Year by year · 19th century

1807

1807 in world history: 12 events, 16 births, 7 deaths, 1 work, 4 states founded and 6 that came to an end. 1,119 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 28 January

    Gas lamps light Pall Mall in London

    Frederick Albert Winsor's demonstration lit part of Pall Mall with gas lamps, the first public street lighting by gas. Gas lighting spread rapidly through British cities over the next decades.

    London

  2. 19 February

    Aaron Burr arrested for treason in Alabama

    The former Vice-President was seized near Wakefield, accused of plotting to found an independent nation in the West. He was acquitted that September, but his political career was over.

  3. 2 March

    Jefferson signs the act banning the importation of slaves

    The law prohibited bringing enslaved people into the United States from 1 January 1808, the earliest date the Constitution allowed. Smuggling and the domestic slave trade continued.

    United States

  4. 25 March

    Britain abolishes the slave trade

    The Slave Trade Act received royal assent, banning British participation in the Atlantic slave trade. Slavery itself continued in British colonies until the Abolition Act of 1833.

  5. 17 August

    Robert Fulton's steamboat begins its voyage up the Hudson

    Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat left New York and reached Albany in 32 hours of running. It launched the first commercially successful steamboat service, transforming river travel.

    New York

  6. 1 September

    Aaron Burr is acquitted of treason

    A jury in Richmond acquitted former Vice President Aaron Burr of plotting to wage war in the West. Chief Justice John Marshall's strict reading of treason doomed Jefferson's prosecution.

  7. Treaty · Peace

    Treaties of Tilsit

    The Treaties of Tilsit were signed in July 1807 by Napoleon with Alexander I of Russia and Frederick William III of Prussia, after the French victory at Friedland.

  8. Event

    Abolition of the Atlantic slave trade

    The abolition of the Atlantic slave trade refers to the outlawing of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, beginning with the British Slave Trade Act of 1807, which Britain then enforced at sea.

  9. Treaty

    Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807)

    The Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807) was a secret agreement of 27 October 1807 between Napoleonic France and Spain to invade and partition Portugal.

ProfileState939 states with a known seat in 1807Open the atlas at 1807 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1807 16

Died in 1807 7

Works 1

States founded 4

States that came to an end 6

All years → The 19th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1807. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1807
MLA
“1807.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1807. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1807.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1807.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1807’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1807 (Accessed: ).