1846 Events

1846 Charles Dickens publishes The Battle of Life
The Battle of Life: A Love Story (better known as The Battle of Life) is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1846. It is the fourth of his five "Christmas Books", coming after ...
1846 Douglas Joins the U.S. Senate
After three years in the House of Representatives, Douglas was eager to move on to the Senate. By 1846, his base in the Illinois state legislature was strong enough to secure his election...
1846 Feb 26 William "Buffalo Bill" Cody is born
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917) was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory (now the American state o...
1846 Apr 24 The Mexican-American War Begins
After the election of Polk, but before he took office, Congress approved the annexation of Texas. Polk moved to occupy a portion of Texas which was also claimed by Mexico, paving the way ...
1846 Apr 25 A 2,000-Strong Mexican Cavalry Detachment Attacks A 63-Man U.S. Patrol
On April 25, 1846, a 2,000-strong Mexican cavalry detachment attacked a 63-man U.S. patrol that had been sent into the contested territory north of the Rio Grande and south of the Nueces ...
1846 May 3 The Siege Of Fort Texas Begins
The Siege of Fort Texas began on May 3. Mexican artillery at Matamoros opened fire on Fort Texas, which replied with its own guns. The bombardment continued for 160 hours and expanded as ...
1846 May 8 Victory At Palo Alto
On May 8, 1846, General Zachary Taylor defeated a detachment of the Mexican army in a two-day battle at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. This victory forced Mexican troops across the Rio...
1846 May 9 Battle Of Resaca De La Palma
At the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, one of the early engagements of the Mexican-American War, United States General Zachary Taylor engaged the retreating forces of the Mexican Ejército d...
1846 May 9 The Siege Of Fort Texas Ends
The Siege of Fort Texas marked the beginning of active campaigning by the armies of the United States and Mexico during the Mexican-American War. The battle is sometimes called The Siege ...
1846 May 11 James K. Polk Delivers A Message To Congress
By then, Polk had received word of the Thornton Affair. This, added to the Mexican government's rejection of Slidell, Polk believed, constituted a casus belli (case for war). His message ...
1846 May 12 Douglass Delivers London Reception Speech at Finsbury Chapel
Starting in August 1845, Douglass spent two years in Great Britain and Ireland, where he gave many lectures, mainly in Protestant churches or chapels. His draw was such that some faciliti...
1846 May 18 Occupation Of Matamoros
U.S. troops occupy Matamoros, Tamaulipas, with no resistance. More than 300 sick and wounded Mexicans captured in the hospitals. Also abandoned were 5 spiked guns.
1846 May 25 John Quincy Adams Speaks To The House
Former President John Quincy Adams also expressed his belief that the war was fundamentally an effort to expand slavery in a speech he gave before the House on May 25, 1846. In response t...
1846 Jun Word Of The Mexican-American War Reaches California
Although the United States declared war against Mexico on May 13, 1846, it took almost two months (until the middle of June, 1846) for definite word of war to get to California. American ...
1846 Jun 1 Pope Gregory XVI dies
The embarrassed financial condition in which Gregory left the Papal States makes it doubtful how far his lavish expenditure in architectural and engineering works, and his magnificent pat...
1846 Jun 15 American Citizens Stage A Revolt
On June 15, 1846, some thirty settlers, mostly American citizens, staged a revolt and seized the small Mexican garrison in Sonoma. They raised the "Bear Flag" of the California Republic o...
1846 Jun 16 Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti (Pius IX) elected Pope
Pope Blessed Pius IX (13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest reigning Pope in Church history, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a pe...
1846 Jun 23 John C. Fremont Takes Over The Republic
On June 15, 1846, some thirty settlers, mostly American citizens, staged a revolt and seized the small Mexican garrison in Sonoma. They raised the "Bear Flag" of the California Republic o...
1846 Jul Davis Resigns House Seat and Leads the Mississippi Rifles
The year 1846 saw the beginning of the Mexican-American War. He resigned his House seat in June, and raised a volunteer regiment, the Mississippi Rifles, becoming its colonel. On July 21,...
1846 Jul 7 Battle Of Monterey
The Battle of Monterey, at Monterey, California (sometimes confused with the Battle of Monterrey, in Nuevo León), was waged on July 7, 1846, during the Mexican-American War. United States...
1846 Jul 7 John Drake Sloat Orders His Forces To Occupy Yerba Buena
Commodore John Drake Sloat, upon hearing of imminent war and the revolt in Sonoma, ordered his naval and marine forces to occupy Yerba Buena (present-day San Francisco) on July 7 and rais...
1846 Jul 7 Mexican-American War Is Officially Declared
Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga (circa 7 January 1797 – 7 September 1849) was a conservative Mexican general and president. He took power in a coup d'etat in 1846. He was the president at the...
1846 Jul 9 John Drake Sloat's Forces Raise An American Flag In Yerba Buena
Commodore John Drake Sloat, upon hearing of imminent war and the revolt in Sonoma, ordered his naval and marine forces to occupy Yerba Buena (present-day San Francisco) on July 7 and rais...
1846 Jul 14 Occupation of Camargo, Tamaulipas
Camargo is a municipality in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the US border, across from Rio Grande City, Texas. It has a population of over 16,000 and an international b...
1846 Jul 15 Sloat Transfers His Command To Robert F. Stockton
Commodore John Drake Sloat, upon hearing of imminent war and the revolt in Sonoma, ordered his naval and marine forces to occupy Yerba Buena (present-day San Francisco) on July 7 and rais...
1846 Aug 3 Lincoln Elected to Congress as Whig Representative from Illinois
In 1846 Lincoln was elected to one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. A staunch Whig, Lincoln often referred to party leader Henry Clay as his political idol. As a freshman House ...
1846 Aug 8 David Wilmot Introduces Proviso as Preventative Slavery Measure
The Wilmot Proviso was introduced on August 8, 1846, in the United States House of Representatives as a rider on a $2 million appropriations bill intended for the final negotiations to re...
1846 Aug 8 Wilmot Proviso Is Introduced
The Wilmot Proviso was introduced on August 8, 1846, in the United States House of Representatives as a rider on a $2 million appropriations bill intended for the final negotiations to re...
1846 Aug 11 Walter Liberty Vernon Is Born
Walter Liberty Vernon (1846–1914) was an English architect who migrated to the state of New South Wales, Australia and pursued his career as an architect in Sydney. He is noted for design...
1846 Aug 15 Battle Of Santa Fe
The so-called Battle of Santa Fe (also known as the Battle of Cañoncito) took place, near Santa Fe, New Mexico, during the Mexican-American War on 8 August through 14 August 1846 without ...
1846 Sep 4 Daniel Hudson Burnham Is born
Architect and city planner Daniel Hudson Burnham was born in Henderson, New York, on September 4, 1846. He moved with his family to Chicago nine years later. As a young man, Burnham worke...
1846 Sep 21 Battle Of Monterrey Begins
In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican-American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by U.S. forces under the comman...
1846 Sep 22
to 1846 Sep 30
 Siege Of Los Angeles
The "Siege of Los Angeles" was a military occupation by the United States Marines of the Pueblo de Los Angeles during the Mexican-American war. On August 13, 1846, early in the America...
1846 Sep 23 Neptune Is Discovered
Discovered on September 23, 1846, Neptune was the first planet found by mathematical prediction rather than by empirical observation. Unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led astrono...
1846 Sep 26
to 1846 Sep 27
 Battle Of Chino
The skirmish known as the 'Battle of Chino' of the Mexican-American War occurred on September 26-27, 1846, during which 24 Americans led by Benjamin D. Wilson, who were hiding in the adob...
1846 Oct
to 1848 Apr
Charles Dickens publishes Dombey and Son
Dombey and Son is a novel by the Victorian author Charles Dickens. It was first published in monthly parts between October 1846 and April 1848 with the full title Dealings with the Firm o...
1846 Oct 8 Battle Of Dominguez Rancho Begins
Stockton, however, left too small a force in Los Angeles, and the Californios, acting on their own and without help from Mexico, led by José Mariá Flores, forced the American garrison to ...
1846 Oct 24
to 1846 Oct 26
 First Battle Of Tabasco
The First Battle of Tabasco was fought during the Mexican-American War. The battle was part of the U.S. Home Squadron's efforts to blockade the major Mexican ports on the Gulf of Mexico.
1846 Nov 16 Battle Of Natividad
The Battle of the Natividad took place on November 16, 1846, during the Mexican-American War. San Juan Bautista was the marshaling area for Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont’s forces ...
1846 Nov 16 Occupation Of Saltillo, Coahuila
Saltillo is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located at 400km south of the U.S. stat...
1846 Dec 6 Battle Of San Pasqual
The Battle of San Pasqual (also spelled San Pascual) was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican-American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley community of the city of ...
1846 Dec 23 Douglass Delivers Address in Leeds, England
Mr. Frederick Douglass, whose appearance was hailed with loud and prolonged cheering[, spoke]. Of his long and eloquent address we can merely present an outline; but we will make our abst...
1846 Dec 25 Battle Of El Brazito
The Battle of El Brazito took place on December 25, 1846, early in the Mexican-American war. In October 1846, Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan of the First Regiment Mounted Missouri Volun...
1846 Dec 28 Iowa is the 29th State Admitted to the Union
The first American settlers officially moved to Iowa in June 1833. Primarily, they were families from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia. On July 4, 1838, the U...