Timeline December 1844

Events in December 1844 3

• 1844 James K. Polk elected US President Expansionist Democrat defeats Henry Clay Democrat James K. Polk, a dark-horse candidate, defeated Whig leader Henry Clay in a campaign dominated by the annexation of Texas and the Oregon question. Polk's victory was taken as a mandate for territorial expansion.
• 1844 First dental extraction under nitrous oxide Horace Wells tests anaesthesia on himself Hartford dentist Horace Wells had one of his own teeth pulled while he was under nitrous oxide and felt no pain. He went on to use the gas on his patients. It was one of the first practical uses of surgical anaesthesia.
• 1844 Rochdale Pioneers open their co-operative shop Founding store of the modern co-operative movement The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers opened a shop on Toad Lane in Rochdale, Lancashire. Its principles of democratic member control and dividends on purchases became the model for co-operatives around the world.