1837 Events

1837 Louis Agassiz shows changes in Alpine glaciers
In 1837 Agassiz was the first to scientifically propose that the Earth had been subject to a past ice age. In the same year, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy o...
1837 Jan 4 Charles Darwin First Speech to the Geological Society of London
With Lyell's enthusiastic backing, Darwin read his first paper to the Geological Society of London on 4 January 1837, arguing that the South American landmass was slowly rising. On the sa...
1837 Jan 26 Michigan is the 26th State Admitted to the Union
Michigan entered the Union as the twenty-sixth state on January 26, 1837. More than two hundred years earlier, when French explorer Étienne Brulé visited the region in 1622, some twelve ...
1837 Feb
to 1839 Apr
Charles Dickens publishes The Adventures of Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress (commonly known as Oliver Twist) (1838) is Charles Dickens's second novel. The book was originally published in Bentley's Miscellany as a se...
1837 Feb 12 Thomas Moran Is Born
February 12 marks the birth of painter Thomas Moran (1837-1926). His depictions of Western landscapes inspired Americans to conserve and cherish spectacular wilderness areas as part of th...
1837 Mar 1 Lincoln is admitted to the Bar
Admitted to the bar in 1837, he moved to Springfield, Illinois that same year and began to practice law with John T. Stuart. With a reputation as a formidable adversary during cross-exam...
1837 Mar 4 City of Chicago is Incorporated, Granted City Charter by the State of Illinois
In 1837 Chicago received its first city charter, which divided the city into six wards, allowed for a mayor elected to a one-year term, and legally incorporated Chicago as a municipality....
1837 Mar 4 Martin Van Buren is inaugurated as the eighth president of the United States
The ailing President Jackson and his Vice President Van Buren rode together to the Capitol from the White House in a carriage made of timbers from the U.S.S. Constitution. Chief Justice ...
1837 Apr 3 John Burroughs Is Born
Writer John Burroughs was born on April 3, 1837, in Roxbury, New York. Like Henry David Thoreau before him, Burroughs gained a wide following for his observations, in the form of nature ...
1837 May 3 National And Kapodistrian University Of Athens Is Established
Ranked 200th in the world, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greek: Εθνικόν και Καποδιστριακόν Πανεπιστήμιον Αθηνών), usually referred to simply as the University of Ath...
1837 May 27 James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok Born
Frontiersman, lawman, army scout, gambler, and legendary marksman James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was born on May 27, 1837, in Troy Grove, Illinois. As a youth, Hickok became acquainte...
1837 Jul 4 The Chickasaws Gather At Memphis, Tennessee
Unlike other tribes who exchanged land grants, the Chickasaw received financial compensation from the United States for their lands east of the Mississippi River. In 1836 the Chickasaws h...
1837 Oct 7 Loss of the SS Home
While making its third voyage from New York to Charleston, the Home struck a sandbar off the Jersey coast. Unaware of the extent of the damage, her captain proceeded on schedule to Charl...
1837 Oct 29 Harriet Powers Is Born
Harriet Powers (October 29, 1837 – January 1, 1910) was an African American slave, folk artist and quilt maker from rural Georgia. She used traditional appliqué techniques to record local...
1837 Nov 7 Elijah Parish Lovejoy Is Killed
On November 7, 1837, Elijah Parish Lovejoy was killed by a pro-slavery mob while defending the site of his anti-slavery newspaper The Saint Louis Observer. His death both deeply affected...
1837 Dec 26 Commodore George Dewey Is Born
This flowery tribute captures the sense of romance with which turn-of-the-century Americans regarded the naval hero of the Spanish-American War, Commodore George Dewey. In actuality, Dewe...
1837 Dec 31 Amasa J. Parker Writes A Letter To His Wife
On December 31, 1837, Democrat Amasa J. Parker, Congressman from New York, sat down at his quarters in Mrs. Pittman's boarding house in Washington, D.C. to write a letter to his wife, mil...