Editing 1856 (section)

=== January–March ===
* [[January 8]] &ndash; [[Borax]] deposits are discovered in large quantities by [[John Veatch]] in [[California]].<ref>[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fve02 Veatch, John Allen, Texas State Historical Association]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Linsley |first1=Judith |last2=Rienstrad |first2=Ellen |last3=Stiles |first3=Jo |title=Giant Under the Hill, A History of the Spindletop Oil Discovery at Beaumont, Texas in 1901 |date=2002 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin |isbn=9780876112366 |pages=9–11}}</ref>
* [[January 23]] &ndash; The American [[sidewheel steamer]] [[SS Pacific (1849)|SS ''Pacific'']] leaves [[Liverpool]] (England) for a transatlantic voyage on which she will be lost with all 186 on board.<ref name=":Shipping Gazette">{{Cite news|agency=London Shipping Gazette|author=<!--not stated-->|date=1861-08-07|title=Reminisecence of the Lost Steamship Pacific.; INTERESTING STATEMENT.|quote=Our readers may have observed recently, amongst our maritime extracts, the copy of the contents of a slip of paper, found in a bottle some weeks ago, on the western coast of Uls, in the Hebrides, and forwarded to us by our agent at Sternoway. The paper in question, apparently the leaf of a pocketbook, used in the hurry of the moment, was covered on both sides with pencil marks, from which the following was with difficulty deciphered: ''On board the Pacific, from L'pool to N. York. Ship going down. (Great) confusion on board. Icebergs around us on every side. I know I cannot escape. I write the cause of our loss, that friends may not live in suspense. The finder of this will please get it published, WM. GRAHAM.'' If we are right in our conjecture, the ship here named is the Pacific, one of the Collins line of steamers, which vessel left Liverpool on Jan. 23, 1856, three days before the Persia, and has not since been heard of; and this slip of paper, three inches by two, is probably the only record of the fate of that missing ship. |language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/08/07/archives/reminisecence-of-the-lost-steamship-pacific-interesting-statement.html|access-date=2020-10-30|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* [[January 24]] &ndash; U.S. President [[Franklin Pierce]] declares the new [[Free-Stater (Kansas)|Free-State]] [[Topeka Constitution|Topeka government]] in "[[Bleeding Kansas]]" to be in rebellion.
* [[January 26]] &ndash; First [[Battle of Seattle (1856)|Battle of Seattle]]:  Marines from the {{USS|Decatur|1839|6}} suppress an indigenous uprising, in response to Governor Stevens' declaration of a "war of extermination" on Native communities.
* [[January 29]]
** The 223-mile [[North Carolina Railroad]] is completed from [[Goldsboro, North Carolina|Goldsboro]] through [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] and [[Salisbury, North Carolina|Salisbury]] to [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historync.org/railroads.htm|title=Railroads — prior to the Civil War|work=North Carolina Business History|year=2006|access-date=2011-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726152211/http://historync.org/railroads.htm|archive-date=July 26, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** [[Queen Victoria]] institutes the [[Victoria Cross]] as a British military decoration.
* [[February]]
** The [[Tintic War]] breaks out in [[Utah]].
** The [[National Dress Reform Association]] is founded in the United States to promote "rational" dress for women.
* [[February 1]] &ndash; [[Auburn University]] is first chartered, as the East Alabama Male College.
* [[February 2]] &ndash; [[Dallas, Texas]], is incorporated as a city.
* [[February 7]] &ndash; The [[Nawab of Oudh]], [[Wajid Ali Shah]], is exiled to [[Metiabruz]] and the state is annexed by the British [[East India Company]].
* [[February 12]] &ndash; American [[clipper]] ships ''[[Driver (clipper)|Driver]]'' and ''Ocean Queen'' leave [[Liverpool]] and London respectively; both will be lost without trace in the Atlantic, perhaps due to ice, killing 374 and 123 respectively.<ref>{{cite news|title=Missing Ships – The Gales of the Past Winter - A Melancholy Catalogue|work=The [[New York Herald]]|page=12|date=3 June 1856|access-date=2019-06-18|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1856-06-03/ed-1/seq-12/|via=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref>
* [[February 18]] &ndash; The American [[Know Nothing]] Party convenes in [[Philadelphia]] to nominate their first [[President of the United States|Presidential]] candidate, former President [[Millard Fillmore]].
* [[March]]
** The [[Great Trigonometrical Survey]] of India officially gives 'Peak XV' (later to be named [[Mount Everest]]) the height of {{convert|29002|ft|m|abbr=on}}. 'Peak IX' ([[Kangchenjunga]]), previously thought to be the world's highest, is confirmed as {{convert|28156|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
** [[Mauveine]], the first synthetic [[organic chemistry|organic]] [[dye]], is discovered by [[William Henry Perkin]], while attempting to synthesize [[quinine]]. This eventually leads to the birth of the [[chemical industry]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Garfield|title=Mauve: How One Man Invented a Colour that Changed the World|location=London|publisher=Faber|isbn=0-571-20197-0|year=2000}}</ref>
* [[March]] &ndash; [[Nepalese–Tibetan War]]: The signing of the [[Treaty of Thapathali]] concludes the war.
* [[March 5]] &ndash; Fire destroys the [[Covent Garden Theatre]] in London.
* [[March 6]] &ndash; [[Maryland Agricultural College]] (modern-day [[University of Maryland, College Park]]) is chartered.
* [[March 20]] &ndash; [[Filibuster War]]: [[Battle of Santa Rosa]]: &ndash; [[Costa Rica]]n troops rout [[William Walker (filibuster)|Walker]]'s soldiers.
* [[March 24]] &ndash; [[Taiping Rebellion]]: Suspecting treachery on the part of East King [[Yang Xiuqing]], [[Shi Dakai]] garrisons [[Anhui]] and begins his march back to the Heavenly Capital, having defeated a strong Xiang Army detachment.
* [[March 31]] &ndash; The [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|Treaty of Paris]] is signed, ending the [[Crimean War]].
[[File:Covent Garden Theatre 1827-28.jpg|thumb|220px|right| [[March 5]]: [[Covent Garden Theatre]] fire.]]