# 1844 in the United States

Events from the year 1844 in the United States.

## Incumbents
### Federal government

* President: John Tyler (I-Virginia)
* Vice President: vacant
* Chief Justice: Roger B. Taney (Maryland)
* Speaker of the House of Representatives: John Winston Jones (D-Virginia)
* Congress: 28th
* Governors and lieutenant governors
* Governors
* Governor of Alabama: Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democratic)
* Governor of Arkansas:
* until April 29: Archibald Yell (Democratic)
* April 29-November 5: Samuel Adams (Democratic)
* starting November 5: Thomas Stevenson Drew (Democratic)
* Governor of Connecticut: Chauncey Fitch Cleveland (Democratic) (until May 1), Roger Sherman Baldwin (Whig) (starting May 1)
* Governor of Delaware: William B. Cooper (Whig)
* Governor of Georgia: George W. Crawford (Whig)
* Governor of Illinois: Thomas Ford (Democratic)
* Governor of Indiana: James Whitcomb (Democratic)
* Governor of Kentucky: Robert P. Letcher (Whig) (until September 4), William Owsley (Whig) (starting September 4)
* Governor of Louisiana: Alexandre Mouton (Democratic)
* Governor of Maine:
* until January 1: Edward Kavanagh (Democratic)
* January 1-January 3: David Dunn (Democratic)
* January 3: John W. Dana (Democratic)
* starting January 3: Hugh J. Anderson (Democratic)
* Governor of Maryland: Francis Thomas (Democratic)
* Governor of Massachusetts: Marcus Morton (Democratic) (until January), George N. Briggs (Democratic) (starting January)
* Governor of Michigan: John S. Barry (Democratic)
* Governor of Mississippi: Tilghman Tucker (Democratic) (until January 10), Albert G. Brown (Democratic) (starting January 10)
* Governor of Missouri:
* until February 9: Thomas Reynolds (Democratic)
* February 9-November 20: Meredith Miles Marmaduke (Democratic)
* starting November 20: John C. Edwards (Democratic)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Henry Hubbard (Democratic) (until June 6), John H. Steele (Democratic) (starting June 6)
* Governor of New Jersey: Daniel Haines (Democratic)
* Governor of New York: William C. Bouck (Democratic) (until end of December 31)
* Governor of North Carolina: John Motley Morehead (Whig)
* Governor of Ohio:
* until April 15: Wilson Shannon (Democratic)
* April 15-December 3: Thomas W. Bartley (Democratic)
* starting December 3: Mordecai Bartley (Democratic)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: David R. Porter (Democratic)
* Governor of Rhode Island: James Fenner (Law and Order)
* Governor of South Carolina: James Henry Hammond (Democratic) (until December 7), William Aiken, Jr. (Democratic) (starting December 7)
* Governor of Tennessee: James C. Jones (Whig)
* Governor of Vermont: John Mattocks (Whig) (until October 11), William Slade (Whig) (starting October 11)
* Governor of Virginia: James McDowell (Democratic)
* Lieutenant government
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: William S. Holabird (Democratic) (until May 1), Reuben Booth (Whig) (starting May 1)
* Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: John Moore (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Jesse D. Bright (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Manlius Valerius Thomson (political party unknown) (until September 4), Archibald Dixon (Whig) (starting September 4)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Henry H. Childs (political party unknown) (until month and day unknown), John Reed, Jr. (political party unknown) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Origen D. Richardson (Whig)
* Lieutenant Governor of Missouri:
* until February 9: Meredith Miles Marmaduke (Democratic)
* February 9-November 20: vacant
* starting November 20: James Young (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of New York: Daniel S. Dickinson (Democratic) (until end of December 31)
* Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Byron Diman (political party unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Isaac Donnom Witherspoon (Democratic) (until December 7), J. F. Ervin (Democratic) (starting December 7)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Horace Eaton (Whig)

## Events

* January 15 – The University of Notre Dame receives its charter from Indiana.
* February 28 – The "Peacemaker", the largest naval gun in the world, explodes during a demonstration aboard the USS Princeton on the Potomac River, killing six, including Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and Secretary of the Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer.
* March 12 – The Columbus and Xenia Railroad, the first railroad that is planned to be built in Ohio, is chartered.
* May 24 – The first electrical telegram is sent by Samuel F. B. Morse from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to the B&O Railroad "outer depot" in Baltimore, Maryland, saying "What hath God wrought".
* June–July – The Great Flood of 1844 hits the Missouri River and Mississippi River.
* June 15 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
* June 22 – Influential North American student fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon is founded at Yale College.
* June 27 – Killing of Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother Hyrum are killed in Carthage Jail, Carthage, Illinois by an armed mob, leading to a succession crisis in the movement. John Taylor, future president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is severely injured but survives; Willard Richards survives with a light wound.
* July 3 – The U.S. signs the Treaty of Wanghia with Qing dynasty China, the first diplomatic agreement between the two nations in history.
* July 25 – Exclusion Law in Oregon prohibits African Americans (including slaves) from entering or remaining in the territory
* August 8 – During a meeting held in Nauvoo, Illinois, the Quorum of the Twelve, headed by Brigham Young, is chosen as the leading body of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
* October 22 – The Great Disappointment: Millerites (including future members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church) find that the Second Coming of Jesus does not occur as predicted by preacher William Miller.
* December 4 – U.S. presidential election, 1844: James K. Polk defeats Henry Clay.
* Undated
** The first ever international cricket match is played in New York City between Canada and the United States.
** The United American Cemetery is founded in Cincinnati, Ohio.

## Births

* March 12 – Patrick Collins, lawyer, 37th Mayor of Boston and U.S. Representatives from Massachusetts (died 1905)
* April 13 – John Surratt, suspected involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, son of Mary Surratt (died 1916)
* April 22 – Lewis Powell, conspirator with John Wilkes Booth, attempted assassin of William H. Seward (died 1865)
* May 2 - Elijah McCoy, inventor of the automatic steam engine lubricator (died 1929)
* June 1 – John J. Toffey, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1911)
* June 3 – Garret Hobart, 24th vice president of the United States from 1897 till 1899. (died 1899)
* July 9 – Charles D. Barney, stockbroker (died 1945)
* August 1 – Levi Ankeny, United States Senator from Washington from 1903 till 1909. (died 1921)
* August 24 – Charles B. Clark, politician and entrepreneur (died 1891)
* October 11 – Henry J. Heinz, entrepreneur and founder of the H. J. Heinz Company (died 1919)
* Full date unknown:
** Edwin H. Tomlinson, world traveler and benefactor (died 1938)

## Deaths

* January 13 – Alexander Porter, United States Senator from Louisiana from 1833 till 1837. (born 1785)
* January 25 – Horace H. Hayden, first licensed American dentist (born 1769)
* February 27 – Nicholas Biddle, financier, last president of the Second Bank of the United States (born 1786)
* February 28 –
** Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of State from 1843 to 1844 (born 1790)
** Thomas W. Gilmer, fifteenth Secretary of the Navy (born 1802)
* March 6 – Gabriel Duvall, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1811 to 1835 (born 1752)
* May 18 – Richard McCarty, politician (born 1780)
* April 4 – Charles Bulfinch, architect of the Massachusetts State House (born 1763)
* April 21 – Henry Baldwin, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, 1830–1844 (born 1780)
* June 27 Joseph Smith Jr., religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement (born 1805)
* July 23 – Christian Gobrecht, third Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1840 to 1844 (born 1785)
* August 15 – William S. Fulton, United States Senator from Arkansas 1836 till 1844. (born 1795)
* September 14 – Oliver Holden, composer (born 1765)