Editing 1861 (section)

=== August ===
* [[August 1]] &ndash; The first public [[weather forecast]]: measured and predicted correctly by Admiral [[Robert FitzRoy]] in Britain.
* [[August 5]]
* [[American Civil War]]: 
**  In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government issues the first [[income tax]] as part of the [[Revenue Act of 1861]] (3% of all incomes over US$800; rescinded in [[1872]]).
** The U.S. Army abolishes [[flogging]].
** [[August 10]] &ndash;  The first major battle west of the [[Mississippi River]], the [[Battle of Wilson's Creek]], is fought, with a [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] victory.
* [[August 15]] &ndash; First description of ''[[Archaeopteryx]]'', based on a feather found in [[Bavaria]];<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Meyer|first1=Hermann von|author-link=Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer|title=Vogel-Federn und Palpipes priscus von Solenhofen|journal=Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde|date=1861-08-15|page=561|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RAFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA561}}</ref> in September the first complete identified skeleton is found near [[Langenaltheim]] in Germany.<ref>[[Natural History Museum, London]] BMNH 37001. {{cite book|last=Chiappe|first=Luis M.|title=Glorified Dinosaurs|publisher=UNSW Press|year=2007|location=Sydney|pages=118–146|isbn=978-0-471-24723-4}}</ref>
* [[August 19]] &ndash; [[Weisshorn]], the fifth highest summit in the Alps, is first ascended.
* [[August 20]]&ndash;[[August 22|22]] &ndash; The first modern [[Welsh National Eisteddfod]] takes place in [[Aberdare]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://museum.wales/collections/eisteddfodau/national/1860/|title=Establishing a National Body, 1860|website=National Museum Wales}}</ref>
* [[August 27]] &ndash; [[Martin Doyle (convict)|Martin Doyle]]'s is the last [[Execution (legal)|execution]] in Britain for [[attempted murder]].