Early Modern
Edward Jenner's Smallpox Vaccine (1796): The First Vaccination
Jenner showed that cowpox protects against smallpox, creating vaccination, which spread worldwide and eventually made possible the eradication of smallpox in 1980.
Region
Europe
Early Modern
Irish Rebellion of 1798: The United Irishmen Rise Against Britain
The rebellion was crushed with heavy loss of life, and it led directly to the Act of Union that merged the Irish and British parliaments in 1801.
Early Modern
Cavendish Experiment (1798): Henry Cavendish Weighs the Earth
Cavendish found the mean density of the Earth to be about 5.48 times that of water, close to the modern value, the first accurate laboratory measurement of gravity between masses.
Modern Era
Coup of 18 Brumaire (1799): How Napoleon Seized Power in France
The Directory was abolished and replaced by a provisional Consulate, which led to the Constitution of Year VIII and Bonaparte's rule as First Consul.
Modern Era
Battle of Marengo (1800): Napoleon's Narrow Victory in Italy
French victory; the Austrians signed the Convention of Alessandria and withdrew from most of northern Italy.
Modern Era
Voltaic Pile (1800): Alessandro Volta Invents the Battery
Volta's pile gave scientists their first source of continuous electric current, launching electrochemistry and the study of electric circuits.
Modern Era
Battle of Copenhagen (1801): Nelson Turns a Blind Eye
British victory; Denmark-Norway agreed an armistice and withdrew from the League of Armed Neutrality.
Modern Era
Act of Union 1801: Britain and Ireland Become One Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created, the Irish Parliament was abolished, and Ireland sent 100 MPs to Westminster.
Modern Era
Concordat of 1801: Napoleon's Deal With the Catholic Church
Catholic worship was restored in France, with bishops nominated by the state, clergy paid by the state, and the Church's lost lands left in the hands of their new owners.
Modern Era
Legion of Honour (1802): Napoleon's Order of Merit for France
France gained a single national order rewarding both soldiers and civilians, which has survived every change of regime since.
Modern Era
First Serbian Uprising (1804-1813): Karadjordje's Revolt
The rebels ran a self-governing Serbian state for several years, but an Ottoman offensive crushed the uprising in 1813.
Modern Era
Coronation of Napoleon (1804): An Emperor at Notre-Dame
Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French and Joséphine Empress, giving religious and ceremonial sanction to the new hereditary empire.