Michael Faraday discovers that a changing magnetic field induces an electric current, the principle behind generators and transformers.
Three days of uprising in Paris overthrow King Charles X; Louis-Philippe takes the throne, beginning the July Monarchy.
The composer Ludwig van Beethoven dies in Vienna.
The first public railway to use steam locomotives opens in England, ushering in the railway age.
Victoria succeeds to the British throne; her reign of more than 63 years coincides with the height of the British Empire.
Britain and the Netherlands divide their spheres in the Malay world, roughly creating today's Malaysia–Indonesia divide.
Britain defeats Konbaung Burma, which cedes Assam, Manipur, Arakan and Tenasserim under the Treaty of Yandabo.