Events

January–March

January 2 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor. * 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empi ...

– British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. *

January 3 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor. * 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...

– The 15-year-old Mutsuhito,

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

of Japan, declares the '' Meiji Restoration'', his own restoration to full power, under the influence of supporters from the Chōshū and

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, ...

s, and against the supporters of the Tokugawa shogunate, triggering the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

. * January 5 – Paraguayan War: Brazilian Army commander Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias enters Asunción, Paraguay's capital. Some days later he declares the war is over. Nevertheless, Francisco Solano López, Paraguay's president, prepares guerrillas to fight in the countryside. *

January 7 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting. * 1325 – Alfonso IV ...

– The Arkansas constitutional convention meets in Little Rock. *

January 9 Events Pre-1600 * 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain. *1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the J ...

–

Penal transportation Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...

from Britain to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

ends, with arrival of the convict ship '' Hougoumont'' in Western Australia, after an 89-day voyage from England. There are 62 Fenians among the transportees. *

January 10 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war. * 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...

– '' Shōgun''

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

declares the emperor's declaration "illegal", and prepares to attack Kyoto. *

January 27 Events Pre-1600 * 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent. * 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to becom ...

– 31 –

Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the shog ...

: forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and the allied pro-Imperial forces of the Chōshū, Satsuma and Tosa Domains clash near Fushimi, Kyoto, ending in a decisive victory for the Imperial forces (although in the January 28 naval

Battle of Awa The occurred on 28 January 1868 during the Boshin War in Japan, in the area of Awa Bay near Osaka. Involving ships of the Tokugawa shogunate and Satsuma vessels loyal to the imperial court in Kyoto, the battle was the second naval battle in Ja ...

, the Shogunate is victorious against Satsuma). *

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 ...

– Foreign ministers meeting in Hyōgo are persuaded to recognise the restored

of Japan, with promises that harbours will be open in accordance with international treaties. *

February 13 Events Pre-1600 * 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome. *1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th. *1462 – The ...

– The British War Office sanctions the formation of what becomes the Army Post Office Corps. * February 16 – In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the '' Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks'' (BPOE). *

February 19 Events Pre-1600 * 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. * 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan ...

– In the Passage of Humaitá, a Brazilian naval force succeeds in dashing past a Paraguayan fortress on the River Paraguay, considered by some the turning point in the Paraguayan War. *

February 24 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. * 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. * 13 ...

** Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: Three days after his action to dismiss United States Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, the United States House of Representatives votes 126–47 in favor of a resolution to impeach

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 ...

, President of the United States, the first of three Presidents to be impeached by the full House. Johnson is later acquitted by the United States Senate. ** The first parade to have floats takes place at

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

in New Orleans. * March – French geologist Louis Lartet discovers the first identified skeletons of

Cro-Magnon Early European modern humans (EEMH), or Cro-Magnons, were the first early modern humans (''Homo sapiens'') to settle in Europe, migrating from Western Asia, continuously occupying the continent possibly from as early as 56,800 years ago. They ...

, the first early modern humans (early ''Homo sapiens sapiens''), at Abri de Crô-Magnon, a rock shelter at Les Eyzies, Dordogne, France. *

March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. * 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Cat ...

** Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

, is shot in the back in Sydney, Australia, at a fundraising event for the Sydney Sailors Home, by Irishman Henry James O'Farrell. The prince survives and quickly recovers; O'Farrell is executed on

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 ...

, despite attempts by the prince to gain clemency for him. **

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho. Though the Basotho (then known as Basuto) and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868 (and ruled by Cape Colony from 1871), th ...

is proclaimed a British Protectorate, becoming independent in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

as Lesotho. * March 23 – The University of California is founded in Oakland, California, when the Organic Act is signed into California law. * March 24 – The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is formed, in New York City. * March 27 – The

Lake Ontario Shore Railroad The Lake Ontario Shore Railroad (LOSRR) was a short-lived common carrier railroad in New York that was absorbed by the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad. Construction The LOSRR was chartered to be built from Suspension Bridge, New York to ...

Company is organized in

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...

. * March – The first transnational women's organization, '' Association internationale des femmes'', is founded.

April–June

* April 1 – The

Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association afte ...

is established in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () 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 137,148. It is the List ...

. * April 7 – The

Charter Oath The was promulgated on 6 April 1868 in Kyoto Imperial Palace. The Oath outlined the main aims and the course of action to be followed during Emperor Meiji's reign, setting the legal stage for Japan's modernization. This also set up a process of u ...

