7th February » Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali II of Yejju known as Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien.
21st February » John Greenough is granted the first United States named U.S. patent for the sewing machine.
9th March » The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush.
17th March » The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is formed;
30th March » Diethyl ether named Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Physician or Dr. Crawford Long.
8th May » A train Versailles rail accident named derails and catches fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people.
30th May » John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill, London or Constitution Hill in London with Albert, Prince Consort named Prince Albert.
1st August » The Lombard Street Riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
9th August » The Webster–Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States–Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.
14th August » American Indian Wars: Seminole Wars known as Second Seminole War ends, with the Seminoles forced from Florida to Oklahoma.
29th August » Treaty of Nanking signing ends the First Opium War.
26th November » The University of Notre Dame is founded.
Famous Birthdays in 1842
4th January » Frederic T. Greenhalge, American politician, 38th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
6th January » Clarence King, American geologist, mountaineer, and critic (d. 1901)
10th January » Luigi Pigorini, Italian palaeontologist, archaeologist, and ethnographer (d. 1925)
11th January » William James, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 1910)
15th January » Josef Breuer, Austrian psychiatrist (d. 1925)
15th January » Mary MacKillop, Australian saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (d. 1909)
26th January » François Coppée, French poet and author (d. 1908)
2nd February » Julian Sochocki, Polish mathematician (d. 1927)
3rd February » Sidney Lanier, American composer and poet (d. 1881)
6th February » Mary Rudge, English chess player (d. 1919)
7th February » Alexandre Ribot, French politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1923)
23rd February » Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher (d. 1906)
24th February » Arrigo Boito, Italian journalist, author, and composer (d. 1918)
25th July » Dominique Jean Larrey, French physician and surgeon (b. 1766)
28th July » Clemens Brentano, German author and poet (b. 1778)
18th August » Louis de Freycinet, French explorer and navigator (b. 1779)
10th September » William Hobson, Irish-New Zealand soldier and politician, 1st Governor of New Zealand (b. 1792)
10th September » Letitia Christian Tyler, American wife of John Tyler, 11th List of First Ladies of the United States called First Lady of the United States (b. 1790)
15th September » Pierre Baillot, French violinist and composer (b. 1771)
15th September » Francisco Morazán, Guatemalan general, lawyer, and politician, List of heads of state of Federal Republic of Central America known as President of Central American Federation (b. 1792)
19th October » Aleksey Koltsov, Russian poet (b. 1808)
20th October » Grace Darling, English heroine (b. 1815)
30th October » Allan Cunningham (author) known as Allan Cunningham, Scottish author and poet (b. 1784)
7th December » Thomas Hamilton (writer) e.g Thomas Hamilton, Scottish philosopher and author (b. 1789)