Roger Fenton (1819 - 1869)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Roger's lifetime.

In 1819, in the year that Roger Fenton was born, on December 14th, Alabama was admitted as the 22nd U.S. state. Previously called "Alabama Territory", settlers and land speculators had begun pouring into the territory in what was called Alabama Fever, leading to its creation of a state..

In 1838, by the time he was 19 years old, on May 26th, the Native American Cherokee Nation was forced to march the Trail of Tears - relocating them to west of the Mississippi. When gold was discovered in Georgia in 1828, settlers wanted the Cherokee land. 16,543 natives were forced to march - it is estimated that 2,000 to 6,000 died along the way.

In 1841, he was 22 years old when on March 4th, William Henry Harrison was inaugurated as the ninth President of the United States. On April 4th, President Harrison died of pneumonia, becoming the first President who died in office - as well as the American president with the shortest term ever served. Vice-President John Tyler immediately became the tenth President of the United States.

In 1858, by the time he was 39 years old, on January 25th, the "Wedding March" - composed by Felix Mendelssohn - became a popular wedding recessional after being played at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter Victoria - eldest child of Victoria and Albert and Princess Royal. Princess Victoria was married to Prince Friedrich of Prussia in St James's Palace, London and as with all things royal in Victorian England, everyone wanted it played at their wedding.

In 1869, in the year of Roger Fenton's passing, on August 31st, Irish scientist Mary Ward, age 42, was hit and killed by a car powered by a steam engine. The car was built by her cousins. She was the world's first known casualty of a car accident.