, drawn up by his councilors, is promulgated at the enthronement of the

of Japan, promising deliberative assemblies and an end to feudalism. * April 9 – Emperor

Tewodros II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Tewodros II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ቴዎድሮስ, baptized as Gebre Kidan; 1818 – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopi ...

of Ethiopia massacres at least 197 of his own people at

Magdala Magdala (Aramaic: מגדלא, ''Magdala'', meaning "tower"; Hebrew: , ''Migdal''; ar, المجدل, ''al-Majdal'') was an ancient Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magda ...

. These are prisoners incarcerated, for the most part, for very trivial offenses, and are killed for requesting bread and water. * April 9– 13 – Battle of Magdala: A British-Indian task force under Robert Napier inflicts 700 deaths and a crushing defeat on the army of Emperor

; the British and Indians suffer 30 wounded, two of whom subsequently die. Tewodros commits suicide and Magdala is captured, ending the British Expedition to Abyssinia. * April 11 – July – Fall of Edo: The Japanese city surrenders to

. '' Shōgun''

submits to the Emperor. * April 29 – General William Tecumseh Sherman brokers the Treaty of Fort Laramie, between the federal government of the United States and the

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

. *

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 ...

– 14 –

– Battle of Utsunomiya Castle, Japan: Forces of the

resist the retreating troops of the Tokugawa shogunate. *

May 16 Events Pre-1600 * 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan. *1204 – Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. * 1364 ...

, May 26 – President

is twice acquitted during his impeachment trial, by one vote in the United States Senate. * May 26 – Fenian bomber Michael Barrett becomes the last person publicly hanged in the United Kingdom. * May 29 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Capital Punishment Amendment Act, thus ending public hanging. *

May 30 Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres ...

– Memorial Day is observed in the United States for the first time (it was proclaimed on May 5 by General John A. Logan). * May 31 ** Thomas Spence declares himself president of the

Republic of Manitobah The Republic of Manitobah was a short-lived, unrecognized state founded in June 1867 by Thomas Spence at the town of Portage la Prairie in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba. History In the mid-19th century, the future province of ...

in Canada; he soon alienates the locals. ** The first popular bicycle race is held at Parc de Saint-Cloud, Paris. * June –

Tītokowaru's War Tītokowaru's War was a military conflict that took place in the South Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island from June 1868 to March 1869 between the Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāruahine Māori tribes and the New Zealand Government. The confl ...

breaks out in the South Taranaki District of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

between the Ngāti Ruanui Māori tribe and the New Zealand Government. * June 1 – The Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico. * June 2 – The first Trades Union Congress is held in Manchester, England. * June 10 – Mihailo Obrenović, Prince of Serbia, is assassinated in Košutnjak,

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. *

June 20 Events Pre-1600 * 451 – Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats, causing the Romans to interpret it as a victory. * 1180 – First Battle of Uji, starting ...

– Fort Fred Steele is established to protect what is at this time the western terminus of the Union Pacific Railway, near modern-day Sinclair, Wyoming.

July–September

July 1 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...

– The cable-operated

West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway The IRT Ninth Avenue Line, often called the Ninth Avenue Elevated or Ninth Avenue El, was the first elevated railway in New York City. It opened on July 3, 1868 as the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, as an experimental single-track cable ...

in Manhattan becomes the first elevated railway in the United States. * July 4 –

Battle of Ueno The was a battle of the Boshin War, which occurred on July 4, 1868 (''Meiji 1, 15th day of the 5th month''), between the troops of the Shōgitai under Shibusawa Seiichirō and Amano Hachirō, and Imperial "Kangun" troops. Prelude Though the S ...

: Imperial Japanese troops defeat the Shōgitai (elite forces remaining loyal to the '' shōgun''). * July 5 – Preacher William Booth establishes the Christian Mission, predecessor of The Salvation Army, in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. *

July 9 Events Pre-1600 *118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome. * 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodos ...

– The

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Often considered as one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and ...

is ratified. * July 18 – The

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

people begin their long march home. * July 25 – Wyoming becomes a United States territory. * July 25 – Paraguayan War: The Allies, in an amphibious operation, capture the fortress of Humaitá. * July 27 – The United States Expatriation Act ("An Act concerning the Rights of American Citizens in foreign States") is adopted. * July 28 – The

is adopted, including the Citizenship Clause and the

Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...

