Events
January–March
![Battle of Fort Fisher](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Battle_of_Fort_Fisher.jpg)
*
January 4 – 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 ...
opens its first permanent headquarters at
10-12 Broad near
Wall Street, in New York City.
*
January 13 –
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 ...
:
Second Battle of Fort Fisher
The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a successful assault by the Union Army, Navy and Marine Corps against Fort Fisher, south of Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War in January 1865. Sometimes referred to as the "Gi ...
: United States forces launch a major amphibious assault against the last seaport held by the
Confederates,
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...
,
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 ...
.
*
January 15 – 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 ...
** 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 becomes general-in-chief.
*
February
** American Civil War:
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...
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 – 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 disc ...
: 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
Events Pre-1600
* 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''.
*1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León.
* 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bou ...
–
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel, OSA (; cs, Řehoř Jan Mendel; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was a biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brünn (''Brno''), Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel was ...
reads his paper on ''
Experiments on Plant Hybridization
"Experiments on Plant Hybridization" (German: "Versuche über Pflanzen-Hybriden") is a seminal paper written in 1865 and published in 1866 by Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian friar considered to be the founder of modern genetics. The paper was the r ...
'' 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 m ...
, subsequently taken to be the origin of the theory of
Mendelian inheritance
Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later popularize ...
.
*
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 Pru ...
–
John Deere receives a patent for
ploughs.
*
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 Ferd ...
–
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 entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
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 & ...
– The
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
authorizes formation of the
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...
.
*
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...
–
Hamm's Brewery
The Theodore Hamm's Brewing Company was an American brewing company established in 1865 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Becoming the fifth largest brewery in the United States, Hamm's expanded with additional breweries that were acquired in other cit ...
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 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 t ...
.
*
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
Events Pre-1600
* 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10.
* 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
– American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourns for the last time.
*
March 19
Events Pre-1600
* 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
* 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...
–
21 – American Civil War :
Battle of Bentonville
The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj ...
: Union troops compel Confederate forces to retreat from
Four Oaks, North Carolina.
*
March 25
** 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
The Battle of Fort Stedman, also known as the Battle of Hare's Hill, was fought on March 25, 1865, during the final weeks of the American Civil War. The Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pr ...
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 Ko ...
–
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 ...
–
Battle of Five Forks
The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, around the road junction of Five Forks, Dinwiddie County, at the end of the Siege of Petersburg, near the conclusion of the American Civil War.
The Union ...
: In
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Econ ...
, 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. J ...
– American Civil War: Confederate President
Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of
Richmond, Virginia, which is taken by Union troops the next day.
*
April 6
Events Pre–1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
* 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
*13 ...
– German chemicals producer ''Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik (
BASF
BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...
)'' 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 ...
.
*
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, su ...
– 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 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 of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
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, 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:
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 States ...
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 ''
Our American Cousin
''Our American Cousin'' is a three-act play by English playwright Tom Taylor. It is a farce featuring awkward, boorish American Asa Trenchard, who is introduced to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family e ...
'' at
Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater bo ...
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
John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century 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 Senator. A determined oppon ...
and his family are attacked in his home, by
Lewis Powell.
*
April 15
Events Pre-1600
* 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings.
* 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscar ...
– President Lincoln dies early this morning from his gunshot wound, aged 56. Vice President
Andrew Johnson becomes the 17th President of the United States upon Lincoln's death and is
sworn in later that morning.
*
April 18
Events Pre-1600
* 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Coria (Corbridge), Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald of Northumbria, Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 d ...
– 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 – German chemicals producer ''
BASF
BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...
'' 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 ...
, to the
Hemshof District of
Ludwigshafen.
*
April 26
Events Pre-1600
* 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
*1348 – Czech king Karel IV founds the Charles University in Prague, which was later named after him and was the first university in Central Europe.
* 1 ...
** American Civil War: Confederate General
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia secede ...
surrenders to Union Major General
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
, 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 ...
.
** Union cavalry corner
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century 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
Thomas H. "Boston" Corbett (January 29, 1832 – presumed dead September 1, 1894) was an American Union Army soldier who shot and killed U.S. president Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Corbett was initially arrested for disob ...
fatally shoots the assassin.
*
April 27
** The
steamboat ''
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 fl ...
