The French Academy of Sciences publicly revealed Louis Daguerre's photographic process, freely gifting it to humanity as a state pension.

The United States Exploring Expedition, led by Charles Wilkes, departed Norfolk, Virginia, to chart the Pacific and Antarctic waters.

Sultan Abdulmejid I issues the Edict of Gülhane, launching the Tanzimat reforms that reshaped Ottoman law, taxation, and civil rights.

A federal grand jury indicted the Africans who had seized the schooner Amistad on piracy and murder charges, setting off a landmark legal battle over slavery and freedom.

British and Chinese warships clash off the Chinese coast near Canton, an early skirmish escalating toward the First Opium War.