, legally, if not actually, guaranteeing

African Americans 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 ...

full citizenship and equal protection, and all persons in the United States

due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...

of law. * August 13 – The 8.5–9.0 Arica earthquake strikes southern Peru, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''), causing 25,000+ deaths and a destructive basin-wide tsunami, that affects Hawaii and New Zealand. * August 18 – The element later named as helium is first detected in the spectrum of the Sun's

chromosphere A chromosphere ("sphere of color") is the second layer of a star's atmosphere, located above the photosphere and below the solar transition region and corona. The term usually refers to the Sun's chromosphere, but not exclusively. In the Su ...

, by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

astronomer Jules Janssen, during a total

eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. It is situated to the west of the Ba ...

, British India, but is assumed to be sodium. * August 20 – Abergele rail disaster in Wales: An ''Irish Mail'' passenger train collides with 4 cargo trucks loaded with paraffin oil (more akin to modern kerosine); 33 are killed (the first major train disaster in Britain). * August 22 – The Yangzhou riot in China targets a station of the China Inland Mission, and nearly leads to war between Britain and China. * September –

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

: Queen Isabella II of Spain is effectively deposed and sent into exile; she formally abdicates on June 25,

1870 Events January–March * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Broo ...

. * September 3 –

of Japan announces that the name of the city of

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

is to be changed to Tokyo. * September 7 –

: Māori leader Titokowaru defeats a New Zealand military force at Te Ngutu o Te Manu, North Island. * September 18 – The University of the South holds its first convocation in Sewanee, Tennessee. *

September 23 Events Pre-1600 * 38 – Drusilla, Caligula's sister who died in June, with whom the emperor is said to have an incestuous relationship, is deified. * 1122 – Pope Callixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V agree to the Concordat ...

– Grito de Lares: Rebels (some 400–600 led by Ramón Emeterio Betances) in the town of Lares declare Puerto Rico independent; the local militia easily defeats them a week later. * September 24 – Croatian–Hungarian Settlement ( hr, Hrvatsko-ugarska nagodba, hu, Horvát–magyar kiegyezés, german: Kroatisch-Ungarischer Ausgleich) is concluded, governing Croatia's political status in the Hungarian-ruled part of Austria-Hungary until

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

. *

September 28 Events Pre-1600 *48 BC – Pompey disembarks at Pelusium upon arriving in Egypt, whereupon he is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy XIII. * 235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He is exiled to the mines of Sardinia, along with Hippolytus ...

– The Opelousas massacre, one of the bloodiest massacres of the Reconstruction era in the United States.

October–December

* October 1 –

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

starts to rule in Siam. * October 6 – The City of New York grants Mount Sinai Hospital a 99-year lease for a property on

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along it ...

and 66th Street, for the sum of $1.00. * October 10 –

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo (18 April 1819, Bayamo, Spanish Cuba – 27 February 1874, San Lorenzo, Spanish Cuba) was a Cuban revolutionary hero and First President of Cuba in Arms in 1868. Cespedes, who was a plantation owner ...

declares a revolt against Spanish rule in Cuba, in an event known as ''El Grito de Yara'' or the Ten Years' War, initiating a war that lasts ten years (Cuba ultimately loses the war at a cost of 400,000 lives and widespread destruction). * October 20 **English astronomer Norman Lockyer observes and names the D₃ Fraunhofer line in the solar spectrum, and concludes that it is caused by a hitherto unidentified element, which he later names helium. **

Pedro Figueredo Pedro Felipe Figueredo, (born 18 February 1818 – 17 August 1870), mostly known as Perucho, was a Cuban poet, musician, and freedom fighter of the 19th century. In the 1860s, he was active in the planning of the Cuban uprising against the S ...

creates the Cuban national anthem, '' El Himno de Bayamo''. * October 23 – The current

Japanese era name The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal ...

is changed to the Meiji period. The 265-year-long Edo period ends. * October 25 – The

Uspenski Cathedral russian: Успенский собор sv, Uspenskijkatedralen , native_name_lang = , image = File:Catedral Uspenski, Helsinki, Finlandia, 2012-08-14, DD 03.JPG , coordinates = , location = Helsi ...

, designed by Aleksey Gornostayev, is inaugurated in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city' ...

. * October 28 – Thomas Edison applies for his first patent, the electric vote recorder. * November 2 – Time zone: New Zealand officially adopts a standard time, to be observed nationally. * November 3 –

1868 United States presidential election The 1868 United States presidential election was the 21st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1868. In the first election of the Reconstruction Era, Republican nominee Ulysses S. Grant defeated Horatio Seymour of the ...

