Events
January–March
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
*1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
–
José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim
President of Mexico
The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the C ...
.
*
January 24
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
* 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
* 1438 – The ...
(
O. S.) –
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
and
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...
are
united under
Alexandru Ioan Cuza (
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
since 1866, final unification takes place on December 1,
1918
This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide.
Events
Below, the events ...
; Transylvania and other regions are still missing at that time).
*
January 28
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
* 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
– The city of
Olympia is incorporated in the
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from th ...
of the United States of America.
*
February 2 –
Miguel Miramón (1832–1867) becomes Conservative interim
President of Mexico
The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the C ...
.
*
February 4
Events Pre–1600
* 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrelling ...
– German scholar
Constantin von Tischendorf
Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf (18 January 18157 December 1874) was a German biblical scholar. In 1844, he discovered the world's oldest and most complete Bible dated to around the mid-4th century and called Codex Sinaiticus ...
rediscovers the ''
Codex Sinaiticus
The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts ...
'', a 4th-century
uncial
Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library, p. 494. script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to ...
manuscript of the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
, in
Saint Catherine's Monastery
Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...
on the foot of
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...
, in the
Khedivate of Egypt
The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ota, خدیویت مصر ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which br ...
.
*
February 14
Events Pre-1600
* 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
* 842 – Charles the Bald and Lo ...
–
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
is admitted as the 33rd
U.S. state.
*
February 12
Events Pre-1600
*1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna.
*1429 – English forces under ...
– The
Mekteb-i Mülkiye
The Faculty of Political Science of the University of Ankara ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi, more simply known as "''SBF''") is the oldest faculty of social science in Turkey, being the successor of the "Mekteb-i Mülkiye" ( ...
School is founded in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
*
February 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
* 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons ...
– French naval forces under
Charles Rigault de Genouilly capture the city and
Citadel of Saigon in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
, beginning the
Siege of Saigon.
*
February 27 – United States Congressman
Daniel Sickles shoots
Philip Barton Key (U.S. District Attorney)
Philip Barton Key II (April 5, 1818 – February 27, 1859)Richardson, Hester Dorsey. ''Side-Lights on Maryland History: With Sketches of Early Maryland Families.'' Baltimore, Md.: Williams and Wilkins company, 1913. was an American lawyer who ser ...
for having an affair with his wife.
*
March 3 – Construction begins on the first railway in northern
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
as tracks are laid between the modern-day locations of
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the admin ...
and
Kanpur.
*
March 9 – The army of the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
mobilizes against Austria, beginning the crisis which will lead to the
Austro-Sardinian War.
*
March 21
Events Pre-1600
* 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the '' Vivarium'', by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas ...
– The
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
issues the charter establishing the
Zoological Society of Philadelphia, the first organization of its kind in the United States, and founder of the nation's first zoo.
*
March 26 – French amateur astronomer
Edmond Modeste Lescarbault claims to have noticed a planet closer to the Sun than Mercury (later named
Vulcan).
April–June
*
April 13 –
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is founded by
Peter Cooper, a New York industrialist, inventor and philanthropist.
*
April 18 –
Indian Rebellion
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...
revolutionary,
Tantia Tope is hanged for the
1857 Rebellion
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...
*
April 25 – Ground is broken for the
Suez Canal, in Egypt.
*
April 28 – American ship ''
Pomona
Pomona may refer to:
Places Argentina
* Pomona, Río Negro
Australia
* Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa
* Pomona, New South Wales, Australia
Belize
* Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District
Mexico ...
'' is wrecked off the Irish coast, with 424 dead.
*
April 29 – Austrian troops begin to cross the
Ticino River to
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
.
*
April 30 – ''
A Tale of Two Cities'' by
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
is published in England.
*
May 4 – The
Cornwall Railway opens across the
Royal Albert Bridge, linking the counties of
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...
in England.
*
May 5 – Border Treaty between
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...
: The two countries agree their borders should be traced at the water divide, between the
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
and the
Orinoco basins.
*
May 22
Events Pre-1600
* 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
* 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
...