, 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 Reuben Fenton
Reuben Eaton Fenton (July 4, 1819August 25, 1885) was an American merchant and politician from New York. In the mid- 19th Century, he served as a U.S. Representative, a U.S. Senator, and as Governor of New York.
Early life
Fenton was bor ...
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 tea ...
.
*
May 1
Events Pre-1600
* 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
* 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
*1169 – N ...
– The
Treaty of the Triple Alliance
The Treaty of the Triple Alliance was a treaty that allied the Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay against Paraguay. Signed in 1865, after the outbreak of the Paraguayan War, its articles (plus a Protocol) prescribed the allies' actions bo ...
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
The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...
.
*
May 4
Events Pre-1600
* 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull ''Licet ecclesiae catholicae''.
* 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus ar ...
– American Civil War: Lieutenant General
Richard Taylor, commanding all Confederate forces in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
,
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
Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War.
In 1861–1862, Canby commanded the Department of New Mexico, defeating the Confederate Gen ...
at
Citronelle, Alabama
Citronelle is a city on the northern border of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 3,946. It is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area and is about north of Mobile.
History
The area was ...
, effectively ending all Confederate resistance east of the Mississippi River.
*
May 5
Events Pre-1600
* 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
*1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
*1260 – Kub ...
** In
North Bend, Ohio
North Bend is a village in Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. It is a part of the Greater Cincinnati area. The population was 857 at the 2010 census.
History
North Bend was founded in 1789. It was pla ...
(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. ...
in the United States takes place.
**
Jefferson Davis meets with his Confederate Cabinet (14 officials) for the last time, in Washington, Georgia, and the Confederate Government is officially dissolved.
*
May 10 – 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
Events Pre-1600
* 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism.
* 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang d ...
– Electric equipment and mobile brand
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...
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
Events Pre-1600
* 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism.
* 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang d ...
–
13 – American Civil War –
Battle of Palmito Ranch
The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill, is considered by some criteria as the final battle of the American Civil War. It was fought May 12 and 13, 1865, on the banks of the Rio Grande east of Brownsville, Texas, an ...
: In far south
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, more than a month after Confederate General
Lee's surrender, the last land battle of the civil war with casualties, ends with a Confederate victory.
*
May 17
Events Pre-1600
*1395 – Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army.
*1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.
* 1527 – Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explore Flo ...
** The
International Telegraph Union
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union ...
is founded.
** French
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
Father
Armand David first observes
Père David's deer in
Peking
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China.
*
May 23
Events Pre-1600
* 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction.
*1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
* 1533 – The marriage of King Henry VI ...
–
Grand Review of the Armies
The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in th ...
: Union Army troops parade down
Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses the city to Maryland. In Maryland it is also Maryland Route 4 (MD 4 ...
(Washington, D.C.) to celebrate the end of the American Civil War.
*
May 25
Events Pre-1600
* 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
*240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Tol ...
–
Mobile magazine explosion: 300 are killed in
Mobile, Alabama, when an ordnance depot explodes.
*
May 28
Events Pre-1600
*585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from ...
– The ''
Mimosa
''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resemb ...
'' sets sail with emigrants from
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
for
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
.
*
May 29
Events Pre-1600
* 363 – The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city.
* 1108 – Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under ...
– American Civil War: President of the United States
Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation of general amnesty for most citizens of the former Confederacy.
*
June
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...
–August – English
polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
Francis Galton formulates
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior o ...
.
*
June 2
Events Pre-1600
* 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks.
* 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later. 1601 ...
– American Civil War: Confederate forces west of the Mississippi River under General
Edmund Kirby Smith
General Edmund Kirby Smith (May 16, 1824March 28, 1893) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department (comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western Louisiana, Arizona Territory and the Indi ...
surrender at
Galveston, Texas, under terms negotiated on
May 26
Events Pre-1600
* 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
* 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire tak ...
, becoming the last to do so.
*
June 10
Events Pre-1600
* 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock ( clepsydra) called ''Rokoku''. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu.
*1190 – Third Crusade: Frederick I ...
–
Richard Wagner's
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
''
Tristan und Isolde
''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was comp ...
'' debuts at the
Munich Court Theatre.
*
June 11
Events Pre-1600
* 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle ...
–
Battle of the Riachuelo
The Battle of Riachuelo was a large and decisive naval battle of the Paraguayan War between Paraguay and the Empire of Brazil. By late 1864, Paraguay had scored a series of victories in the war, but on 11 June 1865, its naval defeat by the Brazi ...
