Politics

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) of Illinois becomes the first Republican to win the United States Presidency; he becomes the 16th President and Hannibal Hamlin (1809-1891) of Maine is elected as the 15th Vice President.

Politics

South Carolina secedes from the Union followed within two months by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.

Government

Stamps: By 1860, almost all countries have postage stamps.

Government

The U.S. Secret Service is established.

Science

The fact that the star Sirius is a double star is discovered.

Medicine

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) opens the world’s first school of nursing.

Inventions

The first practical gasoline engine is built.

Education

The first English language kindergarten is established in Boston by Elizabeth Peabody (1804-1894).

Education

Olympia Brown (1835-1926) becomes the first woman to study theology with men—at St. Lawrence University.

Arts and Letters

Literature: George Eliot(1819-1880) (Mary Ann Evans) publishes "The Mill on the Floss."

Arts and Letters

American Theatre: Dion Boucicault (1820-1890) begins promotion of "combination companies". The company and players would travel with scenery for 1 play.

Hayes, Lucy

Lucy Hayes’s (1831-1889) boys suffer from mumps, whooping cough, and measles.

Hayes, Lucy

Lucy Hayes (1831-1889) and her husband take a long trip, by riverboat, to Canada, by rail and boat to Boston, to New England and home by way of New York City. Total cost: $310.77.

Harrison, Caroline

Caroline Harrison (1832-1892) begins 30 years of serving on the board of managers of the Indianapolis Orphans’ Asylum.

Wilson, Ellen

Ellen Louise Axson (1860-1914), future first wife of President Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924), is born in Savannah, Georgia on May 15.

Harding, Florence

Florence Kling DeWolfe (1860-1924), future wife of President Warren G. Harding (1865–1923), is born in Marion, Ohio on August 15.

Arthur, Ellen

William Lewis Arthur (1860-1863), son of Chester Alan and Ellen Arthur, is born December 10.

Tyler, Julia

Pearl Tyler Ellis (1860-1947), daughter of John Tyler and his second wife Julia, is born June 20.

Economics

Slavery: Cotton shipments are at an all-time high (2 billion pounds a year), which gives the South extra incentives to keep slavery.

Economics

The first Pony Express riders make it from Missouri to California in 10 days.

Economics

Population: The population of the United States (1860) is 32 million.

Daily Life

Fashion: Bustles begin to take the place of hoop skirts in American women’s fashion.

Daily Life

History of Toys: A chemistry set for children is offered for sale for $5.00.

Sports

Boxing: The longest prizefight in American history is held in Maine; it lasts for 4 hours and 20 minutes.

Sports

Croquet is introduced to the U.S. from England; it becomes very popular.

Sports

Golf: The first British Open Golf Championship is held.

Popular Culture

Stephen Foster (1826-1864) composes “Old Black Joe.”

Social Issues

Native Americans: The U.S. Army's Fort Definace in New Mexico is attacked by 1,000 Navaho Indians; the Indians lose.

Social Issues

Immigration: Poland’s religious and economic conditions prompt immigration of approximately two million Poles by 1914.

Reform

Women's Suffrage Movement: Elizabeth Cady Stanton speaks to a meeting of the New York State Legislature on behalf of women’s suffrage.

Reform

Women's Rights Movement: Women are allowed to collect their own wages, to sue, and to inherit their husbands’ property in New York State; married women are allowed to be guardians of their children

Reform

Labor Movement: Six thousand shoemakers go on strike in Lynn, MA for higher wages; the companies grant higher wages but refuse to recognize the union.

Politics

Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) is elected President of the Confederate States of America.

Politics

Virginia secedes from the Union, followed within five weeks by Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, thus forming an eleven state Confederacy with a population of 9 million.

Government

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is inaugurated as the 16th President and Hannibal Hamlin (1809-1891) is inaugurated as the 15th Vice President.

Government

New State: Kansas becomes the 34th state in the United States.

Government

The United States introduces the passport system.

Government

Congress passes the first income tax in the U.S. to support the war.

War

Civil War: Pierre Beauregard (1813-1893) opens fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins.

War

Civil War: The Union Army under Gen. Irvin McDowell (1818-1885) suffers a defeat at Bull Run 25 miles southwest of Washington.

