Dashed left edge = started before May 1855 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond May 1855
Events in May 1855 1
1855Exposition Universelle opens in ParisFrance stages its first world's fairEmperor Napoleon III opened the Exposition Universelle, a world's fair intended to showcase French industry, agriculture, and the arts alongside exhibits from other nations. Held on the Champs-Elysees, it was France's answer to London's Great Exhibition of 1851. The fair ran for six months and drew millions of visitors.