Editing 1856 (section)

=== July–September ===
* [[July 9]] &ndash; [[Colony of Natal|Natal]] becomes a British [[Crown colony]].<ref name=CBH>{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Alan|last2=Palmer |first2=Veronica|year=1992|title=The Chronology of British History|publisher=Century Ltd|location=London|pages=276–277|isbn=0-7126-5616-2}}</ref>
* [[July 14]]&ndash;[[July 15|15]] &ndash; In Spain, General [[Leopoldo O'Donnell]] takes control of the government, bringing an end to the ''[[bienio progresista]]''.
* [[July 17]] &ndash; The [[Great Train Wreck of 1856|Great Train Wreck]] (the worst railroad calamity in the world to date) occurs near [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States.
* [[July 31]] &ndash; [[Christchurch]], New Zealand, is chartered as a city.
* [[August]] &ndash; [[Neanderthal 1|Pre-human remains]] are found in the [[Neanderthal|Neanderthal Valley]] in [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]].
* [[August 10]] &ndash; The [[1856 Last Island hurricane|Last Island hurricane]] destroys [[Last Island, Louisiana]], leaving 400 dead. The whole island is broken up into several smaller islands by the storm.
* [[August 30]] &ndash; [[Battle of Osawatomie]]: Proslavery forces defeat antislavery forces in [[Bleeding Kansas]].
* [[September 1]] &ndash; [[Seton Hall University]] is founded  in [[South Orange, New Jersey]], by Roman Catholic Bishop of Newark [[James Roosevelt Bayley]], a cousin of future U.S. President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and nephew of [[Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton]].
* [[September 2]] &ndash; [[Taiping Rebellion]]: [[Wei Changhui]] and [[Qin Rigang]] assassinate [[Yang Xiuqing]].
* [[September 7]] &ndash; The [[Saimaa Canal]] was inaugurated.<ref>{{cite magazine| title= Saiman kanawa walmistunut | magazine= Sanomia Turusta | date= September 2, 1856 | number= 36 | page= 5 | language= fi}}</ref>