Editing 1859 (section)

== Events ==

=== January–March ===
* [[January 21]] – [[José Mariano Salas]] (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim [[President of Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web|title=JOSÉ MARIANO SALAS|url=http://calderon.presidencia.gob.mx/mexico/gobernantes/mexico-1821-actualidad/jose-mariano-salas/|website=Calderon Presidencia de la Republica|access-date=June 8, 2019|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608191655/http://calderon.presidencia.gob.mx/mexico/gobernantes/mexico-1821-actualidad/jose-mariano-salas/|archive-date=June 8, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[January 24]] ([[Old Style and New Style dates|O. S.]]) – Under the rule of [[Alexandru Ioan Cuza]], the provinces of [[Wallachia]] and [[Moldavia]] are united under the jurisdiction of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. It would be a principal step in forming the modern state of [[Romania]].
* [[January 28]] – The city of [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]] is incorporated in the [[Washington Territory]] of the United States of America.
* [[February 2]] – [[Miguel Miramón]] (1832–1867) becomes Conservative interim [[President of Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Miguel Miramón|url=https://presidentes.mx/miguel-miramon|website=Presidentes.mx|access-date=June 8, 2019|language=es|archive-date=June 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608191655/https://presidentes.mx/miguel-miramon|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[February 4]] – German scholar [[Constantin von Tischendorf]] rediscovers the ''[[Codex Sinaiticus]]'', a 4th-century [[Uncial script|uncial]] manuscript of the [[Koine Greek|Greek]] [[Bible]], in [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] on the foot of [[Mount Sinai]], in the [[Khedivate of Egypt]] and arranges for its presentation to his patron, Tsar [[Alexander II of Russia]] at [[Saint Petersburg]].
* [[February 14]] – [[Oregon]] is admitted as the 33rd [[U.S. state]].
* [[February 12]] – The [[Mekteb-i Mülkiye]] School is founded in the [[Ottoman Empire]].
* [[February 17]] – French naval forces under [[Charles Rigault de Genouilly]] capture the city and [[Citadel of Saigon]] in [[Vietnam]], beginning the [[Siege of Saigon]].
* [[February 27]] – United States Congressman [[Daniel Sickles]] shoots [[Philip Barton Key (U.S. District Attorney)]] for having an affair with his wife.
* [[March 3]] – Construction begins on the first railway in northern [[India]] as tracks are laid between the modern-day locations of [[Allahabad]] and [[Kanpur]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Northern Railway of India|url=http://www.northrail.org/scripts/static/history.aspx|title=History Of Northern Railway|access-date=2006-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060202041429/http://www.northrail.org/scripts/static/history.aspx|archive-date=2006-02-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[March 9]] – The army of the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] mobilizes against Austria, beginning the crisis which will lead to the [[Austro-Sardinian War]].
* [[March 21]] – [[Pennsylvania]] issues the charter establishing the [[Zoological Society of Philadelphia]], the first organization of its kind in the United States, and founder of the nation's first zoo.
* [[March 26]] – French amateur astronomer [[Edmond Modeste Lescarbault]] claims to have noticed a planet closer to the Sun than Mercury (later named [[Vulcan (hypothetical planet)|Vulcan]]).

