Timeline December 1869

Events in December 1869 6

• 1814 – 1869 Edwin Stanton (1814-1869) Died 24 December 1869, aged 55 Edwin Stanton served as United States Secretary of War under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson, overseeing Union military logistics during the Civil War. His dismissal by Andrew Johnson in 1868 helped trigger Johnson's impeachment. Stanton died days after being confirmed to the US Supreme Court, before he could take his seat.
• 1829 – 1869 Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) Died 18 December 1869, aged 40 Louis Moreau Gottschalk was an American composer and pianist celebrated for blending Creole, Caribbean, and Latin American melodies into his concert works. He toured extensively across the Americas as a virtuoso performer. He collapsed while performing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and died weeks later.
• 1869 First Vatican Council convenes Roman Catholic bishops gather at St Peter's Basilica Pope Pius IX opened the First Vatican Council, bringing together bishops from around the world at St Peter's Basilica in Rome. The council would go on to define the doctrine of papal infallibility the following year. It was the first ecumenical council held by the Catholic Church since Trent, three centuries earlier.
• 1869 Wyoming Territory grants women the vote First US territory to enact full women's suffrage The Wyoming Territorial legislature passed a law granting women the right to vote and hold office, the first such law in the United States. Governor John Allen Campbell signed the measure. Wyoming's move made it a symbol for the women's suffrage movement for decades afterward.
• 1869 Knights of Labor founded Early US labor organization formed in Philadelphia A group of Philadelphia garment cutters led by Uriah Stephens founded the Knights of Labor, one of the first major labor organizations in the United States. The union pushed for the eight-hour workday and admitted women and Black workers, unusual for its time. It became the country's largest labor organization in the 1880s before declining.
• 1869 – 1954 Henri Matisse Fauvism · France Henri Matisse (December 31, 1869 – November 3, 1954) was a French painter and sculptor who led the Fauvist movement. Renowned for his bold colour and fluid draughtsmanship, he is considered alongside Picasso as the most important artist of the 20th century.