Editing 1861 (section)

=== May ===
[[American Civil War]]: 
** [[May 6]] &ndash; [[Arkansas in the American Civil War|Arkansas]] secedes from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]].
** [[May 7]] &ndash; [[Tennessee in the American Civil War|Tennessee]] secedes from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]].
** [[May 8]] &ndash; [[Richmond, Virginia]], is named the capital of the [[Confederate States of America]].
* [[May 13]]
** [[North Star affair|''North Star'' affair]]: The British merchant ship ''North Star'' leaves Hong Kong for Nagasaki, Japan. Chinese pirates board the vessel, kill an officer, and escape with a large quantity of gold.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sellick|first=Douglas R. G.|title=Pirate Outrages: True Stories of Terror on the China Seas|year=2010|publisher=Fremantle Press|isbn=978-1-921696-07-7}}</ref>
** [[American Civil War]]: [[Queen Victoria]] of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of [[Neutral country|neutrality]]", which recognizes the [[Confederate States of America|breakaway states]] as having belligerent rights.
** [[Comet]] [[C/1861 J1]] (the "Great Comet of 1861") is discovered from Australia.[[File:Great Comet 1861.jpg|thumb|200px|right| [[May 13]]: [[C/1861 J1|Great Comet]]]]
* [[May 14]] &ndash; The Canellas meteorite, an 859 [[gram]] chondrite type [[meteorite]], strikes Earth near [[Barcelona]], Spain.
* [[May 17]] &ndash; A 7-day working men's [[package holiday]] to [[Paris]], organised by [[Thomas Cook]], sets out from [[London Bridge station]].<ref>{{cite news|first=K. A.|last=Frost|title=Thomas Cook's great expedition of 1861|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/24/thomas-cook-expedition-travel-archive-1861|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=2016-05-24|accessdate=2025-05-10}}</ref>
* [[May 20]] &ndash; [[American Civil War]]: 
**[[Kentucky]] proclaims its [[neutral country|neutrality]], which lasts until [[September 3]], when [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] forces enter the state. 
**[[North Carolina in the American Civil War|North Carolina]] secedes from the [[United States|Union]].
* [[May 21]] &ndash; Russian sailors clash with a group of Japanese samurai and farmers at [[Tsushima Island]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael R. Auslin|title=Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bS3w6tGiraEC&pg=PA77|year=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02031-3|page=77}}</ref>
* [[May 23]] &ndash; [[American Civil War]]: The state of [[Virginia in the American Civil War#Secession|Virginia's]] ordinance of secession from the [[United States]] is ratified in a referendum.
* [[May 29]] &ndash; The [[Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce]] is established.