=== April–June ===
* [[April 13]] – [[The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art]] is founded by [[Peter Cooper]], a New York industrialist, inventor and philanthropist.
* [[April 18]] – [[Indian Rebellion]] revolutionary, [[Tantia Tope]] is hanged for the [[1857 Rebellion]]
* [[April 25]] – Ground is broken for the [[Suez Canal]], in Egypt.
* [[April 28]] – American ship ''[[Pomona (ship)|Pomona]]'' is wrecked off the Irish coast, with 424 dead.
* [[April 29]] – Austrian troops begin to cross the [[Ticino River]] to [[Piedmont]].
* [[April 30]] – ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' by [[Charles Dickens]] is published in England.
* [[May 4]] – The [[Cornwall Railway]] opens across the [[Royal Albert Bridge]], linking the counties of [[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]] in England.
* [[May 5]] – Border Treaty between [[Brazil]] and [[Venezuela]]: The two countries agree their borders should be traced at the water divide, between the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] and the [[Orinoco]] basins.<ref>http://html.rincondelvago.com/venezuela_4.html Problemas Limítrofes de Venezuela (In Spanish)</ref>
* [[May 18]] - The [[1859 United Kingdom general election]] concludes. It is the first election fought by the new [[Liberal Party (UK)| Liberal Party]], in which they win a 28 seat majority, with Liberal leader [[Henry John Temple|Viscount Palmerston]] becoming Prime Minister
* [[May 20]] – [[Austro-Sardinian War]]: [[Battle of Montebello (1859)|Battle of Montebello]] – The Austrian army led by [[Karl von Urban]] faces the French-Sardinian combined forces.
* [[May 22]] – [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies]] is succeeded by his 23-year-old son, [[Francis II of the Two Sicilies]].
* [[May 26]] – [[Austro-Sardinian War]]: [[Battle of Varese]] – [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]]'s [[Hunters of the Alps]] confront and defeat Austrian forces, led by [[Karl von Urban|Field Marshal-Lieutenant Karl von Urban]].
* [[May 26]], [[June 2]] – [[Geologist]] [[Joseph Prestwich]] and amateur [[archaeologist]] [[John Evans (archaeologist)|John Evans]] report (to the [[Royal Society]] and [[Society of Antiquaries of London]], respectively) the results of their investigations of gravel-pits in the [[Somme valley]] and elsewhere, extending [[human history]] back to what will become known as the [[Paleolithic]] Era.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Joseph |last=Prestwich |title=On the Occurrence of Flint-implements, associated with the Remains of Animals of Extinct Species in Beds of a late Geological Period, in France at Amiens and Abbeville, and in England at Hoxne |journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society]] |location=London |volume=150 |pages=277–317 |doi=10.1098/rstl.1860.0018 |date=January 1860 |df=mdy-all |hdl=2027/chi.098241705 |s2cid=111126826 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
* [[May 30]] – [[Austro-Sardinian War]]: [[Battle of Palestro]] – The [[Kingdom of Sardinia|Sardinia]]ns defeat the Austrian army.
* [[May 31]] – Big Ben, the [[Big Ben|Great Clock]] at the [[Palace of Westminster]], London, is started.
* [[June 4]] – [[Austro-Sardinian War]]: [[Battle of Magenta]] – The French and Sardinians defeat the Austrians.
* [[June 6]] – The British [[Crown colony]] of [[Queensland]] in Australia is created, by [[Separation of Queensland|devolving part of the territory]] of [[New South Wales]] ([[Queensland Day]]). [[Brisbane]] is declared the capital.
* [[June 8]] – The discovery of the [[Comstock Lode]] in the western Utah Territory sets off the Rush to Washoe.
* [[June 15]] 
** Austro-Sardinian War: [[Battle of Treponti]] – The Austrian Field Marshall [[Karl von Urban]] defeats [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]].
** The so-called [[Pig War (1859)|Pig War]] border dispute between the Americans and the British, over the [[San Juan Islands]], begins by the death of the namesake pig.
* [[June 17]] – The only recorded [[simoom]] ever in North America hits [[Goleta, California|Goleta]] and [[Santa Barbara, California]].
* [[June 18]] – [[Aletschhorn]], the second summit of the [[Bernese Alps]], is first ascended.
* [[June 24]] – [[Battle of Solferino|Austro-Sardinian War – Battle of Solferino]]: The [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] and the armies of [[Napoleon III]] of France defeat [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]] in northern Italy; the battle inspires [[Henri Dunant]] to found the [[Red Cross]].
* [[June 30]] – [[Charles Blondin]] crosses [[Niagara Falls]] on a [[tightrope]] for the first time.

