Events
January–March
![Battle of Fort Fisher](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Battle_of_Fort_Fisher.jpg)
*
January 4
Events Pre-1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
* 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
1601–1900
*1649 – Engli ...
– The
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
opens its first permanent headquarters at
10-12 Broad near
Wall Street
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
, in New York City.
*
January 13
Events Pre-1600
* 27 BC – Octavian transfers the state to the free disposal of the Roman Senate and the people. He receives Spain, Gaul, and Syria as his province for ten years.
* 532 – The Nika riots break out, during the racing ...
–
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
:
Second Battle of Fort Fisher: United States forces launch a major amphibious assault against the last seaport held by the
Confederates,
Fort Fisher,
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 and So ...
.
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
– American Civil War: United States forces capture Fort Fisher.
*
January 31
Events Pre-1600
* 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades.
* 1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the t ...
** The
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representative ...
(conditional prohibition of slavery and involuntary servitude) passes narrowly, in the House of Representatives.
** American Civil War: Confederate General
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 ...
becomes general-in-chief.
*
February
February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...
** American Civil War:
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...
burns, as Confederate forces flee from advancing
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
forces.
*
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 – ...
– American Civil War :
Hampton Roads Conference
The Hampton Roads Conference was a peace conference held between the United States and representatives of the unrecognized breakaway Confederate States on February 3, 1865, aboard the steamboat ''River Queen'' in Hampton Roads, Virginia, to discus ...
: Union and Confederate leaders discuss peace terms.
*
February 8
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
*1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al ...
&
March 8 –
Gregor Mendel reads his paper on ''
Experiments on Plant Hybridization'' at two meetings of the Natural History Society of Brünn in
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
, subsequently taken to be the origin of the theory of
Mendelian inheritance.
*
February 21
Events Pre-1600
* 452 or 453 – Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine.
* 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
* 1440 – The Prus ...
–
John Deere
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...
receives a patent for
plough
A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
s.
*
February 22
Events Pre-1600
* 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
* 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdina ...
–
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
adopts a new
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
that abolishes
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
.
*
March 3
Events Pre-1600
* 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
* 1575 &nd ...
– The
U.S. Congress authorizes formation of the
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.
*
March –
Hamm's Brewery opens in St. Paul, Minnesota.
*
March 4
Events Pre-1600
*AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title '' princeps iuventutis'' (head of the youth).
* 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
* 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a st ...
**
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
is
sworn in
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...
for a second term as President of the United States.
** Washington College and Jefferson College are merged, to form
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...
.
*
March 13
Events Pre-1600
*624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
*1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
*1591 – At the Battle of Tond ...
– American Civil War: The
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
agrees to the use of
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
troops.
*
March 18 – American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourns for the last time.
*
March 19–
21 – American Civil War :
Battle of Bentonville: Union troops compel Confederate forces to retreat from
Four Oaks, North Carolina
Four Oaks is a town in Johnston County, North Carolina, Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had a population of 1,921, up from 1,424 in 2000.
History
Four Oaks was one of several town ...
.
*
March 25
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto.
* 708 – Pope Constantine becomes the 88th pope. He would be the last pope to vi ...
** The ''Claywater Meteorite'' explodes just before reaching ground level in
Vernon County, Wisconsin
Vernon County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,714. Its county seat is Viroqua.
History
Vernon County was renamed from Bad Ax County on March 22, 1862. Bad Ax County had been created on ...
; fragments having a combined mass of are recovered.
** American Civil War: In
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, Confederate forces capture
Fort Stedman from the Union. Lee's army suffers heavy casualties: about 2,900, including 1,000 captured in the Union counterattack. Confederate positions are weakened. After the battle, Lee's defeat is only a matter of time.
April–June
![Lincoln assassination slide c1900 - Restoration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Lincoln_assassination_slide_c1900_-_Restoration.jpg)
*
April 1
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held.
* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
*1081 – Alexios I Kom ...
–
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
–
Battle of Five Forks: In
Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins his final offensive.
*
April 2
Events Pre-1600
*1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Jo ...
– American Civil War: Confederate President
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
, which is taken by Union troops the next day.
*
April 6 – German chemicals producer ''Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik (
BASF)'' is founded in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
.
