In the U.S., The New York Sun prints the first of six installments of the Great Moon Hoax. August 28 – St. Vincent's Ecclesiastical Seminary, a predecessor of Castleknock College, is founded by the Vincentian community in Dublin, Ireland. August 30 – European settlers, landing on the north banks of the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia, found the settlement of Melbourne. September 7 – Charles Darwin arrives at the Galápagos Islands, aboard . September 19 – William Lloyd Garrison publishes Angelina Grimké's anti-slavery letter in The Liberator. September 20 – The Ragamuffin War begins in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. October–December October 2 – The Texas Revolution – Battle of Gonzales: Mexican soldiers attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, Texas, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia. October 3 – The Staedtler Company (pencil manufacturers) is founded by J. S. Staedtler in Nuremberg, Germany. October 28 The United Tribes of New Zealand is founded at Waitangi, with the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand. Texas Revolution – Battle of Concepción: The Texian Army defeats the Mexicans. November 12 – Construction is completed on the Wilberforce Monument in Kingston Upon Hull. November 16 – Halley's Comet reaches perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun. November 19 – A force of 500 Māori people invade and enslave the peoples of the Chatham Islands. November 27 – Two London men, James Pratt and John Smith, are hanged in front of Newgate Prison in London, after a conviction of buggery. They are the last to suffer capital punishment for homosexual acts in England. December 7 The Bavarian Ludwig Railway opens between Nuremberg and Fürth, with a train hauled by the English-built Der Adler ("The Eagle"), the first railway in Germany. Future U.S. President James K. Polk becomes Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. December 9 – The Army of the Republic of Texas captures San Antonio. December 16–17 – The Great Fire of New York destroys 530 buildings, including the New York Stock Exchange. December 20 – The Texas Declaration of Independence is first signed at Goliad, Texas. December 21 – The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad is chartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. December 28 – United States: The Second Seminole War led by Osceola breaks out. December 29 – The Treaty of New Echota is signed between the United States Government, and members of the Cherokee Nation. Date