1812 CE

In the United States, the Boston Gazette prints a political cartoon coining the term Gerrymander, after former Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry's approval (on February 11) of legislation creating oddly shaped electoral districts, designed to help incumbents win re-election. The Boston Gazette prints a political cartoon coining the term "Gerrymander" after former Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry's approval (on February 11) of legislation creating oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win re-election. War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the U.S. Congress to declare war on Great Britain.

In the 1810s, the 19th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 1 – The Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (the Austrian civil code) enters into force in the Austrian Empire.source
February 24 – Prussia and France sign the Treaty of Paris, a military alliance.source
February 27 – Argentine War of Independence: Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina (which he designed) in the city of Rosario, for the first time.source
February 27 – English poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the British House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against industrialism, in his home county of Nottinghamshire.source
March 14 – France and Austria sign the Treaty of Paris.source
March 19 – The Cortes of Cádiz creates the first modern Spanish constitution.source
March 19 - ratification of the Spanish Constitution of 1812Spain source
March 26 – In the United States, the Boston Gazette prints a political cartoon coining the term Gerrymander, after former Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry's approval (on February 11) of legislation creating oddly shaped electoral districts, designed to help incumbents win re-election.source
March 26 – The Boston Gazette prints a political cartoon coining the term "Gerrymander" after former Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry's approval (on February 11) of legislation creating oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win re-election.United States source
April 30 – Louisiana is admitted as the 18th U.S. state.source
May 16 – Russian field marshal Mikhail Kutuzov signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War (1806–12) and annexing Bessarabia to Imperial Russia.source
May 28 - The Treaty of Bucharest is signed, establishing peace between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, following the Ottoman's defeat in multiple battles in eighth Russo-Turkish War. This also established the basis for future Russia–Turkey relations.Russia source
June 4 – Following Louisiana's admittance as a U.S. state, the territory previously known by that name is renamed the Missouri Territory.source
10 July – Publication of report of the first detailed inquiry into the convict system in Australia by a Select committee on Transportation. The committee supported Governor Macquarie's liberal policies in general. However, the committee thought that fewer ticket of leave should be issued and opposed the governor having the power to grant pardons. The committee concluded that the colony should be made as prosperous as possible so as to provide work for the convicts and to encourage them to become settlers after being given their freedom.Australia source
August to October – The Red River Colony is begun in Canada's northwest on lands granted to Thomas Douglas by the Hudson's Bay Company.Canada source
19 September – The Ann leaves Port Jackson and five months later returns Ruatara home.New Zealand source
October 12 – The capital of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is permanently moved from Lancaster to Harrisburg.source
November 5 – 1812 United States presidential election: James Madison defeats DeWitt Clinton.source
November 10 – 1812 United Kingdom general election: The Tory Party is victorious, under Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.source
10 November - The Senate of Chile first meets.Chile source
December 30 – The Convention of Tauroggen is signed.source
The Ranikot Fort is reconstructed in Sindh.source
The settlement of Cradock is establishedSouth Africa source

