Editing 1868

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
[[File:1868 Events Collage V 1.0.jpg|thumb|450x450px|From top left, clockwise: A [[1868 Ecuador earthquakes|series]] of devastating earthquakes strike Ecuador (left) [[1868 Arica earthquake|and southern Peru]] (centre), killing a culminative estimate of 95,000 people; the first identified skeletons of [[Cro-Magnons]], the [[Early modern humans|earliest modern humans]] to occupy Europe, are discovered in [[Dordogne]] in France; the [[Meiji Restoration]] occurs in Japan after the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] is defeated in the [[Boshin War]]; Māori general [[Tītokowaru]] wages an [[Tītokowaru's War|initially successful war]] against the British and the [[Colony of New Zealand|New Zealand colonial government]] in [[South Taranaki]]; the Spanish [[Glorious Revolution (Spain)|Glorious Revolution]] leads to the deposition and exile of [[Isabella II]]; [[Helium]] is named by English astronomer [[Norman Lockyer]] two months after contemporary [[Pierre Janssen|Pierre Jannsen]] accidentally discovers it; the expensive British expedition to [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia]] is successful in rescuing hostages of Emperor [[Tewodros II]].]]
{{About year|1868}}
{{Year nav|1868}}
{{C19 year in topic}}{{Year article header|1868}}
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Events ==

=== January&ndash;March ===
[[File:Mutsuhito-Emperor-Meiji-1873.png|thumb|[[January 3]]: [[Emperor Meiji]].]]
* [[January 2]] &ndash; [[British Expedition to Abyssinia]]: [[Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala|Robert Napier]] leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries.<ref name="Pocket On This Day">{{cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-14-102715-0|year=2006}}</ref>
* [[January 3]] &ndash; The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, [[Emperor Meiji]] of Japan, declares the ''[[Meiji Restoration]]'', his own restoration to full power, under the influence of supporters from the [[Chōshū Domain|Chōshū]] and [[Satsuma Domain]]s, and against the supporters of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], triggering the [[Boshin War]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Ernest|last=Satow|author-link=Ernest Mason Satow|title=A Diplomat in Japan: the inner history of the critical years in the evolution of Japan when the ports were opened and the monarchy restored|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.174127|location=London|publisher=Seeley, Service|year=1921}}</ref>
* [[January 5]] &ndash; [[Paraguayan War]]: Brazilian Army commander [[Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias]], enters [[Asunción]], [[Paraguay]]'s capital. Some days later he declares the war is over. Nevertheless, [[Francisco Solano López]], Paraguay's president, prepares guerrillas to fight in the countryside.
* [[January 7]] &ndash; The [[Arkansas Constitutional Convention of 1868|Arkansas constitutional convention]] meets in [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]].
* [[January 9]] &ndash; [[Penal transportation]] from [[United Kingdom|Britain]] to [[Convicts in Australia|Australia]] ends, with arrival of the [[convict ship]] ''[[Hougoumont (ship)|Hougoumont]]'' in Western Australia, after an 89-day voyage from England. There are 62 [[Fenian]]s among the transportees.
* [[January 10]] &ndash; ''[[Shōgun]]'' [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] declares the emperor's declaration "illegal", and prepares to attack [[Kyoto]].
* [[January 27]]&ndash;[[January 31|31]] &ndash; [[Battle of Toba–Fushimi]]: forces of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] and the allied pro-Imperial forces of the Chōshū, Satsuma and [[Tosa Domain]]s clash near [[Fushimi, Kyoto]], ending in a decisive victory for the Imperial forces (although in the [[January 28]] naval [[Battle of Awa]], the Shogunate is victorious against Satsuma).
* February–May &ndash; [[Flying Foam massacre]], a massacre of [[Indigenous Australians]] around [[Flying Foam Passage]] in [[Western Australia]] by white colonial settlers.<ref>{{cite conference|last=Gara|first=T. J.|title=The Flying Foam Massacre: An Incident on North West Frontier, Western Australia|conference=Papers presented in Section 25A, Archaeology, of the 53rd [[Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science|ANZAAS]] Congress|editor-first=Moya|editor-last=Smith|publisher=Western Australian Museum|location=Perth|date=May 1983|pages=86–94|isbn=0724497501|oclc=16757628}}</ref>
* [[February]] &ndash; Foreign ministers meeting in [[Kobe|Hyōgo]] are persuaded to recognise the restored [[Emperor Meiji]] of Japan, with promises that harbours will be open in accordance with international treaties.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Christian Polak|last=Polak|first=Christian|year=2001|title=Soie et lumières: l'âge d'or des échanges franco-japonais (des origines aux années 1950)|location=Tokyo|publisher=Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Française du Japon|page=75}}</ref>
* [[February 13]] &ndash; The British [[War Office]] sanctions the formation of what becomes the [[Post Office Rifles|Army Post Office Corps]].
* [[February 16]] &ndash; In New York City, the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the ''[[Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks]]'' (BPOE).
* [[February 19]]  &ndash; In the [[Passage of Humaitá]], a Brazilian naval force succeeds in dashing past a Paraguayan fortress on the [[River Paraguay]], considered by some the turning point in the [[Paraguayan War]].
* [[February 24]]
** [[Impeachment of Andrew Johnson]]: Three days after his action to dismiss [[United States Secretary of War]] [[Edwin M. Stanton]], the [[United States House of Representatives]] votes 126–47 in favor of a resolution to [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeach]] [[Andrew Johnson]], [[President of the United States]], the first of three Presidents to be impeached by the full House. Johnson is later acquitted by the [[United States Senate]].
** The first parade to have floats takes place at [[Mardi Gras]] in [[New Orleans]].
* [[March]] &ndash; French [[geologist]] [[Louis Lartet]] discovers the first identified skeletons of [[Cro-Magnon]], the first [[early modern humans]] (early ''Homo sapiens sapiens''), at Abri de Crô-Magnon, a rock shelter at [[Les Eyzies]], [[Dordogne]], France.
* [[March 12]]
** [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], [[Duke of Edinburgh]], is shot in the back in Sydney, Australia, at a fundraising event for the Sydney Sailors Home, by Irishman [[Henry James O'Farrell]]. The prince survives and quickly recovers; O'Farrell is executed on [[April 21]], despite attempts by the prince to gain clemency for him.
** [[Lesotho|Basutoland]] is proclaimed a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Protectorate]], becoming independent in [[1966]] as Lesotho.
* [[March 23]] &ndash; The [[University of California]] is founded in [[Oakland, California]], when the Organic Act is signed into [[California]] law.
* [[March 24]] &ndash; The [[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company]] is formed, in [[New York City]].
* [[March 27]] &ndash; The [[Lake Ontario Shore Railroad]] Company is organized in [[Oswego, New York]].
* [[March]] &ndash; The first transnational women's organization, ''[[Association internationale des femmes]]'', is founded.