: Republican Ulysses S. Grant defeats Democrat Horatio Seymour. The Seventh U

* November 7 – The Battle of Moturoa, New Zealand, ends in a British defeat, due to an underestimate of Tītokowaru and his fortifications. There are heavy casualties for the colonial army and light casualties for the Māori defenders. * November 27 – American Indian Wars – Battle of Washita River: In the early morning, United States Army

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

George Armstrong Custer leads an attack on a band of Cheyenne living on reservation land with Chief

Black Kettle Black Kettle (Cheyenne: Mo'ohtavetoo'o) (c. 1803November 27, 1868) was a prominent leader of the Southern Cheyenne during the American Indian Wars. Born to the ''Northern Só'taeo'o / Só'taétaneo'o'' band of the Northern Cheyenne in the Black ...

, killing 103 Cheyenne. * December 4 – Battle of Hakodate begins in Japan. * December 4 – Thomas Humber invented the safety bicycle. * December 6 – Paraguayan War – Battle of Ytororó or Itororó: Field-Marshal Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias, leads 13,000 Brazilian troops against a Paraguayan fortified position of 5,000 troops. * December 9 – The world's first traffic signal lights are installed at the junction of Great George Street and Bridge Street in the London Borough of Westminster. * December 24 – The Greek Presidential Guard is established as the royal escort by King George I. * December 25 – U.S. President

grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War rebels.

Date unknown

* Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron patents methods of

color photography Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray-monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...

. * Thomas Henry Huxley discovers what he thinks is primordial matter and names it ''

bathybius haeckelii ''Bathybius haeckelii'' was a substance that British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley discovered and initially believed to be a form of primordial matter, a source of all organic life. He later admitted his mistake when it proved to be just the prod ...

'' (he admits his mistake in

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

). * The

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

, a major art school in Paris, France, that admits women, is established. *

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , ci ...

is founded, providing the opportunity for secondary education for the first time in the colony of Brisbane in Australia. * Maryland School for the Deaf is established. * The Dortmunder Actien Brauerei is founded in Germany. *

Herrenhäuser Brewery The Herrenhäuser Brewery (Herrenhäuser Brauerei) was founded in 1868 in the Herrenhausen district of Hannover, Germany. There are number of breweries in Hannover, e.g. Gilde brewery was founded about 300 years earlier. History Herrenhäuser in ...

is established in Hanover, Germany. * Tata Group is founded by Jamsetji Tata as a trading company in India. * Scottish merchant Thomas Blake Glover develops Japan's first coal mine on Hashima Island. * The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson is established as the Apostolic Vicariate of Arizona in 1868, taking its territory from the former Diocese of Santa Fe. The Diocese of Tucson is canonically erected on May 8, 1897. * The population of Japan reaches c. 30 million.

Births

January–March

* January 1 – Snitz Edwards, Hungarian-born actor (d.

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

) *

January 6 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eve ...

– Vittorio Monti, Italian composer (d.

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

) *

–

S. P. L. Sørensen Søren Peter Lauritz Sørensen (9 January 1868 – 12 February 1939) was a Denmark, Danish chemist, famous for the introduction of the concept of pH, a scale for measuring acidity and Base (chemistry), alkalinity. Personal life Sørensen w ...

, Danish chemist (d.

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

) * January 11 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese educator (d.

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

) *

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 ...

– Otto von Lossow, Bavarian and German general (d.

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

) * January 18 – Kantarō Suzuki, 29th Prime Minister of Japan (d.

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

) * January 21 –

Felix Hoffmann Felix Hoffmann (21 January 1868 – 8 February 1946) was a German chemist notable for re-synthesising diamorphine (independently from C.R. Alder Wright who synthesized it 23 years earlier), which was popularized under the Bayer trade name ...

, German chemist (d.

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

) * January 31 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d.

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

) *

February 4 Events Pre–1600 * 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrellin ...

– Constance Markievicz, Irish politician (d.

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

) *

February 5 Events Pre-1600 * 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy. * 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion. * 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians ar ...

– Maxine Elliott, American actress (d.

) * February 12 –

William Faversham William FavershamBlum, Daniel (c. 1954). ''Great Stars of the American Stage''. "Profile No. 46". 2nd ed. (12 February 1868 – 7 April 1940) was an English stage and film actor, manager, and producer. Biography He was born in London. As a t ...

, English actor (d.

) * February 16 – Edward S. Curtis, American photographer, ethnologist, and film director (d.

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

) *

February 23 Events Pre-1600 * 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution. * 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...

