WHAT HAPPENED IN 1840.
Look what happened the 1840.

The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives. (13. January 1840)

Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States. (19. January 1840)

Jules Dumont d'Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica. (21. January 1840)

Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony. (6. February 1840)

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom marries Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. (10. February 1840)

Gaetano Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment receives its first performance in Paris, France. (11. February 1840)

Foundation stone for new Palace of Westminster, London, is laid by wife of Sir Charles Barry. (27. April 1840)

The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom. (1. May 1840)

The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. (6. May 1840)

The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history. (7. May 1840)

York Minster is badly damaged by fire. (20. May 1840)

The transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished. (22. May 1840)

Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph. (20. June 1840)

The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union. (23. July 1840)

Laborer slaves in most of the British Empire are emancipated. (1. August 1840)

Premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's Un giorno di regno at La Scala of Milan. (5. September 1840)

Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands. (7. October 1840)

The Maronite leader Bashir II surrenders to the British Army and then is sent into exile on the islands of Malta. (14. October 1840)