1836 CE

Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera, Les Huguenots is performed for the first time in Paris, France. The Battle of the Alamo ends; 189 Texans are slaughtered by about 1,600 Mexicans. Charles Darwin returns to England aboard HMS Beagle, with biological data he will later use to develop his theory of evolution, having left South America on August 17.

In the 1830s, the 19th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 1 — Hill Street Academy is named Colombo Academy and acquired by the Government, establishing the first public school in Sri Lanka.source
January 5 – Former U.S. Representative Davy Crockett of Tennessee arrives in Texas to join the Texan fight for independence from Mexico.source
March 1 – Texas Revolution – Convention of 1836: Delegates from many Texas communities gather in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.source
March 2 – Texas Revolution – Convention of 1836: The Texas Declaration of Independence is signed by 60 delegates, and the Republic of Texas is declared.source
March 2 – At the Convention of 1836, the Republic of Texas declares independence from Mexico.Mexico source
March 11 – Sultan Mahmud II abolishes the posts of Reis ül-Küttab and Kahya Bey, and establishes the Ottoman ministries of Foreign Affairs and of the Interior in their place.source
March 17 – Texas Revolution – Convention of 1836: Delegates adopt the Constitution of the Republic of Texas, modeled after the United States Constitution. It allows slavery, requires free blacks to petition Congress to live in the country, but prohibits the slave trade.source
March 27 – The United States Survey of the Coast is returned to the U.S. Treasury Department, and renamed the U.S. Coast Survey.source
April 20 – The Wisconsin Territory is created; the first capital is Belmont.source
30 April – Law on provinces of Belgium passes: provincial governors appointed by the crown; crown cannot disband provincial councils.Belgium source
May 14 – Texas Revolution: The Treaties of Velasco are signed, between Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna and the Republic of Texas. In exchange for his freedom and the guarantee of free passage back to Mexico, General Santa Anna gives his recognition to the independence of Texas. The Mexican government refuses to ratify the treaties.source
June 15 – Arkansas is admitted into as the 25th state of the United States of America.source
June 15 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state (see History of Arkansas).United States source
September 5 – Sam Houston is elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas.source
September 11 – The Riograndense Republic is proclaimed in South America.source
October 22 – Sam Houston is inaugurated as first elected President of the Republic of Texas.source
December 7 – 1836 United States presidential election: Martin Van Buren defeats William Henry Harrison, and three other Whig candidates, marking the most recent time a Democrat is elected to succeed a two-term Democratic U.S. president.source
December 26 – The Crown colony of South Australia is officially proclaimed (subsequently celebrated in the state of South Australia as Proclamation Day).source
December 28 – The Colony of South Australia is founded by Captain John Hindmarsh.source
December 28 – Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico.source
28 December – South Australia and Adelaide are founded.Australia source
The Sylhet Government Pilot High School is established in Sylhet as Government Provisional Schoolsource
Mr. Papineau's following is 40 to 27, of the House. Mr. Papineau declares "Our task is not light, indeed, for we are called on to defend the rights of all British Colonial dependencies, as well as that we inhabit. The same evil genius, whose workings drove provincials of the neighboring States, unwittingly into the paths of a righteous and glorious resistance, presides over our affairs also. ...These Commissioners' instructions imply refusal, of those who prepared them, to listen heedfully to any representation of the many grievances either Canada has to complain of."Canada source
Akureyri loses its municipal status in, regaining it only in 1862.Iceland source
Lt. Gov. Andries Stockenström restores the province of Queen Adelaide to the AmaXhosa under British orders. His treaty system recognizing AmaXhosa chiefs' authority causes tension with Gov. Sir Benjamin D'Urban.South Africa source
The liberal opposition in Sweden continued to grow in influence under King Charles XIV John, who pursued a strictly conservative policy exploiting the powers invested in him by the constitution.Sweden source

