Editing 1853 (section)

== Events ==

=== January–March ===
* [[January 6]] – 
**[[Florida Governor]] [[Thomas Brown (Florida politician)|Thomas Brown]] signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the [[University of Florida]].
**U.S. President-elect [[Franklin Pierce]]'s only living child, Benjamin "Benny" Pierce, is killed in a [[Train wreck|train accident]].
* [[January 8]] – [[Taiping Rebellion]]: [[Zeng Guofan]] is ordered to assist the governor of [[Hunan]] in organizing a militia force to search for local bandits.
* [[January 12]] – Taiping Rebellion: The Taiping army occupies [[Wuchang, Hubei|Wuchang]].
* [[January 19]] – [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s opera ''[[Il Trovatore]]'' premieres in performance at [[Teatro Apollo]] in Rome.
* [[February 10]] – Taiping Rebellion: Taiping forces assemble at [[Hanyang District|Hanyang]], [[Hankou District|Hankou]], and [[Wuchang District|Wuchang]], for the march on [[Nanjing]].
* [[February 12]] – The city of [[Puerto Montt]] is founded in the [[Reloncaví Sound]], [[Chile]].
* [[February 22]] – [[Washington University in St. Louis]] is founded as Eliot Seminary.
* [[March 5]] &ndash; Saint Paul Fire and Marine, as predecessor of [[The Travelers Companies]], a worldwide [[Insurance|insurance service]], founded in [[Minnesota]], United States.
* [[March 20]] – Taiping Rebellion: A rebel army of around 750,000 seizes Nanjing, killing 30,000 Imperial troops.
* [[March 29]] – [[Manchester]] is granted [[city status in the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=21426|pages=950–951|date=1853-04-01}}</ref>
* [[March]] – The clothing company [[Levi Strauss & Co.]] is founded in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.levistrauss.com/sites/default/files/librarydocument/2010/4/History_Levi_Strauss_Biography.pdf |first=Lynn |last=Downey |title=Levi Strauss: a short biography |publisher=Levi Strauss & Co. |year=2008 |access-date=1 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723005530/http://www.levistrauss.com/sites/default/files/librarydocument/2010/4/History_Levi_Strauss_Biography.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2011 }}</ref>

=== April–June ===
* [[April 7]] &ndash; [[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany|Prince Leopold]], the youngest son and the eighth child of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale|Prince Albert]], is born.
* [[April 16]] &ndash; [[Indian Railways]]: The first passenger railway in India opens from [[Bombay]] to [[Thana, Maharashtra]], {{convert|22|mi|km}}.
* [[May 5]] &ndash; [[Perpetual Maritime Truce]] comes into force between the United Kingdom and the rulers of the Sheikhdoms of the Lower Gulf, later known as the [[Trucial States]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lorimer|first=John|title=Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf|publisher=British Government|location=Bombay|year=1915}}</ref>
* [[May 12]]–[[October 31]] &ndash; The [[Great Industrial Exhibition (1853)|Great Industrial Exhibition]] is held in [[Dublin]], Ireland.
* [[May 23]] &ndash; The first [[plat]] for [[Seattle|Seattle, Washington]], is laid out.
* [[May]]
** The world's first [[public aquarium]] opens, as a feature of the [[London Zoo]].
** An outbreak of [[yellow fever]] kills 7,790 people in [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pritchett|first1=Jonathan B.|last2=Tunali|first2=Insan|year=1995|title=Strangers' Disease: Determinants of Yellow Fever Mortality during the New Orleans Epidemic of 1853|journal=Explorations in Economic History|volume=32|issue=4|pages=517–539|doi=10.1006/exeh.1995.1022}}</ref>
** [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] accepts [[John Scott Russell]]'s tender for construction of the {{SS|Great Eastern}} passenger steamer.
*[[June 22]] – [[Guimarães]] is elevated to city status by Queen [[Maria II of Portugal|Maria II]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guimarães foi elevada a cidade há 170 anos. Junta realiza sessão solene |url=https://jornaldeguimaraes.pt/noticias/170-anos-de-cidade/#:~:text=A%2022%20de%20junho%20de,S%C3%A3o%20Sebasti%C3%A3o%20assinala%20a%20efem%C3%A9ride. |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=jornaldeguimaraes.pt}}</ref>
* [[June 27]] &ndash; [[Taiping Rebellion]]: The Northern Expeditionary Force crosses the [[Yellow River]].
* [[June 30]] &ndash; [[Georges-Eugène Haussmann]] is selected as ''[[Prefect (France)|préfect]]'' of the [[Seine (department)]] to begin the re-planning of Paris.