War

Confederates invade New Mexico from Texas.The Confederate Territory of Arizona is declared with the capital at La Mesilla.

War

Civil War; National Capital: The U.S. Capitol houses Union soldiers, providing medical attention and a place to sleep.

Inventions

Elisha Otis (1811-1861) patents elevator safety brakes, creating a safer elevator.

Inventions

Linus Yale (1821-1868) invents the Yale lock or cylinder lock.

Education

The first American doctor of philosophy degree is awarded by Yale University.

Education

Women's Colleges: Vassar College for women is founded in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Arts and Letters

Poetry: George Eliot (1819-1880) (Mary Ann Evans) writes "Silas Marner."

Arts and Letters

Literature: Charles Dickens (1812-1870) writes "Great Expectations."

Lincoln, Mary

The Lincolns (Abraham: 1809-1865 and Mary Todd: 1818-1882) move into the White House in March of 1861.

Hayes, Lucy

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) joins the 23rd Ohio Volunteer infantry as a Major.

Hayes, Lucy

Lucy and Rutherford Hayes’s fourth son, Joseph Thompson (1861-1863), is born on December 21 in Cincinnati.

Harrison, Caroline

Caroline (1832-1892) and Benjamin (1831-1901) Harrison’s third child and second daughter dies at birth.

Roosevelt, Edith

Edith Kermit Carow (1861-1948), future wife of Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), is born in Norwich, Connecticut on August 6.

Taft, Helen

Helen Herron (1861-1943), future wife of President William Howard Taft [1909-1913] is born in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 2.

Economics

American Money: Gold payments are suspended; greenbacks become the national currency.

Economics

Transportation: Railroad History: Leland Stanford (1824-1893) hires Chinese laborers to help build the western part of the Central Pacific Railroad.

Economics

Transportation: Railroad History: There are 30,000 miles of railroad track in the U.S.

Economics

Telegraph wires are strung between San Francisco and New York.

Economics

Pencils are mass-produced in New York by Eberhard Faber.

Economics

American Money: Congress authorizes the United States Treasury to issue paper money for the first time in the form of non-interest bearing Treasury Notes called Demand Notes.

Daily Life

Daily weather forecasts are begun in Britain.

Popular Culture

Hot Air Balloons: A record balloon trip is made between Cincinnati, Ohio and the South Carolina coast is made in 9 hours.

Popular Culture

Wartime Music: “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” is written during the Civil War by Julia War Howe for the Union.

Popular Culture

Wartime Music: “Battle Cry of Freedom” is written during the Civil War by George F. Root for the Union.

Popular Culture

Wartime Music: “Dixie Land” is written during the Civil War by Daniel Emmett for the Confederate.

Government

The Homestead Act is passed, decreeing that any American may have 160 acres of land in the west free, if he lives on it for five years.

Government

President Lincoln (1809-1865) issues the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves "henceforth and forever free."

Government

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is created by Congress.

Government

The Medal of Honor is authorized by Congress.

Government

American Money: The Secretary of the Treasury is empowered by Congress to have notes engraved and printed, which is done by private banknote companies.

Government

Railroad History: President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) signs the Pacific Railway Act, which authorizes the construction of the first transcontinental railroad.

War

Civil War: The bloodiest battle of the Civil War occurs at Antietam; over 23,000 are killed or wounded.

War

Civil War: The Confederate Ironclad 'Merrimac' sinks two wooden Union ships then battles the Union Ironclad 'Monitor' to a draw. Naval warfare is thus changed forever, making wooden ships obsolete.

War

Civil War: Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's (1822-1885) unprepared troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a bitter struggle with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates.

War

Civil War: 75,000 Federals under Gen. John Pope (1874-1937) are defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Gen. Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863) and Gen. James Longstreet (1821-1904) at the second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia.

Science

The speed of light is successfully measured.

Medicine

The first children’s clinic is opened in New York City.

Inventions

The Gatling (a 10 barrel, automatic firing) gun is invented by R.J. Gatling (1818-1903).

Inventions

A timepiece for split-second timing—the chronograph—is invented.

Inventions

Alexander Parkes (1813-1890) invents the first man-made plastic.

Inventions

Jean Lenoir (1822-1900) makes a gasoline engine automobile.