Conflict & Security

1 January – Tron riot in Edinburgh concludes.Scotland source
March 16–April 6 – Siege of Badajoz (Peninsular War): The Anglo-Portuguese Army, under the Earl of Wellington, besieges Badajoz, Spain and forces the surrender of the French garrison.source
March 16-April 6 - Siege of Badajoz (1812)Spain source
March – The whaling ship King George, Captain Lasco Jones, calls at the Bay of Islands. John Besent, an American in the crew, deserts the ship worried that locals will hear about ill-treatment of a Māori crew member by the Captain and massacre the crew as happened with the Boyd. He stays with the Ngā Puhi for 12 months and during that time hears a detailed account of what happened with the Boyd from chief Te Aara (who speaks fluent English). He later reports the ill-treatment by Captain Lasco and relates the Boyd account to the authorities in Port Jackson.New Zealand source
May 11 – Assassination of Spencer Perceval, the British Prime Minister, by John Bellingham, in the lobby of the British House of Commons in London.source
June 1 – War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the U.S. Congress to declare war on Great Britain.United States source
June 18 – The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom begins the War of 1812 between the U.S., Britain and Canada.source
June 24 – Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman River, and invades Russia.source
June 24 - The French invasion of Russia begins, as Napoleon crosses the Nieman river.Russia source
July 12 – Americans invade Canada at Windsor, Ontario.source
July 18 – Russia's Patriotic War – Battle of Klyastitsy: Kulnev defeats Oudinot, but sustains a mortal wound.source
July 22 – Peninsular War – Battle of Salamanca: British forces led by the Earl of Wellington defeat French troops near Salamanca, Spain.source
August 5 – War of 1812: Tecumseh's Indian force ambushes Thomas Van Horne's 200 Americans at Brownstone Creek, causing them to flee and retreat.source
August 12 – Peninsular War: The combined English and Portuguese army under the command of Wellington enters Madrid, following the Battle of Salamanca.source
August 15 – War of 1812 – Battle of Fort Dearborn: Potawatomi warriors overrun the United States fort in Illinois Territory.source
August 16 – War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit, without a fight, to the British Army.source
August 16–18 – Battle of Smolensk: The Grande Armée (180,000 men) under Emperor Napoleon I defeats the Russian army on the road to Moscow.source
August 16 – Isaac Brock with a force of 1,350, nearly half Aboriginals, takes Detroit. He paroles many of Hull's 2,000.Canada source
August 19 – War of 1812: USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere, off the coast of Nova Scotia. The British shot is said to have bounced off Constitutions sides, earning her the nickname "Old Ironsides".source
19 August – War of 1812: USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia.United Kingdom source
August 24 – Siege of Cádiz: Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult abandons the two-and-a-half-year siege at Cádiz. He withdraws eastward with his forces to join King Joseph Bonaparte and Louis-Gabriel Suchet in Valencia.source
September 7 – Napoleonic Wars – French invasion of Russia – Battle of Borodino: The bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars so far ends in a tactical victory for Napoleon. There are at least 70,000 casualties, with a minimum of 6,562 dead from the French Grande Armée alone.source
September 14 – French invasion of Russia and Fire of Moscow: Napoleon's troops enter Moscow, which is deliberately set on fire by Muscovites, on orders of Fyodor Rostopchin. Later accounts report that France lost 40,000 troops during four days of fire between September 17 and 20, and that 20,000 Russian soldiers were killed in what would be described in 1876 as "the greatest example in history of national self-sacrifice for the destruction of an invader."source
September - Rioting occurs at Nefyn over enclosures.Wales source
October 9 – War of 1812: American naval forces under Lieutenant Jesse Duncan Elliott capture two British warships, HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia.source
October 13 – War of 1812 – Battle of Queenston Heights: As part of the Niagara campaign in Ontario, Canada, United States forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaer are repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops, led by Sir Isaac Brock (who dies during the battle).source
October 21 – Siege of Burgos: British troops under Arthur Wellington are forced to abandon the siege of Burgos after a month. Meanwhile, Joseph Bonaparte makes plans to recapture Madrid. He assembles an army led by Louis-Gabriel Suchet and Jean-de-Dieu Soult to drive Wellington out of central Spain.source
October 23 – Malet coup of 1812: General Claude François de Malet attempts unsuccessfully to overthrow the Napoleonic régime in Paris.source
October 24 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Maloyaroslavets: An inconclusive encounter between the French vanguard and a Russian force leads Napoleon to decide to retreat along the same line as his advance, with disastrous results.source
November 3 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Vyazma: The rearguard of Napoleon's retreating army is defeated.source
November 15–18 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Krasnoi: Napoleon's retreating army is again defeated in a series of skirmishes.source
December 14 – The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia.source

Exploration & Expansion

July 19 – Beethoven and Goethe meet each other in Teplice, Bohemia.source
1 August – The Ann arrives at Port Jackson with Ruatara. During his subsequent stay with Reverend Marsden at Parramatta Ruatara asks that someone be sent to the Bay of Islands to teach reading and writing.New Zealand source
August 7 – 130 Filibusters of the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition cross from Louisiana into Spanish Texas, soon after they capture the town of Nacogdoches.United States source
September 13 – Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition: The Expedition, having since grown to 300 men, captures the town of Santísima Trinidad de Salcedo.United States source
1 October - Balloonist James Sadler flies over the north Wales coastline in an unsuccessful attempt to cross the Irish Sea.Wales source
David Thompson retires to Montreal.Canada source
c. April – The Frederick returns to New Zealand for provisions after 6 months whaling but Captain Bodie does not allow Ruatara and the other Maori to land as promised. He then proceeds to Norfolk Island promising to land the Māori in New Zealand on his way back to England but abandons them at Norfolk Island (without pay) and forcibly takes Te Pahi's son with him.New Zealand source
The settlement of Grahamstown is foundedSouth Africa source
The British troops stationed at the Cape along with settler militia drove the Xhosa from the Zuurveld, a district between the Sundays and the Great Fish Rivers, once again and thereby ending the 4th Cape Frontier War.South Africa source

