1815 CE

Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, county of Durham, England. The Duke of Wellington leaves Vienna, where he has been leading Britain's delegation at the Congress of Vienna, to take command of British and allied army gathering near Brussels. Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Waterloo – Allied forces led by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher decisively, and this time permanently, defeat Napoleon.

In the 1810s, the 19th century.

1815 at a glance

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Qing dynasty: Jiaqing (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1360994931
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Who led every country in 1815 →

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 3 – Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia.source
February 15 – War of 1812 – The United States Senate ratifies the Treaty of Ghent.United States source
February 17 – The Spanish reconquest of Spanish America begins.source
February 18 – The War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom (including Canada) officially ends, following ratification of the Treaty of Ghent (1814) in Washington, D.C.source
21 February – Thomas Holloway King is the first European born in New Zealand. (see also 1816, 1817 & 1818)New Zealand source
March 2–18 – Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy, the last king in Ceylon, is deposed under the terms of the Kandyan Convention, which results in Ceylon becoming a British colony.source
2 March – The Kandyan Convention, an agreement between the Kandyan chiefs and the British, is signed, deposing King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha and ceding the kingdom's territory to the British.Sri Lanka source
March 16 – William I becomes King of the Netherlands.source
March 25 – Governor George Prevost informs Parliament that then-prince regent George IV has ordered him to England to answer charges of the naval commander.Canada source
June 9 – The Final Act of the Congress of Vienna is signed: A new European political situation is set. The German Confederation and Congress Poland are created, and the neutrality of Switzerland is guaranteed. Also, Luxembourg declares independence from the French Empire.source
9 June – The Final Act of the Congress of Vienna is signed: A new European political situation is set. The German Confederation and Congress Poland are created, and the neutrality of Switzerland is guaranteed. Also, Luxembourg declares independence from the French Empire.Germany source
June 22 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon abdicates again; Napoleon II (1811–1832), age 4, nominally rules for two weeks (22 June to 7 July).source
August 2 – Napoleonic Wars: Representatives of the United Kingdom, Austria, Russia and Prussia sign a convention at Paris, declaring that Napoleon Bonaparte is "their prisoner" and that "His safe keeping is entrusted to the British Government."source
September 26 – Austria, Prussia and Russia sign a Holy Alliance, to uphold the European status quo.source
November 5 – The Ionian Islands become a British protectorate, the United States of the Ionian Islands.source
November 27 – The Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland is signed, creating Congress Poland, a constitutional monarchy in personal union with the Russian Empire, under terms agreed at the Congress of Vienna.source
13 December – The County of Hardenberg Reventlow is established by Christian Henrik August Hardenberg-Reventlow from the manors of af Hardenberg (Krenkerup), Christiansdal, Nielstrup, Rosenlund, Nørregård and Sæbyholm.Denmark source
The first full-blooded European native born in New Zealand, Thomas King, is born in the Bay of Islands.source
The second wave of Amish immigration to North America begins.source
The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves is established under Queen Mary I. Brazil is elevated from the status of Portuguese colony to a constituent country of the united kingdom.Brazil source
The Supreme Court of Norway was established on the basis of the Constitution of Norway's §88, prescribing an independent judiciary.Norway source

