January 9
January 9
Nelson buried at St. Paul’s Cathedral
Lord Horatio Nelson, the British naval hero credited with saving Britain from an invasion by France, is buried at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Napoleon Bonaparte, who led France to…
A Year In History: 1806
This Year in History:
1806
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
March 23
March 23
Lewis and Clark depart Fort Clatsop
After passing a wet and tedious winter near the Pacific Coast, Lewis and Clark leave behind Fort Clatsop and head east for home. The Corps of Discovery arrived at the Pacific…
March 29
March 29
Congress authorizes survey of Cumberland Road
Congress authorizes surveying to begin for the construction of the Cumberland Road, which sped the way for thousands of Americans heading west. Four years earlier, Congress had recognized the importance…
May 30
May 30
Future president Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel
On May 30, 1806, future President Andrew Jackson kills a man who accused him of cheating on a horse race bet and then insulted his wife, Rachel. Contemporaries described Jackson,…
May 30
May 30
Andrew Jackson wins duel
In Logan County, Kentucky, future president Andrew Jackson participates in a duel, killing Charles Dickinson, a lawyer regarded as one of the best pistol shots in the area. The proud…
May 30
May 30
Patriot and future President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson
On this day in 1806, Revolutionary war veteran and future President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel. Born in the Waxhaws area along the border between North Carolina…
July 15
July 15
Pike expedition sets out across the American Southwest
Zebulon Pike, the U.S. Army officer who in 1805 led an exploring party in search of the source of the Mississippi River, sets off with a new expedition to explore…
July 27
July 27
Meriwether Lewis shoots Blackfoot Indian
Attempting to stop a band of young Blackfoot Native Americans from stealing his horses, Meriwether Lewis shoots one in the stomach. The voyage of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to…
August 11
August 11
Meriwether Lewis is shot in the leg
While hunting for elk along the Missouri River, Meriwether Lewis is shot in the thigh, probably by one of his own men. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had embarked on…
September 13
September 13
American sympathizer Charles James Fox dies in Britain
On this day in 1806, Charles James Fox, first foreign secretary of the United Kingdom and vocal supporter of American independence, dies in Chiswick, London, England. Fox was born to…
September 20
September 20
The returning Lewis and Clark reach the first white settlement on the Missouri
On September 20, 1806, after nearly two‑and‑a‑half years spent exploring the western wilderness, the Corps of Discovery arrived at the frontier village of La Charette, the first white settlement they…
September 23
September 23
Lewis and Clark return to St. Louis
Amid much public excitement, American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark return to St. Louis, Missouri, from the first recorded overland journey from the Mississippi River to the Pacific coast…
November 15
November 15
Zebulon Pike spots an imposing mountain
Approaching the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains during his second exploratory expedition, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike spots a distant mountain peak that looks “like a small blue cloud.” The mountain…
December 12
December 12
Stand Watie born
On this day in 1806, Confederate General Stand Watie is born near Rome, Georgia. Watie, a Cherokee Indian, survived the tribe’s Trail of Tears in the 1830s and became the…
