A year after Thomas Jefferson was re-elected president of the United States and Napoleon Bonaparte was named emperor by the French senate and tribunal, the Prophet Joseph Smith was born.
1805
23 Dec.: Joseph Smith Jr. is born in Sharon Township, Windsor County, Vt., to Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith.
21 Oct.: A Royal British Navy fleet commanded by Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar. Napoleon's threatened invasion of Britain is ended.
7 Nov.: Expedition to the northwest of North America of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark reaches the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River.
1812
18 June: U.S. President James Madison signed the declaration commencing the War of 1812 with Britain.
1813
About this time Joseph contracts typhus (typhoid) fever. Complications require a leg operation by Dr. Nathan Smith, et al., West Lebanon, Grafton County, N.H.
Smith family rents a farm from Constant Murdock in Norwich, Vt.
The first power loom is produced by Englishman William Horrocks.
7 Sept.: Term "Uncle Sam" is first used to mean the United States, Troy (New York) Post
Novels Pride and Prejudice by English writer Jane Austen and The Swiss Family Robinson by Swiss writer Johann Rudolf Wyss are published.
1814
August: Washington, D.C., is sacked and burned by British forces.
1816
Smiths move from Norwich, Vt., to the village of Palmyra, Ontario County, N.Y.
December: James Monroe is elected U.S. President.
Rossini's opera "The Barber of Seville" is performed at Rome's Teatro Argentina.
1820
Early spring 1820: Joseph receives First Vision, Palmyra, N.Y.
6 March: The Missouri Compromise, admitting Missouri as a slave state, is passed by U.S. Congress.
7 April: The Spanish Inquisition begun in 1478 is ended by Ferdinand VII of Spain.
The ancient Greek sculpture the Venus de Milo is discovered on a Greek island.
1823
21-22 Sept.: Joseph is first instructed by Angel Moroni, shown gold plates at Hill Cumorah.
19 Nov.: Joseph's brother Alvin Smith dies.
2 Dec.: The "Monroe Doctrine," excluding European intervention in the politics of any American republics, is announced by President James Monroe.
1825
October-November: Joseph is hired by Josiah Stowell to dig for purported Spanish treasure in Harmony, Susquehanna, Pa.; meets future wife, Emma Hale.
26 Oct.: New York's Erie Canal opens between Lake Erie at Buffalo and the Hudson River.
1827
18 Jan.: Joseph and Emma Hale are married by Zachariah Tarble, South Bainbridge, Chenango County, N.Y.
22 Sept.: Joseph obtains the Book of Mormon plates from Angel Moroni at Hill Cumorah.
Waterwheel turbine devised by Frenchman Benoit Fourneyron.
In 26 days a sailing vessel embarked at New Orleans, La., and arrived in Liverpool, England.
1828
February: Book of Mormon characters shown to Charles Anthon and Samuel L. Mitchill by Martin Harris.
June-July: 116 manuscript pages of the Book of Lehi are lost while in possession of Martin Harris (Doctrine and Covenants 3,10).
4 July: Ground-breaking ceremonies mark the beginning of the first U.S. passenger railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio.
Andrew Jackson is elected president of the U.S.
1829
7 April: Joseph resumes translation of the ancient record with scribe Oliver Cowdery.
15 May: Joseph and Oliver receive the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist, Harmony, Pa.
May-June: Joseph and Oliver receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and Apostleship from Peter, James and John near the Susquehanna River.
11 June: Copyright to the Book of Mormon secured.
June: Three and Eight Witnesses view the gold plates.
June: Book of Mormon translation is completed at Fayette, Seneca County, N.Y.
August: Book of Mormon printing begins at E. B. Grandin's print shop in Palmyra.
U.S. Prison Discipline Society claims that 75,000 Americans are imprisoned each year for debt. Half the debtors owe less than $20.
The first practical sewing machine is developed by Frenchman Bathelemy Thimonnier.
1830
26 March: Book of Mormon is published at E. B. Grandin's Bookstore, Palmyra.
6 April: Church is organized at Whitmer farm, Fayette, N.Y. (Doctrine and Covenants 20-22.)
June: Joseph receives revelation now known as Moses, chapter one, at Harmony.
9 June: First conference of the Church, Fayette.
December: Sidney Rigdon is appointed scribe for the New Translation of the Bible (Doctrine and Covenants 35).
September-October: Missionaries to the Lamanites are called (Doctrine and Covenants 28, 30, 32).
