William John Buckland (1821 - 1889)

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

In 1821, in the year that William John Buckland was born, on September 28th, the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain was proclaimed, following the Mexican War of Independence.

In 1833, when he was merely 12 years old, on April 18th, over 300 delegates from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland called on the office of the Prime Minister of Great Britain to demand the immediate abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire. Following this, slavery was abolished by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 - with exceptions provided for the East India Company, Ceylon, and Saint Helena.

In 1843, when he was 22 years old, on May 22nd, an estimated 700 to 1,000 pioneers set out from Missouri on the Oregon Trail. Called "The Great Migration of 1843", the wagon train often had to build roads or float down rivers.

In 1851, when he was 30 years old, on March 27th, the first recorded visit of white men to Yosemite Valley occurred. The Mariposa Battalion, chasing Native Americans, went into the valley. One man, Dr. Lafayette Bunnell, wrote "the grandeur of the scene was but softened by the haze that hung over the valley -- light as gossamer -- and by the clouds which partially dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity of vision but increased the awe with which I beheld it, and as I looked, a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being, and I found my eyes in tears with emotion."

In 1889, in the year of William John Buckland's passing, on April 20th, Adolf Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary - now Austria. In his early 30's, he began his rise to power in German politics, eventually becoming the leader of the Nazi Party and Führer of Nazi Germany. He presided over the death of millions of civilians as well as leading Germany through World War II.