Editing 1856 (section)

== Events ==

=== January–March ===
* [[January 8]] &ndash; [[Borax]] deposits are discovered in large quantities by [[John Veatch]] in [[California]].<ref>[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fve02 Veatch, John Allen, Texas State Historical Association]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Linsley |first1=Judith |last2=Rienstrad |first2=Ellen |last3=Stiles |first3=Jo |title=Giant Under the Hill, A History of the Spindletop Oil Discovery at Beaumont, Texas in 1901 |date=2002 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin |isbn=9780876112366 |pages=9–11}}</ref>
* [[January 23]] &ndash; The American [[sidewheel steamer]] [[SS Pacific (1849)|SS ''Pacific'']] leaves [[Liverpool]] (England) for a transatlantic voyage on which she will be lost with all 186 on board.<ref name=":Shipping Gazette">{{Cite news|agency=London Shipping Gazette|author=<!--not stated-->|date=1861-08-07|title=Reminisecence of the Lost Steamship Pacific.; INTERESTING STATEMENT.|quote=Our readers may have observed recently, amongst our maritime extracts, the copy of the contents of a slip of paper, found in a bottle some weeks ago, on the western coast of Uls, in the Hebrides, and forwarded to us by our agent at Sternoway. The paper in question, apparently the leaf of a pocketbook, used in the hurry of the moment, was covered on both sides with pencil marks, from which the following was with difficulty deciphered: ''On board the Pacific, from L'pool to N. York. Ship going down. (Great) confusion on board. Icebergs around us on every side. I know I cannot escape. I write the cause of our loss, that friends may not live in suspense. The finder of this will please get it published, WM. GRAHAM.'' If we are right in our conjecture, the ship here named is the Pacific, one of the Collins line of steamers, which vessel left Liverpool on Jan. 23, 1856, three days before the Persia, and has not since been heard of; and this slip of paper, three inches by two, is probably the only record of the fate of that missing ship. |language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/08/07/archives/reminisecence-of-the-lost-steamship-pacific-interesting-statement.html|access-date=2020-10-30|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* [[January 24]] &ndash; U.S. President [[Franklin Pierce]] declares the new [[Free-Stater (Kansas)|Free-State]] [[Topeka Constitution|Topeka government]] in "[[Bleeding Kansas]]" to be in rebellion.
* [[January 26]] &ndash; First [[Battle of Seattle (1856)|Battle of Seattle]]:  Marines from the {{USS|Decatur|1839|6}} suppress an indigenous uprising, in response to Governor Stevens' declaration of a "war of extermination" on Native communities.
* [[January 29]]
** The 223-mile [[North Carolina Railroad]] is completed from [[Goldsboro, North Carolina|Goldsboro]] through [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] and [[Salisbury, North Carolina|Salisbury]] to [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historync.org/railroads.htm|title=Railroads — prior to the Civil War|work=North Carolina Business History|year=2006|access-date=2011-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726152211/http://historync.org/railroads.htm|archive-date=July 26, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** [[Queen Victoria]] institutes the [[Victoria Cross]] as a British military decoration.
* [[February]]
** The [[Tintic War]] breaks out in [[Utah]].
** The [[National Dress Reform Association]] is founded in the United States to promote "rational" dress for women.
* [[February 1]] &ndash; [[Auburn University]] is first chartered, as the East Alabama Male College.
* [[February 2]] &ndash; [[Dallas, Texas]], is incorporated as a city.
* [[February 7]] &ndash; The [[Nawab of Oudh]], [[Wajid Ali Shah]], is exiled to [[Metiabruz]] and the state is annexed by the British [[East India Company]].
* [[February 12]] &ndash; American [[clipper]] ships ''[[Driver (clipper)|Driver]]'' and ''Ocean Queen'' leave [[Liverpool]] and London respectively; both will be lost without trace in the Atlantic, perhaps due to ice, killing 374 and 123 respectively.<ref>{{cite news|title=Missing Ships – The Gales of the Past Winter - A Melancholy Catalogue|work=The [[New York Herald]]|page=12|date=3 June 1856|access-date=2019-06-18|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1856-06-03/ed-1/seq-12/|via=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref>
* [[February 18]] &ndash; The American [[Know Nothing]] Party convenes in [[Philadelphia]] to nominate their first [[President of the United States|Presidential]] candidate, former President [[Millard Fillmore]].
* [[March]]
** The [[Great Trigonometrical Survey]] of India officially gives 'Peak XV' (later to be named [[Mount Everest]]) the height of {{convert|29002|ft|m|abbr=on}}. 'Peak IX' ([[Kangchenjunga]]), previously thought to be the world's highest, is confirmed as {{convert|28156|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
** [[Mauveine]], the first synthetic [[organic chemistry|organic]] [[dye]], is discovered by [[William Henry Perkin]], while attempting to synthesize [[quinine]]. This eventually leads to the birth of the [[chemical industry]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Garfield|title=Mauve: How One Man Invented a Colour that Changed the World|location=London|publisher=Faber|isbn=0-571-20197-0|year=2000}}</ref>
* [[March]] &ndash; [[Nepalese–Tibetan War]]: The signing of the [[Treaty of Thapathali]] concludes the war.
* [[March 5]] &ndash; Fire destroys the [[Covent Garden Theatre]] in London.
* [[March 6]] &ndash; [[Maryland Agricultural College]] (modern-day [[University of Maryland, College Park]]) is chartered.
* [[March 20]] &ndash; [[Filibuster War]]: [[Battle of Santa Rosa]]: &ndash; [[Costa Rica]]n troops rout [[William Walker (filibuster)|Walker]]'s soldiers.
* [[March 24]] &ndash; [[Taiping Rebellion]]: Suspecting treachery on the part of East King [[Yang Xiuqing]], [[Shi Dakai]] garrisons [[Anhui]] and begins his march back to the Heavenly Capital, having defeated a strong Xiang Army detachment.
* [[March 31]] &ndash; The [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|Treaty of Paris]] is signed, ending the [[Crimean War]].
[[File:Covent Garden Theatre 1827-28.jpg|thumb|220px|right| [[March 5]]: [[Covent Garden Theatre]] fire.]]