28 May: U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act providing for the general removal of Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River.
The first covered wagon train led by William Sublette and Jedediah Strong reaches the Rocky Mountains.
1831
2 Jan.: At third general conference of the Church held at Fayette, the saints are instructed to gather to Ohio. (Doctrine and Covenants 38, see also Doctrine and Covenants 37.)
1 Feb.: Joseph arrives in Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio.
9 Feb.: Joseph receives the law of the Church and consecration of properties. (Doctrine and Covenants 42.)
3 June: At fourth general conference of the Church, the first high priests are ordained, Kirtland.
20 July: Independence, Jackson County, Mo., is designated the center place for Zion. (Doctrine and Covenants 57.)
3 Aug.: Joseph dedicates temple site in Independence.
12 Dec.: Republican Party held the first nominating convention of a major party in the U.S.
McCormick reaper is demonstrated by Virginia farmer Cyrus Hall McCormick. Reaper allows one person to do the work of five.
1832
25 Jan.: Joseph is sustained as President of the High Priesthood, Amherst, Ohio.
16 Feb.: Joseph receives, with Sidney Rigdon, vision of the three degrees of glory. (Doctrine and Covenants 76.)
24 March: Joseph is tarred and feathered with Sidney Rigdon near John Johnson home, Hiram, Ohio.
June: The Evening and Morning Star is published at Independence.
25 Dec.: Joseph receives revelation, "Prophecy on War." (Doctrine and Covenants 87.)
27-28 Dec.: Joseph receives revelation, the "Olive Leaf," commanding a temple be built in Kirtland and that a school of the prophets be organized. (Doctrine and Covenants 88.)
21 May: U.S. Democratic Party formally adopts its present name at a convention in Baltimore, Md.
1833
22-23 Jan.: School of the Prophets commences, Kirtland.
27 Feb.: The Lord reveals the "Word of Wisdom." (Doctrine and Covenants 89.)
18 March: First Presidency is organized; Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams are counselors.
23 July: Kirtland Temple cornerstones are laid.
18 Dec.: Joseph Smith, Sr. ordained Patriarch to the Church.
Verses to hymn "Lead Kindly Light" written by Oxford University vicar John Henry Newman.
1834
17 Feb.: First stake and high council of the Church are organized, Kirtland.
5 May: Joseph leaves Kirtland as leader of Zion's Camp to bring relief to saints expelled from Jackson County.
Braille system is devised by Frenchman Louis Braille.
16 Oct.: London's Houses of Parliament are destroyed by fire.
1835
14 Feb.: Joseph organizes the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
28 Feb.: Joseph organizes the Quorum of the Seventy.
28 March: Joseph receives revelation on priesthood. (Doctrine and Covenants 107.)
6 July: Egyptian mummies and papyri are purchased from Michael Chandler.
17 Aug.: Doctrine and Covenants is adopted as Standard Work, Kirtland.
U.S. has 1,098 miles of railroad in operation.
16 Dec.: New York City loses 674 structures to fire.
1836
21 Jan.: Spiritual manifestations are received in Kirtland Temple. (Doctrine and Covenants 137.)
27 March: Joseph dedicates Kirtland Temple. (Doctrine and Covenants 109.)
3 April: With Oliver Cowdery, Joseph receives series of visions in Kirtland Temple — Christ, Moses, Elias and Elijah appear. (Doctrine and Covenants 110.)
6 March: The Alamo at San Antonio, Texas, falls; U. S. war with Mexico ensues.
Martin Van Buren is elected U.S. President.
75 percent of employed Americans are engaged in agriculture.
1837
June: First seven missionaries leave for England; they arrive 19 July 1837.
March: Kirtland Safety Society Bank fails.
March: U.S. economic depression begins after failure of the cotton brokerage, Herman Briggs & Co.
20 June: Queen Victoria begins a 64-year reign over the British Empire.
1838
12 Jan.: Joseph leaves Kirtland to escape mob violence.
14 March.: Headquarters of Church are established in Far West, Caldwell County, Mo.
26 April: Name of the Church — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — is given by revelation. (Doctrine and Covenants 115.)
19 May: Selected site for Adam-ondi-Ahman, Daviess County, Mo.
4 July: Cornerstones are laid for Far West Temple.
8 July: Joseph receives revelation on tithing. (Doctrine and Covenants 119.)
27 Oct.: Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issues "extermination order."
31 Oct.: Joseph is taken prisoner near Far West by Missouri militia.
1 Nov.: Joseph is sentenced to death after an irregular court martial. Alexander Doniphan refuses to carry out execution orders.