Conflict & Security

February 23 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of the Alamo begins, with an American settler army surrounded by the Mexican Army, under Santa Anna.source
March 6 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of the Alamo ends. At least 182 Texan settler soldiers die in a struggle against more than 2,000 Mexican soldiers.source
March 6 – The Battle of the Alamo ends; 189 Texans are slaughtered by about 1,600 Mexicans.Mexico source
March 27 – Texas Revolution – Goliad massacre: 342 Texan prisoners are shot and killed, along with Texan General James Walker Fannin, by Mexican troops in Goliad, near the Presidio La Bahía.source
April 21 – Texas Revolution – Battle of San Jacinto: Mexican forces under General Antonio López de Santa Anna are defeated at San Jacinto, Texas.source
April 22 – Texas Revolution: Forces under Texas General Sam Houston capture Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.source
May 19 – Fort Parker massacre: Among those captured by Native Americans is 9-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker. She later gives birth to a son named Quanah, who becomes the last chief of the Comanche.source
September 20 - Battle of VillarrobledoSpain source
October 30 – Louis Napoleon launches the unsuccessful Strasbourg Coup to overthrow the July Monarchy in Francesource
28 December - Chile declares war on the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation, starting the War of the Confederation.Chile source
Antoine Wiertz, The Greeks and the Trojans Fighting over the Body of PatroclusBelgium source
Lord Gosford disappointedly declares "I will not predict all the consequences which may result from the factious opposition."Canada source
Late in the year Alfred Nesbitt Brown closes the mission at Matamata. (see also 1835 & 1838)New Zealand source
Andries Potgieter and Pieter Uys, with Griqua, Barolong, Koranna, and BaTlokwa allies, seize Mosega, forcing Mzilikatsi to flee north to Marico Valley.South Africa source

Exploration & Expansion

January 12 – HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, reaches Sydney.source
14 March – HMS Beagle, carrying Charles Darwin, leaves Australia.Australia source
16 July – the brig Mariner leaves Loch Eriboll on the north coast for Cape Breton Island and Quebec in British North America with 154 emigrants, mostly from the nearby Reay district.Scotland source
July 27 – The settlement of Adelaide, South Australia, is founded.source
August – The Commission reaches Quebec, and consists of Lord Gosford, Sir Charles Grey and Sir James Gipps. A congratulatory address is presented to them at Quebec.Canada source
September 1 – Narcissa Whitman, one of the first white women to settle west of the Rocky Mountains, arrives at Walla Walla, Washington.United States source
October 2 – Charles Darwin returns to England aboard HMS Beagle, with biological data he will later use to develop his theory of evolution, having left South America on August 17.source
October 16 – Alte Pinakothek in Munich opened.Germany source
George Catlin ends his 6-year tour of 50 tribes in the Dakota Territory.source
Captain John Howell is sent by whaler and merchant Johnny Jones to establish a whaling station at Riverton to replace that recently abandoned at Preservation Inlet. (see also 1829 and 1835)New Zealand source
The town of Levanger was founded.Norway source
The Philanthropic Order of True Ivorites is established in Wrexham by Thomas Robert Jones, it is Wales' first friendly society.Wales source

Religion & Belief

January – Book by Maria Monk claims that she was sexually exploited in a Canadian conventCanada source
March 27 – The Kirtland Temple, the first Mormon temple, is dedicated by Joseph Smith Jr. in Kirtland, Ohio.source
4 April – Daniel O'Connell gives a speech on "Justice for Ireland".Ireland source
5 July – Main provisions of the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 (passed 21 June) come into effect: the previous secular jurisdiction of the Prince-bishop of Durham over the County Palatine of Durham is vested in the Crown and the Court of the County of Durham is abolished; an Act of 17 August also removes secular jurisdictions of the Archbishop of York and Bishop of Ely.United Kingdom source
July 29 – The Arc de Triomphe, is dedicated in Paris, France.source
7 August – St Andrew's Cathedral, Dundee (Roman Catholic) opened.Scotland source
August 30 – The settlement of Houston, Texas is founded.source
31 October – Provincial Council of Hainaut approves the foundation of the École des Mines de Mons.Belgium source
October – Lord Gosford informs Parliament of the purposes of the Commission and of the intended changes. He exhorts members to be conciliatory, saying: "Consider the blessings you might enjoy, but for your dissensions. Offspring, as you are, of the two foremost nations of the earth, you hold a vast and beautiful country, having a fertile soil, with a healthful climate, while the noblest river in the world makes seaports of your remote havens."Canada source
The first printed literature in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is produced by Justin Perkins, an American Presbyterian missionary in Persia.source
The first printed literature in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is produced by Justin Perkins, an American Presbyterian missionary.United States source
Samuel Prideaux Tregelles - Passages in the Old Testament connected with the RevelationWales source