Education

Women's Firsts: In Ohio, Mary Jane Patterson receives a degree from Oberlin, becoming the first black woman to graduate from an American college.

Education

Children’s Books: Christina Rossetti''s (1830-1894) long fantasy, "Goblin Market," about two sisters'' struggle to resist the tempting fruits of the goblin men, was long categorized as a children''s fairy tale, but is increasingly reread as a major poem of its period.

Education

African American Education: One of the earliest and longest-lived freedmen’s schools, the Penn School on St. Helena Island, NC, is founded by Laura Matilda Towne (1825-1901).

Education

Women's Firsts: Geologist Florence Bascom (1862-1945) becomes the first woman to receive a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University; she goes on to teach at Bryn Mawr.

Education

The Morrill Land-Grant Act endows colleges of agriculture and industry.

Arts and Letters

Literature; Victor Hugo (1802-1885) writes "Les Misérables."

Lincoln, Mary

The Lincolns’ son William Wallace (1850-1862) dies of typhoid fever at age 11 on February 20.

Harrison, Caroline

Benjamin Harrison (1831-1901) raises a regiment for the Union in the Civil War (1,000 men from Indiana) known as the 70th Indiana Regiment.

Van Buren, Hannah

Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), 8th President of the U.S., dies in Kinderhook, New York.

Tyler, Julia

John Tyler (1790-1862), 10th President of the U.S., dies in Richmond, Virginia.

Economics

1,000 guns a day are being produced by the Colt factory.

Economics

The first automobile with an internal combustion engine is constructed.

Economics

A process for concentrating fruit juice is patented.

Economics

American Money: Demand Notes are replaced by United States Notes.

Popular Culture

Julia Ward Howe's (1819-1910) poem, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is published and later set to music. The music for "Taps" is also composed.

Government

President Lincoln (1809-1865) issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army.

Government

National Capital: The "Statue of Freedom" is place on top of the Capitol building and becomes the crowning feature of the dome.

Government

New Mexico is divided in half, creating the Territory of Arizona.

Government

Congress establishes free mail delivery in cities.

Government

New State: West Virginia becomes the 35th state in the United States.

Government

President Lincoln (1809-1865) delivers the Gettysburg Address.

War

Civil War: The tide of war turns against the South as the Confederates are defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.

War

Civil War: The Union institutes a draft to recruit soldiers for the Civil War.

War

Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg takes place.

Science

The National Academy of Sciences is founded in Washington, DC.

Education

Children’s Books: The Rev. Charles Kingsley’s (1819-1875) fairy tale "The Water-Babies" combines many of these enthusiasms in a tale of how a little chimney-sweep goes backward in evolution when he is wicked, and forwards when he does as he would be done by.

Arts and Letters

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910) adopts the pen-name, Mark Twain.

Arts and Letters

Poetry: Henry Wordsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) publishes the poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride.”

Pierce, Jane

Jane Means Appleton Pierce (1806-1863), wife of Franklin Pierce (1804-1869), dies of tuberculosis in Andover, Massachusetts on December 2 at the age of 57.

Johnson, Eliza

Charles Johnson (1830-1863), son of Andrew and Eliza Johnson, dies April 4 in a horse accident.

Hayes, Lucy

Lucy Hayes (1831-1889), her four sons, and her mother go to West Virginia to be with Rutherford (1822-1893) and his regiment.

Arthur, Ellen

William Lewis Arthur (1860-1863), son of Chester Alan and Ellen Arthur, dies July 7.

Hayes, Lucy

Lucy and Rutherford Hayes’s fourth son, Joseph (1861-1863), dies of dysentery at the age of two on June 24.

Economics

Transportation: The world''''s first underground railway service, London''''s Metropolitan line between Paddington and Farringdon, is opened.

Economics

Traveler’s Insurance Company is founded in Hartford, CT.

Economics

American Money: The design of U.S. currency incorporates a Treasury seal, the fine line engraving necessary for the difficult-to-counterfeit itaglio printing, intricate geometric lathe work patterns, and distinctive linen paper with embedded red and blue fibers.

Daily Life

Holidays: The first national Thanksgiving Day is proclaimed by President Lincoln (1809-1865) to be the fourth Thursday of November.