–
Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies is succeeded by his 23-year-old son,
Francis II of the Two Sicilies.
*
May 26 –
Austro-Sardinian War –
Battle of Varese:
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
's
Hunters of the Alps
The Hunters of the Alps ( it, Cacciatori delle Alpi) were a military corps created by Giuseppe Garibaldi in Cuneo on 20 February 1859 to help the regular Sardinian army to free the northern part of Italy in the Second Italian War of Independen ...
confront and defeat Austrian forces, led by
Field Marshal-Lieutenant Carl Baron Urban.
*
May 26,
June 2 –
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alt ...
Joseph Prestwich and amateur
archaeologist John Evans report (to the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...
and
Society of Antiquaries of London
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...
, respectively) the results of their investigations of gravel-pits in the
Somme valley and elsewhere, extending
human history
Human history, also called world history, is the narrative of humanity's past. It is understood and studied through anthropology, archaeology, genetics, and linguistics. Since the invention of writing, human history has been studied t ...
back to what will become known as the
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...
Era.
*
May 30 –
Battle of Palestro: The
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...
ns defeat the Austrian army.
*
May 31 – Big Ben, the
Great Clock at the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...
, London, is started.
*
June 4 –
Austro-Sardinian War –
Battle of Magenta: The French and Sardinians defeat the Austrians.
*
June 6 – The British
Crown colony of
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
in Australia is created, by
devolving part of the territory of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
(
Queensland Day
Queensland Day is officially celebrated on 6 June as the birthday of the Australian state of Queensland.
History
Moves towards statehood began with a public meeting in 1851 to consider separation of Queensland from the Colony of New South Wa ...
).
*
June 8 – The discovery of the
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson (Nevada), Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of s ...
in the western Utah Territory sets off the Rush to Washoe.
*
June 15 – The so-called
Pig War border dispute between the Americans and the British, over the
San Juan Islands, begins by the death of the namesake pig.
*
June 17 – The only recorded
simoom ever in North America hits
Goleta
Goleta or La Goleta may refer to:
* ''Goleta'' (spider), a spider genus
* Goleta, California, United States, a suburban city in Santa Barbara County
* La Goleta, the Spanish and Portuguese name for La Goulette, a municipality and the port of Tu ...
and
Santa Barbara, California.
*
June 18
Events Pre-1600
* 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
* 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
* 860 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of abo ...
–
Aletschhorn, the second summit of the
Bernese Alps, is first ascended.
*
June 24 –
Battle of Solferino
The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Piedmont-Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II (together know ...
: The
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
and the armies of
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
of France defeat
Franz Joseph I of Austria in northern Italy; the battle inspires
Henri Dunant
Henry Dunant (born Jean-Henri Dunant; 8 May 182830 October 1910), also known as Henri Dunant, was a Swiss humanitarian, businessman, and social activist. He was the visionary, promoter, and co-founder of the Red Cross. In 1901, he received the ...
to found the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
.
*
June 30 –
Charles Blondin crosses
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...
on a
tightrope for the first time.
July–September
*
July
** Count
Camillo Benso di Cavour resigns, as president of
Piedmont-Sardinia.
**
Pike's Peak Gold Rush begins in the
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado.
The territory was organized in the ...
.
*
July 1 – The first intercollegiate
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
game is played, between
Amherst Amherst may refer to:
People
* Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst''
* Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
and
Williams Colleges.
*
July 8 –
Charles XV succeeds his father
Oscar I of Sweden and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
(as Charles IV).
*
July 11
Events Pre-1600
* 472 – After being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is captured in St. Peter's Basilica and put to death.
* 813 – Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, ...
** The chimes of
Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The official ...
ring for the first time in London.
** By the preliminary treaty signed at
Villafranca
Villafranca (Basque: ''Alesbes'') is a town and municipality located in the province and the autonomous community (Comunidad Foral) of Navarre, northern Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo ...
, Italy,
Lombardy is ceded to the French (who immediately cede it to Sardinia), while the Austrians keep
Venetia, and the French promise to restore the Central Italian rulers expelled in the course of the war. This brings the
Austro-Sardinian War effectively to a close.
