Continuing with some mid-century events…
1841 New Zealand becomes a British colony, leading to a series of Maori uprisings from
1854 to 1872
Richard Owens coins the word “dinosaur”
1842 C.W. Long introduces the use of ether for surgical anesthesia
1843 James Joule quantifies the conversion of work into heat, the basis for the law of conservation of energy
The first nightclub, Le Bal des Anglais, opens in Paris
1844 Samuel Morse sets up telegraph lines between Washington and Baltimore
Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels meet in Paris
1845 Texas joins the United States
William MNaught develops the compound-expansion steam engine
1846 to 1848 The United States and Mexico are at war; the U.S. wins
1846 The planet Neptune is discovered
William Thompson (later Lord Kelvin) estimates the age of the earth at 100,000,000 years based on temperature measurements
Elias Howe patents the sewing machine
1847 Cyrus McCormick begins the manufacture of mechanical reapers
1848 Anti-monarchist revolutions take place throughout Europe; the Second Republic is established in France under Louis Napoleon
Otto von Bismark and Karl Marx both found newspapers
Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels write the Communist Manifesto
James Bogardus constructs the first building with a cast-iron frame
1849 A gold rush begins in northern California
1850 The Taiping Rebellion takes place in China