*
April 9
Events Pre-1600
* 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, s ...
– American Civil War:
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
General
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 ...
surrenders to
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
at
Appomattox Court House Appomattox Court House could refer to:
* The village of Appomattox Court House, now the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, in central Virginia (U.S.), where Confederate army commander Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union commander Ulyss ...
, effectively ending the war.
*
April 14
Events Pre-1600
* 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum.
* 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...
**
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth, while attending the play ''Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Shot in the hea ...
:
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
is shot while attending an evening performance of the
farce
Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...
''
Our American Cousin'' at
Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., by actor and
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
sympathizer
John Wilkes Booth.
**
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senate, United States Senat ...
and his family are attacked in his home, by
Lewis Powell.
*
April 15 – President Lincoln dies early this morning from his gunshot wound, aged 56. Vice President
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
becomes the 17th President of the United States upon Lincoln's death and is
sworn in
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...
later that morning.
*
April 18
Events Pre-1600
* 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.
* 1428 – Peace of Ferrara betw ...
– Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his entire cabinet arrive in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, with a contingent of 1,000 soldiers.
*
April 21
Events Pre-1600
*753 BC – Romulus founds Rome ( traditional date).
* 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered ...
– German chemicals producer ''
BASF'' moves its headquarters and factories from
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
, to the
Hemshof District of
Ludwigshafen
Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...
.
*
April 26
** American Civil War: Confederate General
Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to Union Major General
William Tecumseh Sherman, at Durham Station,
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 and So ...
.
** Union cavalry corner
John Wilkes Booth in a
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
barn, and cavalryman
Boston Corbett fatally shoots the assassin.
*
April 27
Events Pre-1600
* 247 – Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome with a celebration of the ''ludi saeculares''.
* 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes one of ...
** The
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
''
Sultana'', carrying 2,300 passengers, explodes and sinks in the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, killing 1,800, mostly
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
survivors of the
Andersonville Prison.
![Sultana Disaster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Sultana_Disaster.jpg)
**
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
Reuben Fenton
Reuben Eaton Fenton (July 4, 1819August 25, 1885) was an American merchant and politician from New York (state), New York. In the mid-19th Century, he served as a United States House of Representatives , U.S. Representative, a United States Sen ...
signs a bill formally creating
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
.
*
May 1 – The
Treaty of the Triple Alliance of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
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
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
against
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
is formally signed, following the outbreak of the
Paraguayan War.
*
May 4 – American Civil War: Lieutenant General
Richard Taylor, commanding all Confederate forces in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, and eastern
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, surrenders his forces to Union General
Edward Canby at
Citronelle, Alabama, effectively ending all Confederate resistance east of the Mississippi River.
*
May 5
** In
North Bend, Ohio (a suburb of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
), the first
train robbery
Train robbery is a type of robbery, in which the goal is to steal money or other valuables being carried aboard trains.
History
Train robberies were more common in the past when trains were slower, and often occurred in the American Old West. Tr ...
in the United States takes place.
**
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
meets with his Confederate Cabinet (14 officials) for the last time, in Washington, Georgia, and the Confederate Government is officially dissolved.
*
May 10
Events Pre-1600
* 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
*1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edw ...
– American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is captured by the Union Army near
Irwinville, Georgia
Irwinville is an unincorporated community in Irwin County, Georgia, United States.
Irwinville was founded as "Irwinsville" in 1831 as the seat for the newly formed Irwin County. The community was named for Georgia governor Jared Irwin. It was ...
.
*
May 12 – Electric equipment and mobile brand
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
founded in
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
.
*
May 12–May 13, 13 – American Civil War – Battle of Palmito Ranch: In far south Texas, more than a month after Confederate General Robert E. Lee, Lee's surrender, the last land battle of the civil war with casualties, ends with a Confederate victory.
* May 17
** The International Telegraph Union is founded.
** French missionary Father Armand David first observes Père David's deer in Beijing, Peking, China.
* May 23 – Grand Review of the Armies: Union Army troops parade down Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.) to celebrate the end of the American Civil War.
* May 25 – Mobile magazine explosion: 300 are killed in Mobile, Alabama, when an ordnance depot explodes.
* May 28 – The ''Mimosa (ship), Mimosa'' sets sail with emigrants from Wales for Patagonia.
