previous year, except that Ferdinand succeeded
Francis I as Emperor of Austria.=

1836

Fighting with the Creeks in Georgia and Alabama added to the trouble with
the Seminoles; Creeks subdued, and many forced beyond the Mississippi;
Seminoles driven to the Everglades. "Gag law" to exclude antislavery
petitions passed by Congress. In Texas, the Mexicans under Santa Anna
captured the Alamo at San Antonio, and slaughtered its defenders,
including Bowie and Crockett; but on April 21 the Mexican general was
decisively defeated at San Jacinto, and taken prisoner. Texas became an
independent republic. Arkansas admitted to the Union. James Smithson, an
English merchant, left half a million dollars to the United States, "for
the diffusion of knowledge"; it was used to establish the institution now
bearing his name.

The French met with reverses in Algeria. Louis Bonaparte attempted an
insurrection against the government of Louis Philippe, but failed, and
fled to the United States. Magyar and Slav opposition to Austrian rule;
Louis Kossuth sentenced to imprisonment for circulating speeches in the
Magyar language. First railroad in Canada opened. Continuation of Carlist
rebellion in Spain; Portugal abolished its slave trade.

The British Parliament passed a bill for municipal reform in Ireland,
granted the right of counsel to persons accused of felony, and abolished
the law ordering the execution of a murderer within forty-eight hours of
his conviction. Wheatstone sent messages for a distance of four miles with
his electromagnetic telegraph.

Among the famous people who died in 1836 were Aaron Burr, ex-President
James Madison, James Hogg, Scottish poet; Andre Ampere, French scientist,
and Mme. Malibran, Spanish singer.

=RULERS--The same as in the previous year.=

1837

A year of financial panic and specie stringency in the United States.
Attempt in the Senate to censure ex-President John Quincy Adams, who had
become a Congressman from Massachusetts, for his attitude on antislavery
petitions. Henry Clay began a movement for international copyright.
Michigan admitted to the Union. Chicago incorporated as a city. Work begun
on the Croton aqueduct, to supply New York with water. First railroad in
Cuba opened.

Queen Victoria's reign began June 20, her first prime minister being Lord
Melbourne. The kingdom of Hanover was now separated from the British
crown; Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and brother of William IV