=== April&ndash;June ===
* [[April 1]] &ndash; The [[Hampton University|Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute]] is established in [[Hampton, Virginia]].
* [[April 7]] &ndash; The [[Charter Oath]], drawn up by his councilors, is promulgated at the enthronement of the [[Emperor Meiji]] of Japan, promising deliberative assemblies and an end to [[feudalism]].<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Donald Keene|last=Keene|first=Donald|year=2002|title=Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912|location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12340-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/emperorofjapanme00keen/page/137 137]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/emperorofjapanme00keen/page/137}} [//www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/46731178 OCLC 46731178]</ref>
* [[April 9]] &ndash; Emperor [[Tewodros II]] of Ethiopia massacres at least 197 of his own people at [[Amba Mariam|Magdala]]. These are prisoners incarcerated, for the most part, for very trivial offenses, and are killed for requesting bread and water.
* [[April 9]]&ndash;[[April 13|13]] &ndash; [[Battle of Magdala]]: A British-Indian task force under [[Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala|Robert Napier]] inflicts 700 deaths and a crushing defeat on the army of Emperor [[Tewodros II]]; the British and Indians suffer 30 wounded, two of whom subsequently die. Tewodros commits suicide and Magdala is captured, ending the [[British Expedition to Abyssinia]].
* [[April 11]]&ndash;July &ndash; [[Fall of Edo]]: The Japanese city surrenders to [[Emperor Meiji]]. ''[[Shōgun]]'' [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] submits to the Emperor.
* [[April 29]] &ndash; General [[William Tecumseh Sherman]] brokers the [[Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)|Treaty of Fort Laramie]], between the [[federal government of the United States]] and the [[Plains Indians]].
* [[May 10]]&ndash;[[May 14|14]] &ndash; [[Boshin War]] &ndash; [[Battle of Utsunomiya Castle]], Japan: Forces of the [[Emperor Meiji]] resist the retreating troops of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].
* [[May 16]], [[May 26]] &ndash; [[President of the United States|President]] [[Andrew Johnson]] is twice acquitted during [[Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson|his impeachment trial]], by one vote in the [[United States Senate]].
* [[May 26]] &ndash; [[Fenian]] bomber [[Michael Barrett (Fenian)|Michael Barrett]] becomes the last person publicly [[hanging|hanged]] in the United Kingdom.
* [[May 29]] &ndash; The [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] passes the [[Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868|Capital Punishment Amendment Act]], thus ending public hanging.
* [[May 30]] &ndash; [[Memorial Day]] is observed in the United States for the first time (it was proclaimed on [[May 5]] by General [[John A. Logan]]).
* [[May 31]]
** [[Thomas Spence]] declares himself president of the [[Republic of Manitobah]] in Canada; he soon alienates the locals.
** The first popular bicycle race is held at [[Parc de Saint-Cloud]], Paris.
* [[June]] &ndash; [[Tītokowaru's War]] breaks out in the [[South Taranaki District]] of New Zealand's [[North Island]] between the Ngāti Ruanui [[Māori people|Māori]] tribe and the New Zealand Government.
* [[June 1]] &ndash; The [[Treaty of Bosque Redondo]] is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]].
* [[June 2]] &ndash; The first [[Trades Union Congress]] is held in [[Manchester]], England.
* [[June 10]] &ndash; [[Mihailo Obrenović]], [[Principality of Serbia|Prince of Serbia]], is assassinated in [[Košutnjak]], [[Belgrade]].
* [[June 20]] &ndash; Fort Fred Steele is established to protect what is at this time the western terminus of the [[Union Pacific Railway]], near modern-day [[Sinclair, Wyoming]].