–

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

, African American civil rights leader (d.

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

) *

February 25 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. ...

– Constantin Dumitrescu, Romanian general (d.

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

) *

February 26 Events Pre-1600 *747 BC – According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events. * 364 – Valentinian I is p ...

– Venceslau Brás, Brazilian president (d.

) * March 1 –

Adolf von Trotha Adolf von Trotha (1 March 1868 – 11 October 1940) was a German admiral in the ''Kaiserliche Marine''. After the German revolution he briefly served as the first ''Chef der Admiralität'', which replaced the imperial ''Reichsmarineamt''. After ...

, German admiral (d.

) *

March 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland. * 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguen ...

– Emily Murphy, Canadian woman's rights activist (d.

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

) * March 22 – Robert Andrews Millikan, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d.

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

) *

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 ...

– Bill Lockwood, English cricketer (d.

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

) * March 28 – Maxim Gorky, Russian author (d.

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

) * March 29 – Joseph Cawthorn, American actor (d.

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

)

April–June

* April 1 –

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

, French poet and playwright (d.

) * April 10 – George Arliss, English actor (d.

) * April 12 – Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese admiral (d.

) * April 17 –

Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková (17 April 1868 – 16 October 1915) was a Moravians, Moravian teacher, journal editor, and women's rights activist. Born into a family of progressive educators, she studied to become a teacher, graduating in 18 ...

, Moravian pioneer of female education (d.

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

) * April 25 ** John Moisant, American aviator (d.

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

) ** Willie Maley, Scottish football player and manager (d.

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

) * May 6 ** Gaston Leroux, French writer (d.

) ** Nicholas II of Russia (d.

) * May 12 – Al Shean, German-born actor (d.

) * May 21 –

John L. Hines John Leonard Hines (May 21, 1868 – October 13, 1968) was an American general who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1924 to 1926. Early career Born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, to Irish parents, Edward and Mary, ...

, American general,

Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...

(d.

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

) * May 29 – Abdülmecid II, last Caliph of the Ottoman Empire (d.

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

) *

June 5 Events Pre-1600 *1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights. *1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles II of Naples, Charles ...

– James Connolly, Irish-Scots socialist (d.

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

) *

June 6 Events Pre-1600 * 913 – Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed b ...

– Robert Falcon Scott, English Antarctic explorer (d.

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

) * June 7 ** Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect (d.

) ** John Sealy Townsend, Irish mathematical physicist (d.

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

) * June 14 ** Anna B. Eckstein, German peace campaigner (d.

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

) ** Karl Landsteiner, Austrian biologist and physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d.

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

)

July–September

* July 2 – Traian Moșoiu, Romanian general and politician (d.

) * July 4 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer (d.

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

) * July 12 – Stefan George, German poet (d.

) * July 14 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator (d.

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

) * July 15 – Nobuyoshi Mutō, Japanese field marshal and ambassador (d.

) * July 17 –

Mikhail Bakhirev Mikhail Koronatovitsch Bakhirev (russian: Михаил Коронатович Бахирев) (17 July 1868 in Novocherkassk – 9 January 1920 in Petrograd) was a Russian naval officer and admiral. Bakhirev was born into a Don Cossack fam ...

, Russian admiral (d.

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

) * July 19 – Florence Foster Jenkins, American socialite and amateur operatic soprano (d.

) * July 20 – Patriarch Miron of Romania, 38th Prime Minister of Romania (d.

) * July 24 – Princess

Srivilailaksana Srivilailaksana, Princess of Suphan Buri province, Suphanburi ( th, ศรีวิไลยลักษณ์; ; 24 July 1868 – 26 October 1904), was the Princess of Siam (later Thailand). A member of Thai Royal Family, Siamese Royal Family ...

The Princess of Suphanburi daughter of King

of Siam and Chao Chom Manda Pae Bunnag (d.

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

) * July 28 – Theodor Wulf, German physicist and Jesuit (d.

) * August 5 – Oskar Merikanto, Finnish composer (d.

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

) *

August 6 Events Pre-1600 *1284 – The Republic of Pisa is defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean. * 1538 – Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada ...

– Paul Claudel, French poet, dramatist and diplomat (d.

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

) * August 7 – Martin Wetzer, Finnish general (d.

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

) * August 10 – Hugo Eckener, German dirigible engineer, Commander of '' Graf Zeppelin I'' (d.

) * August 23 – Edgar Lee Masters, American poet, biographer and dramatist (d.