Religion & Belief

1 January – The Bishop of Durham, Shute Barrington, orders troops from Durham Castle to break up a miners' strike in Chester-le-Street, Co. DurhamUnited Kingdom source
13 February - The Aurora de Chile prints its first issue.Chile source
March – meeting in Edinburgh to discuss formation of the Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society.Scotland source
April 8 – The capital of Finland is moved from Turku to Helsinki, when Russia's Tsar Alexander I signs an edict moving the Government Council of the Grand Duchy of Finland.source
The Bishop James Madison Society is founded at the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.source
Glasgow Bible Society established.Scotland source
Baptist Training Union now Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary is founded by Escaped and Free Slaves in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.United States source
Princeton Theological Seminary is founded in New Jersey.United States source
Benjamin Millingchamp - A Sermon preached at St. Peter's Church, Carmarthen, on Thursday, July 4, 1811Wales source

Economy & Finance

April 4 – U.S. President James Madison enacts a 90-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.source
4 April – U.S. President James Madison enacts a ninety–day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.United Kingdom source
11 May – Bankrupt banker John Bellingham assassinates Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in the lobby of the House of Commons.United Kingdom source
June 16 – New York State charters the City Bank of New York (later Citibank).source
26 November – 70,000 Spanish dollars in coins arrive in New South Wales on the Royal Navy ship HMS Samarang. To prevent their use outside the colony, holes are punched though the centre of the coins to create "holey dollars"—Australia's first official currency.Australia source
The City Bank of New York is founded.United States source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 10 – New Orleans steamboat, the first steamship on the Mississippi River, arrives in its namesake city, completing its maiden voyage.United States source
20 June - Creation of The Kidwelly and Llanelli Canal and Tramroad Company.Wales source
6 July – the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway becomes the first public railway line to open in Scotland. It begins life as a 9.5-mile (16-kilometre), horse-drawn waggonway to carry coal from Kilmarnock to Troon harbour. On 27 June the horse-drawn passenger coach Caledonia began running over the line between Troon and Gargieston, near Kilmarnock.Scotland source
12 August – The Middleton Railway, serving coal pits at Leeds, becomes the first to use steam locomotives successfully in regular service.United Kingdom source
The Woodford Reserve Bourbon whiskey distillery, established in 1780 along Glenn's Creek in Woodford County, Kentucky, passes to the control of Oscar Pepper.source
Andreas Marschall establishes a piano factory in Copenhagen.Denmark source
The original Breidenbacher Hof hotel in Düsseldorf, Germany, opens to the public. (It is destroyed by bombing in 1943 and later rebuilt at a different location.)Germany source
Landowner John D'Arcy is granted a patent to hold a market at his new town of Clifden.Ireland source
The Old Oscar Pepper Distillery (now the Woodford Reserve Distillery), the oldest Kentucky Bourbon distillery, is established along Glenn's Creek in Woodford County, Kentucky.United States source

Science & Discovery

February 12 – Napoleon I authorizes the usage of Mesures usuelles, the basis of the metric system.source
August 20 – Launch of John Molson's second steamboat, the Swiftsure, at Montreal.Canada source
August – Henry Bell's PS Comet begins a passenger service on the River Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock, the first commercially successful steamboat service in Europe.Scotland source
The New Flora Britannica (with illustrations by Sydenham Teak Edwards)Wales source

Health & Medicine

January – The New England Journal of Medicine is first published in Boston by Dr John Collins Warren as the New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery and the Collateral Branches of Medical Science.United States source
Fines for having children out of wedlock are abolished. The fines had been in place since the Stóridómur was passed in 1564.Iceland source

Crime & Justice

March 15 – Luddites attack the wool-processing factory of Frank Vickerman in West Yorkshire.source
15 March – Luddites attack the wool processing factory of Frank Vickerman in West Yorkshire.United Kingdom source
20 March – Destruction of Stocking Frames, etc. Act 1812 ("Frame-breaking Act") makes Luddite machine-breakers subject to capital punishment.United Kingdom source
24 April – Luddites attack the Westhoughton Mill of Thomas Rowe in Lancashire.United Kingdom source
18 May – John Bellingham is hanged at Newgate Prison.United Kingdom source
Fantasmagoriana, book by Jean-Baptiste Benoît EyrièsFrance source
The Charging Chasseur, painting by Théodore GéricaultFrance source
Ongoing – Highland Clearances.Scotland source
Alton Barnes White Horse cut in Wiltshire.United Kingdom source

Disasters & Accidents

May 25 – Felling mine disaster: A mine explosion at the Felling colliery near Jarrow, England, leaves 96 dead.source
25 May – Felling mine disaster: mine explosion at Felling colliery near Jarrow, 96 dead.United Kingdom source
September 14 to 18 - Moscow is destroyed by a fire organized by Fyodor Rostopchin, the military governor at the time. This burns down most of the entire city, including Moscow University.Russia source
1 October – English balloonist James Sadler starts a balloon flight from Belvedere House near Mullingar in an attempt to cross the Irish Sea. He fails and almost drowns as a result.Ireland source
October – a storm washes away temporary barracks erected on Tuskar Rock for lighthouse construction, killing 14 workmen.Ireland source
30 December - A brig, the Fortune, is wrecked on The Smalls, Pembrokeshire, with the loss of 10 or 11 lives.Wales source

