1861

Events in 1861 35

• 1806 – 1861 Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) Died 29 June 1861, aged 55 Elizabeth Barrett Browning, one of the most acclaimed English poets of the Victorian era, died in Florence, Italy. She was known for works including Sonnets from the Portuguese and Aurora Leigh. Her marriage to poet Robert Browning was itself famous in literary circles.
• 1810 – 1861 Camillo Cavour (1810-1861) Died 6 June 1861, aged 50 Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, the chief architect of Italian unification, died in Turin just months after becoming the first prime minister of a unified Italy. His diplomacy and statecraft had been central to bringing the Italian states together under Victor Emmanuel II. His sudden death deprived the new kingdom of its most skilled statesman.
• 1811 – 1861 Elisha Otis (1811-1861) Died 8 April 1861, aged 49 Elisha Otis, the American inventor who devised the safety elevator brake that made tall buildings practical, died in Yonkers, New York. His invention underpinned the later rise of skyscrapers. The company he founded continued to bear his name.
• 1819 – 1861 Prince Albert (1819-1861) Died 14 December 1861, aged 42 Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, consort of Queen Victoria, died of typhoid fever at Windsor Castle. His death sent Victoria into decades of mourning and seclusion. He had been an influential patron of science, industry, and the arts in Britain.
• 1831 – 1861 Xianfeng Emperor (1831-1861) Died 22 August 1861, aged 30 The Xianfeng Emperor, ruler of Qing China during the Second Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion, died at the Chengde Mountain Resort. His death set off a succession struggle that brought his consort, the future Empress Dowager Cixi, toward power. His young son succeeded him as the Tongzhi Emperor.
• 1861 – 1947 Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) Died 30 December 1947, aged 86 Alfred North Whitehead was an English mathematician and philosopher. He wrote Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell. He later founded process philosophy at Harvard with works such as Process and Reality.
• 1861 – 1944 Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) Died 27 September 1944, aged 82 French sculptor known for monumental classical female nudes such as The Mediterranean. He began as a painter and tapestry designer before turning to sculpture. He died after a car accident near his home in Banyuls-sur-Mer.
• 1861 – 1928 Douglas Haig (1861-1928) Died 29 January 1928, aged 66 British field marshal who commanded the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front from 1915 to 1918. He directed the battles of the Somme and Passchendaele and the final Hundred Days Offensive. After the war he helped found the Royal British Legion.
• 1861 – 1947 Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1861-1947) Died 16 May 1947, aged 85 Frederick Gowland Hopkins was an English biochemist who discovered the amino acid tryptophan. He showed that the diet needs accessory food factors, later called vitamins. He shared the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 1861 – 1932 Frederick Jackson Turner (1861-1932) Died 14 March 1932, aged 70 The American historian developed the frontier thesis on the role of the frontier in shaping American democracy.
• 1861 – 1930 Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) Died 13 May 1930, aged 68 Norwegian explorer, scientist and diplomat who crossed Greenland and led the Fram expedition toward the North Pole. As League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees he created the Nansen passport for stateless people. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.
• 1861 – 1938 Georges Méliès (1861-1938) Died 21 January 1938, aged 76 Méliès was a French illusionist and pioneer film-maker who invented many early special effects. His best-known film is A Trip to the Moon (1902).
• 1861 – 1928 Italo Svevo (1861-1928) Died 13 September 1928, aged 66 Italian novelist from Trieste, author of Zeno's Conscience. He gained recognition late in life, partly through the advocacy of his friend James Joyce. He died after a car accident.
• 1861 – 1939 James Naismith (1861-1939) Died 28 November 1939, aged 78 Naismith was a Canadian-American physical educator who invented basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. He later founded the basketball programme at the University of Kansas. He lived to see the sport played at the 1936 Olympics.
• 1861 – 1896 Jose Rizal (1861-1896) Died 30 December 1896, aged 35 Jose Rizal was a Filipino writer and reformist whose novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo exposed abuses of Spanish colonial rule and helped inspire the movement for Philippine independence. He was executed by firing squad in Manila on 30 December 1896 on charges of rebellion. He is honored as the national hero of the Philippines.
• 1861 – 1931 Motilal Nehru (1861-1931) Died 6 February 1931, aged 69 Indian lawyer and nationalist who served twice as president of the Indian National Congress. He wrote the Nehru Report of 1928 on a constitution for India. He was the father of Jawaharlal Nehru.
• 1861 – 1931 Nellie Melba (1861-1931) Died 23 February 1931, aged 69 Australian operatic soprano and one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. She sang leading roles at Covent Garden for decades. Peach Melba and Melba toast are named after her.
