Events from the year 1818 in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

–

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

–

Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu Armand Emmanuel Sophie Septimanie de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of Richelieu and Fronsac (25 September 176617 May 1822), was a French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration. He was known by the courtesy title of Count of Chinon until 178 ...

(until 29 December), then

Jean-Joseph, Marquis Dessolles Jean Joseph Dessolles, 1st Marquis Dessolles (born Jean Joseph Paul Augustin Dessolles; 3 July 1767 – 3 November 1828) was a French soldier and statesman. He was the Prime Minister of France from 29 December 1818 to 18 November 1819. Earl ...

Events

*11 February -

Marie André Cantillon Marie André Nicolas Cantillon (1781/82 – July 1869) was a French soldier in the army of Napoleon. After the defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars he attempted to assassinate the Duke of Wellington on 11 February 1818. Wellington was in Pari ...

attempts to assassinate the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

, commander of troops occupying France, in Paris. *29 July - Physicist

Augustin-Jean Fresnel Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Isaac Newton, Newton's c ...

submits his prizewinning "Memoir on the

Diffraction Diffraction is the deviation of waves from straight-line propagation without any change in their energy due to an obstacle or through an aperture. The diffracting object or aperture effectively becomes a secondary source of the Wave propagation ...

of Light" to the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

, precisely accounting for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishing the oldest objection to the wave theory of

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

. * 28 August – The Equestrian statue of Henry IV is inaugurated in Paris, replacing an earlier one that had been destroyed during the French Revolution. *1 October - Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle is convened. *5 October -

Claudine Thévenet Claudine Thévenet, RJM (30 March 1774 – 3 February 1837), religious name ''Marie of Saint Ignatius'', was a French Catholic religious sister and the founder of the Religious of Jesus and Mary. Thévenet witnessed the horrors of the F ...

(known as ''Mary of St. Ignatius'') founds the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

order ''Religieuses de Jésus-Marie'' ("Religious of Jesus And Mary") in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. * 30 November – The Allied Occupation of France (1815-1818) ends as the last troops depart in line with the agreement at Aix-la-Chapelle.

Births

January to June

*26 January - Amédée de Noé,

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Abril Lamarque (1904–1999) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfre ...

and

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

(died

1879 Events January * January 1 ** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. ** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...

). *7 February -

François Paul Meurice Paul Meurice (5 February 1818 – 11 December 1905) was a French novelist and playwright best known for his friendship with Victor Hugo. Biography Meurice was born and died in Paris. In 1836, aged eighteen, he was introduced to Hugo by his fr ...

, dramatist (died

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

). *18 May -

Eugène Bouchut Eugène Bouchut (; 18 May 1818 – 26 November 1891) was a French physician born in Paris. He made significant contributions in several medical fields, including pediatrics, laryngology, neurology and ophthalmology. Career Bouchut obtained his Do ...

, physician (died

1891 Events January * January 1 ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories. * January 4 – The Earl of Zetland issues a ...

). *3 June -

Louis Faidherbe Louis Léon César Faidherbe (; 3 June 1818 – 29 September 1889) was a French general and colonial administrator. He created the Senegalese Tirailleurs when he was governor of Senegal. Early life Faidherbe was born into a lower-middle-cla ...

, general and colonial administrator (died

1889 Events January * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the Dakotas ...

). *4 June -

Élie-Abel Carrière Élie-Abel Carrière (4 June 1818 – 17 August 1896) was a French botanist, based in Paris. He was a leading authority on Pinophyta, conifers in the period 1850–1870, describing many new species, and the new genera ''Tsuga'', ''Ketelee ...

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

(died

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

). *13 June - Jean-Jules Allasseur, sculptor (died

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...

). *18 June -

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

, composer (died

1893 Events January * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * January 6 – The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress; th ...

July to December

*8 August -

Joseph Roumanille Joseph Roumanille (; 8 August 1818 – 24 May 1891) was a Provençal poet. He was born at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), and is commonly known in southern France as the father of the Félibrige, for he first conceived the idea of r ...

, poet (died

). *12 August - Edmond-Frederic Le Blant, archaeologist and historian (died

1897 Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...