* May 29 – American Civil War: President of the United States
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
issues a proclamation of general amnesty for most citizens of the former Confederacy.
* June–August – English polymath Francis Galton formulates eugenics.
* June 2 – American Civil War: Confederate forces west of the Mississippi River under General Edmund Kirby Smith surrender at Galveston, Texas, under terms negotiated on May 26, becoming the last to do so.
* June 10 – Richard Wagner's opera ''Tristan und Isolde'' debuts at the National Theatre Munich, Munich Court Theatre.
* June 11 – Battle of the Riachuelo: The Brazilian Navy squadron defeats the Paraguayan Navy.
![Standard of the Salvation Army](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Standard_of_the_Salvation_Army.svg)
* June 19 – American Civil War: Union Major General Gordon Granger lands at Galveston, Texas, and informs the people of Texas of the Emancipation Proclamation (an event celebrated in modern times each year as Juneteenth).
* June 23 – American Civil War: At Fort Towson in Oklahoma Territory, Confederate General Stand Watie, a Cherokee Indian, surrenders the last significant Rebel army.
* June 25 – James Hudson Taylor founds the China Inland Mission at Brighton, England.
* June 26 – Jumbo, a young male African elephant, arrives at London Zoo and becomes a popular attraction.
July–September
* July – The Christian Mission, later renamed The Salvation Army, is founded in Whitechapel, London, by William Booth, William and Catherine Booth.
* July 4 – Lewis Carroll publishes his children's novel ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' in England
(first trade editions in December).
* July 5
** The U.S. Secret Service is founded.
** The first speed limit is introduced in United Kingdom, Britain: in town and in the country.
* July 7 – Following
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's assassination on
April 14
Events Pre-1600
* 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum.
* 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...
, the four conspirators condemned to death during the trial are hanged, including David Herold, George Atzerodt,
Lewis Powell and Mary Surratt. Her son, John Surratt, escapes execution by fleeing to Canada, and ultimately to Egypt.
* July 14 – First ascent of the Matterhorn: The summit of the Matterhorn in the Alps is reached for the first time, by a party of 7 led by the English people, Englishman Edward Whymper; 4 die in a fall during the descent.
![SS Brother Jonathan 1862](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/SS_Brother_Jonathan_1862.jpg)
* July 21 – Wild Bill Hickok – Davis Tutt shootout: In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots Davis Tutt, Little Dave Tutt dead over a poker debt, in what is regarded as the first true western ''fast draw'' showdown.
* July 23 – The departs on a voyage to lay a transatlantic telegraph cable.
* July 27 – Welsh settlers arrive in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
at Chubut Valley.
* July 27 – Businessman Asa Packer established Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
* July 30 – The steamer ''Brother Jonathan (steamer), Brother Jonathan'' sinks off the California coast, killing 225.
* July 31 – The first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Queensland, Grandchester, Australia.
* August 16 – The Dominican Republic regains independence from Spain.
* August 25 – The Shergotty meteorite Mars meteorite falls in Sherghati, Gaya, Bihar, India.
* September 19 – Union Business College (now Peirce College) is founded in Philadelphia.
* September 26 – Champ Ferguson becomes the first person (and one of only two) to be convicted of war crimes for actions taken during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, found guilty by a U.S. Army tribunal on 23 charges, arising from the murder of 53 people. He is hanged on October 20, two days after the conviction of Henry Wirz for war crimes.
October–December
* October 11 – Morant Bay rebellion: Paul Bogle leads hundreds of black men and women in a march in Jamaica; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the British governor Edward John Eyre with 400 executed.
[
* October 25 – Florida drafts its constitution in Tallahassee.
* October 26
** The Standard Oil Company opens.
** The paddlewheel steamer sinks off the Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia coast, with a cargo of $400,000 in coins.
* November 6 – ]American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
: The CSS Shenandoah, CSS ''Shenandoah'', last remnant of the Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
and its military, surrenders in Liverpool after fleeing westward from the Pacific.
* November 10 – Captain Henry Wirz, Confederate superintendent of Andersonville Prison (Camp Sumter) is Hanging, hanged, becoming the second of two combatants, and only serving regular soldier, to be Execution (legal), executed for war crimes committed during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
* November 11 – Duar War between Britain and Bhutan ends with the Treaty of Sinchula, in which Bhutan cedes control of its southern passes to Britain in return for an annual subsidy.
