Leonid meteor shower is observed all over North America, and is the inspiration for the song "Stars Fell on Alabama". November 25 – A major 8.7 earthquake strikes Sumatra. December – The American Anti-Slavery Society is founded. December 14 – Kaspar Hauser, a mysterious German youth, is stabbed, dying three days later on December 17. December 18 – The national anthem of the Russian Empire, God Save the Tsar!, is first performed. Date unknown The dawn of biochemistry: The first enzyme, diastase, is discovered by Anselme Payen. Greece recaptures the Acropolis of Athens. H.R.H. Prince Mongkut of Siam founds the Dhammayut Buddhist reform movement. American healthcare brand McKesson Corporation established as a partnership. Foundation of: Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Madras College in St Andrews, Scotland. Births January–June January 1 – Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (d. 1902) January 5 – Eugene W. Hilgard, German-American "Father of soil science" (d. 1916) January 7 – Sir Henry Roscoe, English chemist (d. 1915) January 18 – Joseph S. Skerrett, American admiral (d. 1897) January 28 – Charles George Gordon, British army officer, administrator (d. 1885) February 3 – Abu Bakar of Johor, Malaysian sultan (d. 1895) February 6 – J. E. B. Stuart, American Confederate general (d. 1864) February 11 – Melville Fuller, 8th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1910) February 19 – Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist, activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1906) February 25 – John St. John, American temperance movement leader (d. 1916) February 28 – Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913) March 10 – Dimitrie Sturdza, 4-time prime minister of Romania (d. 1914) March 14 – Lucy Hobbs Taylor, American dentist (d. 1910) March 15 – Géza Fejérváry, 16th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1914) March 20 – Daniel Dunglas Home, Scottish medium (d. 1886) March 22 – Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1895) April 6 – Luis Cordero Crespo, 14th President of Ecuador (d. 1912) April 11 – Fredrik von Otter, 8th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1910) May 5 – Lazarus Fuchs, German mathematician (d. 1902) May 7 – Johannes Brahms, German composer (d. 1897) May 9 – Hermann von Spaun, Austro-Hungarian admiral (d. 1919) May 26 – Edward William Godwin, English architect (d. 1886) June 1 – John Marshall Harlan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1911) June 4