Economy & Finance

February – foundation of the Ulster Bank in Belfast.Ireland source
15 March – Annual general meeting of the Banque de Belgique, founded the previous year.Belgium source
25 June – Køge Savings Bank is established.Denmark source
1 July – North of Scotland Bank (a constituent of Clydesdale Bank) established in Aberdeen by Alexander Anderson and others.Scotland source
July 8 – Valparaiso, Indiana is incorporated.United States source
The New Board brokerage group is founded in New York City.source
Eugène Schneider and his brother Adolphe Schneider purchase a bankrupt ironworks near the town of Le Creusot, in the Burgundy region of France, and found the steelworks and engineering company Schneider Frères & Cie.source
Undated – Copenhagen's Music Society is founded.Denmark source
Eugène Schneider and his brother Adolphe Schneider purchase a bankrupt ironworks near the town of Le Creusot in the Burgundy region and found the steelworks and engineering company Schneider Frères & Cie.France source
Legal & General formed as the New Law Life Assurance Society by London lawyers.United Kingdom source

Technology & Infrastructure

February 5 – Henry Roe Campbell builds the first 4-4-0, a steam locomotive type that will soon become the most common on all railroads of the United States.United States source
February 8 – London and Greenwich Railway opens its first section, the first railway in London, England.source
February 25 – Samuel Colt receives a United States patent for the Colt revolver, the first revolving barrel multishot firearms.source
21 June – An Act of Parliament is passed, allowing the construction of the Taff Vale Railway.Wales source
July 21 – The Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad opens between St. John and La Prairie, Quebec, the first steam-worked passenger railroad in British North America.source
July 21 – Opening of the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad, the first public railway in Canada.Canada source
13 August – Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway authorised.Scotland source
15 August – Liverpool Lime Street railway station opens in the centre of Liverpool, the first grand terminus building in the world, replacing the smaller Crown Street station and accessed via a long railway tunnel from Edge Hill in the east of the city.United Kingdom source
September 1 – Rebuilding begins at the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem.source
October 24 – The earliest United States patent for a phosphorus friction match is granted to Alonzo Dwight Phillips, of Springfield, Massachusetts.source
October 25 – Construction begins on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in North Carolina. Due to a lack of support in Raleigh, the route is revised to run from Wilmington to the Petersburg Railroad in Weldon.source
December 15 – The United States Patent Office burns in Washington, D.C.source
26 December – John Hughes, W.I. Haberfield and others from the Weller brothers whaling station at Otakou arrive in the Magnet and set up a whaling station on the north side of Moeraki Point.New Zealand source
Sunnanpósturinn begins publication.Iceland source
The Stone Store at Kerikeri, the oldest stone building in New Zealand, is completed mid-year.New Zealand source

