1841 CE

Publication of the terms of the Convention of Chuenpi, signed between British Plenipotentiary Charles Elliot and Chinese Imperial Commissioner Qishan during the First Opium War between the United Kingdom and the Qing dynasty of China. Daniel O'Connell is elected as the first Roman Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin in centuries. The first multilateral treaty for the suppression of the African slave trade, the Treaty for the Suppression of the African Slave Trade, signed in London by the representatives of Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and Russia.

In the 1840s, the 19th century.

1841 at a glance

World population: about 1.23 billion Our World in Data
United States: Martin Van Buren, then William Henry Harrison, then John Tyler (President) Wikipedia rev. 1360994931
United Kingdom: Victoria (Queen); William Lamb, then Robert Peel (Prime minister) Wikipedia rev. 1360994931
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Tokugawa shogunate of Japan: Ninkō (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1360994931

Who led every country in 1841 →

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom and Qishan of the Qing dynasty agree to the Convention of Chuenpi.source
20 January — publication of the terms of the Convention of Chuenpi, signed between British Plenipotentiary Charles Elliot and Chinese Imperial Commissioner Qishan during the First Opium War between the United Kingdom and the Qing dynasty of ChinaChina source
January 30 – El Salvador proclaims itself an independent republic, bringing an end to the Federal Republic of Central America.source
February 10 – The Act of Union (British North America Act, 1840) is proclaimed in Canada.source
February 11 – Upper Canada and Lower Canada are merged to create the United Province of Canada.source
May 3 – New Zealand becomes a separate British colony, having previously been administered as part of the Colony of New South Wales.source
8 June – Parliamentary elections.Belgium source
9 June – de Aguiar takes over as prime minister after ValdezPortugal source
1 July – The convict assignment system was abolished in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land and was replaced by the probation gang system.Australia source
1 July: The Colony of New Zealand comes into existence, a separate Crown colony from New South Wales.New Zealand source
August 11 – Frederick Douglass speaks in front of the Anti-Slavery Convention in Nantucket, Massachusetts.source
September 24 – Sarawak is broken away from Brunei, and James Brooke is appointed Rajah.source
27 September – José Ballivián is sworn-in to the presidency after five days of uncertainty.Bolivia source
November 7 – Slaves bound for sale in New Orleans take control of the Creole, eventually sailing to freedom in British Nassau.United States source
December 20 – The first multilateral treaty for the suppression of the African slave trade, the Treaty for the Suppression of the African Slave Trade, signed in London by the representatives of Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and Russia.source
Cape Masters and Servants Ordinance is passed, replacing Ordinance 50. It removes racial distinction among servants. White, coloured, and ex-slaves face equal legal penalties if they commit contract breaches.South Africa source

Conflict & Security

11 February – Uruguayan Civil War: The right of prize was decreed as a "good prize" to seize every Argentine ship with credentials of the Governor of Buenos Aires along with its cargo, that were navigating in Uruguay, Paraná and de la Plata rivers, and later those from high seas, except for ships coming from Corrientes province.Uruguay source
February 18–March 11 – First ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate.United States source
27 February — Battle of First Bar, Nemesis sank Cambridge, an old, but re-armed East Indiaman that the Chinese had purchased.China source
May 22 – The Georgian province of Guria revolts against the Russian Empire.source
May – The Sino-Sikh War begins.source
10 June – President José Miguel de Velasco is ousted in a coup d'état by Sebastián Ágreda.Bolivia source
August 16 – U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House, in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.source
27 August – Rufus River massacre.Australia source
October 10 – First Opium War: Battle of Chinhai – British capture a Chinese garrison.source
October 13 – First Opium War: British occupy Ningbo.source
December 23 – First Anglo-Afghan War: At a meeting with the Afghan general Akbar Khan, British diplomat Sir William Hay Macnaghten is shot dead at close quarters.source
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42)source
Antoine Wiertz, La Chute des Anges rebellesBelgium source
Sino-Sikh War, May 1841 to August 1842, General Zorawar Singh Kahluria of the Sikh Empire invaded Qing TibetIndia source
The Auckland Town Plate is contested at Epsom Downs. A committee of army officers and townspeople forms to control racing in Auckland (Epsom). (see also 1849).New Zealand source

