Oregon became the 33rd U.S. state, closing a decade of contentious debate over slavery's expansion into the Pacific Northwest.

An American farmer shot a British pig rooting in his garden on San Juan Island, triggering a boundary dispute that nearly sparked war between the US and Britain.

Edwin Drake's well near Titusville, Pennsylvania, which had struck oil days earlier, was fully secured and began commercial production, launching the American oil industry.

Edwin Drake struck oil at 69 feet using a steam-powered drill, launching the American petroleum industry from a quiet Pennsylvania creek valley.

Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in London, introducing natural selection and permanently altering humanity's understanding of life.

The first print run of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, 1,250 copies, sold out on its first day of general sale, launching a scientific revolution.