istoryworld
All Events
Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore is a success at its premiere in Rome
David Livingstone makes a heroic six-month journey from the Zambezi river to the west coast of Africa
The Taiping rebels capture the Chinese city of Nanjing and make it their capital
Hormuzd Rassam discovers the magnficent lion-hunt reliefs in the palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh
Just six weeks after the success of Il Trovatore, Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata is a disaster at its premiere in Venice
In a worsening diplomatic crisis, Russia puts her Black Sea fleet in a state of alert at Sebastopol
G.H. Lewes leaves his serially unfaithful wife and begins an affair with Marian Evans
France and Britain despatch their fleets to the Dardanelles, in readiness to go through the Straits to the Black Sea
Russia occupies two Ottoman principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia, on the west coast of the Black Sea
Antoinette Brown becomes the first female to be ordained a minister in the USA, in the First Congregational Church in South Butler, NY
In the expectation of British and French support, the Ottoman sultan declares war on Russia - launching the Crimean War
The hypodermic syringe with a plunger is simultaneously developed in France and in Scotland
The Fleet sewer is in need of repair
A cricket match is played on the sea bed at Goodwin Sands
British and French warships move up through the Straits and enter the Black Sea in support of Turkey
Robert Schumann throws himself into the Rhine, in an attempt to commit suicide, and spends the last two years of his life in an asylum
An anti-slavery movement, formed in the USA to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska Act, adopts a resonant name, calling itself the Republican party
The Russian revolutionary and exile Alexander Herzen spends much of this year in St Helena Terrace before moving to Twickenham
US inventor Elisha Otis dramatically demonstrates his new safety elevator, cutting the rope suspending his platform in New York's Crystal Palace
The Boers establish the Orange Free State as an independent republic, with its own custom-built constitution
Commodore Matthew Perry, commanding a powerful US fleet, persuades the Japanese to open their country to western trade – ending their period of isolation
The controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act passes into law, enabling citizens of these territories to decide whether or not to allow slavery
US minister to Mexico James Gadsden secures a treaty by which the USA purchases from Mexico much of southern Arizona
Austrian monk Gregor Mendel begins his study of pea plants in the garden of the Abbey of St Thomas in Brno
Marian Evans and G.H. Lewes flout British convential morality by travelling openly to Germany together
