Events in year of 1859
- 01-051st steamboat sails, Red River
- 02-10Gen Horsford defeats Begum of Oude and Nana Sahib in Indian mutiny
- 02-14Oregon admitted as 33rd state
- 02-19Dan Sickles is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity 1st time this defense is successfully used
- 02-251st use of "insanity plea" to prove innocence
- 02-28Arkansas legislature requires free blacks to choose exile or slavery
- 03-01Present seal of SF adopted (its 2nd)
- 03-19Opera "Faust" by Charles Gounod premieres in Paris
- 03-211st Zoological Society incorporates (Philadelphia)
- 03-21Scottish National Gallery opens in Edinburgh
- 03-21Zoological Society of Philadelphia, 1st in US, incorporated
- 03-261st sighting of Vulcan, a planet thought to orbit inside Mercury
- 04-04Opera "Dinorah" is produced (Paris)
- 04-12Hibernia Savings & Loan Society of SF incorporates
- 04-25Ground broken for Suez Canal
- 04-27"Pomona" sinks in North Atlantic drowning all 400 aboard
- 04-30Paul Morphy returns from 10-mo chess tour of Europe, retires
- 05-31Philadelphia Athletics organize to play "town ball" became baseball 20 years later
- 06-11Comstock silver load discovered near Virginia City, Nevada
- 06-12Comstock Silver Lode in Nevada discovered
- 06-24Battle of Solferino, N-Italy: France / Sardinia-Austria
- 06-281st dog show held (Newcastle-on-Tyne, England)
- 06-30Charles Blondin is 1st to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope
- 07-011st intercollegiate baseball game, Amherst beats Williams 66-32
- 07-01Balloon covers a record 809 miles over St. Louis
- 07-05Captain N C Brooks discovers Midway Islands
- 07-12Paper bag manufacturing machine patents by William Goodale, Massachusetts
- 07-22V E Walker takes 10-74 in an innings for England vs. Surrey
- 08-09Elevator patented
- 08-171st air mail (in a balloon) took off from Lafayette, Indiana
People born in year of 1859
- 01-05DeWitt B Brace: Inventor (spectrophotometer)
- 01-06Samuel Alexander: English philosopher (Moral order and progress)
- 01-09Frederik Pijper: Dutch vicar / church historian (The Monasteries)
- 01-11[Gerard] Jan Ligthart: Dutch educator (Nog bij mother, Ot & Sien)
- 01-13Karl Bleibtreu: German author (Revolution of Literature)
- 01-19Alice Eastwood: Toronto, Ontario -- Botanist (Handbook of Trees of California)
- 01-21Antoni Wincenty Rutkowski: Composer
- 01-27Wilhelm II: Potsdam -- German Emperor (1888-1918)
- 02-01Victor August Herbert: Dublin, Ireland -- Composer (Babes in Toyland)
- 02-02Havelock Ellis: US Physician / sexologist (Psychology of Sex)
- 02-13Frank van de Goes: Dutch writer / marxist theorist
- 02-13William Strang: Scottish painter / engraver
- 02-14George Washington Gale Ferris: Engineer / inventor (Ferris Wheel)
- 02-18Sholem Aleichem [Solomon Rabinowitz]: Author (Fiddler on the Roof)
- 02-19Svante August Arhenius: Swedish physicist / chemist (Nobel 1903)
- 03-08Kenneth Grahame: Author (Wind, Willows)
- 03-08Otto Taubmann: Composer
- 03-12Josef Cyril Sychra: Composer
- 03-26Nikolay Alexandrovich Sokolov: Composer
- 04-03Reginald De Koven: Composer
- 04-05Wilhelm Harteveld: Composer
- 04-07Walter Camp: Connecticut, United States -- Father of American football (Yale)
- 04-08Edmund Husserl: Germany -- Philosopher (founded Phenomenology)