* November 17 – Chincha Islands War – Action of 17 November 1865: A Spanish gunboat is captured by the Chilean tugboat ''Indepndencia'' off Tomé, in the Bay of Concepción, Chile.
* November 26 – Chincha Islands War – Battle of Papudo: The Spanish ship ''Covadonga'' is captured by the Chileans and the Peruvians, north of Valparaíso, Chile.
* December 11 – The United States Congress creates the United States House Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Banking and Commerce, reducing the tasks of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means, House Committee on Ways and Means.
* December 17 – Leopold II of Belgium, Leopold II becomes King of the Belgians, following the death (on December 10) of his father, King Leopold I of Belgium, Leopold I.
* December 18 – United States Secretary of State, Secretary of State William H. Seward
William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senate, United States Senat ...
declares the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representative ...
ratified by three-quarters of the states, including those in secession. As of December 6, slavery is legally outlawed in the last two slave states of Kentucky and Delaware, and the remaining 45,000 slaves are freed.
* December 21 – The Kappa Alpha Order is founded at Washington and Lee University, Washington College, Lexington, Virginia.
* December 24 – Jonathan Shank and Barry Ownby form the Ku Klux Klan in the American South, to resist Reconstruction Era, Reconstruction and intimidate ''carpetbaggers'' and ''scalawags'', as well as to repress the freedpeople.
Date unknown
* A forest fire near Silverton, Oregon, destroys about one million acres (4,000 km2) of timber.
* The National Temperance Society and Publishing House is founded by James Black (prohibitionist), James Black in the U.S.
Births
January–March
* January 5 – Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer (d. 1920)
* January 9 – Leo Ditrichstein, Austrian-born stage actor, playwright (d. 1928)
* January 19 – Valentin Serov, Russian portrait painter (d. 1911)
* January 20 – Yvette Guilbert, French cabaret singer, actress (d. 1944)
* January 27 – Nikolai Pokrovsky, Russian politician, last foreign minister of the Russian Empire (d. 1930)
* January 28
** Lala Lajpat Rai ("The Lion of Punjab"), a leader of the Indian independence movement (d. 1928)
** Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, 1st President of Finland (d. 1952)
* January 31
Events Pre-1600
* 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades.
* 1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the t ...
– Henri Desgrange, French cycling enthusiast, founder of the Tour de France (d. 1940)
* February 4 – Ernest Hanbury Hankin, English bacteriologist, naturalist (d. 1939)
* February 9 – Beatrice Stella Tanner, later Mrs. Patrick Campbell, English theatre actress, producer (d. 1940)
* February 12 – Kazimierz Tetmajer, Polish writer (d. 1940)
* February 17 – Ernst Troeltsch, German theologian (d. 1923).
* February 19 – Sven Hedin, Swedish scientist, explorer (d. 1952)
* February 21
Events Pre-1600
* 452 or 453 – Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine.
* 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
* 1440 – The Prus ...
– John Haden Badley, English author, educator (d. 1967)
* February 28 – Wilfred Grenfell, English medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador (d. 1940)
* March 1 – Elma Danielsson, Swedish socialist, journalist (d. 1936)
* March 10 – Tan Sitong, Chinese reformist leader (d. 1898)
* March 15 – Sui Sin Far, English-born writer (d. 1914)
* March 19 – William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist (d. 1937)
* March 30 – Heinrich Rubens, German physicist (d. 1922)
April–June
* April – Richard Rushall, British sea captain and businessman (d. 1953)
* April 1
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held.
* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
*1081 – Alexios I Kom ...
– Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-born chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
* April 2
Events Pre-1600
*1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Jo ...
– Gyorche Petrov, Macedonian and Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1921)
* April 6 – Victory Bateman, American stage and screen actress (d. 1926)
* April 9
Events Pre-1600
* 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, s ...
** Violet Nicolson, English poet (d. 1904)
** Erich Ludendorff, German general (d. 1937)
** Charles Proteus Steinmetz, German-American engineer, electrician (d. 1923)
* April 14
Events Pre-1600
* 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum.
* 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...