Climate & Environment

February 7 – The last New Madrid earthquake strikes New Madrid, Missouri, with an estimated moment magnitude of over 8.source
February 7 – The last of four major New Madrid earthquakes strike New Madrid, Missouri, with an estimated moment magnitude of over 8.United States source
March 26 – The 1812 Caracas earthquake destroys Caracas, capital of Venezuela.source
December 8 – The M6.9–7.5 San Juan Capistrano earthquake affects Alta California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong) to IX (Violent), killing 40 parishioners at Mission San Juan Capistrano.source
Hugh Jones - Arwyrain AmaethyddiaethWales source

Culture & Society

February 13 – The first Chilean newspaper Aurora de Chile deals with political philosophy, and stands in favor of the new national government.source
20 February – Weber and his friend, clarinettist Heinrich Baermann, stay overnight in Berlin with the family of Baermann's former teacher Joseph Beer (father of Giacomo Meyerbeer).Germany source
6 March – Two Wesleyan Methodist classes were established in Sydney by Thomas Bowden and John Hosking—the beginning of Methodism in Australia.Australia source
March 29 - Mikhail Speransky is dismissed from his office of State secretary due to his unpopular reform policies.Russia source
May 8 – Hail to the Chief is published.United States source
30 May - The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm.Sweden source
12 July (The Twelfth) – first Protestant Orange march in Scotland held in Glasgow, attracting hostile Catholic crowds.Scotland source
17 September - The celebration of the completion of the embankment, later known as the 'Cob' in PorthmadogWales source
December 18 – The first Spanish Christmas Lottery is drawn, in Cádiz; it will be continuing more than two centuries later. The first Lotería Nacional was drawn on March 4.source
December 20 – The first volume of Grimms' Fairy Tales is published in Germany.source
Grøndahl & Søn Forlag publishing house, was established.Norway source

Births

February 3 – William Fraser Tolmie, Scottish-Canadian scientist, politician (died 1886)source
February 7 – Charles Dickens, English novelist (died 1870)source
February 11 – Alexander Hamilton Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (died 1883)source
March 1 – Augustus Pugin, English-born architect (died 1852)source
March 27 – William Robinson (Canadian architect), Canadian architect and land surveyor (died 1894)source
April 14 – George Grey, Portuguese-born British colonial governor, 11th Premier of New Zealand (died 1898)source
14 April (In Portugal): George Grey, Governor and Premier of New Zealand.New Zealand source
April 22 – Solomon Caesar Malan, Genevan orientalist (died 1894)source
April 23 - Alejandro de Castro y CasalSpain source
May 6 – Madame Restell, American abortion provider (died 1878)source
May 7 – Robert Browning, English poet (died 1889)source
May 12 – Edward Lear, English artist, nonsense poet (died 1888)source
June 14 – Fernando Wood, American politician (died 1881)source
July 31 – Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress consort of Brazil (died 1873)source
September 2 – William Fox, 2nd Premier of New Zealand (died 1893)source
September 12 – Carmen Quiroga de Urmeneta, philanthropist (died 1897)Chile source
December 14 – Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning, British Viceroy of India (died 1862)source
? – Mirza Yusuf Ashtiani, Iranian politician.Iran source

Deaths

January 23 – Robert Craufurd, British general (mortally wounded in battle) (born 1764)source
February 2 – Isaac Titsingh, Dutch scholar, merchant-trader and ambassador (born 1745)source
March 11 – Philip James de Loutherbourg, English artist (born 1740)source
24 March – Johann Jakob Griesbach, German Biblical commentator (born 1745)Germany source
April 14 – William Nicholas (officer), English army officer, at the Siege of Badajoz (born 1785)source
April 20 – George Clinton, 4th Vice President of the United States (born 1739)source
April 20 – George Clinton, Vice President of the United States, dies in office.United States source
April 25 – Edmond Malone, Irish scholar (born 1741)source
May 11 – Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (assassinated) (born 1762)source
May 12 – Martha Ballard, American diarist and midwife (born 1734 or 1735)source
July 4 - Infante Pedro Carlos of Spain and PortugalSpain source
August 30 – George Mathews, American army officer and politician (born 1739)source
September 21 – Emanuel Schikaneder, German dramatist, actor and singer (born 1751)source
September 24 – Pyotr Bagration, Russian general and prince of Georgian origin (born 1765)source
October 13 – Isaac Brock, British general (killed in action) (born 1769)source
December 15 – Schneur Zalman, Polish rabbi and founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement (born 1745)source
December 20 – Sacagawea, Shoshone guide (born ca. 1788)source
Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration (born 1765), Georgian general and princeRussia source