Daily Life

The first paper dress patterns are developed by Ebenezer Butterick (1826-1903).

Sports

The four-wheeled roller skate is patented by James Plimpton of New York.

Sports

Horse Racing: The Grand Prix horse race is first held in Paris.

Popular Culture

Stephen Foster (1826-1864) composes “Beautiful Dreamer.”

Religion

Olympia Brown (1835-1926) is ordained a minister by the Northern Universalists in Weymouth, MA.

Religion

The Seventh Day Adventist church was officially founded by Ellen G White, James White and Joseph Bates.

Social Issues

Native Americans: Kit Carson (1809-1868) begins resettling Navajo and Apache Indians on reservations by force.

Social Issues

Slavery: The Emancipation Proclamation delivered by President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) decrees that all slaves in Rebel territory are free on January 1, 1863.

Law

Chief Justices: President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) nominates Salmon Portland Chase (1808-1873) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; he is confirmed by the Senate on the same day, and holds the position for eight years, until his death in 1873.

Politics

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is reelected for a second term as President of the United States, and Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) is elected as the nation's 16th Vice President.

Government

New State: Nevada becomes the 36th state in the United States.

Government

The territory of Montana is organized.

Government

Twenty-six nations sign the Geneva Conventions, an agreement to respect humanitarian rules of war with respect to prisoners, sick soldiers, Red Cross neutrality, and civilians in war zones.

Government

American Money: Congress authorizes the inscription, "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins.

War

Civil War: General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) marches his Union army through Georgia, captures Atlanta and Savannah, and leaves a 300 mile path of destruction, 60 miles wide, all the way to the sea.

Medicine

Women's Firsts: Dr. Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) is appointed assistant surgeon in the Union Army.

Inventions

African American Inventors: Inventor Norbert Rillieux (1806-1894) patents a process for refining sugar that is used by sugar processing plants all over the world.

Technology

Airplanes: Count Ferdinand d’Esterno, France, publishes the first scientific observations of the effects of the wind on a wing in his pamphlet, "Du Vol des Oiseaux."

Education

Women’s Firsts: Rebecca Lee Crumpler (1846-1922) becomes the first black woman to receive an M.D. degree. She graduated from the New England Female Medical College.

Education

Public Education: Native Americans: Indian Education: Congress makes it illegal for Native Americans to be taught in their native languages. Native children as young as four years old are taken from their parents and sent to Bureau of Indian Affairs off-reservation boarding schools, whose goal, as one BIA official put it, is to "kill the Indian to save the man."

Arts and Letters

Literature: Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) begins writing his epic, "War and Peace."

Arts and Letters

Literature: Jules Verne (1828-1905) publishes "A Journey to the Center of the Earth."

Harrison, Anna

Anna Tuthill Symmes (1775-1864) Harrison dies on February 25 in North Bend, Ohio, at the age of eighty-eight.

Hayes, Lucy

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) runs for Congress from Ohio and wins without ever leaving his troops.

Hayes, Lucy

Lucy and Rutherford Hayes’s fifth son, George Crook (1864-1866) is born on September 29 in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Cleveland, Frances

Frances Folsom (1864-1947), future wife of President Grover Cleveland (1837–1908), is born in Buffalo, New York, on July 21. She is the sixth of ten First Ladies born in New York, the "mother state" of presidential wives. (Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, sister of Grover Cleveland, served as his First Lady during the first two years of his presidency, and is the fifth First Lady born in New York State).

Economics

Transportation: Railroad History: The Pennsylvania Railroad begins using steel for its rails.

Daily Life

Taking pictures that will be become famous as a record of the Civil War, New York photographer Matthew Brady (1822-1896) travels through the nation's battlefields.

Daily Life

Newspapers: In Louisiana, the New Orleans Tribune begins publication. It is one of the first African-American-run daily newspapers.

Social Issues

Immigration: European immigration to the U.S. increases, due in large part to the Homestead Act and also because immigrants are excluded from the draft.

Social Issues

Native Americans: Many Navahos die as they make the "Long March" through New Mexico to their grim reservation at Bosque Redondo.

Social Issues

Native Americans: The massacre of Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians at Sand Creek, CO occurs.

Reform

Labor Movement: The first International Workingmen's Association is founded by Karl Marx (1818-1883) in London and New York.