– Alfred Hoare Powell, English Arts and Crafts architect, and designer and painter of pottery (d. 1960)
* April 18
Events Pre-1600
* 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.
* 1428 – Peace of Ferrara betw ...
– Leónidas Plaza, 16th President of Ecuador (d. 1932)
* April 26 – Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Finnish artist (d. 1931)
* April 28
** Vital Brazil, Brazilian physician, immunologist (d. 1950)
** Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist (d. 1940)
* May 2 – Clyde Fitch, American dramatist (d. 1909)
* May 3 – Martha M. Simpson, Australian educationalist ((d. 1948)
* May 23 – Epitácio Pessoa, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
* May 25
** John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1955)
** Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
* May 26 – Robert W. Chambers, American artist (d. 1933)
* June 2 – George Lohmann, English cricketer (d. 1901)
* June 3 – George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1936)
* June 9
** Albéric Magnard, French composer (d. 1914)
** Carl Nielsen, Danish composer (d. 1931)
* June 13 – W. B. Yeats, Irish writer, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1939)
* June 19
** Alfred Hugenberg, German businessman, politician (d. 1951)
** May Whitty, British stage and screen actress (d. 1948)
* June 21 – Otto Frank (physiologist), Otto Frank, German physiologist (d. 1944)
* June 26 – Bernard Berenson, American art historian (d. 1959)
* June 29 – Shigechiyo Izumi, Japanese supercentenarian (d. 1986)
July–September
* July 13 – Gérard Encausse, French occultist (d. 1916)
* July 15 – Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, Irish-born British publisher; founder of the ''Daily Mail'' and ''Daily Mirror'' (d.1922)
* July 23
**Max Heindel, Danish-born Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic (d. 1919)
**Edward Terry Sanford, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1930)
* July 26 – Philipp Scheidemann, 11th Chancellor of Germany (German Reich), Chancellor of Germany (d. 1939)
* August 2
** Irving Babbitt, American literary critic (d. 1933)
** John Radecki, Australian stained glass artist (d. 1955)
* August 10 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer (d. 1936)
* August 15 – Usui Mikao, Japanese founder of reiki (d. 1926)
* August 17 – Julia Marlowe, English-born American stage actress (d. 1950)
* August 20 – Bernard Tancred, South African cricketer (d. 1911)
* August 22 – Templar Saxe, British actor and singer (d. 1935)
* August 24 – King Ferdinand I of Romania (d. 1927)
* August 27
** James Henry Breasted, American Egyptologist (d. 1935)
** Charles G. Dawes, List of Vice Presidents of the United States, 30th Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1951)
* September 4 – Maria Karłowska, Polish Roman Catholic religious professed and blessed (d. 1935)
* September 11 – Rainis, Latvian poet, playwright (d. 1929)
* September 13 – William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, British field marshal (d. 1951)
* September 26 – Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, English aviator, ornithologist (d. 1937)
October–December
* October 1 – Paul Dukas, French composer (d. 1935)
* October 9 – Arthur Hayes-Sadler, British admiral (d. 1952)
* October 10 – Rafael Merry del Val, Spanish Roman Catholic Cardinal and Secretary of the Congregation of the Holy Office (d. 1930)
* October 12 – Arthur Harden, English chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)
* October 15 – Charles W. Clark, American baritone (d. 1925)
* October 16 – Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan, British field marshal (d. 1946)
* October 17 – James Rudolph Garfield, U.S. politician (d. 1950)
* October 22
**Charles James Briggs, British general (d. 1941)
**Raymond Hitchcock (actor), Raymond Hitchcock, American actor (d. 1929)
* October 23 – Hovhannes Abelian, Armenian actor (d. 1936)
* October 26 – Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (d. 1912)
* October 27 – Tinsley Lindley, English footballer (d. 1940)
* November 2 – Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
(d. 1923)
* November 11 – Edwin Thanhouser, American actor, businessman, and film producer, founder of the Thanhouser Company (d. 1956)
* December 8
**Rüdiger von der Goltz, German general (d. 1946)
**Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (d. 1957)
* December 12 – Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair, British admiral (d. 1945)
* December 16 – Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet (d. 1918)
* December 19 – Minnie Maddern Fiske, American stage actress (d. 1932)
* December 20 – Elsie de Wolfe, American socialite, interior decorator (d. 1950)
* December 23
** Anna Farquhar Bergengren, American author and editor (unknown year of death)
** Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, German field marshal (d. 1939)
* December 25
** Evangeline Booth, 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)
** Fay Templeton, American musical comedy star (d. 1939)
* December 28 – Félix Vallotton, Swiss painter, printmaker (d. 1925)
* December 30 – Rudyard Kipling, Indian-born English writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
Date unknown
* Ernest Hogan, African-American dancer, musician, and comedian (d. 1909)
* Habibullah Qurayshi, Bengali Islamic scholar and educationist (d. 1943)
Deaths
January–June
* January 14 – Marie-Anne Libert, Belgian botanist (b. 1782)
* January 19 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher, anarchist (b. 1809)
* January 28 – Felice Romani, Italian poet, librettist (b. 1788)
* February 6 – Isabella Beeton, British cook, household management expert (b. 1836)
* March 1 – Anna Pavlovna of Russia, queen consort of the Netherlands (b. 1795)
* March 20 – Yamanami Keisuke, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
* March 30 – Alexander Dukhnovich, Russian priest, writer and social activist (b. 1803
* April 1
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held.
* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
*1081 – Alexios I Kom ...
** John Milton (Florida politician), John Milton, Governor of Florida (b. 1807)
** Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano (b. 1798)
* April 2
Events Pre-1600
*1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Jo ...
– A. P. Hill, American Confederate general (b. 1825)
* April 13 – Achille Valenciennes, French zoologist (b. 1794)
* April 15 – Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, 16th President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
(b. 1809)
* April 18
Events Pre-1600
* 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.
* 1428 – Peace of Ferrara betw ...
– Léon Jean Marie Dufour, French medical doctor, naturalist (b. 1780)
* April 24 – Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia (b. 1843)
* April 28 – Samuel Cunard, Sir Samuel Cunard, Canadian businessman, founder of the Cunard Line (b. 1787)
* May 5 – Ben Hall (bushranger), Ben Hall, Australian bushranger (b. 1837)
July–December
* July – Dimitris Plapoutas, Greek military leader (b. 1786)
* July 6 – Princess Sophie of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Baden (b. 1801)
* July 7 – The Lincoln assassination conspirators (executed)
** Lewis Powell (b. 1844)
** David Herold (b. 1842)
** George Atzerodt (b. 1835)
** Mary Surratt (b. 1823)
* July 25 – James Barry (surgeon), James Barry, British military surgeon (b. 1795)
* August 4 – Percival Drayton, United States Navy officer (b. 1812)
* August 12 – William Jackson Hooker, English botanist (b. 1785)
* August 13 – Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian physician (b. 1818)
* August 16 – Frederick Stovin, Sir Frederick Stovin, British army general (b. 1783)
* August 27 – Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian author (b. 1796)
* August 29 – Robert Remak, German embryologist, physiologist and neurologist (b. 1815)
* September 2 – William Rowan Hamilton, Irish mathematician (b. 1805)
* September 10 – Maria Silfvan, Finnish actor (b. 1802)
* September 25 – Andrés de Santa Cruz, Peruvian military officer, seventh President of Peru and President of Bolivia (b. 1792)
* October 16 – Andrés Bello, Venezuelan poet, lawmaker, teacher, philosopher and sociologist (b. 1781)
* October 18 – Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1784)
* October 24 – Paul Bogle, Jamaican activist, Baptist deacon and leader of the Morant Bay rebellion. (executed) (b. 1820)
* November 10 – Henry Wirz, Swiss-born American Confederate military officer, prisoner-of-war camp commander (executed) (b. 1823)
* November 12 – Elizabeth Gaskell, British novelist, biographer (b. 1810)
* November 28
**José Manuel Pareja, Spanish admiral (suicide) (b. 1813)
**William Machin Stairs, Canadian businessman, statesman (b. 1789)
* November 29 – Isaac A. Van Amburgh, American animal trainer (b. 1811)
* December 6 – Sebastián Iradier, Spanish composer (b. 1809)
* December 10 – King Leopold I of Belgium (b. 1790)
* December 14 – Johan Georg Forchhammer, Danish geologist (b. 1794)
* December 17 – Luigi Ciacchi, Italian cardinal (b. 1788)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1865
1865,