- April 26
- John Wilkes Booth, alleged assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, is shot dead near Bowling Green, Virginia at age 27. [1]
- May 10
- Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis is captured by USA Cavalry in Irwinsville, Georgia. [1] [492.32]
- June 23
- At Fort Towson, Indian Territory, Confederate States of America General Stand Watie surrenders last sizeable army. [1]
- (month unknown)
- The Shergotty meteorite falls in India. (It is later shown to be from Mars.) [523.106]
- July 4
- First edition of book Alice in Wonderland is published. [1]
- July 5
- William Booth founds Salvation Army in London, England. [1]
- July 7
- Four Abraham Lincoln assassination conspirators, including Mary Surratt, are hanged. [1]
- July 14
- First ascent of Matterhorn mountain. [1]
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- July 30
- Side-wheel steamship Brother Jonathan strikes a rock and breaks up off Crescent City, California. The ship was carrying $200,000 in army payroll, and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold coins and bars. [1087.44]
- August 17
- Near Memphis, Tennessee, USA, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurs. Felt from St. Louis, Missouri, to Jackson, Mississippi. [53]
- September 1
- Joseph Lister performs first antiseptic surgery. [1]
- October 8
- In Santa Cruz Mountains, California, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurs; severe damage in several towns. [1] [53]
- October 10
- John Hyatts patents the billiard ball. [1]
- October 25
- The ship SS Republic sinks off the coast of Georgia, USA, with a shipment of 20,000 gold $20 coins. [445.60] [555.30]
- November 9
- Confederate General Robert Lee surrenders to USA General Ulysses Grant at Appomattox. [1]
- November 15
- Newfoundland introduces decimal currency. [1135]
- December 18
- The 13th Amendment of the US Constitution is ratified, ending slavery. [505.70]
- December 20
- De Clear-Alkmaar railway opens. [1]
1866
- January 11
- Steamship London sinks in storm off Land's End, England, kills 220. [1]
- January 20
- Prim's Insurrection in Spain ends. [1]
- February 10
- Dutch government of Frans van der Putte forms. [1]
- February 13
- Jesse James and his gang commit the first armed bank robbery (Liberty Missouri: US$15,000) in United States history during peacetime. [1] [5]
- March 1
- Paraguayan canoes sink two Brazilian ironclads on Rio Parana. [1]
- March 19
- Immigrant ship Monarch of the Seas sinks in Liverpool; 738 die. [1]
- March 24
- Death of Ferdinand Henry, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, oldest reigning prince in Europe, at age 83. [187.212] (April 7 [811.163])
- On the death of Ferdinand Henry, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Dormstadt acquires the Ladgraviate of Hesse-Homburg. [187.212] [811.163]
- March 27
- Andrew Rankin patents the urinal. [1]
- April 16
- Karakozov attempts to assassinate Tsar Alexander II of Russia. [1]
- May 7
- German premier Otto von Bismarck is seriously wounded in assassin attempt. [1]
- May 16
- Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer. [1] [5]
- May 28
- Dutch Government of Zuylen van Nijevelt/Heemskerk forms. [1]
- June 1
- Renegade Irish Fenians invade Fort Erie, Ontario from the US. [1]
- June 2
- Renegade Irish Fenians surrender to US forces. [1]
- June 7
- Irish Fenians raid Pigeon Hill, Québec. [1]
- June 15
- Prussia attacks Austria. [1]
- July 4
- Firecracker thrown in wood starts fire destroying half of Portland, Maine, USA. [1]
- July 10
- Indelible pencil patented by Edson P Clark, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. [1]
- July 12
- Prussian army crushes Austrians at Koniggratz. [187.213]
- July 27
- The Atlantic Cable is successfully completed (1,686 miles long), allowing transatlantic telegraph communication for the first time. [1] [5]
- July 28
