1813 CE

James Madison is sworn in as President of the United States for his second term, and Elbridge Gerry is sworn in as Vice President of the United States. 9 – War of 1812: First Siege of Fort Meigs: British allied forces, under General Henry Proctor and Chief Tecumseh, lay siege to the fort but do not capture it. Creek War – Fort Mims massacre: A force of Creeks, belonging to the Red Sticks faction, kills hundreds of settlers in Fort Mims, Alabama.

In the 1810s, the 19th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 31 – The Assembly of the Year XIII is inaugurated in Buenos Aires.source
  • February 9 – Prussia abolishes the canton system.source
  • March 4 – James Madison is sworn in as President of the United States for his second term, and Elbridge Gerry is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.United Statessource
  • June 6 – 1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains: Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Wentworth succeed in crossing the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) and return home.source
  • 20 July – The Perseverance returns to Sydney.New Zealandsource
  • July 21 – U.K. Parliament passes the Doctrine of the Trinity Act 1813, repealing legal penalties for non-trinitarian sects such as Unitarians, and codifying religious tolerance in Great Britain (the Toleration Act of 1688 did not apply to Jews, non-trinitarians, or Roman Catholics).source
  • July 23 – Sir Thomas Maitland is appointed as the first Governor of Malta, transforming the island from a British protectorate to a de facto colony.source
  • September – Robert Southey becomes Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom.source
  • October 14 – After a ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, the municipality gives Simón Bolívar the title of El Libertador.source
  • October 24–November 5 – Persia and Russia sign the Treaty of Gulistan at the end of the Russo-Persian War, by which Persia loses modern-day Georgia, Dagestan and most of Azerbaijan to Russia.source
  • October 24 - Treaty of Gulistan ends the warRussiasource
  • October – Treaty of Gulistan signed between Persia and Russia.Iransource
  • 2 November - Lord Charles Henry Somerset is appointed Governor of the Cape.South Africasource
  • November 21 – An independent government is restored in the Netherlands.source
  • 23 November – Hesse-Darmstadt and Nassau join the coalitionGermanysource
  • Following the death of his father Wossen Seged, Sahle Selassie arrives at the capital Qundi before his other brothers, and is made Meridazmach of Shewa.source
  • The Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States of America is founded.source
  • The kingdoms of Denmark and Norway were separated by the Treaty of Kiel in 1814 following the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark kept Iceland, as well as Faroe and Greenland, as dependencies.Icelandsource
  • The Chowringhee Theatre is inaugurated in Kolkata.Indiasource