- 04-11Basil Harwood: Composer
- 04-18Eduard G H H Cuypers: Architect (Sanatorium High-Laren)
- 05-01Willem J Leyds: Dutch / South Africa lawyer / politician / diplomat
- 05-03Andy Adams: US writer (Log of a Cowboy)
- 05-06Willem J T Kloos: Dutch poet (Act of Simple Justice)
- 05-13Eugust Enna: Composer
- 05-15Pierre Curie: France -- Physicist (Nobel 1903)
People died in year of 1859
- 01-08Antoine GB Schayes: Belgian Historian / archaeologist, dies at 50
- 01-20B v Arnim: Writer, dies at 73
- 01-20Bettina Brentano: Composer, dies at 73
- 01-27Carl A Agardh: Swedish Botanist / Bishop of Karlstad, dies at 74
- 02-06Johannes Josephus Viotta: Composer, dies at 45
- 02-26Ferdinand Lukas Schubert: Composer, dies at 64
- 03-01Josef Theodor Krov: Composer, dies at 61
- 04-12John Emde: German evangelist, dies at about 84
- 04-30Sergei T Aksakov: Russian writer (Bagrova-vnuka), dies at 67
- 05-05Peter G L Dirichlet: German mathematician, dies at 53
- 05-06Friedrich Heinrich Alexander: Explorer / scientist
- 05-10Johan BJFS: Archduke of Austria (Firechief & Housewife)
- 05-22Ferdinand II [Re Bomba]: Dutch King of Sicily, dies at 49
- 06-18Joseph Hartmann Stuntz: Composer, dies at 65
- 06-27Jean C Baud: Governor-General of Dutch-Indies (1834-36), dies at 69
- 07-08F J Oscar I: King of Sweden / Norway (1844-59), dies at 60
- 07-20Hans E Schack: Danish politician / writer (Fantasy)
- 07-29Auguste Mathieu Panseron: Composer, dies at 63
- 08-10George Staunton: Writer
- 09-05W Friedrich Olivier: German landscape painter, dies at 68
- 09-13Cornelis J van Axes: Lawyer, dies at 71
- 09-15John LA Luyten: Catholic Member of Dutch 2nd parliament, dies at 72
- 09-28Rinse Posthumus: Fries writer
- 10-04Karl Baedeker: German tour guide (Die Schweiz), dies at 57
- 10-22Louis (Ludwig) Spohr: Composer (Faust), dies at 75
- 11-07Carl Gottlieb Reissiger: Composer, dies at 61
- 11-22Ludwig "Louis" Spohr: German violinist / Composer (Faust), dies at 75
- 11-28Washington Irving: US Author (Geoffrey Crayon, gent)
- 12-02John Brown: US abolitionist (Harpers Ferry), hanged at 59
- 12-05Louis Poinsot: French Mathematician / instrument maker, dies at 82
Events in year of 1860
- 01-01Slavery ends of in the Netherlands Indies
- 01-20Dutch troops conquer Watampone in Celebes
- 01-28Britain formally returns Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua
- 01-29American College established in Rome by Pope Pius IX
- 02-011st rabbi to open House of Representatives, Morris Raphall of New York City
- 02-03Thomas Clemson takes office as 1st US superintendent of agriculture
- 02-13King Basse Kajuara departs Boni South-Celebes
- 02-16Dutch Rochussen / Van Bosse government resigns
- 02-22Organized baseball played in SF for 1st time
- 02-22Shoe-making workers of Lynn Ms, strike successfully for higher wages
- 03-091st Japanese ambassador arrives in SF en route to Washington
- 03-12Congress accepts Pre-emption Bill: free land in West for colonists
- 03-17Japanese embassy arrives aboard Candinmarruh [sic]
- 03-21US extradition treaty with Sweden
- 03-24Clipper Andrew Jackson arrives in SF, 89 days out of New York
- 04-021st Italian Parliament met at Turin
- 04-03Pony Express began between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California
- 04-07Grand Duke Frederik I liberalizes laws in Bathe
