- March 27
- Abraham Gesner patents kerosene. [1]
- May 3
- Antwerp to Rotterdam railway opens. [1]
- June 1
- US adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua, reestablishes slavery. [1]
- July 1
- Sweden issues its first postage stamps. [285.264] [1135]
- July 18
- New Zealand issues its first postage stamps, depicting Queen Victoria. [1367.1359]
- August 9
- Battle of Acapulco during Mexican Liberal uprising. [1]
- Antonio López de Santa Anna resigns (11th and last time) as President of Mexico. [118.61]
- September 3
- American army second lieutenant John L. Grattan and about 30 men are killed while negotiating with Sioux, after killing Brule Lakota chief Conquering Bear. [246.47]
- October 9
- Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA patents first calliope. [1]
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1856
- January 8
- Dr John A Veatch discovers borax, in Tuscan Springs, California, USA. [1]
- January 29
- Britain issues first Victoria Cross, acknowledging bravery. [1] [686.20]
- February 19
- Tin-type camera patented by Hamilton Smith of Gambier, Ohio, USA. [1]
- February 20
- Liverpool-New York steamer John Rutledge hits iceberg; many die. [1]
- February 29
- Hostilities in Russo-Turkish War cease. [1]
- March 19
- The Electoral Act of the Colony of Victoria (Australia) enacts the first law requiring parliamentary election by secret ballot vote. [55.22]
- March 30
- Russia signs Peace of Paris, ending the Crimean War. [1]
- April 3
- Gunpowder in church explodes killing 4,000 in Rhodos. [1]
- April 11
- Battle of Rivas; Costa Rica beats William Walker's invading Nicaraguans. [1]
- April 18
- Russian Republic Chancellor Earl von Nesselrode resigns. [1]
- May 7
- Argentina and Brazil sign a navigation pact. [1]
- July 15
- Natal established as a British colony separate from Cape Colony. [1]
- August 10
- Hurricane washes away 200-300 revelers at Last Island, Louisiana, USA. [1]
- August 27
- The first parliamentary election by secret ballot is held for the Victoria Legislature. [55.22]
- September 14
- Battle of San Jacinto, Nicaragua defeats invaders. [1]
- October 8
- The Second Opium War begins between western powers and China. [5]
- October 24
- Constitution of South Australia is adopted. [1]
1857
- January 6
- Patent for reducing zinc ore is granted to Samuel Wetherill, Pennsylvania. [1]
- January 9
- In Fort Tejon, California, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurs on the San Andreas fault, which ruptures a distance of about 300 kilometres. [1] [53]
- February 18
- Insurrection of Chinese in Sarawak, Borneo. [1]
- March 4
- James Buchanan is inaugurated as 15th US President. [493.18]
- March 6
- Dred Scott Decision: US Supreme Court rules slaves cannot be citizens. [1]
- March 15
- President and General Ignacio Comonfort of Mexico signs decree authorizing decimal metric system. [1042.723]
- March 21
- Earthquake hits Tokyo; about 107,000 die. [1]
- March 25
- Frederick Laggenheim takes first photo of a solar eclipse. [1]
- April 27
- Establishment of Jewish congregations in Lower Austria is prohibited. [1]
- May 1
- A coalition of Central American states ousts William Walker, president of Nicaragua. [1] [246.66]
- May 10
- Indian Mutiny begins with revolt of Sepoys of Meerutkazerne, Delhi. [1]
- May 11
- Delhi falls in Indian Mutiny. [241.9]
- May 19
- William Francis Channing and Moses G Farmer patent electric fire alarm. [1]
- June 2
- James Gibbs of Virginia, USA patents chain-stitch single-thread sewing machine. [1]
- June 26
- Prince Albert is made Prince Consort to Queen Victoria. [729.51]
- September 11
- A Mormon militia in southern Utah seizes a wagon train from Arkansas, killing 120 people. [453.108]
- September 12
- Sidewheel steamer SS Central America, en route from Havana, Cuba, to New York, sinks off Cape Romain, South Carolina, USA in a hurricane. 426 passengers and crew drown, with 153 rescued. 3 tons of US gold coins and ingots are taken to the bottom. [1] [546.36] [688.70] [1064.1391] [1159.14] (9 tons gold [1480.42])
- September 14
- British troops enter breaches of Delhi walls, with 60 officers and 1100 men killed or wounded. [857.52]
- September 20
- British are in full possession of city of Delhi, India. [857.53]
- September 30
- US occupies Sand, Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, south of Hawaii. [1]
- December 16
- In Naples, Italy, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurs. 11,000 dead. [1] [53]
- December 31
- Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada. [1]
1858
- January 1
- In Great Britain, the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 comes into effect, allowing affordable divorce to the middle class. [55.50]
- Canada begins using decimal currency system. [1]
- January 14
- In Paris, France, Italian patriot Felice Orsini and others detonate bombs in an attempt to assassinate Emperor Napoleon III. They fail, but kill 8 others and wound 142. [1740.26] [1842.132]
- January 25
- Prince Frederick III of Prussia marries Victoria Saxe-Coburg, Princess Royal, at Saint James Place in London, England. Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" is first played. [1] [1740.26]
- February 21
- Edwin T Holmes installs first electric burglar alarm (Boston, Massachusetts, USA). [1]
- March 9
- Albert Potts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA patents the street mailbox. [1]
- March 18
- Dutch Van der Brugghen government resigns. [1]
- March 23
- Streetcar patented (Eleazer A Gardner of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). [1]
- March 30
- Pencil with attached eraser patented (Hyman L Lipman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). [1]
- April 15
- Battle of Azimghur, Mexicans defeat Spanish loyalists. [1]
- May 4
