1850
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | 18th century – 19th century – 20th century |
| Decades: | 1820s 1830s 1840s – 1850s – 1860s 1870s 1880s |
| Years: | 1847 1848 1849 – 1850 – 1851 1852 1853 |
Events
- The speed of light in water was observed to be slower than that in air.
Books
Births
- January 21 – Paul Vinzenz Busch, ringmaster (d. 1927)
- January 27 – Samuel Gompers, English-born labor leader (d. 1924)
- January 27 – Edward J. Smith, Captain of the Titanic (d. 1912)
- May 1 – Prince Arthur of the United Kingdom (d. 1942)
- May 8 – Ross Barnes, baseball player (d. 1915)
- May 12 – Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. statesman (d. 1924)
- May 21 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian volcanologist (d. 1914)
- July 12 – Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist (d. 1912)
- September 2 – Albert Spalding, baseball player and sporting goods manufacturer (d. 1915)
- November 13 – Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish writer (d. 1894)
- December 9 – Emma Abbott, American opera singer (d. 1891)
- December 21 – Zdenek Fibich, Czech composer (d. 1900)