1840 in the United States

← 1839 1838 1837 1840 in the United States → 1841 1842 1843
Decades:	1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s
See also:	History of the United States (1789–1849) Timeline of United States history (1820–1859) List of years in the United States

Events from the year 1840 in the United States.

Incumbents

Federal Government

• President: Martin Van Buren (D-New York)
• Vice President: Richard Mentor Johnson (D-Kentucky)
• Chief Justice: Roger B. Taney (originally now residing in from of the U.S. state of Maryland)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter (W-Virginia)
• Congress: 26th

Governors and Lieutenant Governors

Governors Governor of Alabama: Arthur P. Bagby (Democratic) Governor of Arkansas: James Sevier Conway (Democratic) (until November 4), Archibald Yell (Democratic) (starting November 4) Governor of Connecticut: William W. Ellsworth (Whig) Governor of Delaware: Cornelius P. Comegys (Whig) Governor of Georgia: Charles J. McDonald (Democratic) Governor of Illinois: Thomas Carlin (Democratic) Governor of Indiana: David Wallace (Whig) (until December 9), Samuel Bigger (Whig) (starting December 9) Governor of Kentucky: Charles A. Wickliffe (Whig) (until September 2), Robert P. Letcher (Whig) (starting September 2) Governor of Louisiana: André B. Roman (Whig) Governor of Maine: John Fairfield (Democratic) Governor of Maryland: William Grason (Democratic) Governor of Massachusetts: Edward Everett (Whig) (until January 18), Marcus Morton (Democratic) (starting January 18) Governor of Michigan: Stevens T. Mason (Democratic) (until January 7), William Woodbridge (Whig) (starting January 7) Governor of Mississippi: Alexander G. McNutt (Democratic) Governor of Missouri: Lilburn W. Boggs (Democratic) (until November 16), Thomas Reynolds (Democratic) (starting November 16) Governor of New Hampshire: John Page (Democratic) Governor of New Jersey: William Pennington (Whig) Governor of New York: William H. Seward (Whig) Governor of North Carolina: Edward Bishop Dudley (Whig) Governor of Ohio: Wilson Shannon (Democratic) (until December 16), Thomas Corwin (Whig) (starting December 16) Governor of Pennsylvania: David R. Porter (Democratic) Governor of Rhode Island: Samuel Ward King (Rhode Island) Governor of South Carolina: until April 7: Patrick Noble (Democratic) April 7-December 9: Barnabas Kelet Henagan (Democratic) starting December 9: John Peter Richardson II (Democratic) Governor of Tennessee: James K. Polk (Democratic) Governor of Vermont: Silas H. Jennison (Whig) Governor of Virginia: David Campbell (Democratic) (until March 31), Thomas Walker Gilmer (Whig) (starting March 31) Lieutenant Governors Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Charles Hawley (Whig) Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: David Hillis (Whig) (until December 9), Samuel Hall (Whig) (starting December 9) Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Stinson Anderson (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: vacant (until September 2), Manlius Valerius Thomson (political party unknown) (starting September 2) Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: George Hull (political party unknown) Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Edward Mundy (Democratic) (until month and day unknown), James Wright Gordon (Whig) (starting month and day unknown) Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Franklin Cannon (Democratic) (until November 16), Meredith Miles Marmaduke (Democratic) (starting November 16) Lieutenant Governor of New York: Luther Bradish (Whig) Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: vacant (until month and day unknown), Byron Diman (political party unknown) (starting month and day unknown) Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: until April 7: Barnabas Kelet Henagan (Democratic) April 7-December 9: vacant starting December 9: William K. Clowney (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: David M. Camp (Whig)

Events

• January 13–14 – The steamship Lexington burns and sinks in icy waters, 4 miles off the coast of Long Island; 139 die, only 4 survive.
• January 19 – Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what becomes known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
• March 9 – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is completed from Wilmington, North Carolina to Weldon, North Carolina. At 161.5 miles, it is the world's longest railroad.
• April – The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad is completed from Raleigh, North Carolina to near Weldon, North Carolina.
• May 7 – The Great Natchez Tornado: A massive tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi during the early afternoon hours. Before it is over, 317 people are killed and 109 injured. It is the second deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
• November 7 – U.S. presidential election, 1840: William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren.

Undated

• US Census Bureau reports 6,000 free Negroes holding slaves in the nation.

Ongoing

• Second Seminole War (1835–1842)

Births

• January 1 – Patrick Walsh, Ireland-born United States Senator from Georgia from 1894 till 1895. (died 1899)
• May 4 – George Gray, United States Senator from Delaware from 1885 till 1899. (died 1925)
• September 23 – Simon B. Conover, United States Senator from Florida from 1873 till 1879. (died 1908)
• October 1 – Anthony Higgins, United States Senator from Delaware from 1889 till 1895. (died 1912)

Deaths

• April 7 – Thaddeus Betts, United States Senator from Connecticut from 1839 till 1840. (born 1789)

External links

• Media related to 1840 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons