Events
- 1 January – trial of Welsh Chartists John Frost, Zephaniah Williams and William Jones for their part in the Newport Rising of 1839 opens at Monmouth before Chief Justice Tindal; this is the first trial where proceedings are recorded in shorthand.
- 10 January – Uniform Penny Post introduced, replacing the Uniform Fourpenny Post of 1839.
- 12 January – Chartist rising in Sheffield aborted.
- 14 January – Chartist rising in the East End of London largely suppressed by police.[1]
- 16 January – Frost, Williams and Jones are all found guilty of high treason for their part in the Chartist riots, and are sentenced to death; the last time the sentence of hanging, drawing and quartering is passed in the U.K., although following a nationwide petitioning campaign and direct lobbying of the Home Secretary by the Lord Chief Justice, it is commuted to transportation for life (Frost is eventually pardoned).
- 22 January – British colonists reach New Zealand. Official founding date of Wellington.
- 26 January – Chartist rising in Bradford fails to spread.[1]
- 6 February – Treaty of Waitangi, a document granting British sovereignty in New Zealand, is signed.[2]
- 10 February – Queen Victoria marries her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha[2] in the Royal Chapel at St James's Palace.[3]
- 15 April – King's College Hospital opens in Portugal Street, London.
- 27 April – the foundation stone of the new Palace of Westminster is laid as its reconstruction following the Burning of Parliament in 1834 begins (completed in 1860).[4][5]
- 1 May – issue of the Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp,[4] together with Mulready stationery. The stamp becomes valid for prepayment of postage from 6 May.[6]
- 5 May - Thomas Carlyle gives the first lecture in the series On Heroes, Hero Worship and the Heroic in History
- 11 May – Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor is sentenced to imprisonment in York Castle for seditious libel over speeches published in The Northern Star.
- 20 May – York Minster's nave roof is destroyed in an accidental fire.
- 6 June – the first group of British emigrants from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints set sail from Liverpool bound for Nauvoo, Illinois.[7]
- 10 June – Edward Oxford fires a pistol at Queen Victoria[8] in Hyde Park, London.
- 12–23 June – the World Anti-Slavery Convention is organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society at Exeter Hall in London.
- July
- Fresh water is piped to Buxton Market Place by the 6th Duke of Devonshire, beginning the Buxton well dressing festival.
- Last known great auk in the British Isles caught and later killed on the islet of Stac an Armin, St Kilda, Scotland.[9][10][11]
- 4 July – the Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the first steam transatlantic passenger mail service.[8]
- 15 July – Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia sign the London Treaty with the Sublime Porte, ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
- 23 July
- The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
- Vaccination Act provides for free vaccination for the poor and prohibits variolation.
- 7 August – Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation Act 1840 prohibits the employment of children under the age of 21 as chimney sweeps.[2]
- 10 September – Ottoman and British troops bombard Beirut and land troops on the coast to pressure Egyptian Muhammad Ali to retreat from the country.
- 16 September – Joseph Strutt hands over the deeds and papers concerning the Derby Arboretum, which is to become England's first public park.
- 30 September – foundation of Nelson's Column laid in London,[2] Trafalgar Square being laid out (as a hectare) and paved during the year.[8]
- 11 October – Maronite leader Bashir Shihab II surrenders to the Ottomans (in alliance with the British) and on 14 October goes into exile, initially in Malta.[12]
- 10 November – the boiler of an experimental steam locomotive named Surprise explodes near Bromsgrove station in Worcestershire, killing the driver, Thomas Scaife, and fireman, Joseph Rutherford.[13]
- 8 December – David Livingstone leaves for Africa.[14]
- 21 December – Stockport Viaduct is completed.[15] It is one of the largest brick structures in Europe.
Undated
- The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals gains its Royal status.[4]
- Smallpox epidemic of 1837–40 ends, leaving more than 41,600 dead.[16]
Ongoing events
- First Opium War (1839–1842)
- First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842)