: 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
Events Pre-1600
* 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea.
*1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle chan ...
– American Civil War: Union Major General
Gordon Granger
Gordon Granger (November 6, 1821 – January 10, 1876) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War, where he distinguished himself at the Battle of Chickamauga.
Granger is best remembered for his part in the ...
lands at Galveston, Texas, and informs the people of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
of the
Emancipation Proclamation (an event celebrated in modern times each year as
Juneteenth
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, i ...
).
*
June 23 – American Civil War: At
Fort Towson
Fort Towson was a frontier outpost for Frontier Army Quartermasters along the Permanent Indian Frontier located about two miles (3 km) northeast of the present community of Fort Towson, Oklahoma. Located on Gates Creek near the confluence ...
in
Oklahoma Territory, Confederate General
Stand Watie, a Cherokee Indian, surrenders the last significant Rebel army.
*
June 25
Events Pre-1600
* 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
* 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of ...
–
James Hudson Taylor founds the
China Inland Mission
OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before 1964 the China Inland Mission) is an international and interdenominational Evangelical Christianity, Christian missionary society with an international centre in Singapore. It ...
at
Brighton, England.
*
June 26
Events Pre-1600
* 4 – Augustus adopts Tiberius.
* 221 – Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar.
* 363 – Roman emperor Julian is killed during the retreat fr ...
–
Jumbo
Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and t ...
, a young male
African elephant, arrives at
London Zoo and becomes a popular attraction.
July–September
*
July
July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., it being the mont ...
– The Christian Mission, later renamed
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
, is founded in
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
, London, by
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and
Catherine Booth
Catherine Booth (''née'' Mumford, 17 January 1829 – 4 October 1890) was co-founder of The Salvation Army, along with her husband William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Mothe ...
.
*
July 4
Events Pre-1600
*362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
* 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaime ...
–
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...
publishes his children's novel ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...
'' in England
(first trade editions in December).
*
July 5
Events Pre-1600
* 328 – The official opening of Constantine's Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus ( Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
* 1316 – The Burgundian a ...
** The
U.S. Secret Service is founded.
** The first
speed limit
Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expre ...
is introduced in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
: in town and in the country.
*
July 7
Events Pre-1600
* 1124 – The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks.
* 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her execution.
* 1520 – Spanish ''conquistad ...
– 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
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
, including
David Herold
David Edgar Herold (June 16, 1842 – July 7, 1865) was an American pharmacist's assistant and accomplice of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After the shooting, Herold accompanied Booth to the home of ...
,
George Atzerodt
George Andrew Atzerodt (June 12, 1835 – July 7, 1865) was a German American repairman, Confederate sympathizer, and conspirator with John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln. He was assigned to assassinat ...
,
Lewis Powell and
Mary Surratt
Mary Elizabeth Jenkins SurrattCashin, p. 287.Steers, 2010, p. 516. (1820 or May 1823 – July 7, 1865) was an American boarding house owner in Washington, D.C., who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy which led to the assass ...
. Her son,
John Surratt
John Harrison Surratt Jr. (April 13, 1844 – April 21, 1916) was an American Confederate spy who was accused of plotting with John Wilkes Booth to kidnap U.S. President Abraham Lincoln; he was also suspected of involvement in the Abraham Lin ...
, escapes execution by fleeing to Canada, and ultimately to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
.
*
July 14
Events Pre-1600
* 982 – King Otto II and his Frankish army are defeated by the Muslim army of al-Qasim at Cape Colonna, Southern Italy.
* 1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II.
* 142 ...
–
First ascent of the Matterhorn
The first ascent of the Matterhorn was a mountaineering expedition made by Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz, and two Zermatt guides, Peter Taugwalder and his son of the same name, on 14 July 18 ...
: The summit of the
Matterhorn
The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...
in the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
is reached for the first time, by a party of 7 led by the
Englishman
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...
Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...
; 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
Events Pre-1600
* 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
* 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became t ...
–
Wild Bill Hickok – Davis Tutt shootout
Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to:
Common meanings
* Wild animal
* Wilderness, a wild natural environment
* Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed
Art, media and entertainment Film and television
* ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...
: In the market square of
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...
