Kamehameha III signs a secret agreement that in the event of the further spread of French imperialism, Hawai'i will be protected by the United States.

First legislative funds for public education total $22,000.

Honolulu Fire Department organized by A.J. Cartwright.

Courthouse of coral blocks cut by prisoners built in downtown Honolulu.

Privy Council issues a decree authorizing the postmaster to put out stamps of appropriate denominations, called "missionaries." The first stamps issued are for two-cent, five-cent and thirteen-cent values.

Sailors riot in Honolulu.

Castle & Cooke formed.

Pulu - the wool-like fibers from the base of tree fern leaves used for stuffing pillows and mattresses - exported for the first time.

Captain Cass of the British Thetis brings 195 field workers, called coolies, and 20 houseboys to Hawai'i from China. Field workers on five-year contracts earn three dollars per month plus clothing, food, housing and boat fare; houseboys earn two dollars per month.

First whale oil and bone transshipped.

The Islands export 21,030 pounds of sugar and 43,742 gallons of molasses.

$1,814,000 worth of imports arrive in Hawai'i; exports total $579,000.

David M. Weston at the East Maui Plantation invents a centrifugal machine for separating sugar from molasses, greatly increasing the speed of drying.

Prussian doctor William Hillebrand arrives in the Islands. The site of his home, where he experiments with new plants, animals and birds, later becomes Foster Gardens.

Hawai'i branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) established at Kealakou, Maui.

Louis Emile Perrin succeeds Guillaume Patrice Dillon as French consul; under his tenure, the French end their efforts to annex the Society and Marquesas Islands.

Hawaiian Missionary Society formed.

Great Exhibition opens in London, featuring the Crystal Palace.

Singer sewing machine invented.

New York Times founded.