Science & Discovery

January 5 – Davy Crockett arrives in Texas, which at this time is not part of the United States.United States source
3 February – A new fourpence coin (groat or "joey") is declared legal tender prior to its first minting since 1800.United Kingdom source
5 March – George Brodie appointed Historiographer RoyalScotland source
May 15 – During an eclipse of the Sun, English astronomer Francis Baily observes the phenomenon named after him as Baily's beads.source
18 June – Belgium adopts metric system.Belgium source
The dissertation of the German writer Georg Büchner on the common barbel (fish), Barbus barbus, "Mémoire sur le Système Nerveux du Barbeaux (Cyprinus barbus L.)", appears in Paris and Strasbourg. After receiving his doctorate, he is appointed in October by the University of Zurich as a lecturer in anatomy.Germany source
Former windmill at Maxwelltown opens as converted into an astronomical observatory and the world's oldest working camera obscura, basis of the modern-day Dumfries Museum.Scotland source
First McGuffey Readers published.United States source

Health & Medicine

February – Lord Aberdeen approves of Lord Aylmer's conduct. The Governor declares that, in filling offices, he has more considered qualifications than nationality; that 80, of 142, places of emolument, and 295 of 580 unsalaried offices, are filled by Frenchmen.Canada source
October 13 – Theodor Fliedner, a Lutheran minister, and Friederike, his wife, open the Deaconess Home and Hospital at Kaiserswerth, Germany, as an institute to train women in nursing.source
In Upper Canada the 92 resolutions are expunged from the journals.Canada source
Eastern Townships, members desert Mr. Papineau.Canada source
Cape of Good Hope Punishment Act is passed to control trekboer and Voortrekker movements.South Africa source

Crime & Justice

August 1 – Abolition Riot of 1836 in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Two fugitive slave women are freed from the courtroom by spectators.United States source
13 August – Last hanging for robbery, Lawrence Curtis at Shrewsbury.United Kingdom source
20 August – An Act for enabling Persons indicted of Felony to make their Defence by Counsel or Attorney ("Prisoner's Counsel" or "Trial for Felonies" Act) requires provision of defence counsel for those charged with serious crimes (coming into force 1 October); also passing of an Act to prevent the Fact of a previous Conviction being given in Evidence to the Jury on the Case before them.United Kingdom source
Chatsworth Head is found near Tamassos, Cyprus.source
Auguste Payen, Porte de Namur tollbooths, BrusselsBelgium source
Foundation of the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.Ireland source
Painter David Wilkie is granted a knighthood.Scotland source
Undated – R v Pritchard decided in the Exchequer of Pleas, a leading case in English law on determining a defendant's fitness to plead.United Kingdom source

Disasters & Accidents

30 January – the Intrinsic sinks off Kilkee with the loss of all fourteen on board.Ireland source
31 August – Last hanging for arson, Daniel Case at Ilchester.United Kingdom source
December 20 – Sudden freeze kills many travelers in Illinois.United States source
December 30 – In Saint Petersburg, the Lehman Theater catches fire, killing 800 people.source

Climate & Environment

July 11 – President Andrew Jackson issues the Specie Circular, beginning the failure of the land speculation economy that will lead to the Panic of 1837.United States source
August – following one of the coldest summers in over fifty years there is widespread failure of the potato crop.Ireland source
December 27 – Lewes avalanche: An avalanche at Lewes in Sussex, England, kills eight of fifteen people buried, when a row of cottages is engulfed in snow.source
27 December – Lewes avalanche in East Sussex kills eight.United Kingdom source

