| January 5 | Davy Crockett arrives in Texas, just in time for the Alamo |
| January 12 | Battle of Wetumka, Florida |
| January 12 | HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin reach Sydney, Australia |
| February 3 | Whig Party holds its 1st national convention (Albany New York) |
| February 6 | HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin reach Diemen's Land, also known as Tasmania, Australia |
| February 7 | "Sketches by Boz" (essays) published by Charles Dickens |
| February 17 | HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin leave Tasmania |
| February 22 | Dutch garrison evacuates fort Du Bus New Guinea |
| February 23 | Alamo besieged by Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed |
| February 24 | 3,000 Mexicans attack 182 Texans at Alamo, lasts 13 days |
| February 25 | Samuel Colt patents 1st revolving barrel multishot firearm |
| February 29 | Giacomo Meyerbeers opera "Les Huguenots," premieres in Paris |
| March 2 | Republic of Texas declares independence from Mexico |
| March 5 | Samuel Colt manufactures 1st pistol, 34-caliber "Texas" model |
| March 6 | 3,000 Mexicans beat 182 Texans at the Alamo, after 13 day fight |
| March 6 | HMS Beagle/Darwin reaches King George's Sound, Australia |
| March 6 | Mexico attacks Alamo in the early morning |
| March 14 | HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin leaves Australia |
| March 16 | Texas approves a constitution |
| March 17 | Texas abolishes slavery |
| March 23 | Coin Press invented by Franklin Beale |
| March 27 | 1st Mormon temple dedicated in Kirtland, Ohio |
| April 1 | Charles Darwin aboard HMS Beagle reaches Cocos Islands |
| April 14 | Congress forms Territory of Wisconsin |
| April 19 | Nikolai Gogol's "Revisor," premieres in St. Petersburg |
| April 20 | Territory of Wisconsin created |
| April 21 | Battle of San Jacinto, in which Texas wins independence from Mexico |
| May 9 | HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin departs Port Louis, Mauritius |
| May 15 | Francis Baily observes "Baily's Beads" during annular solar eclipse |
| May 22 | Felix Mendelssohn's oratorium "St. Paul," premieres in Dusseldorf |
| May 31 | HMS Beagle anchors in Simons Bay, Cape of Good Hope |
| June 1 | Charles Darwin returns to Capetown |
| June 15 | Arkansas becomes 25th state |
| June 16 | London Working Men's Association forms |
| July 4 | Wisconsin Territory forms |
| July 8 | HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin reach Saint-Helena |
| July 13 | U.S. patent #1 (after 9,957 unnumbered patents), for locomotive wheels |
| July 19 | HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin reache Ascension |
| July 20 | Charles Darwin climbs Green Hill on Ascension |
| July 21 | 1st Canadian RR opens, between Laprairie and St. John, Quebec |
| July 27 | Adelaide, South Australia founded |
| July 30 | 1st English newspaper published in Hawaii |
| August 1 | HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin return to Bahia, Brazil |
| August 17 | British parliament accept registration of birth/marriage/death |
| August 17 | HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin leave South-America for last time |
| August 19 | HMS Beagle anchors at Angra Azores |
| August 31 | HMS Beagle anchors in Postage Praia, Cape Verde Islands |
| September 1 | Reconstruction begins on Synagogue of Rabbi Judah Hasid in Jerusalem |
| September 5 | Sam Houston elected president of Republic of Texas |
| September 25 | HMS Beagle anchors at St. Michael |
| October 2 | Darwin returns to England aboard HMS Beagle (after 5 years) |
| October 12 | 18" of snow falls in Bridgewater, New York |
| October 22 | Sam Houston inaugurated as 1st elected President of Republic of Texas |
| October 24 | A. Phillips patents match |
| November 10 | Louis Napoleon banished to America |
| November 11 | Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru |
| December 4 | Whig party holds its 1st national convention, Harrisburg, Pa |
| December 7 | Martin Van Buren elected 8th president |
| December 15 | Patent Office burns in Wash, DC |
| December 27 | Worst English avalanche kills 8 of 15 buried (Lewes Sussex) |
| December 28 | Spain recognizes independence of Mexico |
| December 30 | Lehman-theater in St. Petersburg catches fire; 100s die |
