On This Day

1st steamship arrives in Hawaii

Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S.

Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago, the only state in the tropics, one of only two states, along with Florida, with regions that have a tropical climate, and one of the two U.S. states, along with Texas, that were internationally recognized sovereign countries before becoming U.S. states.

Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that make up almost the entire Hawaiian archipelago (the exception is Midway Atoll). Spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km), the state is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.

Historical Significance

Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.

Events Before

  1. Explorer and medical missionary David Livingstone (31) weds Mary Moffat

    David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish doctor, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa.

  2. Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed, becoming the world's first subway tunnel

    Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed, becoming the world's first subway tunnel

  3. Scientific American magazine publishes its first issue

    Scientific American, informally abbreviated SciAm or sometimes SA, is an American popular science magazine.

  4. English chemist Michael Faraday discovers the "Faraday effect," the influence of a magnetic field on polarized light

    English chemist Michael Faraday discovers the "Faraday effect," the influence of a magnetic field on polarized light

  5. The first baseball team, the New York Knickerbockers, organizes and adopts a rulebook, known as the Knickerbocker Rules

    The first baseball team, the New York Knickerbockers, organizes and adopts a rulebook, known as the Knickerbocker Rules

Events After

  1. Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government

    Samuel Colt (July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and made the mass production of…

  2. Michigan becomes the first English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the st

    Michigan becomes the first English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the state)

  3. First civic public park, Birkenhead Park, designed by Joseph Paxton, opens in Birkenhead, England

    Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847.

  4. Author of Moby-Dick, American novelist Herman Melville (28) marries Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of Chief Justice of the Mas

    Author of Moby-Dick, American novelist Herman Melville (28) marries Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

  5. Battle of Chapultepec: American forces capture Chapultepec Castle during the Mexican–American War, allowing US General W

    Battle of Chapultepec: American forces capture Chapultepec Castle during the Mexican–American War, allowing US General Winfield Scott to take Mexico City

More from the 1840s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on May 21, 1846?
Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S.
Why is 1st steamship arrives in Hawaii significant?
Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.

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