of Neptune: The planet is observed for the first time by German astronomers Johann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich Louis d'Arrest, as predicted by British astronomer John Couch Adams and French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier. October–December October 1 Christ College, Tasmania, opens with the hope that it will develop along the lines of an Oxbridge college, and provide the basis for university education in Tasmania. By the 21st century it will be the oldest tertiary institution in Australia. Triton, Neptune's largest moon, was discovered by William Lassell 17 days after the discovery of Neptune. October 16 – At Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. William T.G. Morton, a dentist, gives the first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia. November 4 – The Donner Party, a wagon train of 87 settlers traveling to California, is stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains by the first of several snowstorms. By the time a relief party reaches the starving settlers three months later, only 48 survivors are left, many of whom have survived by cannibalism. November 9 – Pope Pius IX issues the encyclical Qui pluribus, in response to the growing trend of agnosticism among intellectuals in Europe. November 17 – Carl Zeiss, a major worldwide optoelectronics and digital camera brand, is founded in Thuringia, Germany. December 22 – The Guildsystem in Sweden is abolished by the Fabriks och Handtwerksordning and Handelsordningen, and trade and handicrafts permits are granted to every male and female applicant of legal majority. December 24 – Great Britain acquires Labuan from the Sultanate of Brunei. December 27 – Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state. Date unknown 1846–1860 cholera pandemic breaks out in south Asia; in the United Kingdom, Parliament passes The Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention Act. The Great Famine continues in Ireland. The first deaths from hunger take place early in the year and Phytophthora infestans almost totally destroys the summer potato crop. Fort Wayne Female College is founded in Indiana as a Methodist institution; it will later be renamed Taylor University. The first higher school of academic learning for women in Denmark, Den højere Dannelsesanstalt for Damer, is founded in Copenhagen. Births January–June January 5 Mariam Baouardy, Syrian Melkite Greek Catholic nun, canonized (d. 1878) Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926) February 2 – Francis Marion Smith, American borax magnate (d. 1931) February 9 – Wilhelm Maybach, German automobile designer (d. 1929) February 18