Conflict & Security

  • January 18–23 – War of 1812: The Battle of Frenchtown is fought in modern-day Monroe, Michigan between the United States and a British and Native American alliance.source
  • February 3 – Argentine War of Independence: José de San Martín and his Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers gain a largely symbolic victory against a Spanish royalist army in the Battle of San Lorenzo.source
  • 4 February – Major Thomas Davey succeeds David Collins as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land.Australiasource
  • March 17 – Napoleonic Wars: Prussia declares war on France, and introduces the Iron Cross military award (backdated to March 10).source
  • March 29 – Mexican War of Independence: Battle of Rosillo Creek – The Republican Army of the North defeats the Spanish Royalist Army in modern-day Bexar County, Texas.source
  • April 8 – War of 1812: Colonel James Ball arrives at Fort Meigs with 200 dragoons.source
  • April 27 – War of 1812: Battle of York – United States troops raid and destroy but do not hold the capital of Upper Canada, York (modern-day Toronto).source
  • May 1–9 – War of 1812: Fort Meigs is first besieged, by British allied forces under General Henry Proctor and Chief Tecumseh.source
  • May 1–9 – War of 1812: First Siege of Fort Meigs: British allied forces, under General Henry Proctor and Chief Tecumseh, lay siege to the fort but do not capture it.United Statessource
  • May 2 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Lützen – Napoleon wins against the German alliance.source
  • June 1 – War of 1812: Capture of USS Chesapeake in Boston Harbor by British Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon.source
  • June 6 – War of 1812: Battle of Stoney Creek – A British force of 700 under John Vincent defeats an American force three times its size, under William H. Winder and John Chandler.source
  • June 25 – Battle of Tolosa (1813)Spainsource
  • July 5 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York begin.source
  • July 13 – The Carabinieri, the national military police of Italy, are founded by Victor Emmanuel I as the police force of the Kingdom of Sardinia.source
  • 27 July–August 10 - Siege of ChillánChilesource
  • August 23 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Großbeeren: Napoleon is defeated by Prussia and Sweden.source
  • August 26 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Katzbach: Napoleon's troops are defeated by Prussia and Russia.source
  • August 26–27 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Dresden: Napoleon's troops are victorious.source
  • August 30 – Creek War – Fort Mims massacre: A force of Creeks, belonging to the Red Sticks faction, kills hundreds of settlers in Fort Mims, Alabama.source
  • August 31 – After besieging San Sebastián, allied troops in Spain rampage, ransack and burn down the town almost entirely.source
  • September 6 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Dennewitz: The armies of Napoleon I are again defeated by Prussia and Russia.source
  • 6 September – Battle of Dennewitz: The armies of Napoleon are defeated by Prussia and Russia.Germanysource
  • September 10 – War of 1812 – Battle of Lake Erie: An American squadron under Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry defeats a British squadron, capturing 6 ships.source
  • October 5 – The Battle of Moraviantown, also known as the Battle of the Thames, is an American victory. British supporter and Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh is killed.Canadasource
  • October 16–19 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Leipzig: Napoleon is defeated by the forces of the Sixth Coalition. More than 600,000 troops are in the field, with well over 10% killed, wounded or missing. Many of the German states forming the Confederation of the Rhine defect from Napoleon I to the Coalition, as a result of the battle.source
  • October 26 – War of 1812 – Battle of the Chateauguay: Charles de Salaberry defeats an American invasion.source
  • November 11 – War of 1812 – Battle of Crysler's Farm: An outnumbered British–Canadian force defeats the Americans, forcing them to give up their attempt to capture Montreal.source
  • December 8 – Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, together with his Wellington's Victory, are premiered in Vienna under the composer's baton, in a benefit concert for Austrian and Bavarian soldiers wounded at the Battle of Hanau.source
  • December 13 - Siege of Hamburg begins; the French garrison left the city on May 12, 1814Russiasource
  • December 18–19 – War of 1812: British soldiers and native allies invade the United States, and are successful in the Capture of Fort Niagara, and attack Lewiston, New York.source
  • Russo-Persian War (1804–13) finished.Iransource

Exploration & Expansion

  • February – War of 1812 in North America: General William Henry Harrison sends out an expedition to burn the British vessels at Fort Malden by going across Lake Erie via the Bass Islands in sleighs, but the ice is not hard enough, and the expedition returns.source
  • 19 April – The Perseverance, leaves Sydney looking for flax trading possibilities in the south of the South Island. During the trip she is the first ship known to have entered Bluff Harbour.New Zealandsource
  • 2 May – The Perseverance collects the sealing gang left on Solander Island in western Foveaux Strait in 1809 by the Fox.New Zealandsource
  • May 11 – 1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains: Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Wentworth leave on an expedition to cross the Blue Mountains of Australia.source
  • 31 May – Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth reach Mount Blaxland marking the end of the first successful expedition across the Blue Mountains.Australiasource
  • 19 November – George William Evans, assistant surveyor, set out to confirm the earlier discoveries of Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth.Australiasource
  • 31 December – Blücher's Army of Silesia crosses the RhineGermanysource
  • The East India Company's trading monopoly is abolished.Indiasource
  • The first Kirkcaldy whaler, The Earl Percy, sails north to the Davis Strait.Scotlandsource
  • General Harrison sends out an expedition to burn the British vessels at Fort Malden by going across Lake Erie via the Bass Islands in sleighs, but the ice is not hard enough and the expedition returns.United Statessource

Religion & Belief

  • 24 January – The Philharmonic Society of London is formed, holding its first concert on 8 March.United Kingdomsource
  • March 4 – Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch.source
  • 21 July – Doctrine of the Trinity Act provides toleration for Unitarian worship.United Kingdomsource
  • The Anglican Bishopric of Calcutta is established, with Thomas Middleton serving as the first bishop.Indiasource
  • A Dutch Reformed Church is established in George.South Africasource
  • Unmarried women of legal majority, "Unmarried maiden, who has been declared of legal majority", are given the right to vote in the sockestämma (local parish council, the predecessor of the communal councils), and the kyrkoråd (church councils).Swedensource

