1852 CE

Nine men representing various Hebrew charitable organizations come together to form what will become the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. The victorious Brazilian Army marches through the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Halkyn-born Mormon missionary Dan Jones begins his second (4-year) mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wales. He also oversees translation of the Book of Mormon into the Welsh language.

In the 1850s, the 19th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic.source
January 17 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Transvaal.source
10 February – the Supreme Court of Victoria sits for the first time in Melbourne.Australia source
12 February – State visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to Belgium.Belgium source
16 March – Voortrekker leaders, Andries Pretorius and Hendrik Potgieter reconcileSouth Africa source
8 May – Prussia signs the 1852 London Protocol, a treaty ending the First Schleswig War by nominally returning Schleswig and Holstein to Denmark, while effectively guaranteeing their independenceGermany source
June 30 – The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 is passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to grant the British colony self-government with a representative constitution.source
July 1 – American statesman Henry Clay is the first to receive the honor of lying in state in the United States Capitol rotunda.source
July 5 – Frederick Douglass delivers his famous speech on "The Hypocrisy of American Slavery" in Rochester, New York.United States source
September 11 – Revolution of 11 September 1852 in Argentina: Buenos Aires Province declares independence.source
September 11 – coup d'etat in Argentina; Buenos Aires Province declares independence.Argentina source
October 7 – After learning that U.S. President Fillmore has sent Commodore Matthew C. Perry to open trade with Japan, Nicholas I of Russia sends Rear Admiral Yevfimy Putyatin to lead the Pallada on a similar mission (Putyatin arrives on August 21, 1853, one month after Perry).source
November 2 – 1852 United States presidential election: Democrat Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire defeats Whig Winfield Scott of Virginia.source
November 4 – Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour becomes the Piedmontese prime minister.source
November 11 – The new Palace of Westminster opens in London as the home of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.source
November 21–22 – The New French Empire is confirmed by plebiscite: 7,824,000 for, 253,000 against.source
December 2 – Napoleon III becomes Emperor of the French.source
12 December – legislative election.Portugal source
The Devil's Island penal colony opens in the colony of French Guiana.source
A treaty is reached between the government of Baden and the Swiss Confederation on how to build Basel Badischer BahnhofSwitzerland source

Conflict & Security

5 January – the troopship HMS Birkenhead boards British Army recruits at Queenstown. It has insufficient lifeboats.Ireland source
February 3 – Battle of Caseros, Argentina: The Argentine provinces of Entre Rios and Corrientes, allied with Brazil and members of Colorado Party of Uruguay, defeat Buenos Aires troops under Juan Manuel de Rosas.source
February 20 – Brazilian forces, part of victorious anti-Rosas coalition, parade through Buenos Aires to mark 25th anniversary of Battle of Ituzaingó in Cisplatine WarArgentina source
February 20 - the victorious Brazilian Army marches through the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina.Brazil source
21 February – Earl Russell resigns as Prime Minister after his Militia Bill is amended.United Kingdom source
26 February – The British troopship, HMS Birkenhead is wrecked near Gansbaai, Western CapeSouth Africa source
March 1 – Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.source
April 1 – The Second Anglo-Burmese War begins.source
April 18 – Taiping Rebellion in China: Taiping forces begin the siege of Guilin.source
May 19 – Taiping Rebellion: The siege of Guilin is lifted.source
June 12 – Taiping Rebellion: Taiping forces enter Hunan.source
4 July – Anti-Chinese riots occur in Victoria, Australia.Australia source
October 16 – After nearly five years' imprisonment in France, former Algerian Emir Abdelkader El Djezairi is released by orders of then-president Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte.source
October 31 – General Joaquin Solares of Guatemala leads an invasion of neighboring Honduras, beginning a war that lasts until February 13, 1856.source
December 4 – The French capture Laghouat.source
10 December – abolishing of the death penalty for political crimes.Portugal source
December 23 – Taiping Rebellion: The Taiping army takes Hanyang and begins the siege of Wuchang.source
December 29 – Taiping Rebellion: The Taiping army takes Hankou.source
The Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu.Norway source

