1845 CE

Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state (see History of Florida). A potato blight breaks out in Ireland, beginning the Great Famine. Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork and Galway are incorporated in Ireland.

In the 1840s, the 19th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 23 – The United States Congress establishes a uniform date for federal elections, which will henceforth be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.source
February 28 – The United States Congress approves the annexation of Texas.source
March 1 – President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas, subject to approval by the voters in the Republic. The territory claimed includes all of the future U.S. state of Texas, as well as portions of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming.source
March 3 – Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state. On the same day, both houses of the U.S. Congress vote by a two-thirds majority, to override a presidential veto for the first time in history in order to pass legislation.source
March 3 – Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state (see History of Florida).United States source
April 20 – Ramón Castilla becomes president of Peru.source
1 July: The first Consultative assembly finally met on 1 July 1845 in Reykjavík.Iceland source
16 July - The Dissenter Act was enacted.Norway source
August 9 – The Aberdeen Act is passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, empowering the British Royal Navy to search Brazilian ships, as part of the abolition of the slave trade from Africa.source
October 13 – A majority of voters in the Republic of Texas approve a proposed constitution that, if accepted by the United States Congress, will make Texas a U.S. state.source
10 November – Commercial treaty with the United States signed by Thomas Green Clemson and Adolphe Deschamps in Brussels.Belgium source
December 2 – Manifest destiny: U.S. President James K. Polk announces to Congress that the Monroe Doctrine should be strictly enforced, and that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.source
December 27 – American newspaper editor John L. O'Sullivan claims (in connection with the annexation of the Oregon Country) in The United States Magazine and Democratic Review that the United States should be allowed "the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions". It is the second time he uses the term manifest destiny (first in connection with the Republic of Texas in July – August), and it will have a huge influence on American imperialism in the following century.source
December 29 – Texas is admitted as the 28th U.S. state.source
The Republic of Yucatán separates from Mexico for a second time.source
South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register is first published, 5 July 1845.Australia source
Lord Cathcart, the new governor, arrives.Canada source
British Concession (Shanghai) created by the 1845 Land RegulationsChina source
Natal becomes an autonomous district of Cape ColonySouth Africa source

Conflict & Security

19 January: Hone Heke cuts down the British flagstaff at Kororareka for the third time in the lead-up to the Flagstaff War.New Zealand source
March 11 – The New Zealand Wars open with the Flagstaff War. Chiefs Kawiti and Hōne Heke lead 700 Maoris in the burning of the British colonial settlement of Kororareka (modern-day Russell, New Zealand).source
11 March – Flagstaff War: Chiefs Kawiti and Hōne Heke lead 700 Māori people in the burning of the British colonial settlement of Kororāreka, later known as Russell, New Zealand.United Kingdom source
12 July – Henrik Wergeland, poet (born 1808)Norway source
September 18 – The Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata is formally declared.source
31 October–1 November: an emergency meeting of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom (summoned on 15 October by Sir Robert Peel, the prime minister of the United Kingdom) votes against Peel on the distribution of relief in Ireland, considering it would call the Corn Laws into question.Ireland source
November 20 – Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata – Battle of Vuelta de Obligado: The Argentine Confederation is narrowly defeated by an Anglo–French fleet on the waters of the Paraná River, but the victors suffer serious damage to their ships, and Argentina attracts political support in South America.source
20 November – Battle of Vuelta de Obligado between the Argentine Confederation and an Anglo-French fleet on the waters of the Paraná River.France source
December 11 – First Anglo-Sikh War: Sikh army crosses the Sutlej in the Punjab.source
December 22–23 – Battle of Ferozeshah (Anglo-Sikh War): East India Company forces are victorious over those of the Sikh Empire.source
Undated – Port Augusta War endsAustralia source
The Rebellion Losses Commission sits.Canada source
a wave of Jewish immigration occurs to ShanghaiChina source