Conflict & Security

January 8 – Battle of New Orleans: American forces led by Andrew Jackson defeat British forces led by Sir Edward Pakenham. American forces suffer around 60 casualties and the British lose about 2,000 (the battle lasts for about 30 minutes).source
January 8 – War of 1812 – Battle of New Orleans: American forces under Andrew Jackson, John Coffee, and William Carroll, and John Adair defeat an invading British force.United States source
January 13 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.source
January 15 – War of 1812: Capture of USS President – American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.source
January – Unaware of the Treaty of Ghent, General Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) wins the Battle of New Orleans.Canada source
10 February – British forces enter Kandy during the Second Kandyan War.Sri Lanka source
February 26 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.source
March 1 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba.source
March 15 – Joachim Murat, King of Naples, declares war on Austria in an attempt to save his throne, starting the Neapolitan War.source
March 20 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon enters Paris, after escaping from Elba with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his Hundred Days rule.source
29 March – The Duke of Wellington leaves Vienna, where he has been leading Britain's delegation at the Congress of Vienna, to take command of British and allied army gathering near BrusselsUnited Kingdom source
April 21 – In India, the eastern part of the former Garhwal Kingdom is joined with Kumaon division, under the administration of the British Raj.source
April 24 – The Second Serbian Uprising against Ottoman rule takes place in Takovo, Ottoman Serbia. By the end of the year Serbia is acknowledged as a semi-independent state, temporarily achieving the ideals of the First Serbian Uprising.source
May 3 – Battle of Tolentino: Austria defeats the Kingdom of Naples, which quickly ends the Neapolitan War. Joachim Murat, the defeated King of Naples, is forced to flee to Corsica, and is later executed.source
30 May - The Arniston, a British troop transport East Indiaman, is wrecked at Waenhuiskrans near Cape Agulhas while returning from the British campaigns in CeylonSouth Africa source
June 16 – Battle of Ligny – Napoleon defeats a Prussian army under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher.source
June 16 – Battle of Quatre Bras – Marshal Ney engages Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, resulting in a tactical and strategic draw.source
16 June-Napoleonic Wars – Battle of Ligny: Napoleon defeats a Prussian army under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher.Germany source
June 18 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Waterloo – Allied forces led by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher decisively, and this time permanently, defeat Napoleon.source
18 June – Battle of Waterloo: Ensign Charles Ewart of the Royal Scots Greys captures the French Imperial Eagle standard.Scotland source
18 June - Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, famously loses a leg at the Battle of Waterloo. General Thomas Picton is killed in the same battle.Wales source
June 26 – Napoleonic Wars: Wellington's advancing Allied Army takes Péronne, Somme, on its way to Paris.source
July 8 – Napoleonic Wars: Louis XVIII returns to Paris, and is 'restored' as King of France (he had declared himself king on 8 June 1795, at the death of his nephew, 10-year-old Louis XVII, and had lived in Westphalia, Verona, Russia, and England).source
July 15 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon boards HMS Bellerophon off Rochefort, and surrenders to Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland of the Royal Navy.source
August 7 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon is transferred to HMS Northumberland, to begin his forced and final second exile, on the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. Andrew Roberts, Napoleon and Wellington: The Battle of Waterloo- and the Great Commanders who Fought it (Simon and Schuster, 2001) p199source
November 20 – The Napoleonic Wars come to an end after 12 years, with the British government restoring the status quo of France, prior to when the French Revolution began in 1789, after 26 years of turmoil.source

Exploration & Expansion

16 January – The Active anchors off Whakatiwai pā on the Firth of Thames coast. Marsden meets Ngāti Paoa chief Te Haupa.New Zealand source
24 February – Having completed the purchase of 200 acres for the mission site at Rangihoua, Marsden leaves for Port Jackson accompanied by chiefs Te Morenga and Te Pehi(Tupe).New Zealand source
7 April – Bathurst, New South Wales is founded following its discovery by George Evans. It is Australia's first inland European settlement.Australia source
1 May - Explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville marries Adèle Dumont D'Urville (née Pepin) in Toulon.France source
1 August – William Smith publishes the first national geological map of the UK, A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales, with part of Scotland.United Kingdom source
October 15 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon begins his exile on Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.source
October – Robert Adams, American sailor and the first Westerner to visit Timbuktu, is found wandering the streets of London, starving and half-naked, leading to the invitation for him to tell his story as a Barbary captive, which is later published as The Narrative of Robert Adams.source
The Ulricha, a Jewish trade ship rented by Ruben Moses Henriques of Copenhagen, arrived in Iceland.Iceland source
6-year-old Edgar Allan Poe attends school in Irvine, North Ayrshire.Scotland source
A twice-weekly boat service between Cardiff and Bristol is established.Wales source

Religion & Belief

2 January – The Prince Regent divides the Order of the Bath into three classes: the Knights Grand Cross, Knights Commander and Companions.United Kingdom source
March 28 – laying of the foundation stone of the Metropolitan Chapel (later known as the Catholic Pro-Cathedral), Marlborough Street, Dublin.Ireland source
23 May - John Luxmoore replaces William Cleaver as Bishop of St Asaph.Wales source
10 July: The Icelandic Bible Society was founded.Iceland source
18 October – The Bible Christian Church, a Wesleyan Methodist denomination, is founded by William O'Bryan in north Devon and Cornwall.United Kingdom source
26 December – Count of Barca, title createdPortugal source
Thomas Kendall has the first book printed in Māori, A korao no New Zealand; or, the New Zealander's first book; being an attempt to compose some lessons for the instruction of the natives, published in Sydney. (see also 1820)New Zealand source
Construction of St. Thomas' Church, the first Anglican church in Sri Lanka, commences in Kotahena, Colombo.Sri Lanka source