=== July&ndash;September ===
[[File:Grand Tetons11.jpg|thumb|[[July 25]]: [[Wyoming Territory]].]]
* [[July 1]] &ndash; The cable-operated [[IRT Ninth Avenue Line#History|West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway]] in [[Manhattan]] becomes the first [[elevated railway]] in the United States.
* [[July 4]] &ndash; [[Battle of Ueno]]: Imperial Japanese troops defeat the [[Shōgitai]] (elite forces remaining loyal to the ''[[shōgun]]'').
* [[July 5]] &ndash; Preacher [[William Booth]] establishes the Christian Mission, predecessor of [[The Salvation Army]], in the [[East End of London]].
* [[July 9]] &ndash; The [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] is ratified.
* [[July 18]] &ndash; The [[Navajo]] people begin their long march home.
* [[July 25]]
** [[Wyoming]] becomes a [[United States territory]].
** [[Paraguayan War]]: The Allies, in an [[amphibious operation]], capture the fortress of [[Humaitá]].
* [[July 27]] &ndash; The United States [[Expatriation Act of 1868|Expatriation Act]] ("An Act concerning the Rights of American Citizens in foreign States") is adopted.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://history.uark.edu/OHR2011.pdf|first=Daniel|last=Rice|title=The 'Uniform Rule' and its exceptions: a history of Congressional naturalization legislation|journal=Ozark Historical Review|volume=40|year=2011|access-date=2012-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305175501/http://history.uark.edu/OHR2011.pdf|archive-date=March 5, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[July 28]] &ndash; The [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] is adopted, including the [[Citizenship Clause]] and the [[Equal Protection Clause]], legally, if not actually, guaranteeing [[African Americans]] full citizenship and equal protection, and all persons in the United States [[due process]] of law.
* [[August 13]] &ndash; The 8.5–9.0 {{M|w|link=y}} [[1868 Arica earthquake|Arica earthquake]] strikes southern [[Peru]], with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of XI (''Extreme''), causing 25,000+ deaths and a destructive basin-wide [[tsunami]], that affects Hawaii and New Zealand.
* [[August 18]] &ndash; The element later named as [[helium]] is first detected in the [[Emission spectrum|spectrum]] of the Sun's [[chromosphere]], by [[French people|French]] [[astronomer]] [[Pierre Janssen|Jules Janssen]], during a total [[Solar eclipse of August 18, 1868|eclipse]] in [[Guntur]], [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]], but is assumed to be [[sodium]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=French astronomers in India during the 17th&nbsp;–19th centuries|journal=Journal of the British Astronomical Association|volume=101|issue=2|pages=95–100|bibcode=1991JBAA..101...95K|last=Kochhar|first=R. K.|year=1991}}</ref>
* [[August 20]] &ndash; [[Abergele rail disaster]] in Wales: An ''Irish Mail'' passenger train collides with 4 cargo trucks loaded with paraffin oil (more akin to modern [[kerosine]]); 33 are killed (the first major train disaster in Britain).
* [[August 22]] &ndash; The [[Yangzhou riot]] in China targets a station of the [[China Inland Mission]], and nearly leads to war between Britain and China.
* [[September]] &ndash; [[Glorious Revolution (Spain)|Glorious Revolution]]: Queen [[Isabella II of Spain]] is effectively deposed and sent into exile; she formally [[abdication|abdicates]] on [[June 25]], [[1870]].
* [[September 3]] &ndash; [[Emperor Meiji]] of Japan announces that the name of the city of [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] is to be changed to Tokyo.
* [[September 7]] &ndash; [[Tītokowaru's War]]: [[Māori people|Māori]] leader [[Tītokowaru]] defeats a New Zealand military force at Te Ngutu o Te Manu, North Island.
* [[September 18]] &ndash; The [[University of the South]] holds its first convocation in [[Sewanee, Tennessee]].
* [[September 23]] &ndash; [[Grito de Lares]]: Rebels (some 400–600 led by [[Ramón Emeterio Betances]]) in the town of [[Puerto Rico|Lares]] declare [[Puerto Rico]] independent; the local militia easily defeats them a week later.
* [[September 24]] &ndash; [[Croatian–Hungarian Settlement]] ({{langx|hr|Hrvatsko-ugarska nagodba}}, {{langx|hu|Horvát–magyar kiegyezés}}, {{langx|de|Kroatisch-Ungarischer Ausgleich}}) is concluded, governing Croatia's political status in the Hungarian-ruled part of [[Austria-Hungary]] until [[1918]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/681041/Nagodba|title=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=2009|chapter=Nagodba}}</ref>
* [[September 28]] &ndash; The [[Opelousas massacre]], one of the bloodiest massacres of the Reconstruction era in the United States.