=== April–June ===
* [[April]] &ndash; The [[History of the Cape Colony from 1806 to 1870#Xhosa cattle-killing movement and famine (1854-1858)|Xhosa cattle-killing movement and famine]] begins in [[Cape Colony]].
* [[April 7]] &ndash; [[Nelson College]] is founded in [[Nelson, New Zealand]].
* [[April 10]] &ndash; [[Theta Chi]] international college fraternity is founded at Norwich University in Vermont.
* [[April 16]] &ndash; The [[Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law]] abolishes [[privateer]]ing, and regulates the relationship between neutral and belligerent shipping on the high seas.
* [[April 17]] &ndash; The [[Chicago History Museum|Chicago Historical Society Museum]] is established at 1601 N. [[Clark Street, Chicago]].
* [[April 21]] &ndash; Building workers agitate for the [[Eight-hour day#Australia|eight-hour day]] in [[Melbourne]], Australia.
* [[April 29]] &ndash; The iron-hulled [[paddle steamer]] {{RMS|Persia}} concludes a 9-day 16 hour westbound [[transatlantic crossing]], at an average 13.11 knots (24.28&nbsp;km/h), regaining the [[Blue Riband]] for the [[Cunard Line]].
* [[May 1]] &ndash; The province of [[Isabela (province)|Isabela]] is created in the [[Philippines]], in honor of Queen [[Isabella II of Spain]].
* [[May 3]] &ndash; [[Queen Victoria]] of the United Kingdom gives [[Norfolk Island]] to the population of the colony at [[History of the Pitcairn Islands|Pitcairn Island]], most being descendants of the [[Mutiny on the Bounty|Mutiny on the ''Bounty'']]. They first settle on Norfolk Island on [[June 8]]. [[Women's suffrage]], as practiced on Pitcairn, is extended to Norfolk Island.
* [[May 14]] &ndash; The [[San Francisco Committee of Vigilance]] is founded in the United States. It lynches two [[gangster]]s, arrests most [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] officials, and disbands itself on [[August 18]].
* [[May 20]] &ndash; [[David Livingstone]] arrives at [[Quelimane]] on the Indian Ocean, having completed a 2-year transcontinental journey across Africa from [[Luanda]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Central Africa, explored|url=http://unimaps.com/cafrica-explored/print.html|work=Unimaps.com|year=2005|access-date=2011-08-26}}</ref>
* [[May 21]] &ndash; [[Sacking of Lawrence]]: [[Lawrence, Kansas]], is captured and burned by pro-[[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] forces.
* [[May 22]] &ndash; [[Caning of Charles Sumner]]: [[United States House of Representatives|United States Congressman]] [[Preston Brooks]] of [[South Carolina]] beats [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Charles Sumner]] with a cane in the hall of the [[United States Senate]] for a speech Sumner had made attacking pro-[[slavery]] Southerners, especially elderly South Carolina Senator [[Andrew Butler]], a relative of Brooks. Sumner is unable to return to duty for three years while he recovers; Brooks becomes a hero across the South.
* [[May 24]] &ndash; [[Pottawatomie massacre]]: A group of followers of radical [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] kill 5 homesteaders in [[Franklin County, Kansas]].
* [[June 2]] &ndash; [[Battle of Black Jack]]: Antislavery forces, led by [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]], defeat proslavery forces in [[Bleeding Kansas]].
* [[June 9]] &ndash; 500 [[Mormon handcart pioneers]] leave [[Iowa City]] and head west for [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts.
* [[June 13]] &ndash; [[Taiping Rebellion]]: [[Shi Dakai]] arrives at [[Nanjing]].
* [[June 20]] &ndash; [[General Mills]] is founded in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], United States, as the Minneapolis Milling Company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.millcitymuseum.org/timeline|title=Mill City Timeline|website=millcitymuseum.org|access-date=2014-09-13}}</ref>