Economy & Finance

February 3 – The first commercial cheese factory is founded in Switzerland.source
Aberdeen Savings Bank is formed.Scotland source
On Islay, Ardbeg distillery begins commercial production and Laphroaig distillery is established by Donald and Alexander Johnston.Scotland source

Technology & Infrastructure

14 January – The road over the Blue Mountains is completed to the Macquarie River.Australia source
February 6 – New Jersey grants the first American railroad charter to John Stevens.source
February 6 – New Jersey grants the first American railroad charter to a John Stevens.United States source
February 9 – A bill to give the speaker a salary of 1,000 pounds is read.Canada source
15 February – The Active completes loading of flax and timber to take back to Port JacksonNew Zealand source
May or June - Bryn Oer Tramway opens in South Wales.Wales source
July 6 – Charles Bianconi runs his first car (i.e. horse-drawn carriage) for conveyance of passengers, from Clonmel to Cahir.Ireland source
19 September – foundation stones for Regent Bridge and Calton Jail in Edinburgh laid.Scotland source
3 November – Sir Humphry Davy announces his invention of the Davy lamp as a coal mining safety lamp.United Kingdom source

Science & Discovery

19 January – Returning northward the Active calls into Whangārei, apparently only the second ever European vessel to do so, after the Venus in 1806.New Zealand source
February – The Hartford Convention arrives in Washington, D.C.United States source
October 3 – The Chassigny Martian meteorite falls in Chassigny, Haute-Marne, France.source
3 October - Fall of the Mars meteorite Chassigny in Chassigny, Haute-Marne.France source
November 3 – Sir Humphry Davy announces his invention, the Davy lamp (a coal mining safety lamp),source
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack retrospectively recognises statistics for first-class cricket in England from this year.source
The Great Migration from Europe begins.Canada source
Robert Kirk's The Secret Commonwealth, Gaelic folklore collected in 1691/92, is first published.Scotland source

Health & Medicine

30 April – Population Census: Norway had 885,431 inhabitants.Norway source
10 July – Apothecaries Act prohibits unlicensed medical practitioners.United Kingdom source
St. Brendan's Hospital officially opened as the Richmond Lunatic Asylum, a national institution.Ireland source
John Fletcher Macfarlan takes over the family apothecary business in Edinburgh, the predecessor of MacFarlan Smith, and begins to manufacture laudanum.Scotland source
Regius Professorships at the University of Glasgow in Midwifery and Surgery are established by King George III.Scotland source

Crime & Justice

March 13 – Participants at the Congress of Vienna declare Napoleon an outlaw following his escape from Elbasource
March – poet William Drennan's Fugitive pieces in verse and prose published in Belfast.Ireland source
In the United Kingdom, use of the pillory is limited to punishment for perjury.source
Lazarev Institute of Oriental LanguagesRussia source
Armadale Castle on Skye is built in the style of Scottish Baronial architecture to the design of James Gillespie Graham.Scotland source
David Richards (Dafydd Ionawr) - Barddoniaeth GristianogawlWales source
Thomas Love Peacock - Headlong Hall (anonymous; dated 1816)Wales source
Peter Roberts - The Cambrian Popular Antiquities of WalesWales source
Richard Fenton - Memoirs of an Old WigWales source

Disasters & Accidents

May 30 – The Arniston, an East Indiaman ship repatriating wounded troops to England from Ceylon, is wrecked near Waenhuiskrans, South Africa, with the loss of 372 of the 378 people on board.source
31 July – The 1815 Philadelphia train accident, a boiler explosion, kills at least 13 people in County Durham.United Kingdom source

Climate & Environment

April 10– Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies blows its top explosively during its peak eruption, killing more than 92,000 people during week of activity from April 5 to April 12. The blast propels thousands of tons of aerosols (Sulfide gas compounds) into the stratosphere, and the high level gases reflect sunlight, causing widespread cooling from a volcanic winter. During 1816, heavy rains fall arounde the world, snow falls in June and July in the Northern Hemisphere, crops fail and widespread famine occurs. In later years, 1816 will become known as the Year Without a Summer.source
September 23 – The Great September Gale of 1815 is the first hurricane to strike New England in 180 years.source
October 23 – A 6.8 earthquake shakes northern China causing many houses and caves to collapse, killing at least 13,000 people.source
Walter Davies - General View of the Agriculture and Domestic Economy of South WalesWales source

