Editing 1866 (section)

=== January–March ===
* [[January 1]]
** [[Fisk University]], a [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black university]], is established in [[Nashville, Tennessee]].
** The last issue of the [[abolitionist]] magazine ''[[The Liberator (anti-slavery newspaper)|The Liberator]]'' is published.
* [[January 6]] – [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] troops clash with supporters of [[Maronite]] leader [[Youssef Bey Karam]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ehdenfamilytree.org/getperson.php?personID=I1&tree=ehden|title=Youssef KARAM, I b. May 1823 d. 7 Apr 1889: Ehden Family Tree}}</ref> at St. Doumit in [[Lebanon]]; the Ottomans are defeated.
* [[January 12]]
** The ''[[Royal Aeronautical Society]]'' is formed as ''The Aeronautical Society of Great Britain'' in [[London]], the world's oldest such society.
** British auxiliary steamer {{SS|London|1864}} sinks in a storm in the [[Bay of Biscay]], on passage from the Thames to Australia, with the loss of 244 people, and only 19 survivors.
* [[January 18]] – [[Wesley College, Melbourne]], is established.
* [[January 26]] – [[Volcanic eruption]] in the [[Santorini caldera]] begins.
* [[February 7]] – [[Battle of Abtao]]: A Spanish naval squadron fights a combined [[Peru]]vian-[[Chile]]an fleet, at the island of Abtao, in the [[Chiloé Archipelago]] of southern [[Chile]].
* [[February 13]] – The first daylight [[bank robbery]] in United States history during peacetime takes place in [[Liberty, Missouri]]. This is considered to be the first robbery committed by [[Jesse James]] and his gang, although James's role is disputed.
* [[February 26]] – The [[Calaveras Skull]] is discovered in [[California]]. Purported to be evidence of humans in North America during the [[Pliocene]] epoch, it turns out to be a [[hoax]].
* [[March 13]] – The [[United States Congress]] overwhelmingly passes the [[Civil Rights Act of 1866]], the first federal legislation to protect the rights of African-Americans; U.S. President [[Andrew Johnson]] vetoes the bill on March 27, and Congress overrides the veto on April 9.<ref>"Civil Rights Act of 1866", in ''Encyclopedia of African American History'', Volume 1, Leslie Alexander, ed. (ABC-CLIO, 2010)  p699.</ref>
* [[March 31]] – A [[total lunar eclipse]] occurs.