Exploration & Expansion

January 1 – The Philippines began reckoning Asian dates by hopping the International Date Line through skipping Tuesday, December 31, 1844. That time zone shift was a reform made by Governor–General Narciso Claveria on August 16, 1844, in order to align the local calendars in the country with the rest of Asia as trade interests with Imperial China, Dutch East Indies and neighboring countries increased, after Mexico became independent in 1821. The reform also applied to Caroline Islands, Guam, Marianas Islands, Marshall Islands, and Palau as part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines.source
May 19 – HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with 134 men, comprising Sir John Franklin's expedition to find the Northwest Passage, sail from Greenhithe on the Thames. They will last be seen in the summer, entering Baffin Bay.source
19 May – HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men, comprising Sir John Franklin's expedition to find the Northwest Passage, sail from Greenhithe on the Thames. They will last be seen in the summer entering Baffin Bay.United Kingdom source
May 30 – Fatel Razack (Fath Al Razack, 'Victory of Allah the Provider', قتح الرزاق) is the first ship to bring indentured labourers from India to Trinidad and Tobago, landing in the Gulf of Paria with 227 immigrants.source
July 4 – Near Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau embarks on a 2-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond (see Walden).United States source
20 July – Charles Sturt enters the Simpson Desert in central Australia.Australia source
July 28 – HMS Terror and HMS Erebus of the Franklin Expedition go missing in the Davis Strait west of Greenland, while searching for the Northwest Passage.source
September–December – African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass makes a speaking tour of Ireland.Ireland source
17 December – Ludwig Leichhardt arrives at Port Essington, Northern Territory, after an overland journey of 4800 km from Jimbour on the Darling Downs.Australia source
Scottish Rights of Way Society establishedScotland source
The Voortrekker settlement of Ohrigstad is foundedSouth Africa source
The road from Cape Town to Stellenbosch through the Maitland area is completedSouth Africa source

Religion & Belief

12 March – St John the Baptist Church in Reid Canberra is consecrated.Australia source
26 March – Sisterhood of the Holy Cross ('Park Village Community') established as the first Anglican sisterhood, to minister to the poor of St Pancras, London.United Kingdom source
October 9 – The eminent and controversial Anglican, John Henry Newman, is received into the Roman Catholic Church.source
December 5 – The Templars of Honor and Temperance is founded in the United States.United States source
The Ancient and Accepted Rite for England and Wales and its Districts and Chapters Overseas is founded in Freemasonry.source
Hobart Synagogue building is completed in Hobart, Tasmania.Australia source
Ole Andres Olsen, Seventh-day Adventist minister and administrator (died 1915)Norway source
Tolbooth Kirk, Edinburgh, designed by James Gillespie Graham and Augustus Pugin, is completed as a church and General Assembly hall (Victoria Hall) for the Church of Scotland in the Royal MileScotland source
The Berlin Mission Society establishes a mission station at PnielSouth Africa source
Halkyn-born Mormon missionary Dan Jones returns to Wales from the United States to proselytise for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Wales source

Economy & Finance

March 1 - Ragamuffin War: peace negotiations led by Luis Alves de Lima e Silva and Antônio Vicente da Fontoura concluded with the signing of the Ponche Verde Treaty between rebels and imperial government, in Dom Pedrito. The treaty offered the rebels a full amnesty, full incorporation into the imperial army and the choice of the next provincial president. All the debts of the Riograndense Republic were paid off by the Empire of Brazil and a tariff of 25% was introduced on imported charque. The Treaty did not state clearly whether the Riograndense and Juliana republics remained independent, but they remained in the Empire of BrazilBrazil source
9 May – F. H. Faulding & Co pharmaceutical company founded in Adelaide, Australia.Australia source
6 August – Edvard Liljedahl, politician and Minister (died 1924)Norway source
October – Aberdeen stock exchange formedScotland source
December 30 – Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway are incorporated in Ireland.source
30 December – Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork and Galway are incorporated.Ireland source
30 December – Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork and Galway are incorporated in Ireland.United Kingdom source
Sofus Arctander, politician and Minister (died 1924)Norway source
Thomas Gee inherits his father's printing business.Wales source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 1 – The Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed.United States source
1 March — Work begins on the construction of the Chester and Holyhead Railway; Robert Stephenson is chief engineer on the project.Wales source
March 17 – Stephen Perry patents the rubber band, in the United Kingdom.source
March — Thomas Brigstocke exhibits his painting of General Nott before Queen Victoria.Wales source
May 2 – Yarmouth suspension bridge in Great Yarmouth, England, collapses leaving around 80 dead, mostly children.source
2 May – The Yarmouth suspension bridge at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, collapses: 79 killed.United Kingdom source
July 26–August 10 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel's iron steamship Great Britain makes the transatlantic crossing from Liverpool to New York, the first screw propelled vessel to make the passage.source
31 July – Aberdeen Railway Bill receives Royal AssentScotland source
7 December – Tinius Olsen, Norwegian American engineer and inventor (died 1932)Norway source
Halifax native Samuel Cunard chooses Boston as the western terminus for his steamships.Canada source
Bessbrook in County Armagh is established as a model village by Quaker linen manufacturer John Grubb Richardson.Ireland source

