Year 1848: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History
This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1848.
This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1848. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, historic firsts, noteworthy inventions, famous birthdays and deaths, retail prices, entertainment trivia, and much more.
Take a journey through history in just minutes.
President of the United States: James K. Polk (Democrat-Tennessee)
Vice President: George M. Dallas (Democrat-Pennsylvania)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Roger B. Taney (Maryland)
Speaker of the House of Representatives: Robert Charles Winthrop (Whig-Massachusetts)
The 30th U.S. Congress was in session. The Senate had a Democratic majority, the House had a Whig majority, and it was the only U.S. Congress in which future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln served.
Inflation rate: -3.66%
Consumer price index (CPI): 7.900
$100.00 in 1848 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $4,242.06 today. The U.S. dollar had “an average inflation rate of 2.13% per year” between 1848 and 2026, “producing a cumulative price increase of $4,142.06." In other words, a U.S. dollar today buys about 2.357% of what it could purchase back in 1848.
It’s worth noting that the U.S. dollar has lost about 98% of its value since 1848.
American companies founded in 1848 included Morton Salt (a food company), Pusey and Jones (a shipbuilding company), Unum (an insurance firm), and Wamsutta Mills (a textile manufacturer).
American railroads established in 1848 were the Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad, the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and the Troy and Boston Railroad.
In 1848, there were 30 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), Michigan (1837), Florida (1845), Texas (1845), Iowa (1846), and Wisconsin (1848).
On January 24, James Marshall discovered gold along the banks of Sutter’s Creek in California, sparking the historic California Gold Rush.
On February 2, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, thus ending the Mexican-American War in favor of the United States. History.com tells us that “The Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the area that would become the states of Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona, as well as parts of Colorado and Wyoming.”
On February 2, the first “documented” Chinese immigrants arrived in San Francisco aboard the American brig Eagle.
On February 21, German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, which argued that history “is driven by class struggle—specifically between the bourgeoisie (owners) and proletariat (workers)—and asserts that capitalism's exploitation will inevitably lead to a proletarian revolution, [the] abolition of private property, and the establishment of a classless communist society.”
On March 18, the Great and General Court of Massachusetts established the Boston Public Library.
On April 15, 77 enslaved people attempted to escape from slavery by sailing away on a schooner called The Pearl. The episode was the “largest attempted slave escape in American history.”
On March 29, hurricane-force gales “drove millions of tons of ice from Lake Erie into the mouth of the Niagara River. The ice created a massive, dense natural dam that reduced the flow over both falls to a mere trickle for about 30 hours, turning the riverbed dry.” (Yes, you could “actually walk out into the riverbed below the falls” during that timeframe.)
On May 29, Wisconsin became the 30th U.S. state.
On May 30, William G. Young of Baltimore, Maryland, received a U.S. patent for an “improved” ice cream freezer.
In July, London-based Punch magazine’s serial publication of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel, Vanity Fair, concluded.
On August 14, the Oregon Territory was established, which included the future states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington and parts of Montana and Wyoming.
On August 15, Milton Waldo Hanchett received a U.S. patent for a dental chair that was built from scratch.
On August 19, the New York Herald became the first major eastern newspaper “to report the discovery of gold in California.”
On August 22, the United States annexed New Mexico.
On October 15, Chapman & Hall of London anonymously published Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel, Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life.
On October 16, the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first homeopathic medical institution in the United States, opened for classes in Philadelphia.
On November 1, the Boston Female Medical College—the first medical institution in the United States “to teach medical subjects to women”—opened for classes.
On November 7, American voters elected General Zachary Taylor, a hero of the Mexican-American War, as the 12th president of the United States. He was also the first U.S. president “with no prior political or elective experience.”
In 1848, Congress passed the Drug Importation Act, which “specifically” banned “the importation of adulterated and unwholesome drugs” into the United States.
Maine entrepreneur John Bacon Curtis cooked and sold “State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum,” the world’s first commercial chewing gum.”
Pasta was produced commercially in the United States for the first time in a factory located in Brooklyn, New York.
Anglo-Irish hymnwriter Cecil Frances Alexander published Hymns for Little Children, which includes All Things Bright and Beautiful and Once in Royal David's City.
Favorite baby names for boys in 1848 were Arthur, Benjamin, Eli, George, Henry, James, John, Joseph, Thomas, and William. Popular baby names for girls were Ada, Alice, Amelia, Charlotte, Clara, Cora, Elizabeth, Emma, Jane, and Lucy.
In 1848, the average life expectancy at birth in the United States was about 41 years for a white male and around 43 years for a white female. During the 1800s, if an individual survived to age 10, their remaining life expectancy would jump considerably, and they could often expect to live into their 50s, 60s, or even 70s.
Famous people born in 1848 were E. H. Harriman (an American railroad executive), James Spangler (an American inventor and entrepreneur), Louis Comfort Tiffany (an American stained-glass artist, jeweler, and silversmith), Paul Gauguin (a French painter), and Wyatt Earp (an American lawman).
Notable people who died in 1848 included Caroline Herschel (a German astronomer who discovered many comets); Emily Brontë (a British writer); George Stephenson (a British engineer known as the “Father of Railways"); John Jacob Astor (a German-born American businessman and real estate mogul); and Joseph Mohr (an Austrian Roman Catholic priest best known for writing the lyrics for the popular Christmas carol, Silent Night).
In 1848 as well, the words “alcoholism,” “anesthetize,” “beauty mark,” “bedside manner,” “coffee maker,” “colorful,” “community property,” “crème de la crème,” “gold rush,” “haircut,” “insider,” “Iowan,” “life expectancy,” “limited liability,” “Manx cat,” “motif,” “national forest,” “opera,” “peat moss,” “silverware,” “smiley,” “sound wave,” “special sauce,” “stowaway,” “Sunday school,” “vegetarianism,” “voting machine,” and “world war” all appeared in print for the first time.
12 eggs: Around 12 cents
One bushel of potatoes: About 50 cents
One pound of butter: Around 20 cents
One ton of coal for home heating: About $1.00
Two pounds of ham: Around 25 cents
Two pounds of sugar: About 30 cents
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_companies_established_in_1848
https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1846.html
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
About the Creator
Gregory DeVictor
Gregory DeVictor is a trivia enthusiast who likes to write articles about American history and nostalgia. Each of his articles presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and historic events about a specific calendar year, decade, or century.
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