- Metric system becomes a legal measurement system in US. [1]
- August 10
- Former US President James Buchanan is first to communicate over Atlantic Cable, to Queen Victoria. [1]
- August 11
- World's first roller rink opens (Newport, Rhode Island). [1]
- August 20
- US President Andrew Johnson officially declares the American Civil War to be ended. [1] [5]
- August 23
- Treaty of Prague ends Austro-Prussian war. Prussia annexes the Electorate of Hesse-Cassel, Duchy of Nassau, and Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg. [1] [811.132]
- November 4
- Kingdom of Italy annexes Venetia. [1]
- November 20
- Pierre Lalemont patents rotary crank bicycle. [1]
- December 11
- First yacht race across the Atlantic Ocean. [1]
1867
- February 3
- Prince Mutsuhito, age 14, becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan (1867-1912). [1]
- February 5
- French troops leave Mexico City. [1443.40]
- February 13
- Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube" waltz premieres in Vienna, Austria. [1]
- February 17
- First ship passes through Suez Canal. [1]
- Gyula Andressy becomes premier of Hungary. [1]
- March 11
- Great Mauna Loa eruption (Hawaiian volcano). [1]
- March 29
- British North America Act (Canadian constitution) is passed. [1]
- March 30
- The Russian empire sells the Alaskan territory to the USA for US$7.2 million (2 cents per acre). [1] [129] [437.109] [474.144]
- April 1
- International Exhibition opens in Paris, France. [1]
- Singapore, Penang, and Malakka form the British crown colony of Straits Settlements. [1] [1136.96]
- April 8
- The first World's Fair is inaugurated in Paris, France. [5]
- April 9
- The Alaska purchase is ratified by the United States Senate. [5]
- April 23
- Queen Victoria and Napoleon III turn down plans for a channel tunnel. [1]
- April 25
- Tokyo is opened for foreign trade. [1]
- May 5
- Battle of Pueblo; Mexicans defeat Maximilian's forces (Cinco de Mayo). [1]
- May 11
- Treaty of London drawn, concerning Luxembourg. [1]
- May 20
- British parliament rejects John Stuart Mills law on women suffrage. [1]
- Royal Albert Hall foundation laid by Queen Victoria. [1]
- June 12
- Austro-Hungarian Empire forms. [1]
- June 19
- Ferdinand Maximilian, Mexican emperor, is executed by firing squad outside Querétaro, Mexico; Mexican republic is restored. [1] [1443.30]
- June 20
- US President Andrew Johnson announces purchase of Alaska from Russia. [1]
- June 25
- Barbed wire is patented by Lucien Smith of Kent, Ohio, USA. [55.22]
- July 1
- Dominion of Canada formed (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Québec). [1]
- August 15
- Second Reform Bill extends suffrage in England. [1]
- August 28
- US occupies Midway Islands in the Pacific. [1]
- September 9
- Luxembourg gains independence. [1]
- September 28
- Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, Canada. [1]
- September 30
- Midway Islands formally declared a US possession. [1]
- October 5
- Last day of Julian calendar in Alaska. [1]
- October 14
- 15th and last Tokugawa Shogun resigns in Japan. [1]
- October 16
- Alaska adopts the Gregorian calendar, crosses international date line. [1]
- October 18
- US takes formal possession of Alaska from Russia. [1] [129]
- October 29
- A hurricane at the British Virgin Islands sinks Royal Mail Ship Rhone, destroys Derwent and Wye, and damages Conway, Solent, and Tyne, with loss of 166 from two of the ships. [1] [269.377]
- November 2
- Porfirio Diaz assumes the provisional presidency of Mexico. [450.86]
- November 15
- Stock tickers are introduced at the New York Stock Exchange. [129] [453.66]
- November 25
- Alfred Nobel invents dynamite. [1]
- December 27
- Ontario and Québec legislatures hold first meeting, in Canada. [1]
- December 29
- First telegraph ticker used by a brokerage house, Groesbeck and Company, New York. [1]
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