Law

Civil Rights Movement: The Thirteenth Amendment, forbidding slavery, is passed by the Congress, ratified by two-thirds of the states and added to the Constitution.

Government

Warren G. Harding (1865-1923), 29th President of the United States, is born near Marion, Ohio.

Government

American Money: Gold Certificates are issued by the Department of the Treasury against gold coin and buillion deposits and are circulated until 1933.

Government

American Money: The Department of the Treasury establishes the United States Secret Service to control counterfeit money.

Government

Following the assassination of President Lincoln, his Vice-President, Andrew Johnson (1808-1875), becomes the 17th President of the United States. No new Vice President is selected.

War

Indian Wars: Escalation of the Plains War between the U.S. military and the Sioux and Cheyenne.

War

Civil War: Gen. Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia; the Civil War ends.

Science

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) proposes the laws of heredity.

Medicine

Antiseptic surgery is initiated by Joseph Lister (1827-1912) using carbolic acid.

Medicine

The Chicago Hospital for Women and Children is established, in part, by Dr. Mary Harris Thompson, one of the best-known surgeons of her era.

Medicine

Women's Firsts: Dr. Mary Walker (1832-1919) becomes the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor, for her service during the Civil War.

Inventions

The coffee percolator is invented.

Education

Higher Education: The Universities of Maine and Kentucky, Purdue University and Cornell University are all founded.

Education

Higher Education: Yale University opens the first Department of Fine Arts in the U.S.

Education

Higher Education: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is founded.

Education

Women's Colleges: Maria Mitchell (1818-1889) is the first woman appointed as a professor of astronomy, at Vassar College.

Education

Children''s Books: Lewis Carroll''s (1832-1898) "Alice in Wonderland" is published.

Education

Children''s Books: "Hans Brinker," or "The Silver Skates" is written by Mary Mapes Dodge (1831-1905).

Education

Public Education (1865-1877): African Americans mobilize to bring public education to the South for the first time. After the Civil War, and with the legal end of slavery, African Americans in the South make alliances with white Republicans to push for many political changes, including for the first time rewriting state constitutions to guarantee free public education. In practice, white children benefit more than Black children.

Arts and Letters

Opera: Wagner’s (1813-1883) opera "Tristan and Isolde," premiers in Munich.

Arts and Letters

Literature: Jules Verne (1828-1905) writes "From the Earth to the Moon."

Jackson, Rachel

Andrew Jackson Jr. (1808-1865), Andrew and Rachel Jackson's adopted son (he was one of the pair of twins born to a sibling of Rachel Jackson), dies.

Lincoln, Mary

Assassination: President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC.

Johnson, Eliza

Eliza McCardle Johnson (1810-1876) is the first First Lady to teach her husband, Andrew Johnson, to read and write.

Lincoln, Mary

Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) and her family move to Chicago.

Hayes, Lucy

Rutherford (1822-1893) and Lucy (1831-1889) Hayes go to Washington for his first term in Congress. The children stay in Chillicothe with their grandmother.

Harrison, Caroline

General Benjamin Harrison (1831-1901) and the 70th Indiana are mustered out of Federal service on June 8, 1865.

Economics

The Atlantic cable is completed.

Economics

The first oil pipeline is laid in Pennsylvania (6 miles).

Economics

The Union Stockyards open in Chicago.

Daily Life

The first carpet sweeper comes into popular use.

Daily Life

Transportation: George Pullman''s (1831-1897) railroad sleeping cars appear in the U.S.

Daily Life

The first fire department with paid firefighters is founded in New York City.

Sports

Billiard balls made out of a composition material replace balls made of ivory.

Sports

Boxing: Boxing's Queensbury Rules are laid out.

Sports

Women in Sports: Matthew Vassar opens Vassar College with a special School of Physical Training with classes in riding, gardening, swimming, boating, skating and "other physical accomplishments suitable for ladies to acquire ... bodily strength and grace."

Popular Culture

Another popular favorite published this year is Mark Twain's (1835-1910) short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."

Social Issues

Hate Groups: The Ku Klux Kan is founded in Tennessee.

Social Issues

Poverty: The Salvation Army is founded in England by William Booth (1829-1912).