*
July 30 –
Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps, is first ascended.
*
August 16 – The Tuscan National Assembly formally deposes the
House of Habsburg-Lorraine
The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of ...
, ending an ascendancy of 109 years.
*
August 27 –
Edwin Drake drills the first
oil well
An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas ma ...
in the United States, near
Titusville, Pennsylvania, starting the
Pennsylvania oil rush.
*
August 28 –
September 2
Events
Pre-1600
* 44 BC – Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.
* 44 BC – Cicero launches the first of his '' Philippicae'' (oratorical attacks) on Mark Antony. He will make 14 of th ...
– The
solar storm of 1859,
the largest geomagnetic solar storm on record, causes the
Northern lights to be visible as far south as
Montería,
Colombia and knocks out
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
communication (this is also called the ''
Carrington
Carrington and Carington are surnames originating from one of the Carringtons in England, or from the town of Carentan in Normandy, France. It is also rarely a given name.
Surname Scientists
* Alan Carrington (1934–2013), British chemist
*Benj ...
Event'').
*
September – British merchant
Thomas Blake Glover begins business in
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...
, Japan.
*
September 17 – In
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
Joshua Norton
Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, was a resident of San Francisco, California who, in 1859, proclaimed himself "Norton I., Emperor of the United States". In 1863, after Napoleon III invaded Mexi ...
proclaims himself to be His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, ''Emperor of the United States'' and ''Protector of Mexico''.
October–December
*
October 16 –
John Brown raids the
Harpers Ferry Armory in
Harper's Ferry,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
, in an unsuccessful bid to spark a general slave rebellion.
*
October 18 – Troops under Colonel
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
overpower
John Brown at the Federal arsenal.
*
October 26 – The steamship ''
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
'' is wrecked on the coast of
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a Local government in Wales, principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strai ...
, Wales, with 454 dead.
*
November 1 – The current
Cape Lookout,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
,
lighthouse is lighted for the first time (its first-order
Fresnel lens can be seen for 19 miles).
*
November 10 – The
Treaty of Zürich, reaffirming the terms of the
Treaty of Villafranca, brings the
Austro-Sardinian War to an official close.
*
November 15 – The first
Zappas Olympics
The Zappas Olympics ( el, Ζάππειες Ολυμπιάδες), simply called Olympics ( el, Ολύμπια, ''Olympia'') at the time, were a series of athletic events held in Athens, Greece, in 1859, 1870, and 1875 sponsored by Greek businessm ...
open in Greece.
*
November 24
Events Pre-1600
* 380 – Theodosius I makes his ''adventus'', or formal entry, into Constantinople.
*1190 – Conrad of Montferrat becomes King of Jerusalem upon his marriage to Isabella I of Jerusalem.
* 1221 – Genghis Khan d ...
** English naturalist
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
publishes ''
On the Origin of Species
''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...
'', a book which argues for the gradual
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
of
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
through
natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...
(it immediately sells out its initial print run).
** The French Navy's ''
La Gloire'', the first ocean-going ironclad warship in history, is launched.
*
December 2 – Militant
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
leader
John Brown is hanged for his
October 16 raid on
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
*
December 10 – The
Ateneo de Manila University is founded, as the ''Escuela Municipal de Manila''.
Date unknown
*
District nursing begins in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, England, when philanthropist
William Rathbone employs Mary Robinson to nurse the sick poor in their own homes.
* The island of
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, al ...
is divided between Portugal and the Netherlands.
* The
Rancho Rincon de Los Esteros Land Grant is confirmed to Rafael Alvisa (part of the present
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together ...
).
*
Bernhard Riemann in November 1859 publishes ''
On the Number of Primes Less Than a Given Magnitude
" die Anzahl der Primzahlen unter einer gegebenen " (usual English translation: "On the Number of Primes Less Than a Given Magnitude") is seminal9-page paper by Bernhard Riemann published in the November 1859 edition of the ''Monatsberichte der ...
