Year by year · 19th century

1815

1815 in world history: 30 events, 13 births, 14 deaths, 3 works, 15 states founded and 13 that came to an end. 1,120 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 8 January

    Andrew Jackson defeats the British at New Orleans

    Jackson's mixed force repulsed a British assault on New Orleans, inflicting some 2,000 casualties. Fought after the Treaty of Ghent was signed but before news arrived, it made Jackson a national hero.

  2. 26 February

    Napoleon escapes from Elba

    With about a thousand men, Napoleon slipped away from his island exile and sailed for France. He regained power without a shot, beginning the Hundred Days that ended at Waterloo.

    Napoleon

  3. 1 March

    Napoleon lands in France after escaping Elba

    Napoleon came ashore at Golfe-Juan near Cannes with about a thousand men. Troops sent to stop him joined him instead, and he entered Paris on 20 March to begin the Hundred Days.

    NapoleonParis

  4. 20 March

    Napoleon returns to Paris

    The day after Louis XVIII fled, Napoleon entered the Tuileries to cheering crowds. His restored rule, the Hundred Days, ended with defeat at Waterloo in June.

    NapoleonParis

  5. 10 April

    Mount Tambora reaches its cataclysmic climax

    The Indonesian volcano produced the largest eruption in recorded history, killing tens of thousands on Sumbawa and Lombok. Its ash cooled the globe, making 1816 the 'Year Without a Summer'.

  6. 3 May · Battle

    Battle of Tolentino

    The Battle of Tolentino was fought on 2–3 May 1815 near Tolentino in the Marche, Italy, between Joachim Murat's Neapolitan army and the Austrians.

  7. 9 June

    Congress of Vienna signs its Final Act

    Days before Waterloo, the great powers signed the treaty redrawing Europe's map after Napoleon. Its settlement shaped European borders and diplomacy for decades.

    Russian EmpireCongress of ViennaNapoleon

  8. 18 June

    Wellington and Blücher defeat Napoleon at Waterloo

    The arrival of Blücher's Prussians broke Napoleon's final assault on Wellington's army near Brussels. Napoleon abdicated four days later and was exiled to St Helena.

    Napoleon

  9. 15 July

    Napoleon surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon

    Unable to escape to America, Napoleon gave himself up to Captain Frederick Maitland of HMS Bellerophon off Rochefort. The British exiled him to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.

    Napoleon

  10. 15 October

    Napoleon arrives in exile at Saint Helena

    HMS Northumberland anchored off Jamestown, Saint Helena, carrying the defeated Napoleon. On this remote South Atlantic island he spent his last six years, dying there in 1821.

    JamestownNapoleon

  11. 7 December

    Marshal Ney is executed by firing squad

    Michel Ney, whom Napoleon called 'the bravest of the brave', was shot in Paris for treason after joining his former emperor during the Hundred Days. He refused a blindfold and is said to have given the order to fire.

    NapoleonParis

  12. 23 December

    Jane Austen's Emma is published

    John Murray published Emma, though its title page bore the date 1816. Austen's comedy of a confident young matchmaker is often judged her most accomplished novel.

  13. Battle

    Battle of Quatre Bras

    The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought on 16 June 1815 at a crossroads south of Brussels, two days before Waterloo.

  14. Treaty

    Kandyan Convention

    The Kandyan Convention was the agreement signed on 2 March 1815 between the British and the chiefs of the Kingdom of Kandy, after they had helped the British depose King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha.

  15. Event

    Second White Terror

    The Second White Terror was a wave of royalist reprisals in southern France in 1815, after Napoleon's Hundred Days and the second restoration of Louis XVIII.

  16. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Paris (1815)

    The Treaty of Paris of November 1815 was signed after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo and his Hundred Days.

  17. War

    Neapolitan War

    The Neapolitan War was fought in 1815 between the Kingdom of Naples under Joachim Murat and the Austrian Empire.

  18. War

    War of the Seventh Coalition

    The War of the Seventh Coalition was the final campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, fought in 1815 after Napoleon escaped from Elba and retook power in France during the Hundred Days.

  19. Treaty

    German Federal Act

    The German Federal Act of 8 June 1815 was the founding treaty of the German Confederation, agreed at the Congress of Vienna and incorporated into its Final Act.

  20. Battle

    Battle of Fei Pi

    The Battle of Fei Pi was fought on Tahiti in November 1815 between Pōmare II, returning from exile on Moorea, and the chiefs opposed to him.

  21. Event

    Congress of Oriente

    The Congress of Oriente was an assembly of the Federal League convened by José Gervasio Artigas at Arroyo de la China, now Concepción del Uruguay, in June 1815.

ProfileState941 states with a known seat in 1815Open the atlas at 1815 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1815 13

Died in 1815 14

Works 3

States founded 15

States that came to an end 13

All years → The 19th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1815. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1815
MLA
“1815.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1815. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1815.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1815.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1815’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1815 (Accessed: ).