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

) * August 26 – Charles Stewart, Premier of Alberta (d.

) * September 1 – Henri Bourassa, Canadian politician and publisher (d.

) * September 6 –

Heinrich Häberlin Heinrich Häberlin (6 September 1868 – 26 February 1947) was a Swiss politician, judge and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1920–1934). From 1904 he was a member of the Swiss Council of States, from 1905 member of the Grand Council of t ...

, Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (d.

) *

September 17 Events Pre-1600 * 1111 – Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia". * 1176 – The Battle of Myriokephalon is the last attempt by the Byzantine Empi ...

– James Alexander Calder, Canadian politician (d.

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

) * September 22 – John T. Raulston, American state judge (Scopes Monkey Trial) (d.

)

October–December

* October 4 – Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, President of Argentina (d.

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

) *

October 15 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later. * 1211 ...

– J. B. Johnson, American attorney and politician (d.

) * October 21 – Ernest Swinton, British Army general (d.

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

) * October 24 – Alexandra David-Néel, French explorer (d.

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

) * October 30 – António Cabreira, Portuguese polygraph (d.

) * November 7 – Delfim Moreira, Brazilian president (d.

) * November 8 – Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician (d.

) *

November 9 Events Pre-1600 * 694 – At the Seventeenth Council of Toledo, Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery. * 1277 – The Treaty of Aberconwy, a humiliating settlement f ...

–

Marie Dressler Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...

, Canadian actress (d.

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

) * November 17 – Korbinian Brodmann, German neurologist (d.

) * November 22 –

John Nance Garner John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...

, 32nd Vice President of the United States (d.

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

) * November 23 – Mary Brewster Hazelton, American portrait painter (d.

) * December 5 –

Arnold Sommerfeld Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld, (; 5 December 1868 – 26 April 1951) was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and mentored many students for the new era of theoretica ...

, German theoretical physicist (d.

) * December 9 – Fritz Haber, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d.

) * December 19 –

Eleanor H. Porter Eleanor Emily Hodgman Porter (December 19, 1868 – May 21, 1920) was an American novelist, most known for ''Pollyanna'' (1913) and ''Just David'' (1916). Biography Eleanor Emily Hodgman was born in Littleton, New Hampshire, on December 19, 1 ...

, American novelist (d.

) * December 20 – Arturo Alessandri, Chilean statesman, 3-Time President of Chile (d.

) * December 21 – George W. Fuller, American sanitation engineer (d.

) * December 22 – Jaan Tõnisson, 2nd Prime Minister of Estonia (d.

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

?) * December 25 – Eugenie Besserer, American silent film actress (d.

) *''probable'' –

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...

, African American ragtime composer and pianist (d.

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

)

Deaths

January–June

January 20 Events Pre-1600 * 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. * 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom. * 1156 &ndas ...

–

Damien Marchesseault Damien Marchesseault (or Marchesseau) (April 1, 1818 – January 20, 1868) was the seventh Mayor of Los Angeles from May 9, 1859 to May 9, 1860 and then again from January 7, 1861 to May 6, 1865. Marchesseault assumed the office one last t ...

, 7th

Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of the City of Los Angeles is the official head and chief executive officer of Los Angeles. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and is term limit, limited to serving no more than two terms. (Under the Constitution of Califo ...

(suicide) (b.

1818 Events January–March * January 1 ** Battle of Koregaon: Troops of the British East India Company score a decisive victory over the Maratha Empire. ** Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' is published anonymously in London. * January 2 – ...

) * January 23 –

János Erdélyi János Erdélyi (1 April 1814 in Nagykapos – 23 January 1868 in Sárospatak) was a Hungarian poet, critic, author, philosopher and ethnographist. He was born in 1814 at Nagykapos, in the county of Ung, and educated at the Protestant colle ...

, Hungarian poet and ethnographer (b.

1814 Events January * January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. * January 3 ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Cattaro: French garrison s ...

) * January 28 – Adalbert Stifter, Austrian writer (b.

1805 After thirteen years the First French Empire abolished the French Republican Calendar in favour of the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 11 – The Michigan Territory is created. * February 7 – King Anouvong become ...

) * February 8 – Lai Wenguang, Chinese leader of the Taiping Rebellion and Nien Rebellion (b.

1827 Events January–March * January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place on Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart. * January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, b ...

) * February 10 – Sir David Brewster, Scottish physicist (b.

1781 Events January–March * January – William Pitt the Younger, later Prime Minister of Great Britain, enters Parliament, aged 21. * January 1 – Industrial Revolution: The Iron Bridge opens across the River Severn in Eng ...