=== October&ndash;December ===
* [[October 1]] &ndash; [[Chulalongkorn]] starts to rule in [[Rattanakosin Kingdom|Siam]].
* [[October 6]] &ndash; The City of New York grants [[Mount Sinai Hospital (Manhattan)|Mount Sinai Hospital]] a 99-year lease for a property on [[Lexington Avenue]] and [[66th Street (Manhattan)|66th Street]], for the sum of $1.00.
* [[October 10]] &ndash; [[Carlos Manuel de Céspedes]] declares a revolt against Spanish rule in [[Cuba]], in an event known as ''El Grito de Yara'' or the [[Ten Years' War]], initiating a war that lasts ten years (Cuba ultimately loses the war at a cost of 400,000 lives and widespread destruction).
* [[October 20]] 
**English astronomer [[Norman Lockyer]] observes and names the D<sub>3</sub> [[Fraunhofer line]] in the solar spectrum, and concludes that it is caused by a hitherto unidentified [[Chemical element|element]], which he later names [[helium]].<ref>{{cite book|title= The Encyclopedia of the Chemical Elements|pages=256–268|first=Clifford A.|last=Hampel|location=New York|isbn=0-442-15598-0|year=1968|publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold}}</ref>
**[[Perucho Figueredo|Pedro Figueredo]] creates the [[Cuba]]n national anthem, ''[[El Himno de Bayamo]]''.
* [[October 23]] &ndash; The current [[Japanese era name]] is changed to the [[Meiji period]]. The [[Edo period]] ends. 
* [[October 25]] &ndash; The [[Uspenski Cathedral]], designed by [[Aleksey Gornostayev]], is inaugurated in [[Helsinki, Finland]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Katedraalin historia |url=https://www.hos.fi/kirkot-ja-pyhakot/katedraalin-historia/ |website=Helsingin Ortodoksinen Seurakunta |access-date=25 October 2021 |language=fi}}</ref>
* [[October 28]] &ndash; [[Thomas Edison]] applies for his first patent, the electric vote recorder.
* [[November 2]] &ndash; [[Time zone]]: New Zealand officially adopts a standard time, to be observed nationally.
* [[November 3]] &ndash; [[1868 United States presidential election]]: Republican [[Ulysses S. Grant]] defeats Democrat [[Horatio Seymour]].
[[File:The Seventh U. S. Cavalry charging in Black Kettle's village at daylight (Battle of Washita).jpg|thumb| [[November 27]]: [[Battle of Washita River]].]]
* [[November 7]] &ndash; The Battle of Moturoa, New Zealand, ends in a British defeat, due to an underestimate of [[Tītokowaru]] and his fortifications. There are heavy casualties for the colonial army and light casualties for the [[Māori people|Māori]] defenders.
* [[November 27]] &ndash; [[American Indian Wars]] &ndash; [[Battle of Washita River]]: In the early morning, United States Army [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] [[George Armstrong Custer]] leads an attack on a band of [[Cheyenne]] living on reservation land with Chief [[Black Kettle]], killing 103 Cheyenne.
* [[December 4]]
** [[Battle of Hakodate]] begins in Japan.
** [[Thomas Humber]] invented the [[safety bicycle]].
* [[December 6]] &ndash; [[Paraguayan War]] &ndash; [[Battle of Ytororó]] or Itororó: Field-Marshal [[Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias]], leads 13,000 Brazilian troops against a Paraguayan fortified position of 5,000 troops.
* [[December 9]] &ndash; The world's first [[traffic light|traffic signal lights]] are installed at the junction of Great George Street and Bridge Street in the [[London Borough of Westminster]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2009/07/16/john_peake_knight_traffic_lights_feature.shtml|title=The man who gave us traffic lights|publisher=BBC|location=Nottingham |access-date=2012-08-13 |date=July 2009}}</ref>
* [[December 24]] &ndash; The Greek [[Presidential Guard (Greece)|Presidential Guard]] is established as the royal escort by [[George I of Greece|King George I]].
* [[December 25]] &ndash; U.S. President [[Andrew Johnson]] grants unconditional pardon to all [[American Civil War|Civil War]] rebels.

=== Date unknown ===
* [[Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron]] [[patent]]s methods of [[color photography]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Coe|first=Brian|title=Colour Photography: the first hundred years 1840-1940|year=1978|location=London|publisher=Ash & Grant|isbn=0-904069-24-9}}</ref>
* [[Thomas Henry Huxley]] discovers what he thinks is primordial matter and names it ''[[bathybius haeckelii]]'' (he admits his mistake in [[1871]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Ley|first=Willy|author-link=Willy Ley|year=1959|title=Exotic Zoology|location=New York|publisher=Viking Press|title-link=Exotic Zoology}}</ref>
* The [[Académie Julian]], a major art school in Paris, France, that admits women, is established.
* [[Brisbane Grammar School]] is founded, providing the opportunity for secondary education for the first time in the colony of [[Brisbane]] in Australia.
* [[Maryland School for the Deaf]] is established.
* The [[Dortmunder Actien Brauerei]] is founded in Germany.
* [[Herrenhäuser Brewery]] is established in [[Hanover]], Germany.
* [[Tata Group]] is founded by [[Jamsetji Tata]] as a trading company in India.
* Scottish merchant [[Thomas Blake Glover]] develops Japan's first [[coal mine]] on [[Hashima Island]].
* The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson]] is established as the [[Apostolic Vicariate]] of Arizona in 1868, taking its territory from the former [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Diocese of Santa Fe]]. The Diocese of Tucson is canonically erected on May 8, 1897.
* The population of Japan reaches c. 30&nbsp;million.