• 1861 – 1865 Ozone layer discovered A protective shield of oxygen high in the atmosphere Christian Friedrich Schönbein identified ozone as a distinct molecule in 1840. Marie Alfred Cornu and Jean-Baptiste Baille confirmed in 1878 that ozone in the upper atmosphere absorbs ultraviolet radiation. The discovery that a thin layer of gas shields all life on Earth from harmful UV radiation became enormously important in the 20th century when CFCs began destroying it.
• 1861 – 1865 Pasteur and Koch — germ theory of disease Microorganisms cause infectious diseases Louis Pasteur of France demonstrated in the 1860s that fermentation and putrefaction are caused by microorganisms, and that disease can be caused by specific bacteria (germ theory). Robert Koch of Germany then identified the specific bacteria responsible for anthrax (1876), tuberculosis (1882), and cholera (1883). Germ theory replaced the miasma theory, transformed medicine, and led directly to antiseptics, vaccines, and antibiotics.
• 1861 – 1941 Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) Died 7 August 1941, aged 80 Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet, composer and philosopher, and in 1913 the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.
• 1861 – 1947 Victor Horta (1861-1947) Died 8 September 1947, aged 86 Victor Horta was a Belgian architect and one of the founders of Art Nouveau. His Hôtel Tassel in Brussels is considered the first true Art Nouveau building. His major Brussels town houses are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 1861 – 1939 William James Mayo (1861-1939) Died 28 July 1939, aged 78 William Mayo was an American surgeon who co-founded the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, with his brother Charles. The clinic became one of the most famous medical centres in the world. He died two months after his brother.
• 1861 – 1932 William Wrigley Jr. (1861-1932) Died 26 January 1932, aged 70 The American businessman built the Wrigley chewing gum company and owned the Chicago Cubs.
• 1861 Wilhelm I becomes King of Prussia Succession following the death of Frederick William IV Wilhelm I ascended to the Prussian throne after the death of his brother, Frederick William IV. His reign would later see Prussia unify Germany and Wilhelm become the first German Emperor in 1871. Otto von Bismarck would soon rise to prominence under his rule.
• 1861 Formation of the Confederate States of America Seceded Southern states form a rival government Delegates from seven seceded Southern states met at Montgomery, Alabama, and adopted a provisional constitution establishing the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis was elected provisional president days later. The new government's formation precipitated the outbreak of the American Civil War.
• 1861 Emancipation of the Russian serfs Tsar Alexander II abolishes serfdom Tsar Alexander II issued the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing over 20 million serfs across the Russian Empire. The reform granted peasants personal freedom and land rights, though heavy redemption payments limited its impact. It was one of the largest single acts of social reform in 19th-century Europe.
• 1861 – 1865 Lincoln presidency 16th President — led Union through Civil War Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President from March 4, 1861 until his assassination on April 15, 1865. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), freeing slaves in Confederate states, and guided the nation through its greatest crisis.
• 1861 Kingdom of Italy proclaimed Italian unification completed The Kingdom of Italy was formally proclaimed after decades of nationalist movements and wars.
• 1861 Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy Unification The formal act that unified the various states of the peninsula under King Victor Emmanuel II.
• 1861 – 1878 Victor Emmanuel II First King of unified Italy Victor Emmanuel II became the first king of unified Italy during the Risorgimento.
• 1861 Battle of Fort Sumter Opening battle of the American Civil War Confederate forces bombarded the Union-held Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, forcing its surrender. The attack marked the start of the American Civil War. Lincoln responded by calling for volunteers to suppress the rebellion.
• 1861 First Battle of Bull Run First major land battle of the American Civil War Confederate forces routed a Union army near Manassas, Virginia, in the first major battle of the Civil War. The unexpected Confederate victory shattered Northern hopes of a quick end to the conflict. Both sides began preparing for a prolonged war.
• 1861 First transcontinental telegraph completed Instant communication links the American coasts The Western Union Telegraph Company completed a transcontinental telegraph line connecting the eastern United States to California. The line rendered the Pony Express obsolete within days. It dramatically shortened the time needed to send messages across North America.
• 1861 Xinyou Coup in Qing China Cixi and allies seize control of the regency Following the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, the empress dowagers Cixi and Ci'an allied with Prince Gong to overthrow the regents appointed to rule for the child emperor. The coup executed or exiled the leading regents and installed Cixi as a dominant power behind the throne. It marked the beginning of her decades-long influence over Qing China.
• 1861 Trent Affair Diplomatic crisis between the United States and Britain A US Navy warship stopped the British mail steamer Trent and seized two Confederate diplomats bound for Europe, provoking outrage in Britain and threats of war. The crisis brought the United States and the British Empire to the brink of conflict during the Civil War. Lincoln's administration defused the affair by releasing the diplomats in late December.