Culture & Society

January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.source
February 29 - Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera, Les Huguenots is performed for the first time in Paris, France.source
5 March – The Music Society is founded in Copenhagen, on Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse's birthday, and for almost a century it remains the most important music venue in DenmarkDenmark source
March 29 – Richard Wagner's opera Das Liebesverbot is performed for the first time, in Magdeburg.source
March 31 (dated April) – The first monthly part of Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers ("The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club..., edited by Boz") is published in London.source
31 March - Chilean presidential election, 1836Chile source
March 31 – Marshall College, named for John Marshall, opens in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. It later merges with Franklin College to become Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.United States source
May 4 – The Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish Catholic fraternal organization, is founded in New York City.source
May 7 – The settlement of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico is elevated to the royal status of villa, by the government of Spain.source
June – Crawshay Bailey buys the Aberaman estate from the family of Anthony Bacon at auction.Wales source
July 30 – The first English-language newspaper is published in Hawaii.source
August 17 – The Marriage Act in the United Kingdom establishes civil marriage and registration systems that permit marriages in nonconformist chapels, and a Registrar General of Births, Marriages, and Deaths.source
4 November – Jan Frans Willems and Jean-Baptist David found Flemish literary society Maetschappij tot Bevordering der Vlaemsche Tael en Letterkunde.Belgium source
November 28 – The University of London is established by Royal Charter, with University College London and King's College London named as the first affiliated colleges.source
December 4 – The Whig Party (United States) holds its first national convention, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.source
In Munich, the art museum Alte Pinakothek opened.source
John Murray III publishes A Hand-book for Travellers on the Continent; being a guide through Holland, Belgium, Prussia and northern Germany, and along the Rhine from Holland to Switzerland, the first of Murray's Handbooks for Travellers, in London.source
Count Herman Wedel Jarlsberg is appointed Governor-general of Norway.Norway source
Wellington School, Ayr, established for "young ladies of quality" by Mrs Gross.Scotland source
Lars Johan Hierta continued editing Aftonbladet, established in 1830 as Sweden's leading journal of liberal opposition.Sweden source

Births

January 3 – Sakamoto Ryōma, samurai and rebel leader (died 1867)Japan source
January 8 – Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-English painter (died 1912)source
February 17: Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, poet (died 1870)Spain source
February 18 – Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Indian religious leader (died 1886)source
February 24 – Winslow Homer, American painter (died 1910)source
March 12 – Isabella Beeton, English writer on household management (died 1865)source
18 April - Eleuterio Ramírez Molina (died 1879)Chile source
May 27 – Jay Gould, American financier (died 1892)source
May 28 – Friedrich Baumfelder, German composer, conductor, and pianist (died 1916)source
July 8 – Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (died 1914)source
August 25 – Bret Harte, American writer (died 1902)source
September 7 – Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1908)source
September 10 – Joseph Wheeler, American general, politician (died 1906)source
September 11 – Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American author (died 1870)source
September 17 – William Jackson Palmer, American founder of Colorado Springs, Colorado (died 1909)source
October 15 – James Tissot, French artist (died 1902)source
November 18 – W. S. Gilbert, British playwright, librettist best known for his collaborations with Arthur Sullivan (died 1911)source
? – Shokouh al-Saltaneh, Iranian Qajar princess.Iran source

Deaths

January 16 – Heinrich Christoph Kolbe, German portrait painter (born 1771)Germany source
January 30 – Betsy Ross, maker, designer of the first American flag (born 1752)source
February 2 – Madame Mère (Letizia Ramolino Bonaparte) mother of Napoleon I (born 1749)source
March 6 – James Bowie, Texan revolutionary (born 1796) — at the Alamosource
March 6 – Davy Crockett, American frontiersman, Congressman and soldier (born 1786) — at the Alamosource
April 7 – William Godwin, English writer (born 1756)source
May 13 – John Littlejohn, American sheriff and Methodist preacher (born 1756)source
May 23 – Edward Livingston, American jurist, statesman (born 1764)source
June 9 – Manuel de Aspiroz, statesman, Senator, and diplomat was born in Puebla, Puebla (died 1905)Mexico source
June 20 – Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, French cleric, constitutional theorist (born 1748)source
June 28 – James Madison, 85, 4th President of the United States (born 1751)source
23 July: Ísleifur Einarsson, politician.Iceland source
September 14 – Aaron Burr, 3rd Vice President of the United States (born 1756)source
September 17 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (born 1748)source
November 6 – King Charles X of France (born 1757)source
November – Tenskwatawa, Shawnee prophet, political leader (born 1775)source
December 27 – Stephen F. Austin, American pioneer (born 1793)source
date unknown - José Santiago Muñoz (born 1780)Chile source