Year 1838 Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1838. 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: Martin Van Buren (D-New York)
2. Vice President: Richard M. Johnson (D-Kentucky)
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 25th U.S. Congress was in session, and both chambers had a Democratic majority.
6. Inflation rate: -3.12%
7. $100.00 in 1838 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,580.86 today. The U.S. dollar had “an average inflation rate of 1.92% per year” between 1838 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 1838.
8. It’s worth noting that the U.S. dollar has lost 97% of its value since 1838.
9. $1.00 in 1838 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $35.81 today.
10. $10.00 in 1838 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $358.09 today.
11. As mentioned above, $100.00 in 1838 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,580.86 today.
12. Finally, $1,000.00 in 1838 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $35,808.60 today.
13. Consumer price index (CPI): 9.300
14. American companies founded in 1838 included the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company (a mutual insurance company that offered casualty, commercial property, marine, and personal insurance); G. P. Putnam's Sons (a book publisher); Merrow Sewing Machine Company (a sewing machine manufacturer); Morgan Iron Works (a manufacturer of marine steam engines); and Westminster John Knox Press (a publisher of Christian books).
15. American railroads established during 1838 were the Augusta and Savannah Railroad and the Gettysburg Rail Road.
16. In 1838, there were 26 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 (1837), Indiana (1816), Mississippi (1817), Illinois (1818), Alabama (1819), Maine (1820), Missouri (1821), Arkansas (1836), and Michigan (1837).
17. On January 6, Samuel Morse’s telegraph was demonstrated for the first time “at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey.” The telegraph, a device that “used electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire, would eventually revolutionize long-distance communication, reaching the height of its popularity in the 1920s and 1930s.”
18. On January 9, Julius Hatch, of Great Bend, Pennsylvania, was granted a U.S. patent for a machine that sowed ashes, grain, lime, plaster, seed, and “other separable substances.”
19. On January 9, the first Flea Circus in the United States opened at 187 Broadway in New York City. Louis Bertolotto, an Italian impresario, “was the driving force behind the craze.”
20. On January 12, after his bank failed during the Panic of 1837, Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, fled Kirtland, Ohio, to avoid arrest and headed for Missouri to rebuild his religious community.
21. On January 26, Tennessee passed the first statewide prohibition law. The legislation “made it a misdemeanor to sell alcoholic beverages in taverns and stores, with fines used to fund public schools.”
22. On June 4, the earliest recorded "baseball-like game" in North America took place in Beachville, Upper Canada, now known as Ontario.
23. On June 28, the coronation of Queen Victoria, aged 19, took place during a five-hour ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London.
24. On July 11, John Wanamaker was born in the Grays Ferry neighborhood of South Philadelphia. In 1861, he founded the iconic Wanamaker's department store in Center City Philadelphia, and later revolutionized the shopping experience “by introducing the first fixed-price tags, the first money-back guarantees, and the first store telephone.” Wanamaker’s was also the first department store in the United States to have electric arc lamps.
25. On August 29, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm announced their intention to publish “the definitive Deutsches Wörterbuch (German Dictionary),” which was finally completed in 1961, 123 years later.
26. On September 19, Ephraim Morris was granted a U.S. patent for a railroad brake.
27. On October 27, Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issued the Extermination Order, which mandated that all Mormons leave the state or be exterminated.
28. On November 3, The Times of India, recognized as one of the world's largest-selling English-language broadsheets, was first published in Bombay, India, as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce.
29. Key fiction works published in 1935 were Charles Dickens’ The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.
30. Danish children’s author Hans Christian Andersen published Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. First Booklet.
31. Notable poetic work for the year: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s The Seraphim and Other Poems
32. Top dramatic work in 1838: James Sheridan Knowles’ The Maid of Mariendorpt and Woman's Wit
33. Key nonfiction works for the year included Ralph Waldo Emerson’s The Divinity School Address.
34. Famous people born in 1838 were Annie Edson Taylor (explorer), General Tom Thumb (circus performer), Georges Bizet (composer), Henry Adams (novelist), and John Muir (conservationist).
35. Notable people who died in 1838 included Ferdinand Ries (composer), Rene Caillie (explorer), and William Clark (explorer).
36. In 1838 as well, the words “Anglo-Catholic,” “baking soda,” “café noir,” “clairvoyance,” “comedy drama,” “conventional wisdom,” “dentistry,” “dining car,” “drawstring,” “Easterner,” “family practice,” “fatty acid,” “fiancé,” “finger bowl,” “fireproofing,” “hair follicle,” “glamorous,” “grand old man,” “kitty-corner,” “mathematical induction,” “Michigander,” “necktie,” “New Hampshirite,” “Oregonian,” “port of call,” “serial number,” “shoebox,” “smokestack,” “take a back seat,” “therapy,” and “timetable” all appeared in print for the first time.
37. 18 eggs: Around 18 cents
38. Fresh beef: Around five cents a pound
39. Horse and wagon to go into town: 50 cents
40. Nine pounds and 12 ounces of cheese: About 82 cents
41. One bushel of apples: Around 37½ cents
42. One bushel of potatoes: 50 cents
43. One bushel of turnips: 25 cents
44. One pound of butter: About 18 cents
45. One pound of salted pork: About 12½ cents
46. One pound of veal: Six cents
47. One ton of coal for home heating: About $1.00
48. Two pounds of ham: 25 cents
49. Two pounds of honey: 25 cents
50. Two pounds of sugar: 30 cents

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1838_in_the_United_States
2. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1838
3. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/1838
4. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1836.html
5. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015035798035&seq=23
6. https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1838
7. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1838
8. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/deceased/1838.html
9. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1838.html
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1838_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