What Happened in June 1831

Historical Events

  • Jun 1 British explorer James Clark Ross discovers the magnetic North Pole on the west coast of Boothia peninsula [1]
  • Jun 4 National Congress selects Leopold von Saksen-Coburg as King of Belgium
  • Jun 6 2nd US national black convention (Philadelphia)

Famous Birthdays

  • Jun 1 John Bell Hood, American Confederate general during the American Civil War (Army of Tennessee), born in Owingsville, Kentucky (d. 1879)
  • Jun 2 Benjamin Hardin Helm, American Brigadier General (Confederates) and Abraham Lincoln's brother-in-law, born in Bardstown, Kentucky (d. 1863)
  • Jun 2 Jan Gerard Palm, Curaçao bandmaster, choir master, and composer known as as the "Father of Curaçao's classical music", born in Curacao (d. 1899)
  • Jun 3 Otho French Strahl, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1864)
  • Jun 5 Marcus Joseph Wright, American lawyer and Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Purdy, Tennessee (d. 1922)
  • Jun 7 Amelia Edwards, English author (The Phantom Coach) and Egyptologist, born in London (d. 1892)
  • Jun 8 Thomas J. Higgins, Union Army soldier during the American Civil War, recipient of America's highest military decoration (Medal of Honor), born in Huntington, Quebec, Canada (d. 1917)
  • Jun 10 W. A. Remy [Wilhelm Mayer], Austro-Bohemian composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czech Republic) (d. 1898)

James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)

Jun 13 Scottish physicist (electromagnetic theory, speed of light), born in Edinburgh, Scotland

  • Jun 26 Julius Rodenberg [Levy], German writer (Kriegs-Songs of War & Peace), born in Rodenberg, Germany (d. 1914)
  • Jun 28 Joseph Joachim, German violinist (Hungarian Concerto), born in Köpcsény, Moson County, Kingdom of Hungary (d. 1907)
  • Jun 29 William Thomas Clark, American politician and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Norwalk, Connecticut (d. 1905)

Famous Weddings

Robert E. Lee

Jun 30 Soldier and future Confederate General Robert E. Lee (24) marries Mary Custis (22) at Arlington House, Arlington Virginia

Famous Deaths

  • Jun 8 Sarah Kemble Siddons, English tragic actress (Fatal Marriage, Lady Macbeth), dies at 75
  • Jun 10 Hans Karl von Diebitsch, Russian field marshal (b. 1785)
  • Jun 16 Josef Schnabel, German composer, dies at 64