- 04-131st Pony Express reaches Sacramento, California
- 04-141st Pony Express rider arrives in SF from St. Joseph, Missouri
- 04-23Democratic Convention in Charleston SC divided over slavery
- 04-27Thomas J Jackson is assigned to command Harpers Ferry
- 04-30Navaho indians attack Fort Defiance (Canby)
- 05-06San Francisco Olympic Club, 1st US athletic club forms
- 05-18Republican Party nominates Abraham Lincoln for President
- 05-26Garibaldi occupies Palermo Italy
- 06-03Comanche, Iowa completely destroyed by 1 of a series of tornadoes
- 06-071st US "dime novel" published: "Malaseka, The Indian Wife of the White Hunter, " by Mrs Ann Stevens
- 06-07Workmen start laying track for Market Street Railroad, San Francisco
- 06-091st "dime" novel issued "Malaesk The Indian Wife of the White Hunter"
People born in year of 1860
- 01-02William C Mills: Museum curator (excavated Ohio Indian mounds)
- 01-07Emanuil Mandlov: Composer
- 01-08Nancy Jones: US black Missionary in Africa
- 01-11Marie Bashkirtseff: Russian / French painter / author (Journal)
- 01-25Charles Curtis: (R) 31st US VP (1929-33)
- 01-29Anton Pavlovich Chekhov: Tagarov, Russia -- Playwright (Cherry Orchard)
- 02-05Jackson Showalter: 1st US Chess Champion
- 02-06Johan [Eliza J] de Meester: Dutch journalist / writer (Geertje)
- 02-11Rachilde [Marguerite Vallette-Eymery]: French author (Monsieur Venus)
- 02-18Anders Zorn: Swedish painter / etcher / sculptor (Gustavus Vasa)
- 02-24Daniel Berkeley Updike: Printer / publisher / writer (Printing Types)
- 02-25Menso Kamerlingh Onnes: Painter / water colors painter
- 02-25William James Ashley: English economic-historian
- 02-29Herman Hollerith: Inventor (1st electric tabulating machine)
- 03-01Suzanna Salter: 1st US female Mayor / temperance leader
- 03-11Thomas Hastings: NYC, New York -- Architect (NY Public Library)
- 03-12Salvatore Di Giacomo: Composer
- 03-19William Jennings Bryan: "The Great Commoner" orator / Statesman
- 04-03Frederik W van Eeden: Dutch utopian writer (Walden)
- 04-07W K Kellogg: A real corn flake
- 04-13James Ensor: Flemish painter / etcher (De lampenjongen)
- 04-20Charles Gordon Curtis: US attorney / inventor (Curtis Turbine)
- 04-20Pieter Jelles Troelstra: Dutch MP (SDAP)
- 04-29Lorado Taft: United States -- Sculptor (Black Hawk)
- 05-02Theodor Herzl: Austria -- Journalist / founder (Zionist movement)
- 05-04Emil Nikolaus Von Reznicek: Vienna, Austria -- Composer (Donna Diana)
- 05-09James Matthew Barrie: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Novelist (Margaret Ogilvy, Peter Pan)
- 05-15Ellen Louise Axson Wilson: 1st Wife of Woodrow Wilson
- 05-21Willam Einthoven: Dutch physiologist / inventor (electrocardiograph)
- 05-31Walter Richard Sickert Munich: Danish / English painter (The Miner)
People died in year of 1860
- 01-05St John Nepomucene Neumann: 1st male US saint
- 01-12Martinus J Niewindt: Bishop on Curacao (christened slaves), dies at 63
- 01-30Francesco Antonio Norberto Pinto: Composer, dies at 44
- 02-09Eduard W van Dam van Isselt: Dutch Military / liberal politician, dies at 63
- 02-20Henry Drummond: English banker / religious leader, dies at 69
- 03-28Johann Ludwig Bohner: Composer, dies at 73
- 04-16Carolina: Duchess of Berry / Daughter of crown Prince of Naples