''. In his paper there is an incidental comment that later becomes the
Riemann Hypothesis
In mathematics, the Riemann hypothesis is the conjecture that the Riemann zeta function has its zeros only at the negative even integers and complex numbers with real part . Many consider it to be the most important unsolved problem in pu ...
, one of the most important unsolved problems in Mathematics.
*
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
is declared the capital of newly separated colony Queensland, Australia.
* The
University of Michigan Law School is founded.
*
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
publishes ''
A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy''.
*
John Stuart Mill publishes ''
On Liberty
''On Liberty'' is a philosophical essay by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill. Published in 1859, it applies Mill's ethical system of utilitarianism to society and state. Mill suggests standards for the relationship between authorit ...
''.
*
George Eliot publishes ''
Adam Bede''.
*
Alfred, Lord Tennyson publishes the first set of ''
Idylls of the King''.
* The
Society for Promoting the Employment of Women is founded.
* The
Mary Institute is founded in Missouri.
* ''
Tidskrift för hemmet
The ''Home Review'' ( sv, Tidskrift för hemmet) was a Swedish women's magazine, published from 1859 to 1885. It was the first women's magazine in the Nordic countries and its inception is sometimes regarded as the foundation of Sweden's women's ...
'', the first women's magazine in the Nordic countries, begins publication in Sweden.
* Nillmij, as predecessor of
Aegon Aegon or AEGON may refer to:
* Aegon N.V., a Dutch multinational life insurance, pensions and asset management company
:* Aegon UK, its Scottish subsidiary
:* Aegon Life Insurance Company
*Ægon, a playable character in '' Marvel Contest of Champion ...
, a worldwide
insurance service, founded in
Dutch East Indies (now
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
).
Births
January–March
*
January 6
Events Pre-1600
* 1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will ...
–
Hugh Rodman
Admiral Hugh Rodman KCB (6 January 1859 – 7 June 1940) was an officer in the United States Navy who served during the Spanish–American War and World War I, later serving as the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet from 1919 to 1921.
...
, American admiral (d.
1940)
*
January 8 –
Fanny Bullock Workman, American geographer, writer and mountain climber (d.
1925)
*
January 11
Events Pre-1600
* 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.
* 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muham ...
–
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, British statesman,
Viceroy of India (d.
1925)
*
January 27
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
* 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to b ...
–
Wilhelm II of Germany, last Emperor of Germany and
King of Prussia (d.
1941)
*
January 29
Events
Pre-1600
* 904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
* 946 – Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, ru ...
–
Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, American-born Parisian socialite, model for the painting ''
Portrait of Madame X'' (d.
1915)
*
February 1
**
Henry Miller, English-born American stage actor, producer (d.
1926)
**
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is bes ...
, Irish-born composer (''Babes In Toyland'') (d.
1924)
*
February 3
Events Pre-1600
*1112 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.
* 1451 – Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire.
*1488 – ...
–
Hugo Junkers, German industrialist, aircraft designer (d.
1935)
*
February 5
Events Pre-1600
*AD 62, 62 – AD 62 Pompeii earthquake, Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy.
*1576 – Henry IV of France, Henry of Navarre :wikt:abjure, abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Re ...
–
Louis Cheikho, Lebanese
Jesuit Chaldean
Chaldean (also Chaldaean or Chaldee) may refer to:
Language
* an old name for the Aramaic language, particularly Biblical Aramaic
* Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, a modern Aramaic language
* Chaldean script, a variant of the Syriac alphabet
Places
* Chal ...
priest and venerable (d.
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General.
* January 7
* ...
)
*
February 9
Events Pre-1600
* 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
*1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
*1539 – The first recorded race is held ...
–
Akiyama Yoshifuru, Japanese general (d.
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
)
*
February 10
Events Pre-1600
* 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end.
*1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, sparki ...
–
Alexandre Millerand, President of France (d.
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 – ...
)
*
February 14
Events Pre-1600
* 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
* 842 – Charles the Bald and Lo ...
**
Henry Valentine Knaggs, English physician, author (d.
