Births on August 4

Walter Pater

Born on August 4, 1839

Walter Pater, English author, critic, and academic (d. 1894)

Walter Horatio Pater (4 August 1839 – 30 July 1894) was an English essayist, art and literary critic, and fiction writer, regarded as one of the great stylists. His first and most often reprinted book, Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873), revised as The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry, in which he outlined his approach to art and advocated an ideal of the intense inner life, was taken by many as a manifesto (whether stimulating or subversive) of Aestheticism.

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Walter Pater

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Events on 1839

3 Jun

First Opium War
In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kg of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.
17 Jun

Edict of toleration
In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.
22 Jun

Treaty of New Echota
Cherokee leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot are assassinated for signing the Treaty of New Echota, which had resulted in the Trail of Tears.
2 Jul

La Amistad
Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves led by Joseph Cinqué take over the slave ship Amistad.
23 Aug

First Opium War
The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for war with Qing China. The ensuing three-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War.

Births on August 4

Walter Pater

Born on August 4, 1839

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1839

First Opium War

Edict of toleration

Treaty of New Echota

La Amistad

First Opium War