What Happened in 1816

Major Events

  • Jan 8 Sophie Germain is the first woman to win a prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences for her paper on elasticity
  • Jan 12 France decrees Bonaparte family excluded from the country forever
  • Jan 22 Lord Byron completes poems "Parisina" and "Siege of Corinth"
  • Feb 13 -14] Teatro San Carlo in Naples destroyed by fire
  • Feb 20 Gioachino Rossini's comic opera "Barber of Seville" premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, Italy
  • Feb 27 Dutch regain Suriname from the French after the defeat of Napoleon
  • Mar 6 Jews are expelled from Free city of Lubeck, Germany
  • Mar 20 US Supreme Court affirms its right to review state court decisions
  • Apr 9 African Methodist Episcopal Church organizes (Philadelphia)
  • Apr 10 2nd Bank of US chartered
  • More 1816 Events

1816 in Music

Did You Know?

"L'Argus" accidentally discovers raft holding survivors from wrecked French frigate "Méduse." After 13 days at sea only 15 of 151 remain, the rest having been cannibalised, murdered, or committed suicide. This event was made famous by Théodore Gericault’s painting "The Raft of the Medusa"

July 17, 1816


Fun Fact About 1816

French frigate "La Méduse" runs aground under incompetent leadership of Viscount of Chaumareys, 400 passengers evacuated. 150 men, 1 woman are left on "la Machine," a poorly provisioned raft. 13 days later only 15 survivors remain, inspires Théodore Géricault's painting "The Raft of the Medusa"

July 2, 1816

Famous Weddings in 1816

  • Feb 29 Dutch (King) Willem II marries Russian grand-duchess Anna Paulowna
  • May 2 Léopold (Léopold I)of Saxe-Coburg, 1st King of Belgium following independence from the Netherlands marries British Princess Charlotte Augusta
  • Dec 30 English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (24) marries 2nd wife writer "Frankenstein" Mary Godwin (19) and daughter of early feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft

Famous Divorces in 1816

  • Apr 16 Leading Romantic poet Lord Byron signs Deed of Separation dissolving his marriage with Lady Byron at her request after 1 year of marriage