Exploration & Expansion

January 28 – Ross discovers the "Victoria Barrier", later known as the Ross Ice Shelf. On the same voyage, he discovers the Ross Sea, Victoria Land and Mount Terror.source
February - The first economic minerals discovered in Australia were silver and lead at Glen Osmond, now a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia.Australia source
31 March: The William Bryan arrives at Taranaki from Plymouth, bearing 148 settlers to found New Plymouth.New Zealand source
July 20 – The Mercantile Agency (ancestor of Dun & Bradstreet) is founded in New York City by Lewis Tappan.source
July 31 – Scottish missionary David Livingstone arrives at Kuruman in the Northern Cape, his first posting in Africa.source
August 20–October 16 – The Niger expedition of 1841 begins sailing up the Niger River by paddle steamers, under the auspices of the British Society for the Extinction of the Slave Trade and the Civilisation of Africa; it is largely abortive, due to the high incidence of disease among the crews.source
November – The settlement of Dallas, Texas, is founded by John Neely Bryan.source
The Dawn Settlement, in what is now Dresden, Ontario, is established to provide self-help for Blacks in agricultural communities.Canada source
the British expedition divided its forces, sending one fleet south to the Pearl River while sending a second fleet north to the Yellow Sea. The northern fleet sailed to the Hai River, where Elliot personally presented Palmerston's letter to the Emperor to Qing authorities from the capital. Qishan (ᡴᡳᡧᠠᠨ), a high-ranking Manchu official, was selected by the Imperial Court to replace Lin as the Viceroy of Liangguang after the latter was discharged for his failure to resolve the opium situation.China source
Missionaries from the Presbyterian Church of Wales found the Presbyterian Church in India in the Khasi Hills in northeast IndiaIndia source
Autumn – Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor tours Scotland.Scotland source
Missionary David Livingstone arrives in the Cape Colony and proceeds to Kuruman before journeying through Central Africa.South Africa source
The Brymbo ironworks are bought out of Chancery after a long period of litigation and reopened by a limited company.Wales source

Religion & Belief

28 May – seven church ministers of the Presbytery of Strathbogie are removed from their posts by the General assembly of the Church of Scotland for obeying civil rather than ecclesiastical law.Scotland source
21 June – St. Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham is dedicated as a Roman Catholic church.United Kingdom source
July 18 – The sixth bishop of Calcutta, Daniel Wilson, and Dr. James Taylor, Civil Surgeon at Dhaka, establish the first modern educational institution on the Indian subcontinent, Dhaka College. — Sundaysource
27 September: Foundation of a school for Catholic boys, the first school in Auckland.New Zealand source
1 November – Daniel O'Connell is elected as the first Roman Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin in centuries.Ireland source
Jean Baptiste De Baets, St. Stefanus, GhentBelgium source
Loreto Sisters come to India and build schoolsIndia source
En modig qvinnas händelserika lefnad, Antecknad av Henne Sjelf by Anna CarlströmSweden source
Founding of Bala-Bangor Congregational College.Wales source

Economy & Finance

25 February - Circular from the Minister of Finances Georges Humann to prefects requiring a general census of property in every commune for a door and window tax. This leads to criticism in the press and unrest in cities across the country from 7 July to 10 September.France source
22 March - Law on regulation of working conditions for children ages 8 to 16, prohibiting under-8s from employment.France source
10 June - The Stocks punishment, already restricted and generally fallen of use, is banned.Sweden source
Foundation of the shipping company Götaverken.Sweden source
Mordecai Jones opens a brewery at Brecon.Wales source

Technology & Infrastructure

29 March – the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway is opened between Glasgow Bridge Street railway station and Greenock.Scotland source
March: Captain Rhodes builds the first wharf in Wellington, in front of his store on the Wellington waterfront.New Zealand source
24 May - Gas lighting used for the first time in Sydney.Australia source
July 5 – Thomas Cook arranges his first railway excursion in England.source
15 July – Exposition des Produits le l'Industrie Nationale opens in Brussels.Belgium source
19 August — three British warships and 380 marines drove the Chinese from the land bridge (known as "The Barrier") separating Macau from the Chinese mainland.China source
8 December - The month-old Albert Edward, eldest son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, is created Prince of Wales by letters patent.Wales source
Wendela Hebbe, regarded a pioneer of female reporters, is employed as a reporter at Aftonbladet.Sweden source
The first steam self-propelled fire engine in the U.S. is completed by Paul Rapsey Hodge for use in New York City.United States source

