perhaps the first civilian brass band in the world.United Kingdomsource

Science & Discovery

  • August – The USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") is recommissioned as the flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron.source
  • December - The former monarch and his family leaves Sweden for Germany.Swedensource
  • Louis Poinsot describes the two remaining Kepler–Poinsot polyhedra.source
  • William Combe begins publication of the verse Tour of Dr Syntax in search of the Picturesque in Ackermann's Political Magazine, illustrated by Thomas Rowlandson.United Kingdomsource

Health & Medicine

  • 1 March – The City of Edinburgh arrives in the Bay of Islands, returning chief (Maa-)Tara from Port Jackson. Tara dies of bronchitis some months later (possibly July–September).New Zealandsource
  • 8 May – Lachlan Macquarie is officially appointed Governor of New South Wales, caretaker William Patterson governs until his appointment begins on 1 January 1810.Australiasource
  • 4 October – Portland resigns as Prime Minister due to ill health; Spencer Perceval takes over,United Kingdomsource
  • December 25 – American physician Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor.source
  • December 30 – Wearing masks at balls is forbidden in Boston, Massachusetts.source
  • William Combe begins publication of the verse Tour of Dr. Syntax in search of the Picturesque in Ackermann's Political Magazine (London), illustrated with cartoons by Thomas Rowlandson, depicting comic and ridiculous scenes involving a hapless country physician, and coming to represent British Regency humour.source
  • Jenny Pipes becomes the last woman in England to suffer punishment in the ducking stool for being a common scold, in Leominster.United Kingdomsource

Crime & Justice

  • July – Ruatara arrives in London on the Santa Anna. He is not allowed to see King George as he had hoped. 15 days later the captain of the Santa Anna puts him on board the convict ship Ann which is heading to Port Jackson.New Zealandsource
  • 10 November – The Berners Street Hoax: Theodore Hook manages to attract dozens of people to 54 Berners Street in London.United Kingdomsource
  • November 25 – Benjamin Bathurst, a British diplomat, mysteriously disappears (possibly murdered) in Perleberg, west of Berlin.source
  • 25 November – Benjamin Bathurst, a British diplomat, mysteriously disappears (having possibly been murdered) in Perleberg, west of Berlin.United Kingdomsource

Disasters & Accidents

  • 20 January – HMS Claudia was wrecked off Kristiansand.Norwaysource
  • 24 February – The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London is destroyed by fire.United Kingdomsource
  • 16 August – Meikle Ferry disaster: An overloaded ferry crossing the Dornoch Firth to Tain market sinks, drowning 99.Scotlandsource
  • 18 September – A new Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (pictured) opens in London to replace the first burnt down in 1808. An increase in ticket prices causes the Old Price Riots which last for 64 days.United Kingdomsource

Climate & Environment

  • 12 March – The Sydney Gazette refers to Foveaux Strait, the first recorded usage of the name.New Zealandsource
  • 12 December - Siege of Gerona ends as Spanish forced to capitulate by disease and famine.Francesource
  • Napoleon's continental blockade cuts British access to Scandinavian timber.Canadasource
  • A severe drought occurs in the eastern frontier area.South Africasource
  • The seeds that will give rise to the Bramley apple are planted in Southwell, Nottinghamshire.United Kingdomsource
  • Theophilus Jones - History of the County of Brecknock, vol. 2Walessource

Culture & Society

  • February 17 – Miami University (Ohio) is established (by Act of February 2) on the township of land required to be set aside for it, under the conditions of the Miami Purchase in 1794.source
  • April 18 – The 2,000 Guineas Stakes horse race is first run in England.source
  • 5 June - The former king's uncle Charles XIII of Sweden is placed upon the throne after having accepted a new constitution.Swedensource
  • 25 July – Christian August of Augustenborg is appointed Steward of Norway.Norwaysource
  • September 18 – A new theatre for the Royal Opera House opens in London to replace the first, burnt down in a fire in 1808. The price increases lead to the Old Price Riots, which last for 64 days.source
  • October 25 – The Golden Jubilee of George III is celebrated in commemoration of the forty-ninth anniversary of the accession of King George III and his entrance into the 50th year of his reign.source
  • 9 December – the Dumfries Courier is established as a weekly newspaper in Annan by Rev. Dr. Henry Duncan as The Dumfries and Galloway Courier.Scotlandsource
  • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck publishes Philosophie Zoologique, outlining a (wrong) concept of evolution, by acquisition or loss of inherited characteristics, through use or disuse.source
  • On August 17, the foundation of Nelson's Column, Montreal was laid.Canadasource
  • Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse, since 1805 organist at Church of Our Lady, has his debut at the Royal Danish Theatre with the singspiel Sovedrikken, and from then on his romances become an important part of the Danish music scene.Denmarksource
  • Corps Hannovera Göttingen establishedGermanysource
  • St. Petersburg State Transport University foundedRussiasource
  • David Hughes, Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, donates £105 towards scholarships to give South Wales the same level of support as North Wales.Walessource

Births

Deaths

  • 6 January – Johann Augustus Eberhard, German theologian, philosopher (born 1739)Germanysource
  • January 16 – Peninsular War – Battle of Corunna in Galicia (Spain): The British (under General Sir John Moore, who is killed) resist an attempt by the French (under Marshal Soult) to prevent them from embarking.source
  • March 25 – Anna Seward, English writer (born 1747)source
  • March 29 – Peninsular War – First Battle of Porto: 8,000 Portuguese soldiers are killed in a rout after defeat by the French under Marshal Soult. In the Porto Boat Bridge disaster, 4,000 fleeing civilians drown when a pontoon bridge collapses.source
  • April 24 - Juan Miguel de Vives y FeliuSpainsource
  • May 31 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian classical composer (born 1732)source
  • May 31 – The famous composer Joseph Haydn dies in Vienna at age 77 following Napoleon's second siege of Viennasource
  • June 8 – Thomas Paine, American revolutionary writer (born 1737)source
  • June 8 – Thomas Paine, political activist, philosopher, Founding Father of the United States and author of Common Sense (born 1737 in Great Britain)United Statessource
  • June 21 – Daniel Lambert, English jail keeper and animal breeder, famous for his unusually large size (born 1770)source
  • July 6 – Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle, French cavalry general (killed in battle) (born 1775)source
  • August 18 – Matthew Boulton, English manufacturer, engineer (born 1728)source
  • September 7 – Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I), King of Siam, founder of the Chakri dynasty of Thailand (born 1737)source
  • October 11 – Meriwether Lewis, American explorer (suicide) (born 1774)source
  • October 11 – Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder's Stand.source
  • October 30 – William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1738)source
  • November 19 – Battle of Ocaña: A Spanish army is ridden down, and 4,000 are killed and wounded by French forces.source
  • Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev (born 1740) - Hasidic rabbi and writerRussiasource