) *

February 11 Events Pre-1600 *660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. * 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming ...

– Léon Foucault, French physicist (b.

1819 Events January–March * January 2 – The Panic of 1819, the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States, begins. * January 25 – Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia. * January 29 – Si ...

) *

– Venancio Flores, Uruguayan general and president of Uruguay (b.

1808 Events January–March * January 1 ** The importation of slaves into the United States is banned, as the 1807 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves takes effect; African slaves continue to be imported into Cuba, and until the island ab ...

) * February 29 – King Ludwig I of Bavaria (b.

1786 Events January–March * January 3 – The third Treaty of Hopewell is signed, between the United States and the Choctaw. * January 6 – The outward bound East Indiaman '' Halsewell'' is wrecked on the south coast of Englan ...

) * March 4 – Jesse Chisholm, American pioneer (b.

) * March 19 – Philipp von Stadion und Thannhausen, Austrian field marshal (b.

1799 Events January–June * January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars. * January ...

) * March 28 –

James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan Lieutenant-General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, (16 October 1797 – 28 March 1868), styled as Lord Cardigan, was an officer in the British Army who commanded the Light Brigade during the Crimean War, leading its charge ...

, British military leader (b.

1797 Events January–March * January 3 – The Treaty of Tripoli, a peace treaty between the United States and Ottoman Tripolitania, is signed at Algiers (''see also'' 1796). * January 7 – The parliament of the Cisalpine Re ...

) * April 3 – Franz Berwald, Swedish composer (b.

1796 Events January–March * January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.) * February 1 – The capital ...

) * April 7 –

Thomas D'Arcy McGee Thomas D'Arcy McGee (13 April 18257 April 1868) was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. The young McGee was an Irish Catholic who opposed British rule in Ireland, and was ...

, Canadian father of confederation (assassinated) (b.

1825 Events January–March * January 4 – King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies dies in Naples and is succeeded by his son, Francis. * February 3 – Vendsyssel-Thy, once part of the Jutland peninsula forming westernmost Denmark, becomes a ...

) * April 12 – James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury, British politician and peer (b.

1791 Events January–March * January 1 – Austrian composer Joseph Haydn arrives in England, to perform a series of concerts. * January 2 – Northwest Indian War: Big Bottom Massacre – The war begins in the Ohio Country ...

) *

April 13 Events Pre-1600 *1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. * 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. 1601–1900 *1612 – In one of the epic samurai ...

– Emperor Theodore or

of Ethiopia by suicide (b.

) *

– Henry O'Farrell, Irish-Australian criminal (executed) (b.

1833 Events January–March * January 3 – Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (1833), Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. * February 6 – His Royal Highness Prince Otto ...

) * May 7 –

Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...

Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

(b.

1778 Events January–March * January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...

) *

–

Henry Bennett Henry Bennett or Bennet may refer to: * Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington (1618–1685), English statesman *Henry Bennett (U.S. politician) (1808–1874), U.S. Representative from New York *Henry Boswell Bennett (1809–1838), British officer wh ...

, American politician (b.

)

May 11 Events 1601–1900 *1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is Assassination of Spencer Perceval, assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons. *1813 – William Lawson (explorer), William Lawson, Grego ...

– John Crawfurd, Scottish physician, colonial administrator, diplomat and author, last British Resident of Singapore (b.

1783 Events January–March * January 20 – At Versailles, Great Britain signs preliminary peace treaties with the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain. * January 23 – The Confederation Congress ratifies two October 8, ...

) * May 17 – Isami Kondo, Commander of the Shinsengumi (b.

1834 Events January–March * January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 � ...

) * May 22 – Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (b.

1801 Events January–March * January 1 ** The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland is completed under the Act of Union 1800, bringing about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the abolition of the Parliament of I ...

) * May 23 – Kit Carson, American trapper, scout, and Indian agent (b.

1809 Events January–March * January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded. * January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...

) * June 1 –

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

, 15th President of the United States (b.

) * June 10 – Princess Anka Obrenović, Serbian princess (b.

1821 Events January–March * January 21 – Peter I Island in the Antarctic is first sighted, by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. * January 28 – Alexander Island, the largest in Antarctica, is first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von Be ...

) * June 22 – Heber C. Kimball, Latter Day Saint leader (b.

) * June 29 – Sir John Lillie, British army officer, entrepreneur and inventor (b.

1790 Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took p ...

