Year by year · 19th century

1842

1842 in world history: 11 events, 6 births, 12 deaths, 2 states founded and 1 that came to an end. 1,082 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 30 March

    Crawford Long uses ether to anaesthetise a patient

    In Jefferson, Georgia, Dr Crawford Long removed a tumour from James Venable's neck after giving him ether. He did not publish until 1849, after William Morton's public demonstration.

    Georgia

  2. 29 August

    The Treaty of Nanking ends the First Opium War

    China ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain, opened five ports to foreign trade and paid a large indemnity. It was the first of the 'unequal treaties' China remembers as a century of humiliation.

    Qing EmpireFirst Opium WarHong Kong

  3. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Nanjing

    The Treaty of Nanjing was the peace treaty of 1842 that ended the First Opium War between Britain and Qing China.

  4. Treaty

    Webster–Ashburton Treaty

    The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed on 9 August 1842 by the US Secretary of State Daniel Webster and the British envoy Lord Ashburton, settled the disputed border between Maine and New Brunswick and other boundary questions between the United States and…

  5. Battle

    Battle of Congella

    The Battle of Congella was fought on 23–24 May 1842 at Port Natal, present-day Durban, between Boers of the Natalia Republic and a British force under Captain Thomas Smith.

  6. Event

    Great Fire of Hamburg

    The Great Fire of Hamburg broke out on 5 May 1842 and burned for four days, destroying about a quarter of the old town, including the town hall and several churches.

ProfileState917 states with a known seat in 1842Open the atlas at 1842 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1842 6

Died in 1842 12

States founded 2

States that came to an end 1

All years → The 19th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1842. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1842
MLA
“1842.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1842. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1842.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1842.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1842’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1842 (Accessed: ).