Science & Discovery

1 January – Lewis Edwards founds the periodical Y Traethodydd.Wales source
13 February – Henrik Steffens, philosopher, scientist, and poet (born 1773)Norway source
August 28 – The journal Scientific American begins publication.source
31 October – Johan Reinhardt, professor in zoology (born 1778)Norway source
Ephraim Bee reveals that the Emperor of China has given him a special dispensation: that he has entrusted him with certain sacred and mysterious rituals through Caleb Cushing, the U.S. Commissioner to China, to "extend the work and influence of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus" in the New World.source
Construction begins of the "Leviathan of Parsonstown", a telescope built by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse.Ireland source
Skutterudite, a mineral containing nickel and iron, was discovered. The discovery was made in Skuterud Mines, Modum, Buskerud.Norway source
Publication of the New Statistical Account of Scotland is completedScotland source
Brita Sofia Hesselius opens a daguerreotype photographic studio in Karlstad and likely becomes the first professional female photographer in Sweden.Sweden source
John Mills (Ieuan Glan Alarch) — Y Beirniadur CymreigWales source

Health & Medicine

28 September – Cæsar Peter Møller Boeck, dermatologist (died 1917)Norway source
20 November – a relief commission for Ireland first meets.Ireland source
December 27 – Anesthesia is used for childbirth for the first time, by Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Georgia.source
December 27 – Anesthesia is used for childbirth for the first time (Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Georgia).United States source
Grant Medical College opened in BombayIndia source
Oscar Ludvig Stoud Platou, jurist and professor (died 1929)Norway source

Crime & Justice

February – Andover workhouse scandal begins.United Kingdom source
20 May – The last fatal duel between Englishmen on English soil takes place near Gosport. James Alexander Seton is shot and dies twelve days later from his wound. His opponent, Royal Marine Lieutenant Charles Lawes Pym, is tried for murder a year later, but acquitted.United Kingdom source
May 23 – New York City Police Department (NYPD) is formed, replacing an old night watch system.United States source
Jon Eilevsson Steintjønndalen, Hardanger fiddle maker (died 1902)Norway source
Daniel Evans (Daniel Ddu o Geredigion) — Galar-Cerdd ar Farwolaeth William Bruce Knight, Deon LlandafWales source
John Ambrose Lloyd — Y Ganaan GlydWales source

Disasters & Accidents

April 10 – The Great Fire of Pittsburgh destroys much of the American city of Pittsburgh.source
April 10 – The Great Fire of Pittsburgh destroys much of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.United States source
May 25 – A theater fire in Canton, China, kills 1,670.source
July 19 – Great New York City Fire of 1845 breaks out in Lower Manhattan.United States source
August 4 – British emigrant barque Cataraqui is wrecked on King Island (Tasmania) with 400 people killed and only 9 survivors.source
4 August – The ship Cataraqui is wrecked off the coast of Tasmania, the 406 people on board drown.Australia source
9 September – Christen Christensen, shipyard owner, ship-owner and whaling manager (died 1923)Norway source
25 November – the Dublin to Longford passenger boat hit the canal bank and capsized on the Royal Canal outside Clonsilla, Dublin at approximately 4:00pm, drowning 15 peopleIreland source

Climate & Environment

10 January – Jørund Telnes, farmer, teacher, writer and politician (died 1892).Norway source
April 7 – An earthquake destroys part of Mexico City, along with the nearby towns of Tlalpan and Xochimilco.source
August 19 – A tornado kills 75 in France at Montville while destroying two large factories.source
September 9 – Potato blight breaks out in Ireland, beginning the Great Famine.source
9 September – A potato blight breaks out in Ireland, beginning the Great Famine.United Kingdom source
16 September – Parliament meets in extraordinary session to debate responses to the failure of the potato cropBelgium source
31 October–1 November – An emergency meeting of the Cabinet (summoned on 15 October by Sir Robert Peel, the Prime Minister) votes against Peel on the distribution of famine relief in Ireland, considering it would call the Corn Laws into question.United Kingdom source
5 December – unable to persuade his Cabinet to repeal the Corn Laws in the face of the Great Famine, Peel tenders his resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to Queen Victoria but is reinstated days later when Lord John Russell is unable to form a government.Ireland source
1845 Netherlands potato famineNetherlands source
Netherlands Entomological SocietyNetherlands source
Erich Haagensen Jaabech, farmer and politician (born 1761)Norway source

