Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, with its choral finale on the Ode to Joy, premieres in Vienna.
Britain and the Netherlands divide their spheres in the Malay world, roughly creating today's Malaysia–Indonesia divide.
The first public railway to use steam locomotives opens in England, ushering in the railway age.
Using the Rosetta Stone, Jean-François Champollion announces his decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Greeks rise against the Ottoman Empire; with intervention by Britain, France and Russia, Greece wins its independence.
Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena.
The composer Ludwig van Beethoven dies in Vienna.