=== 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>

=== October–December ===
* [[October 8]] &ndash; The [[Second Opium War]] between several Western powers and China begins with the ''Arrow'' Incident on the [[Pearl River (China)|Pearl River]].
* [[October 12]] &ndash; [[1856 Heraklion earthquake]]: A powerful earthquake rocks the Mediterranean, killing hundreds on the island of Crete and many more in the Middle East.
* [[October 13]] &ndash; American mercenary [[William Walker (filibuster)|William Walker]] effectively takes control of [[Nicaragua]].
* [[November 1]] &ndash; [[Anglo-Persian War]]: War is declared between Great Britain and [[Persia]].
* [[November 4]] &ndash; [[1856 United States presidential election]]: [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[James Buchanan]] defeats former President [[Millard Fillmore]], representing a coalition of [[Know Nothing]]s and [[Whig Party (United States)|Whigs]], and [[John C. Frémont]] of the fledgling [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], to become the 15th [[President of the United States]].
* [[November 11]] &ndash; [[Taiping Rebellion]]: [[Shi Dakai]] arrives at the Heavenly Capital once more with 100,000 men, and demands that [[Wei Changhui]] and Qin Rigang be executed. Shi subsequently becomes head of the government.
* [[November 17]] &ndash; [[American Old West]]: On the [[Sonoita River]] in modern-day southern [[Arizona]], the [[United States Army]] establishes [[Fort Buchanan, Arizona|Fort Buchanan]], in order to help control new land acquired in the [[Gadsden Purchase]].
* [[November 21]] &ndash; [[Niagara University]] is founded in [[Niagara Falls, New York]].
* [[November 27]] &ndash; The [[Luxembourg Coup of 1856|Coup of 1856]] leads to [[Luxembourg]]'s unilateral adoption of a new, reactionary [[Constitution of Luxembourg|constitution]], as [[King-Grand Duke]] [[William III of the Netherlands|William III]] signs the new constitution without the [[Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg)|Chamber of Deputies]]' consent.
* [[December 1]] &ndash; Under the [[County and Borough Police Act 1856|County and Borough Police Act]], in any county or area of [[England and Wales]] where a police force has not already been established, the [[Justice of the Peace|Justices of the Peace]] must from this date take steps to create one according to nationally defined standards.<ref>{{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Friar|title=The Sutton Companion to Local History|edition=rev.|location=Stroud|publisher=Sutton Publishing|year=2001|isbn=0-7509-2723-2|page=243}}</ref>
* [[December 2]] &ndash; The [[National Portrait Gallery, London]], is established.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gallery history|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/about/history.php|publisher=National Portrait Gallery|access-date=2011-08-26|archive-date=September 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920220655/http://www.npg.org.uk/about/history.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[December 9]] &ndash; [[Bushehr]] surrenders to the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]].

=== Date unknown ===
* [[Gregor Mendel]] starts his research on [[genetics]].
* [[Kate Warne]], the first female [[private detective]], begins to work for the [[Pinkerton Detective Agency]].
* Legal protection of widow remarriage is extended in India.
* [[St. Paul's School, Belgaum]], is founded by the [[Jesuits]] in [[Belgaum]], India.
* The [[British Guiana 1c magenta]] [[postage stamp]] is issued in [[British Guiana]] in limited numbers; the one surviving specimen will become regarded as the world's rarest stamp.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carlton|first=R. Scott|title =The International Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Philatelics|publisher=Krause|year=1997|location=Iola, WI|isbn=0-87341-448-9|page=36}}</ref>
* Global [[financial services]] business [[Credit Suisse]] is founded as La Schweizerische Kreditanstalt.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/our-company.html | website = credit-suisse.com | access-date = 28 April 2021 |title = Credit Suisse. Our company.}}</ref>
* [[Charles III of Monaco]] grants a concession to Napoléon Langlois and Albert Aubert to establish a German-style [[casino]] at [[Monte Carlo]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Casino Monte Carlo|work=History of Monte Carlo|url=http://www.crapsdicecontrol.com/monte_carlo.htm|access-date=2021-05-27|publisher=Progress Publishing|year=2006}}</ref>