Exploration & Expansion

26 February – the Birkenhead founders off the coast of South Africa. The soldiers stand to attention while women and children are placed in the lifeboats.Ireland source
15 April – Postal convention between Belgium and the Office of the Prince of Tour and Taxis signed in Brussels.Belgium source
The British Inman Line is the first to offer United States-bound migrants steerage passage in a steamer, SS City of Glasgow.source
Germans are encouraged to immigrate to Chile.source
The French Catholic De La Salle Brothers arrive from Europe in Singapore, aboard La Julie, and sail up to Penang in the Straits Settlements, to found the first Lasallian educational institutions in Asia.source
Louis Gallait, Gypsy Woman with Two ChildrenBelgium source
Tenant farmer Michael O'Regan emigrates from County Tipperary to London. He will become paternal great-grandfather to Ronald Reagan, President of the United States.Ireland source
Eglington Pauper Lunatic Asylum opened in Cork.Ireland source
Two boatloads of emigrants leave the island of Raasay for Australia.Scotland source

Religion & Belief

February 15 – The Helsinki Cathedral (known as St. Nicholas' Church at time) is officially inaugurated in Helsinki, Finland.source
March 4 – Phi Mu sorority is founded in Macon, Georgia.source
3 April – Henrik Reuterdahl is appointed the Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs.Sweden source
August 23 – Boston missionary Reverend Benjamin Galen Snow lands on the island of Kosrae in the Caroline Islands (Micronesia) first to bring the gospel to the island.source
August – Halkyn-born Mormon missionary Dan Jones begins his second (4-year) mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wales. He also oversees translation of the Book of Mormon into the Welsh language.Wales source
7 November – Théodore de Montpellier consecrated as bishop of Liège in succession to Cornelius van Bommel.Belgium source
18 November – The State Funeral of the Duke of Wellington takes place at St Paul's CathedralUnited Kingdom source
Colonial Bishops Act (British statute)India source
At the second election for the Council of the Borough of Auckland insufficient councillors are elected and the Council ceases functioning.New Zealand source
Kirkcaldy High School established as Kirkcaldy Burgh School.Scotland source
Loyola College in Maryland is chartered as a Jesuit institution in Baltimore.United States source

Economy & Finance

March 18 – Henry Wells and William Fargo create Wells Fargo & Company.source
22 August – Franco-Belgian conventions on intellectual property and tariffs.Belgium source
October 25 – The Toronto Stock Exchange opens.Canada source
17 December – Earl of Derby resigns as Prime Minister, following the defeat of his budget.United Kingdom source
Samuel Kelly establishes his coal merchant's business as Samuel Kelly Coal Merchant on the Coal Quay, Belfast.Ireland source
Lavey-Morcles is created by a merger of Morcles and LaveySwitzerland source
Lowell, Indiana is incorporated.United States source
The Alliance Insurance Company is set up in Wrexham, advertising itself as the only Welsh insurance company.Wales source

Technology & Infrastructure

19 January: The Governor Wynyard, the first steamer built in New Zealand, launched at Freemans Bay, Auckland, makes her first trial trip.New Zealand source
February 11 – The first British public toilet for women opens in Bedford Street, London.source
February 16 – The Studebaker Brothers Wagon Company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established in South Bend, Indiana.source
February 16 – The Studebaker Brothers Wagon Company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.United States source
March 2 – The first American experimental steam fire engine is tested.source
June 26 - creation of the Federal Railroad Police.Brazil source
September 24 – French engineer Henri Giffard makes the first airship trip, from Paris to Trappes.source
November 10 – The Grand Trunk Railway Company is incorporated to build a railway between Toronto and Montreal.Canada source
November 23 – The first roadside pillar boxes in the British Isles are brought into public use in Saint Helier, on Jersey in the Channel Islands, at the suggestion of English novelist Anthony Trollope, at this time an official of the British General Post Office.source
December – The Western Railroad is chartered to build a railroad from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to the coal fields of Egypt, North Carolina.source
The semaphore line in France is superseded by the telegraph.source
Smith & Wesson is founded as a firearms manufacturer in the United States.source
In Hawaii, sugar planters bring over the first Chinese laborers on 3- or 5-year contracts, giving them 3 dollars per month plus room and board for working a 12-hour day, 6 days a week.source
The grooved rail is developed by Alphonse Loubat.source
The first telegraph station was opened in October 1. Marking the transition from Optical telegraph to Electrical telegraph.Russia source
Copper mining begins at SpringbokfonteinSouth Africa source
The manufacturer Hästens is established.Sweden source
Alfred Escher, among others, helps push through a railway law saying that railway construction and operation should be left to private companiesSwitzerland source

