"Carnaval Romain"
Feb 3 Hector Berlioz's overture "Carnaval Romain" premieres in Paris
Discovery of Lake Tahoe
Feb 14 John C. Frémont and his party become the first Europeans to discover Lake Tahoe during his second expedition through the American West
- Feb 27 Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti (National Day)
- Feb 28 12-inch gun aboard USS Princeton explodes, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer, and other high-ranking U.S. federal officials
- Feb 28 6th Grand National: John Crickmere wins aboard 5/1 co-favourite Discount
- Mar 8 Oscar I (45) ascends to the throne of Sweden-Norway, upon the death of his father, Charles XIV John
Hernani
Mar 9 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Hernani" premieres in Venice
- Mar 21 Origin of Baha'i Era-Baha'i calendar starts here (Baha 1, 1)
- Mar 21 The original date predicted by William Miller of Massachusetts for the return of Christ and the end of the world
- Mar 28 Jose Zorilla's "Don Juan Tenorio" premieres in Madrid
- Apr 12 Texan envoys sign Treaty of Annexation with the United States
Whig Convention
May 1 Whig convention nominates Henry Clay as presidential candidate
1st Telegraph Message
May 24 Samuel Morse taps out "What hath God wrought" in the world's first telegraph message
- May 25 1st telegraphed news dispatch is published in Baltimore Patriot
YMCA Formed
Jun 6 Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) formed by George Williams in London
Vulcanization of Rubber
Jun 15 Charles Goodyear patents the vulcanization of rubber
- Jun 22 Influential North American fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon is founded at Yale University
- Jul 3 The last pair of Great Auks is killed
- Jul 27 Fire destroys US mint at Charlotte, North Carolina
- Jul 30 1st US yacht club - NY Yacht Club organized by John Cox Stevens and 8 friends aboard the Gimcrack
Brigham Young Leads the Mormons
Aug 8 Brigham Young chosen as head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following the death of Joseph Smith
- Aug 29 1st white-indian lacrosse game in Montreal, Indians win
- Sep 5 Iron ore discovered in Minnesota's Mesabi Mountains
- Sep 25 Canada defeats USA by 23 runs in the first cricket international match at the grounds of the St George's Cricket Club in Manhattan, NYC
- Sep 28 Coronation of Oscar I of Sweden-Norway as King of Sweden-Norway in Stockholm, Sweden
Leichhardt Expedition
Oct 1 German explorer Ludwig Leichhardt departs Jimbour, the farthest outpost of settlement on the Queensland Darling Downs, to begin his exploration of Australia's Northern Territory from Moreton Bay to Port Essington
James Knox Polk
Dec 4 James Knox Polk elected 11th US President
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists