1809
Events
January– March
January 16 Sir John Moore is killed at the Battle of Corunna .
January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles , between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire , is concluded.
January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean Lannes begins the Siege of Zaragoza .
January 14 – The Apodaca–Canning treaty is signed in London between Britain and Spain
January 16 – Peninsular War – Battle of Corunna in Galicia (Spain) : The British (under General Sir John Moore , who is killed) resist an attempt by the French (under Marshal Soult ) to prevent them from embarking.
February 3 – The Illinois Territory is created from the western part of the Indiana Territory .
February 11 – Robert Fulton patents the steamboat in the United States.
February 17 – Miami University (Ohio) is established (by Act of February 2) on the township of land required to be set aside for it, under the conditions of the Miami Purchase in 1794 .
February 20
February 25 – Battle of Valls : Spanish forces are defeated in Catalonia by Marshal Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr .
February 27 – Action of 27 February 1809 : Captain Bernard Dubourdieu captures HMS Proserpine .
March 1 – The Embargo Act of 1807 is repealed in the United States; the Non-Intercourse Act replaces it.
March 13 – A military coup ousts Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden ; he is confined in Gripsholm Castle .
March 28 – Battle of Medellín at Extremadura : Massive casualties are suffered, in a rout by French cavalry, under Marshal Victor .
March 29
At the Diet of Porvoo , Finland's four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia , commencing the secession of the future Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden . The Emperor, in return, promises to retain and uphold former laws and privileges, as well as the dominant Lutheran religion. His pledge is later interpreted by the Finns as a confirmation of constitutional laws , which had, effectively, established Finland as a separate state in real union with Russia .
King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after the Coup of 1809 and is later exiled.
Peninsular War – First Battle of Porto : 8,000 Portuguese soldiers are killed in a rout after defeat by the French under Marshal Soult . In the Porto Boat Bridge disaster , 4,000 fleeing civilians drown when a pontoon bridge collapses.
April– June
April 9 – Tiroleans rise , under the command of Andreas Hofer , against French and Bavarian occupation.
April 10 – Napoleonic Wars – The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria .
April 11 – 15 – Napoleonic Wars – Battle of the Basque Roads : The British Royal Navy defeats the French fleet in the mouth of the Charente , although officers on both sides face subsequent courts-martial .
April 18 – The 2,000 Guineas Stakes horse race is first run in England.
April 19 – War of the Fifth Coalition:
April 20 – Battle of Abensberg , Bavaria : Napoleon defeats Austria.
April 21 – Battle of Landshut : Napoleon defeats Austria, in yet another battle.
April 22 – Battle of Eckmühl : French troops under Napoleon I and Marshal Davout defeat the Austrians, under Archduke Charles .
April 23 – Battle of Ratisbon : Napoleon I fights his last battle during the Bavarian phase of the War of the Fifth Coalition
May 3
May 5
May 10 – Gustav IV Adolf is officially deposed from the Swedish throne, by the Riksdag of the Estates .
May 10 – 11 – Peninsular War – Battle of Grijó : the Anglo-Portuguese Army , commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley , defeats the French army, commanded by Marshal Soult , in Portugal.
May 12 – Peninsular War – Second Battle of Porto : The Anglo-Portuguese Army, commanded by Wellesley, drives the French army, commanded by Marshal Soult, out of Porto , and forces them to retreat from the country.
May 17 – Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire. When he announces that the Pope's secular power has ended, the Pope excommunicates him.
May 21 – Battle of Aspern-Essling begins.
May 22 – Battle of Aspern-Essling : Austrian troops under Archduke Karl beat the French under Napoleon , in a hard-fought battle.
May 24 – Dartmoor Prison opens in England, to house French prisoners of war.
May 31
June 6 – Sweden promulgates a new Instrument of Government , which restores political power to the Riksdag of the Estates , after authoritarian rule since 1772 . On the same day, Duke Charles (uncle of the deposed king Gustav IV Adolf) is elected King, under the name Charles XIII. In November he is affected by a heart attack and will be largely incapacitated for the remainder of his reign (until 1818).
