Centuries: Year in Review 19th Century (18th century - 19th century - 20th century)
Decades: 1790s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s - 1840s - 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s
Years: 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 - 1844 - 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849
Births
- Karl Benz - German automotive pioneer
- May 20: Henri Rousseau, French naive painter
- October 15 - Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher
- May 23 - `Abdu'l-Bahá, Persian religious leader
Deaths
- June 27 - Joseph Smith, American religious leader
Events
- July 3 - The last pair of Great Auks is killed.
- May 23 - Persian Prophet The Báb announces His revelation, founding Bábism
- May 23 - Samuel Morse sends the first telegram with his electric telegraph.
- Swedish chemistry professor Gustaf Erik Pasch invents the safety match