Events January–March January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. February – Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist begins publication in serial form in London. February 4 – Seminoles attack Fort Foster in Florida. February 25 – In Philadelphia, the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY) is founded, as the first institution for the higher education of black people in the United States. March 1 – The Congregation of Holy Cross is formed in Le Mans, France, by the signing of the Fundamental Act of Union, which legally joins the Auxiliary Priests of Blessed Basil Moreau, CSC, and the Brothers of St. Joseph (founded by Jacques-François Dujarié) into one religious association. March 4 Martin Van Buren is sworn in as the eighth President of the United States. The city of Chicago is incorporated. April–June April 12 – The conglomerate of Procter & Gamble has its origins, when British-born businessmen William Procter and James Gamble begin selling their first manufactured goods (soap and candles) in Cincinnati, Ohio. April 24–26 – The great fire in Surat city of India caused more than 500 deaths and the destruction of more than 9000 houses. May – W. F. Cooke and Charles Wheatstone patent a system of electrical telegraph. May 10 – The Panic of 1837 begins in New York City. June 5 – The settlement of Houston is incorporated, by the Republic of Texas. June 11 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, Massachusetts, fueled by ethnic tensions between the Irish and the Yankees. June 20 – Queen Victoria, 18, accedes to the throne of the United Kingdom, on the death of her uncle William IV without legitimate heirs (she will reign for more than 63 years). Under Salic law, the Kingdom of Hanover passes to William's brother, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, ending the personal union of Britain and Hanover which has persisted since 1714. July–September July – Charles W. King sets sail on the American merchant ship Morrison. In the Morrison incident, he is turned away from Japanese ports with cannon fire. July 13 – Queen Victoria moves from Kensington Palace into Buckingham Palace, the first reigning British monarch to make this, rather than St James's Palace, her London home. August 16 – The Dutch sack the fortress of Bonjol, Indonesia, ending the Padri War. September