12-29 Nov.: Joseph is subjected to court of inquiry, Richmond, Mo.; he rebukes abusive guards.
1 Dec.: Joseph is imprisoned in Liberty Jail, Clay County, Mo.
23 April: The first transatlantic steamship service began.
Novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens is published.
Famine kills thousands in northern Ireland.
1839
March 20-25: Joseph writes epistle to the saints from Liberty Jail. (Doctrine and Covenants 121-123.)
16 April: En route to trial at Columbia, Boone County, Mo., (after obtaining a change of venue) Joseph is allowed to escape.
22 April: Joseph joins family at Quincy, Adams County, Ill.
10 May: Joseph moves with saints to Commerce (later known as Nauvoo), Hancock County, Ill.
29 Oct. 1839-4 March 1840.: Joseph travels to Washington, D. C., to petition U.S. government for redress of Missouri losses; he meets with President Martin Van Buren.
The first real bicycle is invented by Scotsman Kirkpatrick MacMillan.
Ozone is discovered by chemist Christian F. Shonbein.
The first Daguerreotype portraits in America are made by telegraph pioneer Samuel F. B. Morse.
1840
15 Aug.: Ordinance of baptism for the dead is announced.
5 Oct.: "Treatise on Priesthood," is delivered by scribe Robert B. Thompson.
19 Jan.: Charles Wilkes expedition claims part of Antarctica for the United States.
1 May: The first adhesive postage stamps are sold in Britain.
1841
19 Jan.: Saints are instructed to build Nauvoo Temple and the Nauvoo House. (Doctrine and Covenants 124.)
6 April: Nauvoo Temple cornerstones are laid.
7 Aug.: Joseph's brother Don Carlos Smith dies, Nauvoo.
4 April: U.S. President William Henry Harrison dies just one month after taking office. He is succeeded by John Tyler.
Publisher Horace Greeley launches the New York Tribune
1842
1 March: Joseph commences publishing the Book of Abraham in the Times and Seasons, Nauvoo.
17 March: Joseph organizes the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo. Emma Smith is president.
4 May: Joseph administers the first full temple endowments in the upper room of the Red Brick Store, Nauvoo.
19 May: Joseph is elected mayor of Nauvoo.
6 Aug.: Joseph prophesies saints will be driven to the Rocky Mountains.
John C. Fremont is authorized by U.S. Congress to identify a northern route to Oregon through Wyoming Territories South Pass.
The Massachusetts Legislature enacts a child labor law limiting the working hours of children under age 12 to 10 hours per day.
1843
12 July: Joseph records revelation on the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. (Doctrine and Covenants 132.)
31 Aug.: Joseph moves family into newly completed Mansion House, Nauvoo.
Yellow fever kills 13,000 people in the Mississippi Valley.
A Christmas Carol is published by Charles Dickens.
The typewriter is pioneered by Charles Thurber of Massachusetts.
Skiing as a sport begins at Tromso, Norway.
1844
29 Jan.: Joseph is nominated as a candidate for the presidency of the United States.
March: Joseph gives responsibility to the Twelve for the kingdom.
7 April: Joseph delivers "King Follett" discourse.
27 June: Joseph is martyred at Carthage, Hancock County, Ill., with his brother Hyrum.
29 June: Joseph is buried in Smith burial ground near his homestead in Nauvoo.
30 July: Joseph's brother Samuel Harrison Smith dies, Nauvoo.
8 Aug.: Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are sustained by vote of the saints to lead the Church.
24 May: Samuel Morse transmits "What hath God wrought," by telegraph from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore.
Karl Marx writes, "Introduction to a Critique of the Hegelian Philosophy of the Right" and declares, "Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, . . . It is the opium of the people."
For additional events in the life of Joseph Smith see Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, B.H. Roberts, ed., 7 vols. (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951; Andrew Jenson, Church Chronology (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1914); Daniel H. Ludlow, et.al., eds., Encyclopedia of Mormonism (NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), 4:1652-58.
For additional key world events see Neville Williams, Chronology of World History, 4 vols. (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1999); James Trager, The People's Chronology: A Year-by-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present (NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979); Bernard Grun, The Timetables of History (NY: Simon and Schuster, 1946); Derrik Mercer, et. al. Chronicle of the World (DK Publishing Inc., 1996).