). *14 August - François d'Orléans, prince de Joinville, admiral (died

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

). *18 August - Henri Le Secq,

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

(died

1882 Events January * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in New York at the ...

). *13 September - Gustave Aimard, traveller and writer (died

1883 Events January * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * January 16 – ...

). *26 October -

Louis Buffet Louis Joseph Buffet (; 26 October 1818 – 7 July 1898) was a French statesman. He was born at Mirecourt, Vosges. After the revolution of February 1848 he was elected deputy for the department of the Vosges, and in the Assembly sat on the righ ...

, statesman (died

1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...

). *26 November - Louis Aubert-Roche, physician (died

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

)

Full date unknown

Jacques-Marie-Frangile Bigot Jacques Marie François Bigot (14 October 1818 – 14 April 1893) was a French naturalist and entomologist most noted for his studies of Diptera. He was one of two sons of physician Jacques Bigot (1757–1842) and Marie Françoise Euphrosine (n� ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

(died

). * Denis Vrain-Lucas, forger (died

1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...

Deaths

*30 January - Claude Matthieu, Count Gardane, general and diplomat (born

1766 Events January–March * January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new House of Stuart, Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism. * Januar ...

). *23 April -

Jean-Armand de Bessuéjouls Roquelaure Jean-Armand de Bessuéjouls Roquelaure ( Lassouts, Aveyron 24 February 1721 – 23 April 1818), was a Roman Catholic prelate. He was appointed Bishop of Senlis (France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily ...

Archbishop of Mechelen In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

(born

1721 Events January–March * January 6 – The Committee of Inquiry on the collapse of the South Sea Company in Great Britain publishes its findings. * February 5 – James Stanhope, chief minister of Great Britain, dies a day after ...

). *1 May -

François-Joseph Bélanger François-Joseph Bélanger (; 12 April 1744 – 1 May 1818) was a French architect and decorator working in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassic style. Life Born in Paris, Bélanger attended the Académie Royale d'Architecture (1764–1766) whe ...

, architect and decorator (born

1744 Events January–March * January 6 – The Royal Navy ship ''Bacchus'' engages the Spanish Navy privateer ''Begona'', and sinks it; 90 of the 120 Spanish sailors die, but 30 of the crew are rescued. * January 24 – The ...

). *28 July -

Gaspard Monge Gaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse (; 9 May 1746 – 28 July 1818) was a French mathematician, commonly presented as the inventor of descriptive geometry, (the mathematical basis of) technical drawing, and the father of differential geometry. Dur ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

(born

1746 Events January–March * January 8 – The Young Pretender Charles Edward Stuart occupies Stirling, Scotland. * January 17 – Battle of Falkirk Muir: British Government forces are defeated by Jacobite forces. * February ...

). *19 October ** André Antoine Bernard, lawyer and revolutionary (born 1751). ** Antoine-François Bertrand de Molleville, government minister (born

). *28 October -

Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke Henri-Jacques-Guillaume Clarke, 1st comte d'Hunebourg, 1st duc de Feltre (; 17 October 1765 – 28 October 1818), was a French military officer, diplomat, and politician of Irish origin who served as Minister of War (France)#First Empire, Minister ...

, politician and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

(born

1765 Events January–March * January 23 – Prince Joseph of Austria marries Princess Maria Josepha of Bavaria in Vienna. * January 29 – One week before his death, Mir Jafar, who had been enthroned as the Nawab of Bengal and ...

). *25 December -

Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon, 1st Marquis de Pérignon (, 31 May 1754 in Grenade – 25 December 1818) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars, and was appointed Marshal of the Empire in 1804 by Napoleon Bonaparte. Early li ...

(born 1754). *Full date unknown -

Adrien-Nicolas Piédefer, marquis de La Salle Adrien-Nicolas Piédefer, marquis de La Salle, comte d'Offrémont (1735 – 1818) was a French writer and cavalry officer who saw service in the Seven Years' War, a writer of comedies and libretti, and a Masonic brother of Benjamin Franklin. He ...

, writer and cavalry officer (born

1735 Events January–March * January 2 – Alexander Pope's poem '' Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot'' is published in London. * January 8 – George Frideric Handel's opera '' Ariodante'' is premièred at the Royal Opera House in Covent ...

References

{{Year in Europe, 1818 1810s in France

Incumbents

Events

Births

January to June

July to December

Full date unknown

Deaths

See also

References