Also in March 1839
5th: In a case between Niccolò Paganini and the directors of his own Casino Paganini in Paris, the court finds in favour of the latter. Accused of having failed to fulfil his contract to perform concerts at the venue, the Italian violinist is ordered to pay damages of 20,000 francs by the Tribunal de Première Instance. 8th: Depressed by his declining mental and physical health, the French opera tenor Adolphe Nourrit takes his own life by hurling himself from his hotel window in Naples. A gala performance, in which he believed the enthusiastic audience was mocking him, proved the final straw. At Nourrit’s funeral in Paris, Chopin plays an organ transcription of Schubert’s song Die Gestirne.
9th: Led by Richard Cobden and John Bright, the Manchester Anti-corn-law Association changes its name to the Anti-corn-law League. As bread prices continue to rise, the group’s aim is to abolish the laws that, by imposing taxes on imported wheat, protect wealthy landowners and restrict free trade. 23rd: The term ‘OK’ appears for the first time in print, when the Boston Morning Post uses it in relation to a report about a trip by the Anti-bell-ringing Society. The term is believed to have originated from a fad in the US for comic bad spellings, in this instance ‘OK’ being an abbreviation of ‘Oll Korrect’.
26th: At a public meeting, Captain Edmund Gardiner proposes that a new rowing regatta be established, on the grounds that it would ‘not only be productive of the most beneficial results to the town of Henley, but from its peculiar attractions would also be a source of amusement and gratification to the neighbourhood.’ The first ever Henley Regatta is staged on the River Thames later in the year.