- 05-21Johannes Frederick Frohlich: Composer, dies at 53
- 05-23Albert Richard Smith: Author / lecturer
- 06-29Thomas Addison: English Physician (A-Biermer Disease), dies at 67
- 07-06Alexandre Edouard Goria: Composer, dies at 37
- 07-13John Ackersdijk: Dutch state house builder, dies at 69
- 08-13Danillo II: Ruler of Montenegro
- 08-26Friedrich Silcher: Composer, dies at 71
- 08-26Philipp Friedrich Silcher: Composer, dies at 71
- 09-18Casimiro de Abreu: Brazilians Poet (Primaveras)
- 09-18Joseph Locke: Railway engineer
- 09-25Carl Friedrich Zollner: Composer, dies at 60
- 10-02Louis Hersent: Painter
- 10-06Stephen Elvey: Composer, dies at 55
- 10-12Henry G W Smith: Leader of British-Indian forces, dies at 73
- 10-24Elie Decazes: French Bourbon Restoration politician, dies at 80
- 10-31Johan Nathan: Murderer, hanged
- 11-05Carl Binder: Composer, dies at 43
- 11-14Feliks Ostrowski: Composer, dies at 58
- 11-28Heinrich FL Rellstab: German music theorist
- 12-07Constantine S Aksakov: Russian Historian / poet, dies at 43
- 12-28Cornelius Broere: Dutch RC clergyman / poet, dies at 57
Events in year of 1861
- 01-01Porfirio Diaz conquers Mexico City
- 01-01President Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful
- 01-02Colonel Charles Stone is put in charge of organizing DC militia
- 01-02SC seizes inactive Ft Johnson in Charleston Harbor
- 01-03Delaware legislature rejects proposal to join Confederacy
- 01-03US Ft Pulaski and Ft Jackson, Savannah, seized by Georgia
- 01-04President Buchanan appoints a fast on account of threatened succession
- 01-04US Ft Morgan, Mobile, seized by Alabama
- 01-05250 Federal troops are sent from New York to Ft Sumter
- 01-05Alabama troops seize Forts Morgan and Gaines at Mobile Bay
- 01-06Florida troops seize Federal arsenal at Apalachicola
- 01-06New York City mayor proposes New York become a free city, trading with N&S
- 01-07Florida troops takeover Ft Marion at St. Augustine
- 01-091st hostile act of Civil War; Star of West fired on, Sumter, South Carolina
- 01-09Mississippi becomes 2nd state to secede
- 01-10Florida becomes 3rd state to secede from US
- 01-10Ft Jackson and Ft Philip are taken over by LA state troops
- 01-10US forts and property seized by Mississippi
- 01-11Alabama becomes 4th state to secede
- 01-12FL state troops demand surrender of Ft Pickens
- 01-14Ft Pikens, Florida falls into state hands
- 01-15Steam elevator patented by Elisha Otis
- 01-17Flush toilet patented by Mr Thomas Crapper (Honest!)
- 01-19Georgia becomes 5th state to secede
- 01-19MS troops take Ft Massachusetts an Ship Island
- 01-21Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and 4 other southern senators resign
- 01-24Arsenal at Augusta, Georgia seized by Confederacy
- 01-24Federal troops from Ft Monroe are sent to Ft Pikens
- 01-26Louisiana becomes 6th state to secede
- 01-29Kansas becomes 34th state
People born in year of 1861
- 01-02Helen Herron Taft: 1st lady (1909-12)
- 01-06Heinrich Gottlieb Noren: Composer
- 01-14Wilhelm von Polenz: German writer (Der Pfarrer von Breitendorf)
- 01-18Hans Goldschmidt: German chemist
- 01-18Raymond Huntington Woodman: Composer
- 01-22Karel Stecker: Composer
- 01-30Charles Martin Tornow Loeffler: Mulhouse, Alsace -- Composer
- 02-02Mehmed VI: Last Sultan of Ottoman Empire (1918-22)