=== July–September ===
* [[July 1]] – The Swiss watch company [[Tissot]] is founded.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tissot - The Watch Brand 2020|website = [[YouTube]]| date=January 10, 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY5PW_JJQGc#t=50s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/VY5PW_JJQGc| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* [[July 8]] – U.S. Commodore [[Matthew C. Perry]] arrives in Edo Bay, Japan, with a request for a trade treaty.
* [[July 14]] – Japan allows U.S. Commodore Perry to come ashore and begin negotiations.
* [[July 25]] – Outlaw and bandit [[Joaquin Murrieta]] is killed in [[California]].
* [[July 27]] – [[Tokugawa Iesada|Iesada]] succeeds his father [[Tokugawa Ieyoshi|Ieyoshi]] as Japanese ''[[shōgun]]''. The [[Late Tokugawa shogunate]] (the last part of the [[Edo period]] in Japan) begins.
* [[August 12]] – New Zealand acquires self-government.
* [[August 23]] – The first true [[International Meteorological Organization]] is established in Brussels, Belgium.
* [[August 24]]
** [[Potato chips]] are first prepared, by [[George Crum]] at [[Saratoga Springs, New York]], according to popular accounts.
** The [[Royal Norwegian Navy Museum]] is founded at [[Karljohansvern]] in [[Horten (town)|Horten]], perhaps the world's first naval museum.
* [[September 19]] – [[Hudson Taylor]] first leaves for China.
* [[September 20]] &ndash; Otis Elevator, as predecessor of [[Otis Worldwide]], was founded in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Otis Opened Elevator Factory|url=http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/reform/jb_reform_otis_1.html|access-date=2021-01-18|website=www.americaslibrary.gov}}</ref>

=== October–December ===
* [[October 1]] &ndash; [[C. Bechstein]]'s piano factory is founded, one of three established in a "golden year" in the history of the [[piano]] ([[Julius Blüthner]] and [[Steinway & Sons]] being the others).
* [[October 4]]&ndash;[[October 5|5]] &ndash; [[Crimean War]]: The [[Ottoman Empire]] begins war with Russia.
* [[October 4]] &ndash; On the east coast of the United States, [[Donald McKay]] launches the ''[[Great Republic]]'', the world's biggest [[sailing ship]], which at 4,500 tons is too large to be successful.
* [[October 25]] &ndash; In [[Munich]], the art museum [[Neue Pinakothek]] opened.
* [[October 28]] &ndash; [[Crimean War]]: The Ottoman army crosses the [[Danube]] into [[Vidin]]/[[Calafat]], [[Wallachia]].
* [[October 30]] &ndash; [[Taiping Rebellion]]: The Taiping Northern Expeditionary Force comes within {{convert|3|mi|km}} of [[Tianjin]].
* [[November 3]] &ndash; Troops of [[William Walker (filibuster)|William Walker]] capture [[La Paz, Baja California Sur|La Paz]] in [[Baja California Territory]] and declare the (short-lived) [[Republic of Sonora]].
* [[November 4]] &ndash; [[Crimean War]]: [[Battle of Oltenitza]] – Turkish forces defeat the Russians.
* [[November 15]] &ndash; [[Maria II of Portugal]] is succeeded by her son [[Pedro V of Portugal|Pedro V]].
* [[November 30]] ([[November 18]] [[Old Style and New Style dates|O.S.]]) &ndash; [[Crimean War]]: [[Battle of Sinop]] &ndash; The Russian fleet destroys the [[Turkey|Turkish]] fleet.
* [[December 6]] &ndash; [[Taiping Rebellion]]: French [[Minister (diplomacy)|minister]] de Bourboulon arrives at the Heavenly Capital, aboard the ''Cassini''.
* [[December 14]] &ndash; Compagnie Générale des Eaux, predecessor of [[Vivendi]] and [[Veolia]], a global media [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]], is founded in [[Paris]], France.
* [[December 30]] &ndash; [[Gadsden Purchase]]: The United States buys approximately {{convert|77,000|km2|sqmi}} of land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.

=== Date unknown ===
* The Independent Santa Cruz [[Maya peoples|Maya]] of Eastern [[Yucatán Peninsula|Yucatán]] is recognized as an independent nation by the [[British Empire]].
* [[Arthur de Gobineau]] begins publication of his ''[[An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races]]'' (''Essai sur l'inégalité des races humaines'').
* [[Charles Pravaz]] and [[Alexander Wood (physician)|Alexander Wood]] independently invent a practical hypodermic [[syringe]].
* [[Wheaton Academy]] is founded in [[West Chicago, Illinois]].
* The [[Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China]] is incorporated in London by [[Scottish people|Scotsman]] [[James Wilson (UK politician)|James Wilson]], under a [[Royal Charter]] from [[Queen Victoria]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.standardchartered.com/about-us/history/en/index.html|publisher=Standard Chartered|title=Our History|access-date=2012-08-07}}</ref>
* [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], now the largest sports stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, officially opens.
* 1853–[[1873]] – More than 130,000 Chinese laborers come to [[Cuba]].