1844 in the United States
| |||||
Decades: |
| ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
See also: |
![](../I/Gregg_A_Map_of_the_Indian_Territory_1844_UTA.jpg.webp)
Map of Indian Territory in 1844
Events from the year 1844 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal Government
- President: John Tyler (I-Virginia)
- Vice President: vacant
- Chief Justice: Roger B. Taney (Maryland)
- Speaker of the House of Representatives: John Winston Jones (D-Virginia)
- Congress: 28th
Events
![](../I/Explosion_aboard_USS_Princeton.jpg.webp)
February 28: USS Princeton disaster
- January 15 – The University of Notre Dame receives its charter from Indiana.
- February 28 – The "Peacemaker", the largest naval gun in the world, explodes during a demonstration aboard the USS Princeton, killing six, including Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and Secretary of the Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer.
- March 12 – The Columbus and Xenia Railroad, the first railroad that is planned to be built in Ohio, is chartered.
- May 24 – The first electrical telegram is sent by Samuel F. B. Morse from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to the B&O Railroad "outer depot" in Baltimore, Maryland, saying "What hath God wrought".
- June–July – The Great Flood of 1844 hits the Missouri River and Mississippi River.
- June 15 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
- June 22 – Influential North American fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon is founded at Yale University.
- June 27 – Death of Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother Hyrum are killed in Carthage Jail, Carthage, Illinois by an armed mob, leading to a succession crisis in the movement. John Taylor, future president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is severely injured but survives.
- July 3 – The U.S. signs the Treaty of Wanghia with Qing dynasty China, the first diplomatic agreement between the two nations in history.
- July 25 – Exclusion Law in Oregon prohibits African Americans (including slaves) from entering or remaining in the territory
- October 22 – The Great Disappointment: Millerites (including future members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church) find that the Second Coming of Jesus does not occur as predicted by preacher William Miller.
- December 4 – U.S. presidential election, 1844: James K. Polk defeats Henry Clay.
- Undated – The first ever international cricket match is played in New York City between Canada and the United States.
Births
- March 12 – Patrick Collins, lawyer, 37th Mayor of Boston and U.S. Representatives from Massachusetts (died 1905)
- April 13 – John Surratt, suspected involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, son of Mary Surratt (died 1916)
- April 22 – Lewis Powell, conspirator with John Wilkes Booth, attempted assassin of William H. Seward (died 1865)
- May 2 - Elijah McCoy, inventor of the automatic steam engine lubricator (died 1929)
- June 3 – Garret Hobart, 24th Vice President of the United States from 1897 till 1899. (died 1899)
- July 9 – Charles D. Barney, stockbroker (died 1945)
- August 1 – Levi Ankeny, United States Senator from Washington from 1903 till 1909. (died 1921)
- August 24 – Charles B. Clark, politician and entrepreneur (died 1891)
- October 11 – Henry J. Heinz, entrepreneur and founder of the H. J. Heinz Company (died 1919)
Deaths
- January 13 – Alexander Porter, United States Senator from Louisiana from 1833 till 1837. (born 1785)
- January 25 – Horace H. Hayden, first licensed American dentist (born 1769)
- February 27 – Nicholas Biddle, financier, last president of the Second Bank of the United States (born 1786)
- February 28 –
- Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of State from 1843 to 1844 (born 1790)
- Thomas W. Gilmer, fifteenth Secretary of the Navy (born 1802)
- March 6 – Gabriel Duvall, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1811 to 1835 (born 1752)
- May 18 – Richard McCarty, politician (born 1780)
- April 4 – Charles Bulfinch, architect of the Massachusetts State House (born 1763)
- April 21 – Henry Baldwin, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court from 1830 till 1844. (born 1780)
- June 27 Joseph Smith Jr., religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement (born 1805)
- July 23 – Christian Gobrecht, third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1840 to 1844 (born 1785)
- August 15 – William S. Fulton, United States Senator from Arkansas 1836 till 1844. (born 1795)
- September 14 – Oliver Holden, composer (born 1765)
External links
Media related to 1844 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.