Editing 1854 (section)

=== January–March ===
* [[January 4]] &ndash; The [[McDonald Islands]] are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''.
* [[January 6]] &ndash; The fictional detective [[Sherlock Holmes]] is perhaps born.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/the-curious-case-of-a-birthday-for-sherlock/|title=The Curious Case of a Birthday for Sherlock|last=Lee|first=Jennifer|date=2009-01-06|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2018-06-15}}</ref>
* [[January 9]] &ndash; The [[Teutonia Maennerchor Hall|Teutonia Männerchor]] in [[Pittsburgh]] is founded to promote German culture.<ref>[http://www.pghmannerchor.com/history/]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117054136/http://www.pghmannerchor.com/history/|date=January 17, 2012}} "The Teutonia Männerchor was founded in 1854."</ref>
* [[January 20]] &ndash; The [[North Carolina General Assembly]] in the United States charters the [[Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad]], to run from [[Goldsboro, North Carolina|Goldsboro]] through [[New Bern, North Carolina|New Bern]], to the newly created [[seaport]] of [[Morehead City, North Carolina|Morehead City]], near [[Beaufort, North Carolina|Beaufort]].<ref>[http://www.historync.org/railroad-ANCRR.htm CommunicationSolutions/ISI, "Railroad — Atlantic & North Carolina"], ''North Carolina Business History'', 2006, accessed 21 May 2015.</ref>
* [[January 21]] &ndash; The iron [[clipper]] {{RMS|Tayleur}} runs aground off the east coast of Ireland, on her maiden voyage out of [[Liverpool]], bound for Australia, with the loss of at least 300 out of 650 on board.
* [[February 11]] &ndash; Major streets are lit by [[coal gas]] for the first time by the [[Pacific Gas and Electric Company|San Francisco Gas Company]]; 86 such lamps are turned on this evening in [[San Francisco, California]].{{where|date=October 2014}}
* [[February 13]] &ndash; Mexican troops force [[William Walker (filibuster)|William Walker]] and his troops to retreat to [[Sonora]].
* [[February 14]] &ndash; [[Texas]] is linked by [[Telegraphy|telegraph]] with the rest of the United States, when a connection between [[New Orleans]] and [[Marshall, Texas]] is completed.
* [[February 17]] &ndash; The British recognize the independence of the [[Orange Free State]] in Southern Africa; its official independence is declared six days later in the [[Orange River Convention]].
* [[February 27]] &ndash; Britain sends Russia an ultimatum to withdraw from two Romanian provinces it has conquered, [[Moldavia]] and [[Wallachia]].
* [[March 1]]
** The British [[Inman Line]]'s {{SS|City of Glasgow}} sets out from [[Liverpool]] on passage to the United States with 480 on board; she is lost without a trace.
** German [[psychologist]] [[Friedrich Eduard Beneke]] disappears; 2 years later his remains are found in the canal near [[Charlottenburg]].
** The [[Plan de Ayutla]] calls for liberal reforms and the ouster of President [[Antonio López de Santa Anna]] of Mexico.<ref>{{cite web|title=Revolución de Ayutla (Plan de Ayutla)|date=October 14, 2014|url=https://www.historiademexicobreve.com/2014/10/revolucion-de-ayutla-plan-de-ayutla.html|language=es|access-date=June 8, 2019|trans-title=The Revolution of Ayutla (Plan of Autla)}}</ref>
* [[March 3]] &ndash; Australia's first [[telegraph]] line, linking [[Melbourne]] and [[Williamstown, Victoria]], opens.
* [[March 11]] &ndash; A [[Royal Navy]] fleet sails from Britain, under [[Vice Admiral]] Sir [[Charles Napier (Royal Navy officer)|Charles Napier]].
* [[March 20]] &ndash; In the United States:
** The [[Boston Public Library]] opens to the public.
** The [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] is formed by anti-slavery opponents of the [[Kansas–Nebraska Act]] in [[Ripon, Wisconsin]].
* [[March 24]] &ndash; Slavery is abolished in [[Venezuela]].  
* [[March 27]] &ndash; [[Crimean War]]: The United Kingdom declares war on Russia.
* [[March 28]] &ndash; Crimean War: France declares war on Russia.
* [[March 31]] &ndash; United States Navy [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[Matthew C. Perry]] signs the [[Convention of Kanagawa]] with the Japanese government (the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]), opening the ports of [[Shimoda, Shizuoka|Shimoda]] and [[Hakodate, Hokkaido|Hakodate]] to American trade.
* [[March]] &ndash; The [[British East India Company]] annexes [[Jhansi State]] in India under the [[doctrine of lapse]].
[[File:Florence Nightingale (H Hering NPG x82368).jpg|thumb|150px|November: [[Florence Nightingale]] arrives with 38-nurse team to provide care for Crimean War wounded.]]