Important Historical Events of the year 1859, Year 1859 in History

List of 1859 Major News Events in History, Most Important Historical Events in 1859

What happened in the year 1859?

Date Event
January 24, 1859 The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
February 4, 1859 The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.
February 5, 1859 Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Prince of Moldavia, is also elected as prince of Wallachia, joining the two principalities as a personal union called the United Principalities, an autonomous region within the Ottoman Empire, which ushered in the birth of the modern Romanian state.
February 14, 1859 Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.
February 17, 1859 Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captures the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
February 19, 1859 Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity.
March 2, 1859 The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, begins.
March 3, 1859 The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, concludes.
April 25, 1859 British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.
May 4, 1859 The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking Devon and Cornwall in England.
May 17, 1859 Members of the Melbourne Football Club codified the first rules of Australian rules football.
May 31, 1859 The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time.
June 4, 1859 Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army.
June 6, 1859 Queensland is established as a separate colony from New South Wales. The date is still celebrated as Queensland Day.
June 15, 1859 Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between American and British/Canadian settlers.
June 18, 1859 First ascent of Aletschhorn, second summit of the Bernese Alps.
June 24, 1859 Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.
June 28, 1859 The first conformation dog show is held in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
June 30, 1859 French acrobat Charles Blondin crosses Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
July 5, 1859 The United States discovers and claims Midway Atoll.
July 8, 1859 King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway.
July 30, 1859 First ascent of Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
August 3, 1859 The American Dental Association is founded in Niagara Falls, New York.
August 16, 1859 The Grand Duchy of Tuscany formally deposes the exiled House of Lorraine.
August 27, 1859 Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania, leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.
August 28, 1859 The Carrington event is the strongest geomagnetic storm on record to strike the Earth. Electrical telegraph service is widely disrupted.
September 2, 1859 The Carrington Event is the strongest geomagnetic storm on record.
September 17, 1859 Joshua A. Norton declares himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States."
October 16, 1859 John Brown leads a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
October 22, 1859 Spain declares war on Morocco.
October 26, 1859 The Royal Charter Storm kills at least eight hundred people in the British Isles.
December 2, 1859 Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October 16 raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.