Timeline July 1845

Events in July 1845 5

• 1764 – 1845 Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845) Died 17 July 1845, aged 81 Earl Grey was the British Whig Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834. His government passed the Great Reform Act of 1832 and abolished slavery across most of the British Empire. Earl Grey tea is named after him.
• 1808 – 1845 Henrik Wergeland (1808-1845) Died 12 July 1845, aged 37 Henrik Wergeland was a Norwegian poet and one of the country's most important national writers. He campaigned for popular education and for lifting the ban on Jews entering Norway. Norway's Constitution Day celebrations owe much to his promotion of them.
• 1845 Phrase Manifest Destiny coined O'Sullivan names US expansionism In the July-August issue of the Democratic Review, the editor John L. O'Sullivan wrote that it was America's manifest destiny to spread across the continent. He wrote it in support of annexing Texas. The phrase became the slogan of American westward expansion.
• 1845 Thoreau moves to Walden Pond Thoreau begins his experiment in simple living Henry David Thoreau moved into a small cabin he had built beside Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. He lived there for just over two years. Walden, his account of that time, was published in 1854.
• 1845 Great Fire of New York Fire destroys much of lower Manhattan A fire that began in a whale-oil and candle business spread through lower Manhattan and set off an explosion in a warehouse storing saltpetre. Several hundred buildings were destroyed and about 30 people died. It was the last of the great fires to sweep the old city centre.