1954)
**
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., American inventor of the
Ferris wheel (d. 1896)
* February 19 – Svante Arrhenius, Swedish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General.
* January 7
* ...
)
* February 25 – Vasil Kutinchev, Bulgarian general (d.
1941)
* February 26 – Louise DeKoven Bowen, American philanthropist, activist (d. 1953)
* February 28 – Florian Cajori, Swiss historian of mathematics (d.
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
)
* March 2 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian Yiddish novelist (d. 1916)
* March 8 – Kenneth Grahame, English author (d. 1932)
*
March 9 – Alexandru Averescu, Romanian general and politician, 24th Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1938)
* March 12 – Abraham H. Cannon, American Mormon apostle (d. 1896)
* March 13 – Alice Bellvadore Sams Turner, American physician (d.
1915)
* – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist (d. 1906 [O.S. 1905])
*
March 26 – A. E. Housman, English poet (d. 1936)
April–June
* April 3 – Reginald De Koven, American composer, music critic (d. 1920)
* April 7 – Jacques Loeb, German–American physiologist, biologist (d.
1924)
* April 8 – Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (d. 1938)
* April 14 – Luigi Capello, Italian general (d.
1941)
* April 17 – Willis Van Devanter, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d.
1941)
* May 1 – Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, French artist (d. 1955)
* May 15 – Pierre Curie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
*
May 22
Events Pre-1600
* 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
* 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
...
– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish writer (d.
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
)
* June 5 – Belle Archer, American actress (d. 1900)
* June 9 – Doveton Sturdee, British admiral (d.
1925)
* June 21 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, American artist (d. 1937)
July–September
* July 6
** Alexander Hamilton-Gordon (British Army officer, born 1859), Alexander Hamilton-Gordon, British general (d. 1939)
** Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1940)
* July 13 – Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, British co-founder of the London School of Economics (d. 1947)
* July 28 – Mary Anderson (actress, born 1859), Mary Anderson, American stage actress (d.
1940)
* July 29 – Francisco Rodrigues da Cruz, Portuguese priest (d. 1948)
* August 2 – Auguste Adib Pacha, 2-time prime minister of Lebanon (d. 1936)
* August 4 – Knut Hamsun, Norwegian author, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1952)
*
August 16 – Dora Knowlton Ranous, American actress, author and translator (d. 1916)
* August 18 – Anna Ancher, Danish painter (d.
1935)
* September 3 – Jean Jaurès, French socialist (d. 1914)
* September 7 – Margaret Crosfield, British palaeontologist, geologist (d. 1952)
* September 16 – Yuan Shikai, Chinese dictator (d. 1916)
*
September 17
** William H. Bonney (Billy The Kid), American outlaw, gunfighter (d. 1881)
** I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (d. 1929)
* September 18 – Lincoln Loy McCandless, Hawaiian politician, rancher (d.
1940)
* September 19 – Marshall Pinckney Wilder, American actor, humorist, comedian and monologist (d.
1915)
* September 21 – Francesc Macià, Catalan politician (d. 1933)
* September 24 – Radko Dimitriev, Bulgarian and Russian general (d.
1918
This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide.
Events
Below, the events ...
)
* September 28 – Alfredo Baquerizo, 19th President of Ecuador (d. 1951)
October–December
* October 6 – Frank Seiberling, American inventor, co-founder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (d. 1955)
* October 9 – Alfred Dreyfus, French military officer, subject of the Dreyfus affair (d.
1935)
* October 12 – Diana Abgar, Armenian diplomat (d. 1937)
*
October 18 – Henri Bergson, French philosopher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (d.
1941)
* October 20 – John Dewey, American philosopher, psychologist and educator (d. 1952)
*
November 10 – Gustav Globočnik Edler von Vojka, Austro-Hungarian nobleman and field marshal (d. 1946)
* November 14 – Alexander Samsonov, Russian general (d. 1914)
*
November 15
** Jean César Graziani, French general (d. 1932)
** Christopher Hornsrud, 11th prime minister of Norway (d. 1960)
* November 19 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer (d.