Science & Discovery

9 March - The first known photograph is taken in Wales, of Margam Castle by Calvert Jones.Wales source
The first Australian book for children was published in Sydney, A mother's offering to her children, by a 'lady long resident in New South Wales'. Although published anonymously, the author is Charlotte Barton.Australia source
Uranium is first isolated, by Eugène-Melchior Péligot.France source
The first recorded mining in New Zealand, as outcrops of manganese are mined on the coast of Kawau Island.New Zealand source
Diodes och Lydia by Wilhelmina StålbergSweden source
Chemical Society of London founded by Thomas Graham.United Kingdom source

Health & Medicine

January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the island records a population of about 7,500.source
10 February – Penny Red postage stamp replaces the Penny Black.United Kingdom source
April – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew first opens to the public and William Hooker appointed director.United Kingdom source
6 June – 1841 census of Ireland: the first thorough census is completed and the population of Ireland is calculated to be just under 8.2 million.Ireland source
6 June – United Kingdom Census taken across Scotland.Scotland source
November 13 – Scottish surgeon James Braid first sees a demonstration of animal magnetism by Charles Lafontaine in Manchester, which leads to his study of the phenomenon that he (Braid) eventually calls hypnotism.source
13 November – Surgeon James Braid attends his first demonstration of animal magnetism, which leads to his study of the subject he eventually calls hypnotism.United Kingdom source
27 November – The execution of a national census was ordered.Uruguay source
William Bland published a paper on the first scarlet fever epidemic in Australia; probably Australia's earliest contribution to clinical medicine.Australia source
The state supported brothels London and Stadt Hamburg is closed.Sweden source

Crime & Justice

February 18 – The first ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate begins, and lasts until March 11.source
March 9 – United States v. The Amistad: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the case, that the Africans who seized control of the ship had been taken into slavery illegally.source
March 9 – Amistad: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the case that the Africans who seized control of the ship had been taken into slavery illegally.United States source
April 20 – Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is published in Graham's Magazine (Philadelphia) (of which he became editor in February). The story will be recognized as the first significant work of detective fiction.United States source
14 May – Irish navvies Dennis Doolan and Patrick Redding are hanged at Crosshill, Bishopbriggs (near Glasgow and site of the later Cadder Yard), the location at which they participated in the murder of ganger John Green on the works of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway on 10 December 1840.Scotland source
7 June – Darlinghurst Gaol took in its first prisoners.Australia source
26 July – The proprietors of The Skerries Lighthouse off Anglesey, the last privately owned light in the British Isles, are awarded £444,984 in compensation for its sale to Trinity House.United Kingdom source
John Augustus develops the concept of probation in Boston, Massachusetts.source
Succession (Property Protection) ActIndia source
The first of the von Schwerin Estate's Scandals attracts attention.Sweden source

Disasters & Accidents

4 January – City of Dublin Steam Packet Company SS Thames is wrecked on the Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly, with the loss of 61 of the 65 on board; at least 20 other ships run aground round the British Isles today.United Kingdom source
January 30 – A fire destroys two-thirds of the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.source
January 30 – A fire destroys 300 of the 500 housing units in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Spanish Empire.United States source
19 February - The Governor Fenner, carrying emigrants to America, sinks off Holyhead after colliding with a steamer, with the loss of 123 lives.Wales source
20 February – The Governor Fenner, carrying emigrants to America, sinks off Holyhead with the loss of 123 lives.United Kingdom source
October 30 – A fire at the Tower of London destroys its Grand Armoury and causes a quarter of a million pounds' worth of damage.source
30 October – A fire at the Tower of London destroys its Grand Armoury and causes a quarter of a million pounds worth of damage.United Kingdom source

Climate & Environment

January 27 – The active volcano Mount Erebus in Antarctica is discovered, and named by James Clark Ross.source
27 January – The active volcano Mount Erebus in Antarctica is discovered and named by James Clark Ross.United Kingdom source
February 4 – The first known reference is made to Groundhog Day, celebrated in North America, in the diary of a James Morris.source
15 June – 1841 "Caída da Praia" earthquake.Portugal source
Poor Law Amendment Act 1841 is passed, largely thanks to the efforts of Sir George Cornewall Lewis.Wales source