)

July–December

* July 6 – Harada Sanosuke, Shinsengumi Captain (b.

1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janua ...

) * July 19 – Okita Sōji, Shinsengumi Captain (b.

1842 Events January–March * January ** Michael Alexander takes office, as the first appointee to the Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem. ** American medical student William E. Clarke of Berkshire Medical College becomes the first pe ...

1844 In the Philippines, it was the only leap year with 365 days, as December 31 was skipped when 1845 began after December 30. Events January–March * January 15 – The University of Notre Dame, based in the city of the same name, receives ...

) * July 21 – William Bland, Australian politician (b.

1789 Events January–March * January – Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès publishes the pamphlet ''What Is the Third Estate?'' ('), influential on the French Revolution. * January 7 – The 1788-89 United States presidential election a ...

) * July 26 – Robert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth, English

(b.

) * July 29 – John Elliotson, English physician (b.

) * August 3 –

Edward Welch Edward Welch (1806 – 3 August 1868) was a British architect born in Overton, Flintshire, in North Wales. Having been a pupil of John Oates at Halifax, West Yorkshire, he formed a partnership in 1828 with Joseph Hansom, who later invent ...

, Welsh architect (b.

1806 Events January–March * January 1 ** The French Republican Calendar is abolished. ** The Kingdom of Bavaria is established by Napoleon. * January 5 – The body of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, lies in state in the Painted Hall ...

) * August 10 – Adah Isaacs Menken, American actress (b.

1835 Events January–March * January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist. * January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history. ...

) *

August 11 Events Pre-1600 * 3114 BC – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins. * 2492 BC – Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founde ...

– Thaddeus Stevens, American politician (b.

1792 Events January–March * January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea. * February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy '' The Road to Ruin'' in London. * February ...

) * August 25 – Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer, German actress, writer and theater director (b.

) * August 29 –

Christian Friedrich Schönbein Christian Friedrich Schönbein H FRSE(18 October 1799 – 29 August 1868) was a German-Swiss chemist who is best known for inventing the fuel cell (1838) at the same time as William Robert Grove and his discoveries of guncotton and ozone. Lif ...

, German chemist (b.

) * September 1 – Ferenc Gyulay, Hungarian nobleman, general and governor (b.

) * September 9 – Mzilikazi, first king of Mthwakazi (b. c.1790) * September 11 – Maria James, Welsh-born American poet (b.

1793 The French Republic introduced the French Revolutionary Calendar starting with the year I. Events January–June * January 7 – The Ebel riot occurs in Sweden. * January 9 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first to fl ...

) * September 19 – William Sprague, American minister and politician from Michigan (b.

) * September 26 – August Ferdinand Möbius, German mathematician and astronomer (b.

) * October 1 –

Mongkut Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibod ...

(Rama IV),

King of Siam The monarchy of Thailand (whose monarch is referred to as the king of Thailand; th, พระมหากษัตริย์ไทย, or historically, king of Siam; th, พระมหากษัตริย์สยาม) refers to the c ...

( Thailand) (b.

1804 Events January–March * January 1 – Haiti gains independence from France, and becomes the first black republic, having the only successful slave revolt ever. * February 4 – The Sokoto Caliphate is founded in West Africa. * Februar ...

) * October 9 – Howell Cobb, American politician (b.

1815 Events January * January 2 – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, county of Durham, England. * January 3 – Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussi ...

) * October 17 – Laura Secord, Canadian patriot (b.

1775 Events Summary The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...

) * October 27 –

Charles Longley Charles Thomas Longley (28 July 1794 – 27 October 1868) was a bishop in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Ripon, Bishop of Durham, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1862 until his death. Life He was born at Roc ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

(b.

1794 Events January–March * January 1 – The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark). * January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United States ...

) * November 13 – Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (b.

) * November 15 – James Mayer de Rothschild, German-born banker (b.

) * November 27 – Chief

, Southern Cheyenne Peace Chief, Survivor of Sand Creek massacre (b.

1803 Events * January 1 – The first edition of Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière's ''Almanach des gourmands'', the first guide to restaurant cooking, is published in Paris. * January 5 – William Symington demonstrates his ...

) * December 6 – August Schleicher, German linguist (b.

) * December 23 – Sir Herbert Edwardes, British army general and colonial administrator (b.

) * December 25 – Linus Yale, Jr., American inventor (b.

) * December 31 – Cyrus Kingsbury, American missionary and Choctaw linguist (b.1786)

References

*
via Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:1868 Leap years in the Gregorian calendar