Economy & Finance

  • January 5 – The Danish state bankruptcy of 1813 occurs.source
  • 5 January - The heavy financial and economic burden of the Gunboat War with England takes its monetary toll: Denmark-Norway defaults on its foreign debt (Danish state bankruptcy of 1813).Denmarksource
  • 5 January - Denmark-Norway declared bankruptcy and a new state bank, the Rigsbank, was created.Norwaysource
  • January - Sir Joseph Bailey sells his 25% share in Cyfarthfa ironworks for £20,000.Walessource
  • 13 December - Swedish East India Company is dissolved.Swedensource
  • December 17 – A trade embargo comes into effect, aimed at New England merchants who have been supplying the British in CanadaUnited Statessource
  • 25 December – William Debenham joins Thomas Clark in a partnership to manage a draper's store in London, origin of the Debenhams business which will run department stores until 2020.United Kingdomsource
  • National income - ₹16,193 millionIndiasource
  • The Charter Act 1813 was passed in United Kingdom on the company rule in India.Indiasource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • 15 April – foundation stone of new harbour at Newhaven, Edinburgh, laid.Scotlandsource
  • 21 April – Frederick William III of Prussia establishes the LandsturmGermanysource
  • November 16 – The British announce a blockade of Long Island Sound, leaving only the New England coasts open to shipping.United Statessource
  • 31 December – Westminster Bridge in London is illuminated by gas lighting provided by the Gas Light and Coke Company from the world's first public gasworks nearby.United Kingdomsource
  • Angus Bethune witnessed the North West Company's purchase of Fort Astoria from the Pacific Fur Company.Canadasource
  • First publication of the newspaper Göteborgs-Posten.Swedensource
  • Construction of Fort Meigs in Ohio begins under the command of Major Amos Stoddard.United Statessource
  • Anthony Hill and his two brothers go into partnership at the Plymouth ironworks.Walessource

Science & Discovery

  • June 1 – The English frigate "Shannon" takes the "Chesapeake," in 15 minutes, off Boston.Canadasource
  • Probable date – George E. Clymer invents the Columbian press, used to print newspapers worldwide.source
  • The Norwegian journal Historisk-philosophiske Samlinger (Historical-Philosophical Collections) final issue was published.Norwaysource
  • Svetlana (ballad) by Vasily Zhukovsky publishedRussiasource
  • Robert Owen obtains control of the cotton spinning mills at New Lanark and publishes A New View of Society, or Essays on the Principle of the Formation of the Human Character.Scotlandsource
  • Adam Kok III's people assert the name Griqua.South Africasource
  • Hugh Davies - Welsh Botanology ... A Systematic Catalogue of the Native Plants of Anglesey, in Latin, English, and WelshWalessource

Health & Medicine

  • March 28 – 1813–1814 Malta plague epidemic spreads from Egypt.source
  • April - Thomas Price (Carnhuanawc) moves to Crickhowell to take over several parishes in the vicinity.Walessource
  • David Daniel Davis is appointed a physician at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in London.Walessource

Crime & Justice

  • 16 January – 14 Luddites hanged at York.United Kingdomsource
  • February 7 – Raid on Elizabethtown.Canadasource
  • June 3 – The "Growler" and the "Eagle," which left Plattsburg, yesterday, are taken by the British gun-boats they pursuedCanadasource
  • "Poetical Attempts by Hugh Porter, a County of Down weaver" published in Belfast.Irelandsource
  • Golovnin Incident ends with the release of Vasily Golovnin by the Japanese on October 6Russiasource
  • Glasgow weavers fail in an attempt to secure higher wages.Scotlandsource
  • The notorious criminal transvestite Lasse-Maja is arrested and becomes famous.Swedensource
  • Charles James Apperley becomes agent for his brother-in-law's estates in Caernarvonshire, taking up residence at Tŷ Gwyn, Llanbeblig.Walessource

Disasters & Accidents

  • 1 April – whaler Oscar wrecked off Aberdeen with the loss of 44 lives.Scotlandsource
  • The early steam locomotive Puffing Billy introduced at Wylam colliery, County Durham.United Kingdomsource

Climate & Environment

  • 30 September - Sir Jeremiah Homfray is forced to sell his house at Cwm Rhondda to settle his debts.Walessource
  • 27 December – 3 January 1814 – A thick fog blankets London causing the Prince Regent to turn back from a trip to Hatfield House and a mail coach to take 7 hours to reach Uxbridge on its way to Birmingham.United Kingdomsource
  • Charles Waterton begins the process of turning his estate at Walton Hall, West Yorkshire, England into what is, in effect, the world's first nature reserve.source
  • Early in the year Ruatara is finally returned home. With the death during his absence of Te Pahi and his elder brother, Ruatara is made paramount chief of Ngā Puhi. He has seed wheat given to him by Samuel Marsden and intends to grow it to sell to Europeans. He does not however have anything to grind the wheat with. (see 1814)New Zealandsource
  • Charles Waterton begins the process of turning his estate at Walton Hall, West Yorkshire, into what is, in effect, the world's first nature reserve.United Kingdomsource
  • Elijah Waring founds a new periodical, The Cambrian Visitor: a Monthly Miscellany, which fails after eight months.Walessource
  • Walter Davies (Gwallter Mechain) - General View of the Agriculture and Domestic Economy of North WalesWalessource