Culture & Society

January: The first sailing regatta in the country is held as part of Anniversary celebrations in Wellington.New Zealand source
June 6 – The United Kingdom Census is held, the first to record names and approximate ages of every household member, and to be administered nationally.source
June 21 – St. John's College, later Fordham University, is founded in The Bronx by Jesuits.source
June 21 – Fordham University is opened in The Bronx by the Society of Jesus as St. John's College.United States source
26 June - Chilean presidential election, 1841Chile source
June 28 – The ballet Giselle is first presented by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris, France, with music by Adolphe Adam and Italian ballerina Carlotta Grisi in the title role.source
July 17 – The first edition of the humorous magazine Punch is published in London.source
July 18 – Emperor Pedro II of Brazil is crowned in Rio de Janeiro. — Sundaysource
1 September – Port Phillip Savings Bank was established.Australia source
19 September – Founding of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium.Belgium source
October 2 – The Canada Gazette publishes its first issue.Canada source
October 16 – Queen's University is founded in Kingston, Ontario, by Rev. Thomas Liddell, who carries a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria, and becomes the school's first principal.source
December 27 – Franz Liszt gives a piano recital at the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin to an enthusiastic audience, retrospectively marked as the beginning of Lisztomania, which will accompany his tours across Europe during the decade.source
Jón Sigurðsson's annual magazine Ný félagsrit (New Association Writings) begins publication. The magazine was used to communicate with the Icelandic people from his home in Denmark.Iceland source
The poem «Vi ere en Nation, vi med» is first published. It was written by Henrik Wergeland.Norway source

Births

9 January - Julio Herrera y Obes, Uruguayan politician, lawyer and journalist, also President of Uruguay in the 1890–1894 term (died 1912).Uruguay source
January 14 – Berthe Morisot, French painter (died 1895)source
January 25 – John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, British admiral (died 1920)source
January 28 – Sir Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh explorer, journalist (died 1904)source
February 25 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter (died 1919)source
March 8 – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (died 1935)source
5 April: Hallgrímur Sveinsson, prelate (Bishop of Iceland)Iceland source
10 April - Adolfo Rivadeneyra (died 1882)Chile source
24 July – Francisco da Veiga Beirão, politician (died 1916)Portugal source
August 25 – Emil Kocher, Swiss medical researcher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (died 1917)source
August 28 – Louis Le Prince, French inventor, Father of Cinematography (died 1890)source
September 8 – Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (died 1904)source
September 8 – Charles J. Guiteau, American lawyer, assassin of James A. Garfield (died 1882)source
September 28 – Georges Clemenceau, French statesman (died 1929)source
October 7 – King Nicholas I of Montenegro (died 1921)source
October 16 – Prince Itō Hirobumi, 4-time prime minister of Japan (died 1909)source
November 9 – King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (died 1910)source
November 20 – Sir Wilfrid Laurier, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (died 1919)source

Deaths

January 20 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish adventurer (born 1780)source
February 12 – Sir Astley Cooper, British surgeon and anatomist (born 1768)source
March 1 – Claude-Victor Perrin, Duc de Belluno, French marshal (born 1764)source
March 12 – All 136 passengers and crew on steamship SS President, commanded by legendary captain Richard Roberts (known for saying "I'd go to sea in a bathtub"), are killed when the ship founders in rough seas.source
April 4 – William Henry Harrison, American military officer and politician, 9th President of the United States (born 1773)source
April 4 – President William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, aged 68, becoming the first president of the United States to die in office, and at one month, the American president with the shortest term served. He is succeeded by Vice President John Tyler.source
April 28 – Peter Chanel, French Roman Catholic priest, missionary, and saint (martyred) (born 1803)source
1 May - Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin, acting Governor of the Cape Colony who supervised the arrival and settling of the British settlers and who founded Port Elizabeth, dies in Southampton, EnglandSouth Africa source
May 23 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher, theologian (born 1765)source
June 1 – Nicolas Appert, French inventor (born 1749)source
June 1 – David Wilkie, Scottish artist (born 1785)source
July – Mary Rogers ("Beautiful Cigar Girl"), American murder victim (born c. 1820)source
16 August - Fernando Errázuriz Aldunate (born 1777)Chile source
30 August: Luis Eduardo Pérez, politician, Governor of the Estado Oriental del Uruguay in 1827–1828, Provisional Governor of Uruguay in 1828 and Interim President in early 1830 (born 1774).Uruguay source
September 25 – John Chandler, American politician (born 1762)source
October 9 – Karl Friedrich Schinkel, German architect (born 1781)source
November 18 – Agustín Gamarra, Peruvian general and politician, 10th and 14th President of Peru (born 1785)source
18 November – Agustín Gamarra, President of Peru (born 1785)Bolivia source