Editing 1859 (section)

=== 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.