Science & Discovery

March 17 – Annibale de Gasparis discovers the asteroid Psyche from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte in Naples.source
April – Samuel Orchart Beeton begins publication of The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, the first for women.United Kingdom source
September 19 – Annibale de Gasparis discovers the asteroid Massalia from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte in Naples.source
4 October – Sweden and Finland 'skip' 10 days in order to align with the spring equinox according to the Gregorian calendar.Sweden source
October 23 – The conjecture of the four color theorem is first proposed, as student Francis Guthrie of University College London presents the question of proving, mathematically, that no more than four colors are needed to give separate colors to bordering shapes on a map (the theorem is not proven for almost 123 years, until 1976).source
October – The Bank of Montreal issues notes like the Bank of England's; denomination water-marked.Canada source
Sophia Posse takes over the girls' school Hammarstedtska skolan.Sweden source
John Williams (Glanmor) – Awstralia a'r Cloddfeydd AurWales source

Health & Medicine

January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come together to form what will become Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.source
January 15 – Nine men representing various Hebrew charitable organizations come together to form what will become the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.United States source
February 14 – The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits its first patient.source
14 February – Great Ormond Street Hospital in London admits its first child patient.United Kingdom source
30 June – Common Law Procedure Act.United Kingdom source
December – In the by-election caused by the death of John Josiah Guest, Henry Austin Bruce is elected MP for Merthyr Tydfil.Wales source
Yellow fever in Buenos Aires epidemicArgentina source
Amalia Assur becomes the first female dentist in Sweden.Sweden source

Crime & Justice

21 June – The trial of Cardinal John Henry Newman for the defamation of Giacinto Achilli opens in London. Newman is convicted on 25 June.United Kingdom source
December — Zeng Guofan appointed commissioner of militia organization for Central ChinaChina source
1–2 April – The Nelson robbery takes place in Hobsons Bay.Australia source
Pobre Cego – Francisco Pinto da Costa.Portugal source
The Factory and Handicrafts Ordinance of 1846 is amended to prohibit night work for labourers under the age of 18.Sweden source
Rayon IV stamps are abandoned and become part of Rayon IIISwitzerland source
California Gold Rush (1848–1855)United States source
William Rees (Gwilym Hiraethog) – Aelwyd F'Ewythr RobertWales source

Disasters & Accidents

4 January – The wooden paddle steamer RMS Amazon catches fire and sinks on her maiden voyage in the Bay of Biscay with between 105 and 115 killed and 58 saved.United Kingdom source
February 25 – HMS Birkenhead sinks near Cape Town, British Cape Colony. Only 193 of the 643 on board survive, after troops stand firm on the deck so as not to overwhelm the lifeboats containing women and children.source
25 February – HMS Birkenhead sinks near Cape Town, British Cape Colony. Only 193 of the 643 on board survive, after troops stand firm on the deck so as not to overwhelm the lifeboats containing women and children.United Kingdom source
July 8 – Beginning of a fire which burns 11,000 houses in Montreal.Canada source
July 28 – Henry Clay steamboat disaster in Riverdale, Bronx, claims several lives, including Stephen Allen.source

Climate & Environment

5 February – Holmfirth Flood caused by collapse of the embankment at Bilberry reservoir in the West Riding of Yorkshire: 81 killed.United Kingdom source
25 June – The Murrumbidgee River flooded Gundagai, New South Wales killing 89 of the population of 250. The town was moved to higher ground. The flooding continued but no deaths occurred.Australia source
9 August – Earthquake causing casualties in São Miguel Island.Portugal source
November 27 – A magnitude 7.5 to 8.8 earthquake strikes near the Banda Islands, Dutch East Indies, triggering a deadly tsunami.source
End of the Great Famine. In the period it has lasted since 1845, one million people have emigrated from Ireland. The Irish now make up a quarter of the population of Liverpool, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore; and a half of Toronto.Ireland source
Polled Herd Book established for Aberdeen Angus and Galloway cattle.Scotland source
End of the Great Famine (Ireland). In the period it has lasted since 1845, one million people have emigrated from Ireland. The Irish now make up a quarter of the population of Liverpool, and the same is true of cities on the east coast of North America.United Kingdom source
1–30 November – Second-wettest month in the EWP series (wettest until 1903) with an average of 202.5 mm. It beats November 1772 with 200.8 mm.United Kingdom source

