Timeline Saturday 1 January 1881

Events on Saturday 1 January 1881 2

• 1805 – 1881 Auguste Blanqui (1805-1881) Died 1 January 1881, aged 75 French revolutionary socialist and political agitator who spent roughly half his adult life imprisoned for insurrectionary activity. His name gave rise to the term Blanquism, denoting revolution led by a small conspiratorial elite. He died in Paris shortly after his final release from custody.
• 1881 Construction begins on the Panama Canal French company starts digging the interoceanic canal The Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique, led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, began excavation work on a sea-level canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Disease and engineering setbacks would eventually bankrupt the French effort. The canal was later completed by the United States and opened in 1914.