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Events on Saturday 4 June 1859 1
1859Battle of MagentaFrench and Sardinian forces defeat Austria in LombardyFrench and Piedmontese-Sardinian troops defeated the Austrian army near Magenta, opening the road to Milan during the Second Italian War of Independence. The battle later gave its name to the magenta dye and color, discovered around the same time. Napoleon III personally commanded the French forces.