== Births ==

=== January&ndash;March ===
[[Image:Felix Hoffman.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Felix Hoffmann]]]]
[[File:Countess Markiewicz.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Countess Markiewicz]]]]
* [[January 1]] &ndash; [[Snitz Edwards]], Hungarian-born actor (d. [[1937]])
* [[January 6]] &ndash; [[Vittorio Monti]], Italian composer (d. [[1922]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Philip James Bone|title=The Guitar and Mandolin: Biographies of Celebrated Players and Composers|publisher=Schott|year=1914|page=243}}</ref>
* [[January 9]] &ndash; [[S. P. L. Sørensen]], Danish chemist (d. [[1939]])
* [[January 11]] &ndash; [[Cai Yuanpei]], Chinese educator (d. [[1940]])
* [[January 15]] &ndash; [[Otto von Lossow]], Bavarian and German general (d. [[1938]])
* [[January 18]] &ndash; [[Kantarō Suzuki]], 29th Prime Minister of Japan (d. [[1948]])
* [[January 21]] &ndash; [[Felix Hoffmann]], German chemist (d. [[1946]])
* [[January 31]] &ndash; [[Theodore William Richards]], American chemist, [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize]] laureate (d. [[1928]])
* [[February 4]] &ndash; [[Constance Markievicz]], Irish politician (d. [[1927]])<ref>{{cite book|author1=William Henry Kautt|author2=William Kautt|title=The Anglo-Irish War, 1916-1921: A People's War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3e9GS8cYrWkC&pg=PA169|year=1999|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-96311-8|pages=169}}</ref>
* [[February 5]] &ndash; [[Maxine Elliott]], American actress (d. [[1940]])
* [[February 12]] &ndash; [[William Faversham]], English actor (d. [[1940]])
* [[February 16]] &ndash; [[Edward S. Curtis]], American photographer, ethnologist, and film director (d. [[1952]])
* [[February 23]] &ndash; [[W. E. B. Du Bois]], African American civil rights leader (d. [[1963]])<ref>{{cite book|author=The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc.|title=The Crisis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NCoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA399|date=November 1980|publisher=The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc.|pages=399}}</ref>
* [[February 25]]
**[[Constantin Dumitrescu (general)|Constantin Dumitrescu]], Romanian general (d. [[1935]])
**[[Matsumura Tatsuo (admiral)|Matsumura Tatsuo]], Japanese admiral (d. [[1932]])
* [[February 26]] &ndash; [[Venceslau Brás]], Brazilian president (d. [[1966]])
* [[March 1]] &ndash; [[Adolf von Trotha]], German admiral (d. [[1940]])
* [[March 14]] &ndash; [[Emily Murphy]], Canadian woman's rights activist (d. [[1933]])
* [[March 22]] &ndash; [[Robert Andrews Millikan]], American physicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]] laureate (d. [[1953]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert A. Millikan – Biographical |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1923/millikan-bio.html|website=nobelprize.org}}</ref>
* [[March 25]] &ndash; [[Bill Lockwood (cricketer)|Bill Lockwood]], English cricketer (d. [[1932]])
* [[March 28]] &ndash; [[Maxim Gorky]], Russian author (d. [[1936]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Frank Marshall Borras|title=Maxim Gorky, the Writer: An Interpretation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-pfAAAAMAAJ|year=1967|publisher=Oxford|page=ix}}</ref>
* [[March 29]] &ndash; [[Joseph Cawthorn]], American actor (d. [[1949]])

=== April&ndash;June ===
[[File:Face Nicholas II.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Nicholas II of Russia]]]]
[[File:John L. Hines.jpg|thumb|100px|[[John L. Hines]]]]
[[File:Scott of the Antarctic crop.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Robert Falcon Scott]]]]
[[File:Karl Landsteiner nobel.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Karl Landsteiner]]]]
[[File:Horthy the regent.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Miklós Horthy]]]]
* [[April 1]] &ndash; [[Edmond Rostand]], French poet and playwright (d. [[1918]])<ref>{{cite book|author=E. J. Freeman|title=Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o9pcAAAAMAAJ|year=1995|publisher=University of Glasgow French and German Publications|isbn=978-0-85261-467-9|page=10}}</ref>
* [[April 10]] &ndash; [[George Arliss]], English actor (d. [[1946]])
* [[April 12]] &ndash; [[Akiyama Saneyuki]], Japanese admiral (d. [[1918]])
* [[April 17]] &ndash; [[Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková]], Moravian pioneer of female education (d. [[1915]])
* [[April 25]] 
** [[John Moisant]], American aviator (d. [[1910]])
** [[Willie Maley]], Scottish football player and manager (d. [[1958]])
* [[May 6]] 
** [[Gaston Leroux]], French writer (d. [[1927]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Laura Paola Pellegrini|title=Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux: The novel's evolution and its theatrical and cinematic adaptations in the twentieth century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnbQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20|date=April 27, 2012|publisher=LED Edizioni Universitarie|isbn=978-88-7916-584-6|pages=20}}</ref>
** [[Nicholas II of Russia]] (d. [[1918]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Alexander Wasil Benko|title=Emperor Alexander the First of Russia: A Sketch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPAiAQAAIAAJ|year=1991|publisher=A.W. Benko|page=88}}</ref>
* [[May 12]] &ndash; [[Al Shean]], German-born actor (d. [[1949]])
* [[May 21]] &ndash; [[John L. Hines]], American general, [[Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army]] (d. [[1968]])
* [[May 29]] &ndash; [[Abdülmecid II]], last Caliph of the Ottoman Empire (d. [[1944]])
* [[June]] – [[Fusajiro Yamauchi]], Japanese entrepreneur and founder of Nintendo (d. [[1929]] or [[1940]])
* [[June 5]] &ndash; [[James Connolly]], Irish-Scots socialist (d. [[1916]])
* [[June 6]] &ndash; [[Robert Falcon Scott]], English Antarctic explorer (d. [[1912]])<ref>{{cite book|title=Robert Falcon Scott|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mqOb9LEd98wC&pg=PA7|publisher=In the Hands of a Child|pages=7}}</ref>
* [[June 7]]
** [[Charles Rennie Mackintosh]], Scottish architect (d. [[1928]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Douglas Percy Bliss|title=Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Glasgow School of Art: Furniture in the School Collection|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d2pIAQAAIAAJ|year=1978|publisher=The School|page=7}}</ref>
** [[John Sealy Townsend]], Irish mathematical physicist (d. [[1957]])<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Von Engel | first1 = A. | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1957.0018 | title = John Sealy Edward Townsend. 1868-1957 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 3 | pages = 256–272| year = 1957 | s2cid = 186208966 | doi-access =  }}</ref>
* [[June 14]]
** [[Anna B. Eckstein]], German peace campaigner (d. [[1947]])
** [[Karl Landsteiner]], Austrian biologist and physician, recipient of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] (d. [[1943]])<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Rous | first1 = P.| title = Karl Landsteiner. 1868–1943 | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1947.0002 | journal = Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society | volume = 5 | issue = 15 | pages = 294–324| year = 1947 |jstor=769085| s2cid = 161789667}}</ref>
* [[June 21]] &ndash; [[Edward Chaytor]], New Zealand general (d. [[1939]])<ref>''Fiery Ted: Anzac Commander'' by Michael Smith (2008, Christchurch NZ) {{ISBN|978-0-473-13363-4}}</ref>

