- Jan 1 African Benevolent Society (education) forms
- Jan 1 Congress prohibits importation of slaves
- Jan 1 Sierra Leone becomes a British colony
- Jan 10 Herman Daendels succeeds Albertus Wiese as Governor-General of Dutch-East Indies
- Jan 12 The organizational meeting that led to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
- Jan 19 Louis Napoleon signs 1st Dutch aviation law
- Jan 26 Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia
- Feb 11 Anthracite coal 1st burned as fuel, experimentally, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
- Feb 21 Russia invades Finland, then part of the Swedish Kingdom, with 24,000 troops
- Mar 2 The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, was held in Edinburgh.
- Mar 6 1st college orchestra in US founded, at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Mar 7 Portugal's regent Dom Juan IV arrives in Rio De Janeiro
Charles IV Abdicates
Mar 19 Charles IV, king of Spain, abdicates after riots and a popular revolt at the winter palace Aranjuez. His son, Ferdinand VII, takes the throne
- Mar 26 Charles IV of Spain abdicates in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII
Die Schopfung
Mar 27 Joseph Haydn's oratorio "Die Schopfung" premieres in Vienna
- Mar 31 French created Kingdom of Westphalia orders Jews to adopt family names
American Fur Company
Apr 6 John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company
American Dioceses Established
Apr 8 Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore promoted to an archdiocese by Pope Pius VII, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville)
The Third of May
May 3 Day depicted by Spanish painter Francisco Goya in his "The Third of May", painted 1814
- May 3 Finnish War: Sweden loses the fortress of Sveaborg to Russia
- May 3 Peninsular War: The Madrid rebels who rose up on May 2 are fired upon near Príncipe Pío hill
- May 30 Napoleon Bonaparte annexes Tuscany and gives it seats in the French Senate
- Jun 15 Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain
- Jul 2 Simon Fraser completes his trip down Fraser River, British Columbia, lands at Musqueam
- Jul 15 French marshal Joachim Murat becomes King of Naples
- Jul 20 Napoleon decrees all French Jews must adopt a fixed family name
Battle of Vimeiro
Aug 21 Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War.
- Sep 13 Finnish War: In the Battle of Jutas, Swedish forces under Lieutenant General Georg Carl von Döbeln beat the Russians, making von Döbeln a Swedish war hero.
- Sep 30 Covent Garden Theatre Royal destroyed by fire in London
- Oct 17 Political rights of Jews suspended in Duchy of Warsaw
- Oct 31 Holland Brigade battle at Durango, Spain
- Nov 10 Osage Treaty / Treaty of Fort Clark, Osage Nation cedes territory in Missouri and Arkansas to the US
James Madison Elected
Dec 7 James Madison elected 4th US President, and George Clinton re-elected Vice-President
Goya Swears Oath to the King
Dec 23 Painter Francisco Goya swears an oath of loyalty to Joseph Bonaparte as king of Spain, during the Napoleonic occupation of Spain [1]
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists