What Happened in 1809

Humphry Davy Creates the First Arc Lamp

The concept was first demonstrated by Sir Humphry Davy in the early 19th century (1802, 1805, 1807 and 1809 are all mentioned), using charcoal... Read more

Edgar Allan Poe Is Born

No writer has the ability to evoke a sense of horror and dread more effectively than Edgar Allan Poe, born on January 19, 1809 in Boston,... Read more

Abraham Lincoln is Born

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, two uneducated farmers, in a one-room log cabin on the 348-acre... Read more

Charles Darwin is Born

Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England on 12 February 1809 at his family home, the Mount. He was the fifth of six... Read more

James Madison Inaugurated as President of the United States of America

In the United States presidential election of 1808, the Democratic-Republican candidate James Madison defeated Federalist candidate Charles... Read more

James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth president of the United States

Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath of office in the Hall of the House of Representatives (now National Statuary Hall). Subsequently... Read more

Mary Kies Receives the First Patent by a Woman in US

Mary Dixon Kies (March 21, 1752 – 1837) was an early 19th-century American who was the first recipient of a patent granted to a woman by the United... Read more