Culture & Society

  • January 24 – The Philharmonic Society (later the Royal Philharmonic Society) is founded in London.source
  • January 28 – Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is published anonymously in London.source
  • March 30 – Engagement at Lacolle.Canadasource
  • 1 May - Christian Frederick is appointed Steward of Norway.Norwaysource
  • July 13 – Missionaries Adoniram Judson and his wife, Ann Hasseltine Judson, arrive in Burma.source
  • 10 August - The Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, Chile's oldest school, is established.Chilesource
  • September 4 – The name of Germany's national card game, "Scat" (modern-day Skat), appears for the first time, in the gaming records of Hans Carl Leopold von der Gabelentz.source
  • October 2 – The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania is founded (the oldest continuously existing literary society in the United States).source
  • 2 November - Richard Parry Price, heir to the Puleston estates, is created a baronet.Walessource
  • Mathieu Orfila publishes his groundbreaking Traité des poisons, formalizing the field of toxicology.source
  • Russky Invalid, a long-running military newspaper, founded in Saint PetersburgRussiasource
  • James Hogg's poem The Queen's Wake is published.Scotlandsource
  • Cape Town Free School founded for needy white children.South Africasource

Births

  • January 21 – John C. Frémont, American soldier, explorer (died 1890)source
  • January 26 – Juan Pablo Duarte, founder of the Dominican Republic (died 1876)source
  • 30 January (in England): William Charles Cotton, missionary.New Zealandsource
  • March 15 – John Snow, English doctor, pioneer of epidemiology (died 1858)source
  • March 19 – David Livingstone, Scottish missionary explorer (died 1873)source
  • 19 March - David Livingstone, explorer and missionary, is born in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, ScotlandSouth Africasource
  • March 21 – James Strang, Mormon splinter group leader (died 1856)source
  • April 8 – Leah Fox, American hoax medium (died 1890)source
  • April 23 – Stephen A. Douglas, American Senator from Illinois, presidential candidate (died 1861)source
  • May 5 – Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (died 1855)source
  • May 22 – Richard Wagner, German composer (died 1883)source
  • 22 May – Richard Wagner, German composer (died 1883)Germanysource
  • June 8 – David Dixon Porter, American admiral (died 1891)source
  • June 24 – Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman, reformer (died 1887)source
  • September 24 – Gerardo Barrios, President of El Salvador (died 1865)source
  • October 10 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (died 1901)source
  • November 30 – Charles-Valentin Alkan, French composer (died 1888)source
  • José Manuel Aguirre Miramón, jurist, politician and writer (died 1887)Spainsource

Deaths

  • 20 January –Christoph Martin Wieland, German writer (born 1733)Germanysource
  • February 26 – Robert Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (born 1746)source
  • April 10 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian mathematician (born 1736)source
  • April 19 – Benjamin Rush, Founding Father of the United States (born 1746)source
  • April 27 – Zebulon Pike, American general (born 1779)source
  • April 28 – Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (born 1745)source
  • May 1 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French marshal (killed in action) (born 1768)source
  • 21 May - José Antonio Pareja (born 1757)Chilesource
  • July 6 – Granville Sharp, English abolitionist (born 1735)source
  • July 29 – Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (suicide) (born 1771)source
  • August 21 – Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, Queen consort of Sweden (born 1746)source
  • September 12 – Edmund Randolph, American politician (born 1753)source
  • October 5 – War of 1812 – Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada: William Henry Harrison defeats the British, and native leader Tecumseh is killed in battle.source
  • October 5 – Tecumseh, Native American (Shawnee) leader (born 1768)source
  • October 19 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish prince, Marshal of France (friendly fire) (born 1763)source
  • November – William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin (born c. 1730)source
  • December 24 - Empress Go-Sakuramachi (born 1740)Japansource
  • 215000 to 375000 military and civilian dead from the peninsular war.Spainsource