Also Within this year in history

In 1804, Haiti proclaimed its independence from France, becoming just the second independent nation in the Americas, after the United States. In the U.S., Vice President Aaron Burr shot and killed longtime adversary Alexander Hamilton in a duel, and Lewis and Clark began their expedition to explore and map the American West. Back in France, Napoleon crowned himself his nation’s emperor, its first in 1,000 years.

May

14

Lewis And Clark Expedition

MAY 1804: A painting depicting explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their Keelboat known as 'The Boat' using poles to navigate the Missoiuri River in May 1804. (Illustration by Ed Vebell/Getty Images)

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Jul

11

Burr Fatally Wounds Hamilton In Duel

American politician Aaron Burr (1756 - 1836) fatally wounds Alexander Hamilton (1757 - 1804) with a shot from his pistol during a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey, July 11, 1804. Former Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton and Burr, who served as Vice President under Thomas Jefferson, were personal and political rivals for several decades, from Burr's 1791 defeat of Hamilton's uncle for a seat in the US Senate to Hamilton's 1804 public slandering of Burr's character at a political dinner. When Hamilton refused to recant his injurious statements, Burr challenged him to the fatal duel. (Photo by Kean Collection/Getty Images)

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