- 02-02Mohammed VI Vahideddin: Last Sultan of Turkey (1918-22)
- 02-02Solomon R Guggenheim: Philanthropist (Guggenheim Museum NYC)
- 02-13Uchimura Kanzo: Tokyo, Japan -- Religious writer (How I Became a Christian)
- 02-15Alfred North Whitehead: England, United Kingdom -- Mathematician / philosopher (Adv of Ideas)
- 02-15Halford John Mackinder: Gainsborough Lincolnshire, United Kingdom -- Geographer
- 02-20Nicolaas van Meeteren: Folklorist
- 02-21Pierre Breville: Composer
- 02-26Ferdinand I: Vienna, Austria -- 1st tsar of modern Bulgaria (1908-18)
- 02-27Rudolph Steiner: Kraljevic, Austria -- Founder (doctrine of anthroposophy
- 04-09Charles Holroyd: Painter / etcher
- 04-16Isaac Murphy: US jockey (won 628 races)
- 04-19Warden Oncle [Edward Vermeulen]: Flemish farmer / writer
- 04-23Edmund Henry Hynman: 1st viscount Allenby of Megiddo / Field Marshal
- 04-27Johan M Skjoldborg: Danish writer (Dynaes-Digte)
- 05-06Radindranath Tagore: Hindu poet / mystic / composer (Nobel 1913)
- 05-12Ivan Caryll: Composer (Pink Lady)
- 05-27Victoria E Matthews: Educator
- 05-31Emily Perkins Bissell: Welfare worker (1st christmas seal drive, 1907)
- 06-09Floris H Verster [van Wulverhorst]: Painter / cartoonist / etcher
- 06-10Josephus T J Cuypers: Dutch architect (St Bavo, Haarlem)
- 06-10Pierre M M Duhem: French naturalist / philosopher / historian
- 06-11Sigismund Vladislavovich Zaremba: Composer
People died in year of 1861
- 01-02Frederik Willem IV: King Prussia (1840-61) / German (1849-61), dies at 65
- 01-31Franciscus J van Vree: Dutch Catholic foreman, dies at 53
- 02-10Francis Danby: Exmouth, painter
- 02-12Hippolyte-Andre-Baptiste Chelard: Composer, dies at 72
- 02-18Louis C Luzac: Dutch Minister of Internal affairs, dies at 74
- 03-10Josepf Francois Snel: Composer, dies at 67
- 03-14Abraham Louis Niedermeyer: Composer, dies at 58
- 03-17Petter Conrad Boman: Composer, dies at 56
- 04-08Elisha G Otis: US elevator builder (Otis), dies at 50
- 04-18Heinrich August Neithardt: Composer, dies at 67
- 05-03Anthony Philip Heinrich: Composer, dies at 80
- 05-12Christian Heinrich Hohmann: Composer, dies at 50
- 05-24Elmer Ellsworth: US warrior (Chicago Zouaves), shot to death at 23
- 05-24James T Jackson: US landlord (doodde EE Ellsworth), shot dead)
- 06-01John Q Marr: US Union captain, dies in battle at Fairfax Courthouse
- 06-03Stephen A Douglas: "Little Giant", senator (Lincoln Debates)
- 06-05John Garland: US Union Colonel / Brigadier General, dies in battle
- 06-05Tomas Genoves y Lapetra: Composer, dies at 55
- 06-06Giuseppe Concone: Italian singing teacher, dies at 59
- 06-29Elizabeth Barrett-Browning: Writer, dies at 55
- 07-02Peter A de Genestet: Vicar / poet, dies at 31
- 07-07John Willis Ellis: US Governor of NC (1858-61)
- 07-13Robert Selden Garnett: US Confederate Brigadier General, dies at 41
- 07-21Francis Stebbins Bartow: Confederate Colonel, dies in battle at 44
- 07-22Barnard Elliot Bee: US Confederate Brigadier General, dies at 37
- 08-10Nathaniel Lyon: US Union Brigadier General, dies in battle at 43
- 08-29Franz Joseph Glaser: Composer, dies at 63
- 09-14Fortunato Santini: Composer, dies at 83
- 10-06Elias Canneman: Liberal Minister of Finance (1813-14), dies at 84
- 10-21Edward Dickinson Baker: US attorney / senator, dies in battle at 50