Famous birthdays, deaths and events of 1840
Birthdays January 18 - Henry Austin Dobson, English poet (d. 1921) March 18 - William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (d. 1901) April 2 - Émile Zola, French novelist and critic (d. 1902) April 27 - Edward Whymper, English mountain climber (d. 1911) May 7 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (d. 1893) May 10 - Hadzhi Dimitar, Bulgarian revolutionist (d. 1868) May 13 - Alphonse Daudet, French novelist (d. 1897) June 2 - Thomas Hardy, English writer (d. 1928) June 7 - Charlotte of Belgium, Empress of Mexico (d. 1927) June 10 - Theodor Philipsen Danish painter, (d. 1920) August 14 - Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German psychologist (d. 1902) August 28 - Alexander Cameron Sim, Scottish merchant (d. 1900) October 12 - Helena Modjeska, Polish actress (d. 1909) December 4 - Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux chief (d. 1877)
Deaths January 6 - Fanny Burney, English novelist and diarist (b. 1752) March 30 - Beau Brummell, English celebrity and dandy (b. 1778) May 27 - Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1782) June 6 - Marcellin Champagnat, French priest (b. 1789)
Events January 13 - The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives. January 19 - Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States. January 20 - Dumont D'Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica. January 20 - Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands. January 22 - British colonists reach New Zealand. February 6 - Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, founding document of New Zealand. February 10 - Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom marries Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. February 11 - Gaetano Donizetti's opera La Fille du Régiment receives its first performance in Paris. March 1 - Adolphe Thiers becomes prime minister of France. April 27 - Foundation stone for new Palace of Westminster, London, laid by wife of Sir Charles Barry. May 1 - The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom. May 6 - The Penny Black postage stamp is valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. May 7 - The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history. May 20 - York Minster was badly damaged by fire May 22 - The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished. June 20 - Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph. July 4 - The Cunard Line's 700 ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia on the first transatlantic crossing with a scheduled end. July 23 - The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union. August 1 - Labourer slaves in most of the British Empire are emancipated. September 5 - Premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's Un giorno di regno at La Scala of Milan. October 7 - Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands. October 14 - Maronite leader Bashir II surrenders to the British forces and goes into exile in Malta.
