1812

1812 (MDCCCXII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 1812th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 812th year of the 2nd millennium, the 12th year of the 19th century, and the 3rd year of the 1810s decade. As of the start of 1812, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2015)

Thumb — May 11: British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated.

Quick Facts

1812 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	1812 MDCCCXII
Ab urbe condita	2565
Armenian calendar	1261 ԹՎ ՌՄԿԱ
Assyrian calendar	6562
Balinese saka calendar	1733–1734
Bengali calendar	1218–1219
Berber calendar	2762
British Regnal year	52 Geo. 3 – 53 Geo. 3
Buddhist calendar	2356
Burmese calendar	1174
Byzantine calendar	7320–7321
Chinese calendar	辛未年 (Metal Goat) 4509 or 4302 — to — 壬申年 (Water Monkey) 4510 or 4303
Coptic calendar	1528–1529
Discordian calendar	2978
Ethiopian calendar	1804–1805
Hebrew calendar	5572–5573
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1868–1869
- Shaka Samvat	1733–1734
- Kali Yuga	4912–4913
Holocene calendar	11812
Igbo calendar	812–813
Iranian calendar	1190–1191
Islamic calendar	1226–1227
Japanese calendar	Bunka 9 (文化９年)
Javanese calendar	1738–1739
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 12 days
Korean calendar	4145
Minguo calendar	100 before ROC 民前100年
Nanakshahi calendar	344
Thai solar calendar	2354–2355
Tibetan calendar	ལྕགས་མོ་ལུག་ལོ་ (female Iron-Sheep) 1938 or 1557 or 785 — to — ཆུ་ཕོ་སྤྲེ་ལོ་ (male Water-Monkey) 1939 or 1558 or 786

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Events

January–March

January 1 – The Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (the Austrian civil code) enters into force in the Austrian Empire.^[1]
January 19 – Peninsular War: The French-held fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo is stormed by the Anglo-Portuguese Army, under the Earl of Wellington.^[2]
February 7 – The last New Madrid earthquake strikes New Madrid, Missouri, with an estimated moment magnitude of over 8.^[3]
February 12 – Napoleon authorizes the usage of Mesures usuelles, the basis of the metric system.^[4]
February 13 – The first Chilean newspaper Aurora de Chile deals with political philosophy, and stands in favor of the new national government.^[5]
February 27
- Argentine War of Independence: Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina (which he designed) in the city of Rosario, for the first time.Luna, Félix (2004). Grandes protagonistas de la Historia Argentina: Manuel Belgrano (in Spanish). Argentina: Grupo Editorial Planeta. p. 77. ISBN 950-49-1247-8.
- English poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the British House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against industrialism, in his home county of Nottinghamshire.^[6]
February 24 – Prussia and France sign the Treaty of Paris, a military alliance.^[7]
March 14 – France and Austria sign the Treaty of Paris.^[7]
March 15 – Luddites attack the wool-processing factory of Frank Vickerman in West Yorkshire.
March 16–April 6 – Siege of Badajoz (Peninsular War): The Anglo-Portuguese Army, under the Earl of Wellington, besieges Badajoz, Spain and forces the surrender of the French garrison.^[8]
March 19 – The Cortes of Cádiz creates the first modern Spanish constitution.^[9]
March 26

- In the United States, the Boston Gazette prints a political cartoon coining the term Gerrymander, after former Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry's approval (on February 11) of legislation creating oddly shaped electoral districts, designed to help incumbents win re-election.^[10]
- The 1812 Caracas earthquake destroys Caracas, capital of Venezuela.^[11]

April–June

April 4 – U.S. President James Madison enacts a 90-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.
April 8 – The capital of Finland is moved from Turku to Helsinki, when Russia's Tsar Alexander I signs an edict moving the Government Council of the Grand Duchy of Finland.^[12]
April 30 – Louisiana is admitted as the 18th U.S. state.^[13]
May 11 – John Bellingham assassinates British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, in the lobby of the British House of Commons.^[14]
May 16 – Russian field marshal Mikhail Kutuzov signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War (1806–12) and annexing Bessarabia to Imperial Russia.
May 25 – Felling mine disaster: A mine explosion at the Felling colliery near Jarrow, England, leaves 96 dead.
June 1 – War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the U.S. Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
June 4 – Following Louisiana's admittance as a U.S. state, the territory by that name is renamed the Missouri Territory.
June 16 – New York State charters the City Bank of New York (later Citibank).
June 18 – The War of 1812 between the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom begins with US declaration.
June 22 – France declared war on Russia.
June 24 – Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman River, and invades Russia.^[15]

July–September

July 12 – Americans invade Canada at Windsor, Ontario.
July 18 – Russia's Patriotic War – Battle of Klyastitsy: Kulnev defeats Oudinot, but sustains a mortal wound.
July 19 – Beethoven and Goethe meet each other in Teplice, Bohemia.
July 22 – Peninsular War – Battle of Salamanca: British forces led by the Earl of Wellington defeat French troops near Salamanca, Spain.
August 5 – War of 1812: Tecumseh's Indian force ambushes Thomas Van Horne's 200 Americans at Brownstone Creek, causing them to flee and retreat.
August 12 – Peninsular War: The combined English and Portuguese army under the command of Wellington enters Madrid, following the Battle of Salamanca.
August 15 – War of 1812 – Battle of Fort Dearborn: Potawatomi warriors overrun the United States fort in Illinois Territory.
August 16 – War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit, without a fight, to the British Army.
August 19 – War of 1812: USS Constitution defeats the British frigate Guerriere, off the coast of Nova Scotia. The British shot is said to have bounced off Constitution's sides, earning her the nickname "Old Ironsides".^[16]
September 7 – Napoleonic Wars – French invasion of Russia – Battle of Borodino: The bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars so far ends in a tactical victory for Napoleon. There are at least 70,000 casualties, with a minimum of 6,562 dead from the French Grande Armée alone.^[17]
September 14 – French invasion of Russia and Fire of Moscow: Napoleon's troops enter Moscow, which is deliberately set on fire by Muscovites, on orders of Fyodor Rostopchin. Later accounts report that France lost 40,000 troops during four days of fire between September 17 and 20, and that 20,000 Russian soldiers were killed in what would be described in 1876 as "the greatest example in history of national self-sacrifice for the destruction of an invader."^[18]