June 7 – Shoja Shah of the Durrani Empire signs a treaty with the British; only weeks later, he is succeeded by Mahmud Shah .
June 14 – A French victory, in the battle of Raab , prevents archduke John of Austria from bringing any significant force to the Battle of Wagram .
June 26 – Danish adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen deposes Count Frederich Trampe as governor of Iceland in the Revolution of 1809 and declares himself "Protector of Iceland".
October– December
October 8 – Prince Klemens von Metternich becomes foreign minister of the Austrian Empire .
October 11 – Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee , explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder's Stand.
October 14 – The Treaty of Schönbrunn cedes the Illyrian Provinces to France, and ensures peace between The First French Empire , and The Austrian Empire .
October 25 – The Golden Jubilee of George III is celebrated in commemoration of the forty-ninth anniversary of the accession of King George III and his entrance into the 50th year of his reign.
November 18 – Napoleonic Wars : Action of 18 November 1809 – In the Bay of Bengal , a French frigate squadron captures three British East Indiamen mainly carrying recruits for the presidency armies in India.
November 19 – Battle of Ocaña : A Spanish army is ridden down, and 4,000 are killed and wounded by French forces.
November 21 – First stone laid of first 'guided bus ' passenger wagonway Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad .
November 25 – Benjamin Bathurst , a British diplomat , mysteriously disappears (possibly murdered) in Perleberg , west of Berlin.
December – Boyd massacre : Whangaroa Māori people kill and eat 66 crew and passengers of the brigantine Boyd in New Zealand.
December 25 – American physician Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor.
December 26 – A British invasion force leaves Vlissingen .
December 30 – Wearing masks at balls is forbidden in Boston , Massachusetts .
Births
January– June
Edgar Allan Poe
Queen Sinjeong
Felix Mendelssohn
Georges-Eugène Haussmann
January 1 – Cao Bá Quát , Vietnamese poet (d. 1855 )
January 4 – Louis Braille , French teacher, inventor of braille (d. 1852 )
January 6 – Marie Durocher , Brazilian obstetrician, physician (d. 1893 )
January 15
January 19 – Edgar Allan Poe , American writer, poet (d. 1849 )
January 21 – Queen Sinjeong , Korean regent (d. 1890 )
February 1 – Sophia Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute , Scottish philanthropist (d. 1859 )
February 3 – Felix Mendelssohn , German composer (d. 1847 )
February 12
February 15 – Cyrus McCormick , American inventor (d. 1884 )
February 20 – Albertus Jacobus Duymaer van Twist , Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1887 )
February 23 – William Sprague , American minister and politician from Michigan (d. 1868 )
February 24 – Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel , Prussian field marshal (d. 1885 )
March 1 – Robert Cornelius , American pioneer of photography (d 1893 )
March 2 – Abel Douay , French general (d. 1870 )
March 15 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts , 2-time President of Liberia (d. 1876 )
March 23 – Charlotte von Hagn , German actress (d. 1891 )
March 24 – Joseph Liouville , French mathematician (d. 1882 )
March 27 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann , French civic planner (d. 1891 )
March 29 – Bettino Ricasoli , Italian statesman (d. 1880 )
April 1 – Nikolai Gogol , Russian writer (d. 1852 )
April 15 – Hermann Grassmann , Prussian mathematician (d. 1877 )
April 20 – James David Forbes , Scottish physicist, geologist, inventor (d. 1868 )
May 22 – Constantin A. Kretzulescu , 7th Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1884 )
May 23 – Hugo von Kirchbach , Prussian general (d. 1887 )
June 4
June 8 – Richard Wigginton Thompson , American politician (d. 1900 )
June 11 – Juan Antonio Pezet , Peruvian general and politician, President of Peru (d. 1879 )
June 18 – Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch , American minister, hymn writer (d 1870 )
June 20 – Isaak August Dorner , German theologian (d. 1884 )
June 21 – Wilhelm Wolff , German political activist (d. 1864 )