Culture & Society

February 19 – Phi Kappa Psi fraternity is founded in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, at Jefferson College.source
March 20 – Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is published in book form in Boston, Massachusetts.source
7 May – The Den Borgerlige Velgørenheds Stiftelse is founded.Denmark source
July 5 – Frederick Douglass delivers his famous speech, "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?", in Rochester, New York.source
August 3 – The first American intercollegiate athletic event, the Boat Race between Yale and Harvard, is held.source
August 3 – The first Harvard–Yale Regatta boat race between Harvard and Yale Universities, the first North American intercollegiate athletic event, is held on Lake Winnipesaukee.United States source
11 October – The University of Sydney was inaugurated, Australia's first university.Australia source
November – Leo Tolstoy's debut novel Childhood is published under the initials L. N., in this month's issue of the Saint Petersburg literary journal Sovremennik (and later in book form).source
December 8 – Laval's Seminaire du Quebec founds Université Laval, North America's oldest French Language university.Canada source
Justin Perkins, an American Presbyterian missionary, produces the first translation of the Bible in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, which is published with the parallel text of the Syriac Peshitta, by the American Bible Society.source
Loyola College is chartered in Baltimore, Maryland.source
Mills College is founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in Benicia, California.source
Antioch College is founded in Yellow Springs, Ohio (its first president is Horace Mann).source
The construction of Oscarshall Palace was finished.Norway source
Simon Janashia Museum of GeorgiaRussia source
Academic jurisdiction, formerly permitting universities to rule as courts over their students and faculty, is abolished.Sweden source
St David's College, Lampeter, becomes the first institution in Wales to award degrees.Wales source

Births

February 16 – Charles Taze Russell (Pastor Russell), American Protestant reformer, evangelist, forerunner of Jehovah's Witnesses (died 1916)source
February 26 – John Harvey Kellogg, American Adventist doctor and health reformer (died 1943)source
April 3 – Talbot Baines Reed, English author (died 1893)source
April 14 - Henrique Oswald, pianist and composer (died 1931).Brazil source
May 1 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish histologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (died 1934)source
June 25 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish modernist architect (died 1926)source
July 12 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, 18th President of Argentina (died 1933)source
July 31 – Hans Renold, engineer (died 1943)Switzerland source
September 8 – Gojong, 26th king of the Korean Joseon dynasty, first emperor of Korea (died 1919)source
September 12 – H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1928)source
September 28 – John French, 1st Earl of Ypres, British field marshal, commander of the British Expeditionary Force in World War I (died 1925)source
September 30 – Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer, resident in England (died 1924)source
November 3 – Emperor Meiji of Japan (died 1912)source
November 3- Mutsuhito, 122nd Emperor of Japan, child of Emperor Kōmei and Nakayama Yoshiko (died 1912)Japan source
November 11 – Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Austro-Hungarian field marshal (died 1925)source
December 19 – Albert A. Michelson, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1931)source
December 28 – Leonardo Torres Quevedo, Spanish engineer, one of pioneers of computing and the radio control, inventor of El Ajedrecista (The Chess Player) (died 1936)source
? – Rahimkhan Chalabianloo, Iranian politician.Iran source

Deaths

January 6 – Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind, inventor of braille (born 1809)source
February 4 – Martiniano Chilavert, former Unitarian turned Rosas loyalist, executed by firing squadArgentina source
March 4 – Nikolai Gogol, Russian writer (born 1809)source
13 May - Francisco de la Lastra (born 1777)Chile source
May 15 – Louisa Adams, First Lady of the United States (born 1775)source
June 21 – Friedrich Fröbel, German pedagogue (born 1782)source
June 29 – Henry Clay, American statesman (born 1777)source
August 27 – Táhirih, influential poet and theologian of the Bábí faith in Iran.Iran source
August – Táhirih, Iranian Baha'i theologian, poet and feminist (born 1814)source
September 14 – Augustus Pugin, English architect (born 1812)source
September 14 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, British general and political figure, twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1769)source
September 20 – Philander Chase, American founder of Kenyon College (born 1775)source
October 15 – Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, German gymnastics educator (born 1778)source
October 24 – Daniel Webster, American statesman (born 1782)source
November 10 – Gideon Mantell, English geologist, palaeontologist (born 1790)source
November 27 – Augusta Ada King (née Byron), Countess of Lovelace, early English computer pioneer (born 1815)source
November 30 – Junius Brutus Booth, English-born stage actor, father of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth (born 1796)source
François-Louis Cailler, first Swiss chocolate producer (born 1796)Switzerland source