January 21 » The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston.
April 7 » Selim III became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
July 14 » Alexander Mackenzie finally completes his journey to the mouth of the great river he hoped would take him to the Pacific, but which turns out to flow into the Arctic Ocean. Later named after him, the Mackenzie is the second-longest river system in North America.
September 2 » The United States Department of the Treasury is founded.
September 29 » The United States Department of War first establishes a regular army with a strength of several hundred men.
November 20 » New Jersey becomes the first U.S. state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
Day of death February 8, 1872
The temperature on February 8, 1872 was about 9.8 °C. There was 2 mm of rain. The air pressure was 1 kgf/m2 and came mainly from the southwest. The atmospheric humidity was 95%. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from January 4, 1871 to July 6, 1872 the cabinet Thorbecke III, with Mr. J.R. Thorbecke (liberaal) as prime minister.
From July 6, 1872 till August 27, 1874 the Netherlands had a cabinet De Vries - Fransen van de Putte with the prime ministers Mr. G. de Vries Azn. (liberaal) and I.D. Fransen van de Putte (liberaal).
March 11 » Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.
March 16 » The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1–0 at The Oval in Kennington, London.
November 18 » Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women are arrested for voting illegally in the United States presidential election of 1872.
November 30 » The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England.
December 9 » In Louisiana, P. B. S. Pinchback becomes the first African-American governor of a U.S. state.
December 21 » Challenger expedition: HMSChallenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sails from Portsmouth, England.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Charles Olson, "Olson's Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/olsons-tree/P24468.php : accessed January 5, 2026), "Rebecca Williams (1789-1872)".
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