,
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement ...
shoots
Little Dave Tutt dead over a
poker debt, in what is regarded as the first true western ''
fast draw
Fast draw, also known as quick draw, is the ability to quickly draw a handgun and accurately fire it upon a target in the process. This skill was made popular by romanticized depictions of gunslingers in the Western genre, which in turn were insp ...
'' showdown.
*
July 23
Events Pre-1600
* 811 – Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures Khan Krum's treasury.
*1319 – A Knights Hospitaller fleet scores a crushing victory over an Aydinid fleet off Chios. 1 ...
– The departs on a voyage to lay a
transatlantic telegraph cable
Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is now an obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data a ...
.
*
July 27
Events Pre-1600
* 1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland, somewhere north of the Firth of Forth.
* 1189 – Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Ste ...
– 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
Events Pre-1600
* 1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland, somewhere north of the Firth of Forth.
* 1189 – Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Ste ...
– Businessman
Asa Packer
Asa Packer (December 29, 1805May 17, 1879) was an American businessman who pioneered railroad construction, was active in Pennsylvania politics, and founded Lehigh University. He was a conservative and religious man who reflected the image of th ...
established
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...
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 ...
, 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 ...
: 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 ...
.
* 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 Senator. A determined oppon ...
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 ...
– 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 Pru ...
– 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
Events Pre-1600
* 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
* 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...
– 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 Ko ...
– 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. J ...
– Gyorche Petrov, Macedonian and Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1921)
* April 6
Events Pre–1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
* 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
*13 ...
– 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, su ...
** 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 Coria (Corbridge), Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald of Northumbria, Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 d ...
– Leónidas Plaza, 16th President of Ecuador (d. 1932)
* April 26
Events Pre-1600
* 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
*1348 – Czech king Karel IV founds the Charles University in Prague, which was later named after him and was the first university in Central Europe.
* 1 ...
– 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
Events Pre-1600
* 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction.
*1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
* 1533 – The marriage of King Henry VI ...
– Epitácio Pessoa, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
* May 25
Events Pre-1600
* 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
*240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Tol ...
** 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
Events Pre-1600
* 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
* 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire tak ...
– Robert W. Chambers, American artist (d. 1933)
* June 2
Events Pre-1600
* 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks.
* 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later. 1601 ...
– 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
Events Pre-1600
* 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea.
*1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle chan ...
** 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
Events Pre-1600
* 4 – Augustus adopts Tiberius.
* 221 – Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar.
* 363 – Roman emperor Julian is killed during the retreat fr ...
– 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
Events Pre-1600
* 811 – Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures Khan Krum's treasury.
*1319 – A Knights Hospitaller fleet scores a crushing victory over an Aydinid fleet off Chios. 1 ...
**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 States ...
(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
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
(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 Ko ...
** 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. J ...
– A. P. Hill, American Confederate general (b. 1825)
* April 13 – Achille Valenciennes, French zoologist (b. 1794)
* April 15
Events Pre-1600
* 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings.
* 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscar ...
– 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 States ...
(b. 1809)
* April 18
Events Pre-1600
* 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Coria (Corbridge), Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald of Northumbria, Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 d ...
– 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
Events Pre-1600
* 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
*1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
*1260 – Kub ...
– Ben Hall (bushranger), Ben Hall, Australian bushranger (b. 1837)
July–December
* July
July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., it being the mont ...
– Dimitris Plapoutas, Greek military leader (b. 1786)
* July 6 – Princess Sophie of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Baden (b. 1801)
* July 7
Events Pre-1600
* 1124 – The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks.
* 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her execution.
* 1520 – Spanish ''conquistad ...
– The Lincoln assassination conspirators (executed)
** Lewis Powell (b. 1844)
** David Herold
David Edgar Herold (June 16, 1842 – July 7, 1865) was an American pharmacist's assistant and accomplice of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After the shooting, Herold accompanied Booth to the home of ...
(b. 1842)
** George Atzerodt
George Andrew Atzerodt (June 12, 1835 – July 7, 1865) was a German American repairman, Confederate sympathizer, and conspirator with John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln. He was assigned to assassinat ...
(b. 1835)
** Mary Surratt
Mary Elizabeth Jenkins SurrattCashin, p. 287.Steers, 2010, p. 516. (1820 or May 1823 – July 7, 1865) was an American boarding house owner in Washington, D.C., who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy which led to the assass ...
(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
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