=== July–September ===
* [[July 1]] – The first intercollegiate [[baseball]] game is played, between [[Amherst College|Amherst]] and [[Williams College|Williams]] Colleges.
* [[July 8]] – [[Charles XV of Sweden|Charles XV]] succeeds his father [[Oscar I of Sweden]] and [[Norway]] (as Charles IV).
* [[July 11]]
** The chimes of [[Big Ben]] ring for the first time in London.
** [[Austro-Sardinian War]] – By the preliminary treaty signed at [[Villafranca di Verona|Villafranca]], Italy, [[Lombardy]] is ceded to the French (who immediately cede it to Sardinia), while the Austrians keep [[Venetia (region)|Venetia]], and the French promise to restore the Central Italian rulers expelled in the course of the war. This brings the Austro-Sardinian War effectively to a close.
* [[July 28]] The [[Bishop Cotton School (Shimla)|Bishop Cotton school (Shimla)]] (BCS) was founded on July 28, 1859,
* [[July 30]] – [[Grand Combin]], one of the highest summits in the Alps, is first ascended.
* [[July]] 
** Count [[Camillo Benso di Cavour]] resigns, as president of [[Piedmont-Sardinia]].
** [[Pike's Peak Gold Rush]] begins in the [[Colorado Territory]].
* [[August 16]] – The Tuscan National Assembly formally deposes the [[House of Habsburg|House of Habsburg-Lorraine]], ending an ascendancy of 109 years.
* [[August 27]] – [[Edwin Drake]] drills the first [[oil well]] in the United States, near [[Titusville, Pennsylvania]], starting the [[Pennsylvania oil rush]].
* [[August 28]]–[[September 2]] – The [[solar storm of 1859]], [[List of solar storms|the largest]] [[Geomagnetic storm|geomagnetic solar storm]] on record, causes the [[Aurora|Northern lights]] to be visible as far south as [[Montería]], [[Colombia]] and knocks out [[telegraph]] communication (this is also called the ''[[Richard Christopher Carrington|Carrington]] Event'').
* [[September 17]] – In [[San Francisco]], [[Emperor Norton|Joshua Norton]] proclaims himself to be His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, ''Emperor of the United States'' and ''Protector of Mexico''.
* [[September]] – British merchant [[Thomas Blake Glover]] begins business in [[Nagasaki]], Japan.

=== October–December ===
[[Image:Origin of Species title page.jpg|right|200px]]
* [[October 16]] – [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] [[John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry|raids]] the [[Harpers Ferry Armory]] in [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harper's Ferry]], [[Virginia]], in an unsuccessful bid to spark a general slave rebellion.
* [[October 18]] –  Troops under Colonel [[Robert E. Lee]] overpower [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] at the Federal arsenal.
* [[October 26]] – The steamship ''[[Royal Charter (ship)|Royal Charter]]'' is wrecked on the coast of [[Anglesey]], Wales, with 454 dead.
* [[November 1]] – The current [[Cape Lookout (North Carolina)|Cape Lookout]], [[North Carolina]], [[Cape Lookout Lighthouse|lighthouse]] is lighted for the first time (its first-order [[Fresnel lens]] can be seen for 19 miles).
* [[November 10]] – The [[Treaty of Zürich]], reaffirming the terms of the [[Treaty of Villafranca]], brings the [[Austro-Sardinian War]] to an official close.
* [[November 15]] – The first [[Zappas Olympics]] open in Greece.
* [[November 24]]
** English naturalist [[Charles Darwin]] publishes ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', a book which argues for the gradual [[evolution]] of [[species]] through [[natural selection]] (it immediately sells out its initial print run).
** The French Navy's ''[[La Gloire]]'', the first ocean-going ironclad warship in history, is launched.
* November – [[Bernhard Riemann]] publishes ''[[On the Number of Primes Less Than a Given Magnitude]]''. In his paper there is an incidental comment that later becomes the [[Riemann Hypothesis]], one of the most important unsolved problems in Mathematics.
* [[December 2]] – Militant [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] leader [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] is hanged for his [[October 16]] raid on [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia]].
* [[December 10]] – The [[Ateneo de Manila University]] is founded, as the ''Escuela Municipal de Manila''.

=== Date unknown ===
* [[District nurse|District nursing]] begins in [[Liverpool]], England, when philanthropist [[William Rathbone VI|William Rathbone]] employs Mary Robinson to nurse the sick poor in their own homes.
* The island of [[Timor]] is divided between Portugal and the Netherlands.
* The [[Rancho Rincon de Los Esteros]] Land Grant is confirmed to Rafael Alvisa (part of modern-day [[Santa Clara County, California]]).
* The [[University of Michigan Law School]] is founded.
* [[Karl Marx]] publishes ''[[A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy]]''.
* [[John Stuart Mill]] publishes ''[[On Liberty]]''.
* [[George Eliot]] publishes ''[[Adam Bede]]''.
* [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]] publishes the first set of ''[[Idylls of the King]]''.
* The [[Society for Promoting the Employment of Women]] is founded.
* The [[Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School|Mary Institute]] is founded in Missouri.
* ''[[Tidskrift för hemmet]]'', the first women's magazine in the Nordic countries, begins publication in Sweden.
* Nillmij, a predecessor of [[Aegon]], Dutch-based worldwide [[insurance]] company, is founded in the [[Dutch East Indies]] (modern [[Indonesia]]).{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}