Historical eventFebruary 61820

American Colonization Society

The first ship of the American Colonization Society departed from New York for West Africa with 86 African-American emigrants aboard to found the colony of Liberia.

Everything on February 6Original source

In context

When
Sunday, February 6 1820206 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
19th century · 1820s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

Russia, Greece and some other countries used the Julian calendar into the early 20th century, so local records may show a date up to 13 days earlier.

At a glance

Dates: From 1820.

What happened

The first ship of the American Colonization Society departed from New York for West Africa with 86 African-American emigrants aboard to found the colony of Liberia.

February 6 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1820American Colonization Society
  2. 1996Willamette Valley flood of 1996
  3. 1996Birgenair Flight 301
  4. 1998Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
  5. 2000Second Chechen War
  6. 2006Stephen Harper
  7. 20122012 Negros earthquake
  8. 20162016 southern Taiwan earthquake
  9. 2018SpaceX
  10. 2021Antony Blinken
  11. 20232023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes

Also in 1820

  • May 11HMS BeagleHMS Beagle (pictured), the ship that would take Charles Darwin on his voyage, was launched.
  • January 11Great Savannah Fire of 1820A conflagration in Savannah, Georgia, destroyed more than 400 buildings and caused millions of dollars in damages.
  • March 3United States CongressThe U.S. Congress passed the Missouri Compromise, which balanced the admission of Missouri as a slave state with that of Maine as a free…
  • November 20Essex (whaleship)The American whaleship Essex sank 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) west of the western coast of South America after it was attacked by a s…
  • March 6Missouri CompromiseThe Missouri Compromise is signed into law by United States President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as…
  • April 8Venus de MiloThe Venus de Milo (pictured), an ancient Greek statue of a woman with its arms missing, was discovered on the island of Milos.
  • February 4Chilean War of IndependenceChilean War of Independence: Chilean forces captured the city of Valdivia.

Everything we record for 1820 →

Sources

Cite this page

“American Colonization Society”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/american-colonization-society-1820-february-6, accessed October 29, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did American Colonization Society happen?

February 6 1820 — 206 years ago, on a Sunday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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