=== July&ndash;September ===
* [[July 2]] &ndash; [[Traian Moșoiu]], Romanian general and politician (d. [[1932]])
* [[July 4]] &ndash; [[Henrietta Swan Leavitt]], American astronomer (d. [[1921]])<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0705/p15s01-bogn.html |title=Before computers, there were these humans... |work=The Christian Science Monitor|first=Gregory M. |last=Lamb |date=July 5, 2005 |access-date=January 1, 2020}}</ref>
* [[July 12]] &ndash; [[Stefan George]], German poet (d. [[1933]])
* [[July 14]] &ndash; [[Gertrude Bell]], English archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator (d. [[1926]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Alan Myers|title=Myers' Literary Guide: The North East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_C8gAQAAIAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Mid Northumberland Arts Group|isbn=978-1-85754-199-1|page=8}}</ref>
* [[July 15]] &ndash; [[Nobuyoshi Mutō]], Japanese field marshal and ambassador (d. [[1933]])
* [[July 17]] &ndash; [[Mikhail Bakhirev]], Russian admiral (d. [[1920]])
* [[July 19]] &ndash; [[Florence Foster Jenkins]], American socialite and amateur operatic soprano (d. [[1944]])<ref>{{cite book|author1=Nicholas Martin|author2=Jasper Rees|title=Florence Foster Jenkins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8gtYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT12|date=5 May 2016|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-1-5098-2469-4|pages=12}}</ref>
* [[July 20]] &ndash; [[Patriarch Miron of Romania]], 38th Prime Minister of Romania (d. [[1939]])
* [[July 24]] &ndash; Princess [[Srivilailaksana]] The Princess of Suphanburi daughter of King [[Chulalongkorn]] of Siam and Chao Chom Manda Pae Bunnag (d.[[1904]])
* [[July 28]] &ndash; [[Theodor Wulf]], German physicist and Jesuit (d. [[1946]])
* [[August 5]] &ndash; [[Oskar Merikanto]], Finnish composer (d. [[1924]])
* [[August 6]] &ndash; [[Paul Claudel]], French poet, dramatist and diplomat (d. [[1955]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Claudel|title=The Correspondence, 1899-1926, Between Paul Claudel and André Gide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4R4mAQAAMAAJ|year=1964|publisher=Beacon Press|page=242}}</ref>
* [[August 7]]
** [[Oo Zun]], Burmese social worker and Buddhist nun (d. [[1944]])
** [[Martin Wetzer]], Finnish general (d. [[1954]])
* [[August 10]] &ndash; [[Hugo Eckener]], German dirigible engineer, Commander of ''[[Graf Zeppelin I]]'' (d. [[1954]])
* [[August 23]] &ndash; [[Edgar Lee Masters]], American poet, biographer and dramatist (d. [[1950]])
* [[August 26]] &ndash; [[Charles Stewart (Alberta politician, born 1868)|Charles Stewart]], [[Premier of Alberta]] (d. [[1946]])
* [[September 1]] &ndash; [[Henri Bourassa]], Canadian politician and publisher (d. [[1952]])
* [[September 6]] &ndash; [[Heinrich Häberlin]], Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (d. [[1947]])
* [[September 17]] &ndash; [[James Alexander Calder]], Canadian politician (d. [[1956]])
* [[September 22]] &ndash; [[John T. Raulston]], American state judge (Scopes Monkey Trial) (d. [[1956]])