June 27 – François Certain de Canrobert , French general, Marshal of France (d. 1895 )
July– December
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Fanny Kemble
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
William Gladstone
July 2 – John R. Goldsborough , United States Navy commodore (d. 1877 )
July 9 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle , German-Jewish anatomist, physician (d. 1885 )
July 16 – Konstantin Bernhard von Voigts-Rhetz , Prussian general (d. 1877 )
July 31 – Francis Walker , English entomologist (d. 1874 )
August 6 – Alfred, Lord Tennyson , British poet (d. 1892 )
August 8 – Heinrich Abeken , German theologian (d. 1872 )
August 29 – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. , American physician, writer (d. 1894 )
September 4 – Manuel Montt , 5th President of Chile (d. 1880 )
September 12 – Julius von Bose , Prussian general (d. 1894 )
November 4 – Benjamin Robbins Curtis , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1874 )
November 10 – David Einhorn (rabbi) , German-American abolitionist (d. 1879 )
November 20 – Gustav Koerner , German-born revolutionary, journalist, lawyer, politician, statesman of Illinois and Germany, Colonel of the U.S. Army (d. 1896 )
November 27 – Fanny Kemble , British-born American actress, writer (d. 1893 )
December 5
December 24 – Kit Carson , American frontiersman (d. 1868 )
December 29
December 30 – Wilhelm von Tümpling , Prussian general (d. 1884 )
Deaths
January– June
Joseph Haydn
Thomas Paine
Daniel Lambert
January 6 – Johann Augustus Eberhard , German theologian, philosopher (b. 1739 )
January 16 – John Moore , British general (killed in battle) (b. 1761 )
February 6 – Antoine Joseph Santerre , French general (b. 1752 )
February 20 – Richard Gough , English antiquary (b. 1735 )
February 25 – John Murray , 4th Earl of Dunmore (Lord Dunmore)(b. 1730 )
March 7 – Johann Georg Albrechtsberger , Austrian composer (b. 1736 )
March 11 – Hannah Cowley , English dramatist and poet (b. 1743 )
March 18 – Karoline Kaulla , German banker (b. 1739 )
March 20 – Mary Bateman , English woman executed for murder, known as the Yorkshire Witch
March 25 – Anna Seward , English writer (b. 1747 )
March 27 – Joseph-Marie Vien , French painter (b. 1716 )
April 6 – Jean-Pierre Saint-Ours , Swiss artist (b. 1752 )
April 26 – Bernhard Schott , German music publisher (b. 1748 )
May 13 – Beilby Porteus , English bishop, abolitionist (b. 1731 )
May 17 – Leopold Auenbrugger , Austrian physician (b. 1722 )
May 24 – Charles Rainsford , British general (b. 1728 )
May 29 – Johannes von Müller , Swiss historian (b. 1752 )
May 31
June 4 – Nicolai Abildgaard , Danish painter (b. 1743 )
June 8 – Thomas Paine , American revolutionary writer (b. 1737 )
June 15 – Sir George Baker, 1st Baronet , British physician (b. 1722 )
June 21 – Daniel Lambert , English jail keeper and animal breeder, famous for his unusually large size (b. 1770 )
July– December
Matthew Boulton
July 6 – Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle , French cavalry general (killed in battle) (b. 1775 )
July 22 – Jean Senebier , Swiss pastor, botanist (b. 1742 )
August 8 – Ueda Akinari , Japanese author, scholar (b. 1734 )
August 18 – Matthew Boulton , English manufacturer, engineer (b. 1728 )
August 29 – Lucy Barnes , American writer (b. 1780 )
September 1 – Johann Friedrich August Göttling , German chemist (b. 1753 )
September 3 – George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry , English noble and politician (b. 1722 )
September 7
October 8 – James Elphinston , Scottish philologist (b. 1721 )
October 11 – Meriwether Lewis , American explorer (suicide) (b. 1774 )
October 30 – William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1738 )
November 28 – Jakob Heinrich Laspeyres , German lepidopterist (b. 1769 )
December 16 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy , French chemist (b. 1755 )
References
↑ "Robert Fulton patented the steamboat in 1809" . Thinkfinity . Verizon. Retrieved April 15, 2011 .{{cite web }}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link )
↑ "The Fulton Patents" . Today in Science History . Retrieved April 15, 2011 .
