Flying Cloud is launched.

(April) The clipper ship is launched from Donald McKay’s shipyard. At 1,782 tons and 235 feet long, it is largest commercial vessel in the world at the time. The ship sets a record by sailing from New York to San Francisco in 89 days and 21 hours on August 31, 1851, lowers the time by 13 in 1854, and the record lasts for more than 100 years.