This Year in History:
1850
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story of adultery and betrayal in colonial America, The Scarlet Letter, is published. Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804. Although the infamous Salem witch trials had…
Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, dies suddenly from an attack of cholera morbus. He was succeeded by Millard Fillmore. Raised in Kentucky with little formal schooling,…
On July 9, 1850, after only 16 months in office, President Zachary Taylor dies after a brief illness. The exact cause of his death is still disputed by some historians.…
On July 10, 1850, Vice President Millard Fillmore is sworn in as the 13th president of the United States. President Zachary Taylor had died the day before, five days after…
French writer Guy de Maupassant, one of France’s best short‑story writers, is born on this day near Dieppe, France. Maupassant began studying law in 1869 but interrupted his studies to…
On September 1, 1859, Jenny Lind, the greatest opera performer in the world, arrives from Europe to the United States for a triumphant national tour that set astonishing box‑office records…
Though it had only been a part of the United States for less than two years, California becomes the 31st state in the union (without ever even having been a…
Suffragist organizers hold the first‑ever National Women’s Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 23, 1850. More than 1,000 delegates from 11 states arrived for the two‑day conference, which had…
On this day in 1850, Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island and Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is born in Scotland. Stevenson studied civil engineering and law, but decided…