- War of the Reform (México); Liberals establish capital at Vera Cruz. [1]
- May 11
- Minnesota admitted as 32nd US state. [1] [626.46] [1043.1522]
- May 15
- Royal Italian Opera opens in Covent Garden, London, England. [1]
- May 22
- Confederación Granadina is established by federal constitution of states of Antioquia, Bolívar, Boyacá, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Panamá, and Santander. [1] [970.228]
- May 30
- Hudson Bay Company's rights to Vancouver Island are revoked. [1]
- June 2
- Donati Comet first seen, named after its discoverer. [1]
- June 29
- Treaty of Algun, China cedes north bank of Amur River to Russia. [1]
- July 2
- Partial emancipation of Russian serfs. [1]
- July 28
- First use of fingerprints as a means of identification, by William Herschel of Indian Civil Service at Jungipur. [55.72]
- July 29
- First commercial treaty between US and Japan signed. [1]
- US citizens allowed to live anywhere in Japan. [1]
- August 2
- First street mailboxes-Boston, Massachusetts, USA. [1]
- British Parliament passes the Government of India Act, transferring the territorial assets of the British East India Company to direct British Crown control. [1740.26]
- British Columbia is founded as a crown colony. [1740.26]
- August 5
- After several unsuccessful attempts, Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable. [1] [5]
- September 1
- First transatlantic cable fails after less than one month. [1]
- September 28
- Donati's comet is the first to be photographed. [1]
- October 9
- The Franco-Japanese Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Commerce is signed. [407.58]
- October 21
- The Austrian Empire demonetizes the Maria Theresa talers. [445.60]
- November 1
- Proclamation of Queen Victoria is read in all of India, declaring assumption of government of India. [857.55] [1135]
- November 5
- The Suez Canal Company first offers 400,000 shares to public at 500 francs per share. (By close of offering, November 30, under 300,000 have been sold.) [1842.143]
- November 17
- Origin of Modified Julian Period. [1]
- December 12
- First coins of the Province of Canada, 421,000 1-cent coins, are released to circulation. [1] [420.80] [574.62]
- December 15
- La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez (Suez Canal Company) is formed, to construct and operate the Suez Canal between the Mediterranean and Red seas. [560.84]
- December 16
- Dutch government decides to vacate Schokland Island. [1]
1859
- January 5
- First steamboat sails, Red River. [1]
- February 10
- General Horsford defeats Begum of Oude and Nana Sahib in Indian mutiny. [1]
- February 14
- Oregon admitted as 33rd state of the USA. [1]
- February 19
- Dan Sickles is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity; first time this defense is successfully used. [1]
- March 18
- Vera Cruz besieged by Miramón (Cons) in Mexican War of Reform. [1]
- March 26
- First sighting of Vulcan, a planet thought to orbit inside Mercury. [1]
- April 6
- US recognizes Liberal government in México's War of the Reform. [1]
- April 14
- Charles Dickens' story A Tale Of Two Cities is first published. [1]
- April 25
- Ferdinand de Lesseps and a group of 150 diplomats, businessmen, engineers, and laborers arrive at a spot in the Egyptian desert to commence building the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. (The canal will open November 17, 1867.) [560.84] [1842.3]
- April 27
- Pomona sinks in North Atlantic drowning all 400 aboard. [1]
- May 2
- Britain's Prince Albert opens the Royal Albert Bridge, which spans the River Tamar from Plymouth to Cornwall. [241.9]
- May 31
- The tower clock known as Big Ben, located at the top of Saint Stephen's Tower, rings out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, for the first time. [129]
- June 12
- The Comstock silver lode in Nevada, USA, is discovered, near Virginia City. [1] [413.50]
- June 15
- On San Juan Island, south of Vancouver Island, an area of border dispute between the USA and British Columbia, an American farmer shoots an invading pig in his garden. (The incident leads to an armed stand-off between British and American forces, with a truce called, and resolution in 1872.) [391.36]
- June 28
- (to June 29) First dog show is held, in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. Two classes of dogs are judged: pointers and setters. [1] [55.51]
- June 30
- French acrobat Charles Blondin is first to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. [1] [1382.8]
- July 5
- Captain NC Brooks discovers Midway Islands. [1]
- July 11
- Armistice agreed to at Villafranca, south of Verona, ending Second War of Independence. [1190.17]
- July 12
- Paper bag manufacturing machine patented by William Goodale, Massachusetts. [1]
- August 27
- First successful oil well drilled, near Titusville, Pennsylvania, USA. [1]
- August 28
- A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe and as far afield as Japan. [5]
- September 1
- First Pullman train sleeping car in service. [1]
- RC Carrington and R Hodgson make first observation of solar flare. [1]
- September 3
- Confederación Granadina declares itself at war. [970.228]
- September 20
- Patent granted on the electric range. [1]
- November 10
- Armistice signed officially in Zurich by Napoleon III and Franz Josef I. [1190.17] [1268.92]
- November 12
- At the Cirque Napoléon in Paris, Jules Leotard performs the first Flying Trapeze circus act. [1] [55.39]
- November 24
- Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of the Species By Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life is published in England. [1] [129] [477.92]
- December 15
- GR Kirchoff describes chemical composition of Sun. [1]
- December 31
- Dutch colony in Dutch Indies counts 4,800 slaves. [1]
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