fires a pistol at Queen Victoria in Hyde Park, London. 12–23 June – the World Anti-Slavery Convention is organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society at Exeter Hall in London. July Fresh water is piped to Buxton Market Place by the 6th Duke of Devonshire, beginning the Buxton well dressing festival. Last known great auk in the British Isles caught and later killed on the islet of Stac an Armin, St Kilda, Scotland. 4 July – the Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddle steamer departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the first steam transatlantic passenger mail service. 15 July – Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia sign the London Treaty with the Sublime Porte, ruler of the Ottoman Empire. 23 July The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union. Vaccination Act provides for free vaccination for the poor and prohibits variolation. 7 August – Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation Act 1840 prohibits the employment of children under the age of 21 as chimney sweeps. 10 September – Ottoman and British troops bombard Beirut and land troops on the coast to pressure Egyptian Muhammad Ali to retreat from the country. 16 September – Joseph Strutt hands over the deeds and papers concerning the Derby Arboretum, which is to become England's first public park. 30 September – foundation of Nelson's Column laid in London, Trafalgar Square being laid out (as a hectare) and paved during the year. 11 October – Maronite leader Bashir Shihab II surrenders to the Ottomans (in alliance with the British) and on 14 October goes into exile, initially in Malta. 10 November – the boiler of an experimental steam locomotive named Surprise explodes near Bromsgrove station in Worcestershire, killing the driver, Thomas Scaife, and fireman, Joseph Rutherford. 8 December – David Livingstone leaves for Africa. 21 December – Stockport Viaduct is completed. It is one of the largest brick structures in Europe. Undated The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals gains its Royal status. Smallpox epidemic of 1837–40 ends, leaving more than 41,600 dead. Ongoing events First Opium War (1839–1842) First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842) Publications W. Harrison Ainsworth's novels Guy Fawkes and The Tower of London (both serialised). Charles Dickens' novel The Old Curiosity Shop (serialised). "Thomas Ingoldsby"'s The Ingoldsby Legends (first collected in book form). Agnes Strickland's Lives of the Queens of England begins publication. William Makepeace Thackeray's novel