Jules Verne was born on February 8th, 1828 in Nantes, France. Here is a small number of other events which happened that year in France and around the world.
1. World Events
June 13th: Simon Bolívar became dictator of Gran Colombia as he tried to keep separatists from bringing down the Gran Colombian union ( the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru, western Guyana and northwest Brazil);
- September 29th: The Russo-Turkish War broke out after Turkey closed the Dardanelles strait to Russian ships in retaliation for Russia’s support of the Greeks in their fight for independence. Russia won the war in 1829;
December 3rd: Andrew Jackson was elected the 7th President of the United States. His wife, Rachel, died suddenly just a few weeks later. Jackson blamed her death on those who had campaigned for John Quincy Adams (his opponent in the presidential race) and their verbal attacks against him and his wife.
2. In France
Charles X continued his reign as King of France for the fifth straight year;
- January 4th: Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac, became the Prime Minister of France;
- August 17th: Maria Deraismes, author and pioneer for women’s rights, was born in Paris.
3. More Birthdays
March 20th: Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian author who’s often referred to as “the father of realism” was born in the port town of Skien;
- May 8th: Jean Henri Dunant, Swiss business man and social activist, founder of the Red Cross and first winner of the Nobel Peace Prize was born in Geneva;
September 9th: Leo Tolstoy, Russian author best known for novels like War and Peace and Anna Karenina was born at Yasnaya Polyana, his family’s estate.
4. Art Related Events
April 14th: Noah Webster published the first edition of An American Dictionary of the English Language;
- April 16th: Francisco Goya, Spanish painter, died at the age of eighty-two in the French city of Bordeaux;
- August 20th: Gioacchino Rossini’s opera Le Comte Ory premiered in Paris.
An infographic with more pictures for select events that happened in 1828 is shown below.
Further Reading and a Quiz
More facts, anecdotes, and even a quiz about Jules Verne are linked to below:
1. Jules Verne – A Short Biography
2. Jules Verne at a Glance – Infographic
3. Jules Verne at Niagara Falls, Jules Verne vs. H.G. Wells, and Two More Stories
4. Jules Verne Quiz
5. Jules Verne Video – “In 30 Seconds or Less” Series