=== October&ndash;December ===
[[File:Mary Brewster Hazelton, est 1900-1910.png|thumb|100px|[[Mary Brewster Hazelton]]]]
[[File:Alessandri Ulk (1932).jpg|thumb|100px|[[Arturo Alessandri]]]]
[[File:Fritz Haber.png|110px|thumb|[[Fritz Haber]]]]
* [[October 4]] &ndash; [[Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear]], President of Argentina (d. [[1942]])
* [[October 15]] &ndash; [[J. B. Johnson (Florida politician)|J. B. Johnson]], American attorney and politician (d. [[1940]])
* [[October 21]] &ndash; [[Ernest Swinton]], British Army general (d. [[1951]]) 
* [[October 24]] &ndash; [[Alexandra David-Néel]], French explorer (d. [[1969]])
* [[October 30]] &ndash; [[António Cabreira]], Portuguese polygraph (d. [[1953]])<ref>[[:File:Assento de baptismo António Cabreira (17Fev1869).png|Livro de Registo de Baptismos 1869 (folha 15 v.), Paróquia de Santa Maria do Castelo, Tavira]] – Arquivo Distrital de Faro</ref>
* [[November 7]] &ndash; [[Delfim Moreira]], Brazilian president (d. [[1920]])
* [[November 8]] &ndash; [[Felix Hausdorff]], German mathematician (d. [[1942]])
* [[November 9]] &ndash; [[Marie Dressler]], Canadian actress (d. [[1934]])
* [[November 10]] &ndash; [[Gichin Funakoshi]], Japanese founder of Shotokan karate, "father of modern karate" (d. [[1957]])
* [[November 17]] &ndash; [[Korbinian Brodmann]], German neurologist (d. [[1918]])
* [[November 23]] &ndash; [[Mary Brewster Hazelton]], American portrait painter (d. [[1953]])
* [[December 5]] &ndash; [[Arnold Sommerfeld]], German theoretical physicist (d. [[1951]])<ref>Born, Max, ''Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld, 1868–1951'', ''Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society'' Volume 8, Number 21, pp. 274–296 (1952)</ref> 
* [[December 9]] &ndash; [[Fritz Haber]], German chemist, [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize]] laureate (d. [[1934]])<ref>{{cite book | last=Goran | first=Morris | title=The Story of Fritz Haber | publisher=University of Oklahoma Press | year=1967 | isbn=978-0-8061-0756-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=im24AAAAIAAJ | access-date=30 April 2021 | page=38}}</ref>
* [[December 19]] &ndash; [[Eleanor H. Porter]], American novelist (d. [[1920]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Eleanor H Porter|title=Pollyanna : Om Illustrated Classics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LEjDDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT117|date=September 2018|publisher=Om Books International|isbn=978-93-80070-87-2|pages=117}}</ref>
* [[December 20]] &ndash; [[Arturo Alessandri]], Chilean statesman, 3-Time [[President of Chile]] (d. [[1950]])
* [[December 21]] &ndash; [[George W. Fuller]], American sanitation engineer (d. [[1934]])
* [[December 22]] &ndash; [[Jaan Tõnisson]], 2nd Prime Minister of Estonia (d. [[1941]]?)
* [[December 25]] &ndash; [[Eugenie Besserer]], American silent film actress (d. [[1934]])
*''probable'' &ndash; [[Scott Joplin]], African American ragtime composer and pianist (d. [[1917]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Alyn Shipton|title=Jazz Makers: Vanguards of Sound|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o0DRCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|date=21 February 2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-976130-2|pages=13}}</ref>

== Deaths ==

=== January&ndash;June ===
* [[January 20]] &ndash; [[Damien Marchesseault]], 7th [[Mayor of Los Angeles]] (suicide) (b. [[1818]])
* [[January 23]] &ndash; [[János Erdélyi]], Hungarian poet and ethnographer (b. [[1814]])
* [[January 28]] &ndash; [[Adalbert Stifter]], Austrian writer (b. [[1805]])
* [[February 8]] &ndash; [[Lai Wenguang]], Chinese leader of the [[Taiping Rebellion]] and [[Nien Rebellion]] (b. [[1827]])
* [[February 10]] &ndash; [[David Brewster|Sir David Brewster]], Scottish physicist (b. [[1781]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Gordon, Margaret Maria |title=The home life of sir David Brewster|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sG4BAAAAQAAJ|access-date=18 September 2011|year=1881|publisher=D. Douglas|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sG4BAAAAQAAJ/page/n238 231]–236}}</ref> 
* [[February 11]] &ndash; [[Léon Foucault]], French physicist (b. [[1819]])<ref>{{cite book|author1=John Guy Porter|author2=Patrick Moore|title=Yearbook of Astronomy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kbc7AAAAMAAJ|year=1967|publisher=W. W. Norton|page=47}}</ref>
* [[February 19]] &ndash; [[Venancio Flores]], Uruguayan general and president of [[Uruguay]] (b. [[1808]])
* [[February 29]] &ndash; King [[Ludwig I of Bavaria]] (b. [[1786]])<ref>{{cite book|author=William Harbutt Dawson|title=German Socialism and Ferdinand Lassalle: A Biographical History of German Socialistic Movements During this Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rWo9zDq7pOMC&pg=PA25|year=1888|publisher=S. Sonnenschein|isbn=978-0-598-44389-2|pages=25}}</ref>
* [[March 4]] &ndash; [[Jesse Chisholm]], American pioneer (b. [[1805]])
* [[March 19]] – [[Philipp von Stadion und Thannhausen]], Austrian field marshal (b. [[1799]])
* [[March 28]] &ndash; [[James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan]], British military leader (b. [[1797]])
* [[April 3]] &ndash; [[Franz Berwald]], Swedish composer (b. [[1796]])<ref>{{cite book|title=BBC Music Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJ0JAQAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=BBC Magazines|page=45}}</ref>
* [[April 7]] &ndash; [[Thomas D'Arcy McGee]], Canadian father of confederation (assassinated) (b. [[1825]])
* [[April 12]] &ndash; [[James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury]], British politician and peer (b. [[1791]])
* [[April 13]] &ndash; Emperor Theodore or [[Tewodros II]] of [[Ethiopia]] by suicide (b. [[1818]])
* [[April 21]] &ndash; [[Henry O'Farrell]], Irish-Australian criminal (executed) (b. [[1833]])
* [[May 7]] &ndash; [[Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux]], [[Lord Chancellor|Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain]] (b. [[1778]])
* [[May 10]] &ndash; [[Henry Bennett (U.S. politician)|Henry Bennett]], American politician (b. [[1808]])
[[File:John Crawfurd.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[John Crawfurd]]]]
* [[May 11]] &ndash; [[John Crawfurd]], Scottish physician, colonial administrator, diplomat and author, last British Resident of Singapore (b. [[1783]])
* [[May 17]] &ndash; [[Isami Kondo]], Commander of the [[Shinsengumi]] (b. [[1834]])
* [[May 22]] &ndash; [[Julius Plücker]], German mathematician and physicist (b. [[1801]])
* [[May 23]] &ndash; [[Kit Carson]], American trapper, scout, and Indian agent (b. [[1809]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Edwin Legrand Sabin|title=Kit Carson Days, 1809-1868: Adventures in the Path of Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LANtL9LL2oYC&pg=PA800|date=1 January 1935|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|isbn=0-8032-9238-4|pages=800}}</ref>
* [[June 1]] &ndash; [[James Buchanan]], 15th [[President of the United States]] (b. [[1791]])<ref>{{cite book|title=The Statistician and Economist: 1st-23d Issue 1876-1905/06|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AqpGAQAAMAAJ|year=1876|publisher=L.P. McCarty|page=133}}</ref>
* [[June 10]] &ndash; [[Princess Anka Obrenović]], Serbian princess (b. [[1821]])
* [[June 22]] &ndash; [[Heber C. Kimball]], [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Latter Day Saint]] leader (b. [[1801]])
* [[June 29]] &ndash; [[John Scott Lillie|Sir John Lillie]], British army officer, entrepreneur and inventor (b. [[1790]])