Culture & Society

January 2 – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, county of Durham, England.source
2 January – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke at Seaham, County Durham.United Kingdom source
23 January - John Scandrett Harford inherits the family estates on the death of his father.Wales source
February/March – foundation stone of Montrose Academy laid.Scotland source
March 1 – Georgetown University's congressional charter is signed into law, by President James Madison.source
June 15 – The Duchess of Richmond's ball is held in Brussels, "the most famous ball in history".source
31 July – The anointment of King Frederick VI of Denmark takes place at Frederiksborg Chapel.Denmark source
December 23 – The novel Emma by Jane Austen is first published, anonymously in London, dated 1816.source
December 25 – The Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance, in Boston.source
25 December – Thomas Hansen Jnr marries Elizabeth Tollis in Sydney. (see also 1816 & 1817)New Zealand source
December 25 – The Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the U.S., gives its first performance, at the King's Chapel in Boston.United States source
His Imperial Majesty's Own ChancelleryRussia source
Newstead Girls College, the oldest existing girls' college and the third oldest public school in Sri Lanka, is founded by Wesleyan ministers in Negombo.Sri Lanka source

Births

January 11 – John A. Macdonald, 1st Prime Minister of Canada, Father of Confederation (died 1891)source
January 16 – Henry Halleck, American general (died 1872)source
January 21 – Horace Wells, American dentist, anesthesia pioneer (died 1848)source
11 February – João Afonso da Costa de Sousa de Macedo, 1st Duke of Albuquerque (died 1890).Portugal source
February 15 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German Biblical scholar (died 1874)source
9 March – Richard Kelly, 82, British Army officerSri Lanka source
12 March - Cornelis Moll, founder of the first Natal newspaper De Natalier, is born as the 24th child in Cape TownSouth Africa source
April 1 – Otto von Bismarck, German statesman (died 1898)source
April 24 – Anthony Trollope, English novelist (died 1882)source
May 27 – Sir Henry Parkes, father of the Australian Federation (died 1896)source
August 5 – Edward John Eyre, English explorer, colonial governor (died 1901)source
5 August (in England): Edward John Eyre, provincial governor.New Zealand source
August 16 – Saint John Bosco, Italian priest, educator (died 1888)source
October 16 – Francis Lubbock, Governor of Texas (died 1905)source
November 2 – George Boole, English mathematician, philosopher (died 1864)source
November 12 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American women's rights activist (died 1902)source
December 10 – Ada Lovelace, English computer pioneer, daughter of Lord Byron (died 1852)source
December 31 – George Meade, American general (died 1872)source

Deaths

January 16 – Emma, Lady Hamilton, politically active British courtesan, lover of Horatio Nelson (born 1765)source
February 24 – Robert Fulton, American inventor (born 1765)source
3 March – Ngāpuhi chief Ruatara dies. His protection of the mission at Rangihoua passes to his uncle Hongi Hika. Ruatara's plans to trade in wheat (see 1814) die with him.New Zealand source
March 5 – Franz Mesmer, German developer of animal magnetism (born 1734)source
29 April – James Stuart, 73, British Army officerSri Lanka source
June 1 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French marshal (born 1753)source
June 18 – Sir Thomas Picton, British general (born 1758) — killed at the Battle of Waterloosource
September 9 – John Singleton Copley, American painter (born 1738)source
October 13 – Joachim Murat, French marshal, King of Naples (executed) (born 1767)source
October 22 – Claude Lecourbe, French general (born 1759)source
December 3 – John Carroll, first American Roman Catholic Archbishop (born 1735)source
December 7 – Michel Ney, French marshal (executed) (born 1769)source
December 7 – Marshal Ney is executed in Paris, near the Jardin du Luxembourg.source
December 8 – Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, English Methodist preacher and philanthropist (born 1739)source
December 22 – José María Morelos, leader of Mexican War of Independence, executed (born 1765)source
December 29 – Saartjie Baartman, South African sideshow performersource
29 December - Saartjie Baartman, the "Hottentot Venus", dies in Paris.South Africa source
Carlos Amarante, engineer and architect (born 1748)Portugal source