1 2 Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History . London: Century Ltd. pp. 243– 244. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2 .
↑ "Mary Kies - Patenting Pioneer" . About.com . Retrieved May 14, 2007 .{{cite web }}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link )
↑ Penguin Pocket On This Day . Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0 .
↑ McIlvenna, Una (August 15, 2019). "Why Napoleon Kidnapped One Pope After Another" . HISTORY . Retrieved July 13, 2025 .
↑ "The Boyd incident - a frontier of chaos?" . New Zealand History online . Ministry for Culture and Heritage. December 7, 2011. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2012 .
↑ John Henry Ingram (1891). Edgar Allan Poe: His Life, Letters, and Opinions . Ward, Lock, Bowden. p. 449.
↑ The Gentleman's Magazine . F. Jefferies. 1860. p. 181.
↑ Conway, David (2012). Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-107-01538-8 .
↑ Desmond, Adrian J. (September 13, 2002). "Charles Darwin" . Encyclopædia Britannica . Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018 .
↑ Donald, David Herbert (1996). Lincoln . New York, New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 20– 22. ISBN 978-0-684-82535-9 .
↑ American Journal of Photography, Volume 14 . Thos. H. McCollin & Company. 1893. p. 420.
↑ (in German) Ulrike von Hase-Schmundt: Joseph Stieler : 1781 – 1858. Sein Leben u. sein Werk. Krit. Verzeichnis d. Werke . Prestel, München 1971, ISBN 3-7913-0340-6 , S. 148 f
↑ Nicholas Worrall (November 4, 1982). Nikolai Gogol and Ivan Turgenev . Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-349-16917-7 . [ permanent dead link ]
↑ Leslie, Stephen (1898). "Life of Tennyson" . Studies of a Biographer . Vol. 2. London: Duckworth and Co. pp. 196– 240.
↑ John R. Shook (January 1, 2005). Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers . A&C Black. p. 1148. ISBN 978-1-84371-037-0 .
↑ The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, with New Maps and Original American Articles by Eminent Writers . Werner. 1895. p. 19.
↑ Gregor-Dellin, Martin (1983), Richard Wagner—His Life, His Work, His Century , Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-177151-6 Page 67
↑ President of the United States (1965). "Remarks in Raleigh at North Carolina State College, October 6, 1964". Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States . Washington, DC: Office of the Federal Register . p. 1221 – via Google Books.
↑ George William Erskine Russell (1891). The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone . Harper & Brothers. p. 1.
↑ Radu Florescu (1997). The Struggle Against Russia in the Romanian Principalities: A Problem in Anglo-Turkish Diplomacy, 1821-1854 . Center for Romanian Studies, The Foundation for Romanian Culture and Studies. p. 204. ISBN 978-973-98091-3-9 .
↑ "Moore, Sir John" . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1910. pp. 809– 810.
↑ William Harding (1845). The History of Tiverton . p. 2.
↑ Sir John Benjamin Stone (1870). A history of Lichfield Cathedral. With a description of its architecture and monuments . p. 104.
↑ Brück, Marion (2007). "Schott, Peter Bernhard" . Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 23. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 486– 487 . ( full text online ).
↑ Thomas Paine (1879). The Theological Works of Thomas Paine ...: The Whole Preceded by a Life of Paine . Belfords, Clarke & Company. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-02-236246-8 .
↑ H. W. Dickinson (October 31, 2010). Matthew Boulton . Cambridge University Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-108-01224-9 .
↑ Daniel Whistler; Benjamin Berger (October 29, 2020). The Schelling Reader . Bloomsbury Academic. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-350-05332-8 .
↑ William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck Duke of Portland; Charles Fairfax Murray (1894). Catalogue of the Pictures Belonging to His Grace the Duke of Portland: At Welbeck Abbey, and in London. 1894 . Pr. at the Chiswick Press. p. 10.
External links
Media related to 1809 at Wikimedia Commons