=== July&ndash;December ===
[[File:Rossini c. 1850-litho-F Perrin.jpeg|thumb|right|110px|[[Gioachino Rossini]]]]
[[File:Adah Isaacs Menken, age 19, 1854-55.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Adah Isaacs Menken]]]]
[[File:King Mongkut of Siam.jpg|thumb|right|110px|[[Mongkut]]]]
* [[July 6]] &ndash; [[Harada Sanosuke]], [[Shinsengumi]] Captain (b. [[1840]])
* [[July 19]] &ndash; [[Okita Sōji]], [[Shinsengumi]] Captain (b. [[1842]] or [[1844]])
* [[July 21]] &ndash; [[William Bland]], Australian politician (b. [[1789]])
* [[July 26]] &ndash; [[Robert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth]], English [[Lord Chancellor|Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain]] (b. [[1791]])
* [[July 29]] &ndash; [[John Elliotson]], English physician (b. [[1791]])
* [[August 3]] &ndash; [[Edward Welch (architect)|Edward Welch]], Welsh architect (b. [[1806]])
* [[August 7]] &ndash; [[Pedro de Ampudia]], Mexican General (b. [[1805]])
* [[August 10]] &ndash; [[Adah Isaacs Menken]], American actress (b. [[1835]])
* [[August 11]] &ndash; [[Thaddeus Stevens]], American politician (b. [[1792]])
* [[August 25]] &ndash; [[Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer]], German actress, writer and theater director (b. [[1799]])
* [[August 29]] &ndash; [[Christian Friedrich Schönbein]], German chemist (b. [[1799]])
* [[September 1]] &ndash; [[Ferenc Gyulay]], Hungarian nobleman, general and governor (b. [[1799]])
* [[September 9]] &ndash; [[Mzilikazi]], first king of [[Mthwakazi]] (b. c.1790)
* [[September 11]] &ndash; [[Maria James (poet)|Maria James]], Welsh-born American poet (b. [[1793]])
* [[September 19]] &ndash; [[William Sprague (Michigan politician)|William Sprague]], American minister and politician from Michigan (b. [[1809]])
* [[September 26]] &ndash; [[August Ferdinand Möbius]], German mathematician and astronomer (b. [[1790]])<ref>{{cite book | last = Franceschetti | first = Donald | title = Biographical encyclopedia of mathematicians | publisher = Marshall Cavendish | location = New York | year = 1999 | isbn = 9780761470717 | page=377}}</ref>
* [[October 1]] &ndash; [[Mongkut]] (Rama IV), [[King of Siam]] ([[Thailand]]) (b. [[1804]])
* [[October 9]] &ndash; [[Howell Cobb]], American politician (b. [[1815]])
* [[October 17]] &ndash; [[Laura Secord]], Canadian patriot (b. [[1775]])
* [[October 27]] &ndash; [[Charles Longley]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] (b. [[1794]])
* [[November 13]] &ndash; [[Gioachino Rossini]], Italian composer (b. [[1792]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Edward Ledger|title=The Era Almanack, Dramatic & Musical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZJAAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA22|year=1874|publisher=Era|pages=2}}</ref>
* [[November 15]] &ndash; [[James Mayer de Rothschild]], German-born banker (b. [[1792]])
* [[November 27]] &ndash; Chief [[Black Kettle]], Southern Cheyenne Peace Chief, Survivor of [[Sand Creek massacre]] (b. [[1803]])
* [[December 6]] &ndash; [[August Schleicher]], German linguist (b. [[1821]])
* [[December 23]] &ndash; [[Herbert Benjamin Edwardes|Sir Herbert Edwardes]], British army general and colonial administrator (b. [[1819]])
* [[December 25]] &ndash; [[Linus Yale, Jr.]], American inventor (b. [[1821]])<ref>{{cite book | last = Day | first = Lance | title = Biographical dictionary of the history of technology | publisher = Routledge | location = London New York | year = 1996 | isbn = 9781134650194 | page=1345}}</ref>
* [[December 31]] &ndash; [[Cyrus Kingsbury]], American missionary and Choctaw linguist (b.1786)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite journal|title=American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1868 |journal=American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year |volume=8 |year=1871 |pages=14 v |publisher=D. Appleton and Company |location=New York |hdl=2027/coo.31924106392040 }} + [https://books.google.com/books?id=maIoAAAAYAAJ via Google Books]

{{DEFAULTSORT:1868}}
[[Category:1868| ]]
[[Category:Leap years in the Gregorian calendar]]