1935)
* November 22 – Fusajiro Yamauchi, Japanese founder of Nintendo (d.
1940)
*
November 24
Events Pre-1600
* 380 – Theodosius I makes his ''adventus'', or formal entry, into Constantinople.
*1190 – Conrad of Montferrat becomes King of Jerusalem upon his marriage to Isabella I of Jerusalem.
* 1221 – Genghis Khan d ...
– Cass Gilbert, American architect (Woolworth Building, United States Supreme Court building) (d. 1934)
* November 27 – William Bliss Baker, American painter (d. 1886)
* November 29 – Jesse Pomeroy, youngest convicted murderer in Massachusetts (d. 1932)
*
December 2 – Georges Seurat, French painter (d. 1891)
* December 5 – John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, British admiral (d.
1935)
* December 15 – L. L. Zamenhof, Polish creator of Esperanto (d. 1917)
* December 17 – Paul César Helleu, French artist (d.
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General.
* January 7
* ...
)
* December 24 – Olive E. Dana, American author (unknown year of death)
* December 29 – Venustiano Carranza, 37th President of Mexico (d. 1920)
Date unknown
* Vittorio Alinari, Italian photographer (d. 1932)
* Stanisław Roman Lewandowski, Polish sculptor (d.
1940)
* Margaret Manton Merrill, English-American journalist and writer (d. 1893)
Deaths
January–June
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
*1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
– Henry Hallam, English historian (b. 1777)
*
January 28
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
* 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
– F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
* February 13 – Eliza Acton, English poet, cookery writer (b. 1799)
*
February 27 – Philip Barton Key II, Philip Barton Key, U.S. District Attorney (b. 1818)
* April 8 – Joseph Thackwell, Sir Joseph Thackwell, British army general (b. 1781)
* April 16 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
* May 6 – Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist and geographer (b. 1769)
* May 13 – Bakht Khan, commander-in-chief of
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
n rebel forces in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (b. 1797)
* June 11 – Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, Austrian diplomat (b. 1773)
* June 13 – Angélique Brûlon, French soldier, first female Knight of the French Legion of Honour (b. 1772)
*
June 15 – Mark Newman (educator), Mark Newman, 3rd List of Phillips Academy Heads of School, Principal of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. (b. 1772)
* June 23 – Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1786–1859), Maria Pavlovna, Dowager Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (b. 1786)
July–December
*
July 8
** King
Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (b. 1799)
** Charlotte von Siebold, German gynecologist (b. 1788)
* July 16 – Charles Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart, British army general and colonial administrator (b. 1783)
* July 17 – Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Queen consort of Portugal (b. 1837)
*
July 30 – Richard Rush, United States Attorney General under James Madison, United States Secretary of the Treasury under President John Quincy Adams (b. 1780)
* August 2 – Horace Mann, American educator, abolitionist (b. 1796)
* August 4 – John Vianney, French saint known as the ''Curé de Ars'' (b. 1786)
* August 15 – Nathaniel Claiborne, U.S. politician (b. 1777)
*
August 28
** Leigh Hunt, British critic, essayist (b. 1784)
** Sultan Abd al-Rahman of Morocco (b. 1788)
* September 15 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British engineer (b. 1806)
* September 19 – George Bush (biblical scholar), American professor of Asian languages (b. 1796)
* September 28 – Carl Ritter, German geographer (b. 1779)
* October 4 – Karl Baedeker, German author, publisher (b. 1801)
* October 12 – Robert Stephenson, English civil engineer (b. 1803)
* October 22 – Louis Spohr, German violinist, composer (b. 1784)
* November 28 – Washington Irving, American author (b. 1783)
*
December 2 –
John Brown, American abolitionist (hanged) (b. 1800)
* December 8 – Thomas de Quincey, English writer (b. 1785)
* December 16 – Wilhelm Grimm, German philologist, folklorist (b. 1786)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1859
1859,
5. ^ Meynell, P-J. (1976). Methane: Planning a Digester. New York: Schocken Books. pp. 3.