Culture & Society

January 10 – Elizabeth Barrett receives a love letter from the younger poet Robert Browning; on May 20, they meet for the first time in London. She begins writing her Sonnets from the Portuguese.source
January 29 – The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is published for the first time, in the New York Evening Mirror.source
February 1 – Anson Jones, President of the Republic of Texas, signs the charter officially creating Baylor University (the oldest university in the U.S. state of Texas that still operates under its original name).source
February 1 – Anson Jones, President of the Republic of Texas, signs the charter officially creating Baylor University in present-day Waco, which becomes the oldest university in the State of Texas operating under its original name.United States source
February 7 – A drunken visitor smashes the Portland Vase in the British Museum, requiring months of repair work.source
7 February – In the British Museum, a drunken visitor smashes the Portland Vase which takes months to repair.United Kingdom source
March 13 – The Violin Concerto by Felix Mendelssohn premieres in Leipzig, with Ferdinand David as soloist.source
2 April: The Wellington Independent publishes its first issue. The newspaper continues to publish bi-weekly or tri-weekly until 1874.New Zealand source
May – Frederick Douglass's autobiographical Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is published by the Boston Anti-Slavery Society.source
21 June – News of the discovery of a rich body of copper ore at Burra, South Australia is published in Adelaide newspapers.Australia source
15 July – Christian Holtermann Knudsen, typographer, newspaper editor, publisher, trade unionist and politician (died 1929)Norway source
14 August – the Falkirk Herald newspaper is first publishedScotland source
22 August – Hans Christian Lumbye's Champagne Galop premières in Tivoli Gardens to mark the second anniversary of the amusement park.Denmark source
September 25 – The Phi Alpha Literary Society is founded, in Jacksonville, Illinois.source
October 10 – In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 midshipmen and seven professors.source
October 19 – Richard Wagner's opera Tannhäuser debuts at the Dresden Royal Court Theater.source
October 21 – The New York Herald becomes the first newspaper to mention the game of baseball.source
Eugénie Luce founds the Luce Ben Aben School in Algiers.source
Friedrich Engels' treatise The Condition of the Working Class in England is published in Leipzig as Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England.source
Heinrich Hoffmann publishes a book (Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder), introducing his character, Struwwelpeter, in Germany.source
Penry Williams paints the portrait of Lady Charlotte Guest.Wales source

Births

January 7 – King Ludwig III of Bavaria (died 1921)source
26 January - Júlio César de NoronhaBrazil source
February 15 – Elihu Root, American statesman, diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (died 1937)source
February 25 – Sir George Reid, 4th Prime Minister of Australia (died 1918)source
March 3 – Georg Cantor, German mathematician (died 1918)source
March 10 – Emperor Alexander III of Russia (died 1894)source
19 March - Ramón Allende Padín (died 1884)Chile source
March 27 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1923)source
May 12 – Gabriel Fauré, French composer (died 1924)source
May 15 – Élie Metchnikoff, Russian microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (died 1916)source
May 30 – King Amadeo I of Spain (died 1890)source
June 2 – Arthur MacArthur Jr., U.S. Army general (died 1912)source
June 22 – Richard Seddon, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1906)source
August 25 – King Ludwig II of Bavaria (died 1886)source
December 9 – Joel Chandler Harris, American writer (died 1908)source
December 24 – George I of Greece (died 1913)source
Zhao Erfeng (1845–1911), courtesy name Jihe, was a Qing Dynasty official and Han Chinese bannerman, who belonged to the Plain Blue Banner. He is known for being the last amban in Tibet, appointed in March, 1908China source
? – Abdol Majid Mirza, Iranian Prime Minister.Iran source

Deaths

January 11 – Etheldred Benett, British geologist (born 1776)source
February 22 – William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington, British politician (born 1763)source
16 March - Manuel Rengifo (born 1793)Chile source
March 18 – Johnny Appleseed, American pioneer (born 1774)source
May 12 – August Wilhelm Schlegel, German poet, translator and critic (born 1767)source
26 May: Jónas Hallgrímsson, poet and writer.Iceland source
June 8 – Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States (born 1767)source
June 8 – Former U.S. President Andrew Jackson, 78, dies at The Hermitage (Nashville, Tennessee).source
1 July: George Phillpotts, naval officerNew Zealand source
July 12 – Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian writer (born 1808)source
July 17 – Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1764)source
July 22 – Heinrich Graf von Bellegarde, Austrian field marshal, statesman (born 1756)source
August 23 – Thomas R. Gray, American author and diplomat (born 1800)source
October 12 – Elizabeth Fry, British humanitarian (born 1780)source
October 26 – Lady Nairne, Scottish songwriter (born 1766)source
November 17 – Sir Salusbury Pryce Humphreys, British admiral (born 1778)source
November 18 – King Aleamotuʻa of Tonga (born 1738)source