What Happened in October 1811

Historical Events

Napoleon Visits Utrecht

Oct 6 French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte visits Utrecht

  • Oct 11 The Juliana, 1st steam-powered ferryboat, begins operation

Sense and Sensibility

Oct 28 First known purchase of Jane Austen's novel "Sense and Sensibility" by the Prince Regent (later George IV), a fan

  • Oct 29 1st Ohio River steamboat leaves Pittsburgh for New Orleans

Famous Birthdays

  • Oct 16 Gaetano Capocci, Italian organist and composer (Responsori), born in Rome (d. 1898)
  • Oct 17 Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-American Reformed vicar (settled Holland, Michigan), born in Wanneperveen, Netherlands (d. 1876)
  • Oct 18 Hugh Thompson Reid, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Union City, Indiana (d. 1874)

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Oct 22 Hungarian romantic composer and virtuoso pianist (Faust Symphony), born in Raiding, Hungary

  • Oct 24 Ferdinand Hiller, German pianist, composer and conductor, born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (d. 1885)
  • Oct 25 Évariste Galois, French mathematician (Group theory), born in Bourg-la-Reine, France (d. 1832)
  • Oct 27 Isaac Singer, American inventor (1st practical home sewing machine), born in Pittstown New York (d. 1875)
  • Oct 27 Stevens T. Mason, First Governor of Michigan (1835-40), born in Leesburg, Virginia (d. 1843)

Famous Deaths

  • Oct 7 August R van Hekeren van Suideras, Dutch mayor and orangist, dies at 68
  • Oct 11 Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician, naturalist, and instructor of non-verbal deaf persons, dies at 86
  • Oct 15 Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter (b. 1735)