Year 1836 Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1836. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, historic firsts, noteworthy inventions, famous birthdays and deaths, retail prices, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. President of the United States: Andrew Jackson (D-Tennessee)
2. Vice President: Martin Van Buren (D-New York)
3. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Roger B. Taney (Maryland)
4. Speaker of the House of Representatives: James K. Polk (D-Tennessee)
5. The 24th U.S. Congress was in session, and both chambers had a “Jacksonian” or Democratic majority.
6. Inflation rate: 5.68
7. $100.00 in 1836 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,580.86 today. The U.S. dollar had “an average inflation rate of 1.90% per year” between 1836 and 2026, “producing a cumulative price increase of 3,480.86%.” In other words, a U.S. dollar today buys about 2.793% of what it could purchase back in 1836.
8. It’s worth noting that the U.S. dollar has lost 97% of its value since 1836.
9. $1.00 in 1836 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $35.81 today.
10. $5.00 in 1836 is equivalent in spending power to around $179.04 today.
11. $10.00 in 1836 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $358.09 today.
12. $50.00 in 1836 is equivalent in spending power to around $1,790.43 today.
13. As mentioned above, $100.00 in 1836 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,580.86 today.
14. $500.00 in 1836 is equivalent in spending power to around $17,904.30 today.
15. Finally, $1,000.00 in 1836 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $35,808.60 today.
16. Consumer price index (CPI): 9.300
17. American companies founded in 1836 included S. Brainard Sons (a music publisher), Campbell Hausfeld (a farm equipment manufacturer), J. B. Lippincott & Co. (a Philadelphia-based publisher of Bibles and prayer books), Maryland Mining Company (a coal mining company), and Mobile Gas (a gas utility company based in Alabama).
18. American railroads established during 1836 were the Auburn and Rochester Railroad, City Point Railroad, Delaware Railroad, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad.
19. In 1836, there were 25 U.S. states. In order of admission to the Union, they were Delaware (1787), Pennsylvania (1787), New Jersey (1787), Georgia (1788), Connecticut (1788), Massachusetts (1788), Maryland (1788), South Carolina (1788), New Hampshire (1788), Virginia (1788), New York (1788), North Carolina (1789), Rhode Island (1790), Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792), Tennessee (1796), Ohio (1803), Louisiana (1836), Indiana (1816), Mississippi (1817), Illinois (1818), Alabama (1819), Maine (1820), Missouri (1821), and Arkansas (1836).
20. Texas Revolution: On January 5, Davy Crockett, widely known as “King of the Wild Frontier,” arrived in Nacogdoches, Texas, to aid the Texas Revolution.
21. On January 6, American author Harriet Beecher (Uncle Tom’s Cabin) married educator Calvin Ellis Stowe in Cincinnati, Ohio.
22. Texas Revolution: Between February 23 and March 6, the Battle of the Alamo took place, when roughly “200 Texian defenders, led by William B. Travis and Davy Crockett, were killed while defending an old San Antonio mission against thousands of Mexican troops, ultimately inspiring the creation of the Republic of Texas.”
23. Texas Revolution: On March 2, delegates meeting at Washington-on-the-Brazos “officially signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, establishing the independent Republic of Texas.”
24. On March 14, Isabella Beeton, a famous Victorian home economist, was born. She published Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, a comprehensive Victorian guide to childcare, cooking, etiquette, legal matters, medical questions, servant management, and much more.
25. On March 31, British writer Charles Dickens published the first monthly installment of The Pickwick Papers.
26. On April 2, British author Charles Dickens married Catherine Hogarth at St. Luke's Church in London.
27. In May, the Astor House, New York City's first world-class luxury hotel, opened to guests. It occupied “the entire block on the west side of Broadway between Barclay and Vesey Streets, directly across from City Hall Park.”
28. On June 15, Arkansas became the 25th U.S. state.
29. On July 20, Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt was born. An English physician, he invented the six-inch thermometer, which replaced the foot-long thermometer that required 20 minutes to determine a patient's temperature.
30. On August 31, African American inventor Henry Blair of Maryland received a U.S. patent for a cotton seed planter.
31. Texas Revolution: On September 5, Sam Houston was elected as president of the Republic of Texas, “which earned its independence from Mexico in a successful military rebellion.”
32. On October 24, Alonzo Dwight Philips received a U.S. patent for the phosphorous friction safety match.
33. Key fiction works published in 1936 were Catherine Gore’s Mrs. Armytage, Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers, and Thomas Gaspey’s The Self-Condemned.
34. British children’s writer Agnes Strickland published Tales and Stories From History.
35. Top dramatic work in 1836: James Sheridan Knowles’ The Daughter
36. Key nonfiction works published during the year included Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature, Washington Irving’s Astoria, and William Nugent Glascock’s Naval Service, or Officers' Manual.
37. Famous people born in 1836 were Brete Harte (novelist), Milton Bradley (entrepreneur), and Thomas Crapper (entrepreneur).
38. Notable people who died in 1836 included Betsy Ross (entrepreneur), James Madison (former U.S. president), and Jim Bowie (folk hero who helped Texas gain its independence).
39. In 1936 as well, the words “beachcomber,” “cider vinegar,” “creepy,” “fine tooth comb,” “French dressing,” “heart attack,” “phonetics,” “poinsettia,” “police dog,” “printed matter,” “radiator,” “rock garden,” “sashay,” “sanitize,” “school board,” “seafood,” “shooting gallery,” “showgirl,” “shuffleboard,” “silk stocking,” “specialist,” “unstoppable,” “upper crust,” and “urbanize” all appeared in print for the first time.
40. 50 bundles of straw: About $1.00
41. One bushel of apples: Around 12½ cents
42. One bushel of beans: About $1.00
43. One bushel of potatoes: Around 40 cents
44. One fur hat: About $3.00
45. One gallon of soap: Around 25 cents
46. One head of cabbage: About 10 cents
47. One pair of shoes: Around $1.75
48. One pound of cheese: About 8½ cents
49. One pound of fresh beef: Around four cents
50. One pound of fresh pork: About five cents
51. One pound of honey: Around 10 cents
52. One pound of lard: About 10 cents
53. One pound of tobacco: Around 12½ cents
54. One pound of veal: About four cents
55. One ton of coal for home heating: Around $1.25

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1836_in_the_United_States
2. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1836
3. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/1836
4. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1836.html
5. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015035798035&seq=21
6. https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1836
7. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1836
8. https://www.onthisday.com/weddings/date/1836
9. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/deceased/1836.html
10. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1836.html
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1836_in_literature

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor