1853 CE

Steinway & Sons, a piano maker, is founded in Manhattan by the German immigrant Henry E. Steinway (Heinrich E. Steinweg) and his family. Indian Railways: The first passenger railway in India opens from Bombay to Thana, Maharashtra, 22 mi. Compagnie Générale des Eaux, predecessor of Vivendi and Veolia, a global media conglomerate, is founded in Paris, France.

In the 1850s, the 19th century.

1853 at a glance

World population
about 1.28 billion Our World in Data
United States
Millard Fillmore, then Franklin Pierce (President) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
United Kingdom
Victoria (Queen); George Hamilton-Gordon (Prime minister) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
Russian Empire
Nicholas I (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
Qing dynasty
Xianfeng (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
Second French Empire
Napoleon III (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
Tokugawa shogunate of Japan
Kōmei (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602

Who led every country in 1853 →

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • 17 January — With the passing of New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 the previous year the Provinces of New Zealand are created. The former New Ulster Province and New Munster Province, which had been in place since 1846, are abolished. New Ulster is split into Auckland, New Plymouth and Wellington; New Munster is split into Nelson, Canterbury and Otago. Each of the new provinces has its own legislature, known as a Provincial Council, that elects its own Speaker and Superintendent.New Zealandsource
  • January 20 – The United Kingdom proclaims its annexation of Lower Burma, ending the Second Anglo-Burmese War.source
  • March 29 – Manchester is granted city status in the United Kingdom.source
  • 9 April – Prince Leopold sworn in as a member of the Belgian Senate.Belgiumsource
  • July 14 – Japan allows Commodore Perry to come ashore and begin negotiations.source
  • 20 July – The Jade Treaty is signed between Prussia and Oldenburg. Prussia is ceded territory which allows it to construct a major naval base at WilhelmshavenGermanysource
  • August 12 – New Zealand acquires self-government.source
  • 15 August - the term Bunyip aristocracy was coined by Daniel Deniehy in a speech attacking the proposal by William Wentworth to create a system of hereditary peerage in AustraliaAustraliasource
  • November 3 – Troops of William Walker capture La Paz in Baja California Territory and declare the (short-lived) Republic of Sonora.source
  • November 15 – Maria II of Portugal is succeeded by her son Pedro V as King of Portugal.source
  • December 30 – Gadsden Purchase: U.S. Ambassador James Gadsden signs a treaty to buy approximately 29,600 sq mi (77,000 km 2 ) of land south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.United Statessource
  • Edvard Hagerup, solicitor and politician (born 1781)Norwaysource
  • The settlement of Queenstown is establishedSouth Africasource
  • Diplomatic relations are established by the United StatesSwitzerlandsource

Conflict & Security

  • January 8 – Taiping Rebellion: Zeng Guofan is ordered to assist the governor of Hunan in organizing a militia force to search for local bandits.source
  • January 12 – Taiping Rebellion: The Taiping army occupies Wuchang.source
  • February 10 – Taiping Rebellion: Taiping forces assemble at Hanyang, Hankou and Wuchang for the march on Nanjing.source
  • March 20 – Taiping Rebellion: A rebel army of around 750,000 seizes Nanjing, killing 30,000 Imperial troops.source
  • May 5 – Perpetual Maritime Truce comes into force between the United Kingdom and the rulers of the Sheikhdoms of the Lower Gulf, later known as the Trucial States.source
  • 5 May – Perpetual Maritime Truce comes into force between the United Kingdom and the rulers of the Sheikhdoms of the Lower Gulf, later known as the Trucial States.United Kingdomsource
  • June 6 – Gavazzi Riot in Quebec are quelled by military.Canadasource
  • June 27 – Taiping Rebellion: The Northern Expeditionary Force crosses the Yellow River.source
  • July 27 – Iesada succeeds his father Ieyoshi as Japanese shōgun. The Late Tokugawa shogunate (the last part of the Edo period in Japan) begins.source
  • 3 October – Hans Jacob Arnold Jensen, military officer and politician (born 1777)Norwaysource
  • October 4–5 – Crimean War: The Ottoman Empire begins war with Russia.source
  • October 28 – Crimean War: The Ottoman army crosses the Danube into Vidin/Calafat, Wallachia.source
  • October 30 – Taiping Rebellion: The Taiping Northern Expeditionary Force comes within 3 mi of Tianjin.source
  • November 4 – Crimean War: Battle of Oltenitza – Turkish forces defeat the Russians.source
  • November 30 (November 18 O.S.) – Crimean War: Battle of Sinop – The Russian fleet destroys the Turkish fleet.source
  • December 6 – Taiping Rebellion: French minister de Bourboulon arrives at the Heavenly Capital, aboard the Cassini.source
  • December 7 – Erie Gauge War: Citizens of the Erie, Pennsylvania, area act to stop new track being laid to resolve rail gauge differences coming from neighboring Ohio and New York.United Statessource
  • a conflict between Han and Hui miners in Yunnan contributes to the later Panthay RebellionChinasource
  • Annexations of Jhansi and Nagpur.Indiasource
  • The 8th Cape Frontier War endsSouth Africasource
  • John Williams (Ab Ithel) quarrels with his friend and co-editor Harry Longueville Jones and resigns the editorship of Archaeologia Cambrensis.Walessource

Exploration & Expansion

  • May 19 — Western Expedition launched along the Yangtze RiverChinasource
  • 6 June – Naval fleet travels to Besika Bay to fend off Russian threats to the Ottoman Empire.United Kingdomsource
  • July 8 – U.S. Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrives in Edo Bay, Japan, with a request for a trade treaty.source
  • 12 August - sailing ship Madagascar left Melbourne for London with two tonnes of gold and disappeared.Australiasource
  • 14 September – The Ann is the first steamship to visit Lyttelton.New Zealandsource
  • October 15 – William Walker sets out with 45 men to conquer the Mexican territories of Baja California and Sonora.United Statessource
  • 25 October – Neue Pinakothek in Munich opened.Germanysource
  • Russian explorer-trappers find oil seeps in Cook Inlet.Canadasource
  • date unknown - The first Chilean postage stamps are issued.Chilesource

Religion & Belief

  • Mary Ann Shadd becomes the first woman in North America to become editor of a newspaper. Working out of Chatham, Ontario, she publishes, edits and writes in the Provincial Freeman, a newspaper serving the Black community in Ontario.Canadasource
  • Thomas Rowland — Welsh GrammarWalessource
  • John Mills (Ieuan Glan Alarch) — British JewsWalessource
  • Isaac Williams — Sermons on the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays and Holy DaysWalessource
  • Two Welsh translations of Uncle Tom's Cabin are published: Caban F'Ewyrth Twm by Hugh Williams (Cadfan) and (an abridged version) Crynodeb o Gaban ‘Newyrth Tom by (probably) Thomas Levi (or William Williams) under the pen-name Y Lefiad.Walessource

Economy & Finance

  • March – The clothing company Levi Strauss & Co. is founded in San Francisco (US).source
  • March – Levi Strauss & Co. is founded in San Francisco, California.United Statessource
  • 15 April – The Bing & Grøndahl porcelain manufactury is founded in Copenhagen.Denmarksource
  • 23 June – Herman Garmann (born 1787), businessman and merchant.Norwaysource
  • September 20 – Otis Elevator, as predecessor of Otis Worldwide, is founded in the United States.source
  • 3 October - Illawarra Steam Navigation Company incorporatedAustraliasource
  • December 14 – Compagnie Générale des Eaux, predecessor of Vivendi and Veolia, a global media conglomerate, is founded in Paris, France.source
  • The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China is incorporated in London by Scotsman James Wilson, under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.source
  • 1853–1873 – More than 130,000 Chinese laborers come to Cuba.source
  • Coinage (Colonial Offences) ActIndiasource
  • National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights formed.Scotlandsource
  • Coffee brand Gevalia was launched.Swedensource
  • Tissot, a Swiss watch company, is foundedSwitzerlandsource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • February 4 – Johann Jakob Speiser, Achilles Bischoff, and Karl Geigy establish the Swiss Central RailwaySwitzerlandsource
  • February 12 – The city of Puerto Montt is founded in the Reloncaví Sound, Chile.source
  • March 5 – Steinway & Sons, a piano maker, is founded in Manhattan by the German immigrant Henry E. Steinway (Heinrich E. Steinweg) and his family.United Statessource
  • April 16 – Indian Railways: The first passenger railway in India opens from Bombay to Thana, Maharashtra, 22 mi.source
  • April 16 – The first Indian train steamed off from Bombay to Thane. The train was drawn by three steam locomotives and covered the 34 km distance in 57 minutes.Indiasource
  • May 12–October 31 – The Great Industrial Exhibition is held in Dublin, Ireland.source
  • May 23 – The first plat for Seattle, Washington, is laid out.source
  • 9 June – Aalst railway station opens.Belgiumsource
  • June 30 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann is selected as préfect of the Seine (department) to begin the re-planning of Paris.source
  • July 1 – The Swiss watch company Tissot is founded.source
  • August 24 – Potato chips are first prepared, by George Crum at Saratoga Springs, New York, according to popular accounts.source
  • September 5 – First official rail journey in Brazil, prior before the line was formally opened to the publicBrazilsource
  • 23 September - occupancy of the present site of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was part of a 'police paddock', was given to the Melbourne Cricket Club by Lieutenant Governor Charles La Trobe. This followed the forced resumption of land from the then-15-year-old Club to build Australia's first steam train railway.Australiasource
  • October 1 – C. Bechstein's piano factory is founded, one of three established in a "golden year" in the history of the piano (Julius Blüthner and Steinway & Sons being the others).source
  • December 30 – Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys approximately 77,000 km² of land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.source
  • December 30 – Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.Mexicosource
  • Isambard Kingdom Brunel accepts John Scott Russell's tender for construction of the SS Great Eastern passenger steamer.source
  • Melbourne Cricket Ground, the largest sports stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, officially opens.source
  • The world's first public aquarium opens, as a feature of the London Zoo.source
  • The Union Steamship Line is foundedSouth Africasource

Science & Discovery

  • September 19 – English missionary Hudson Taylor first leaves for China.source
  • October 4 – On the east coast of the United States, Donald McKay launches the Great Republic, the world's biggest sailing ship, which at 4,500 tons is too large to be successful.source
  • 15 December – The Sierra redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum is introduced to England as Wellingtonia by William Lobb.United Kingdomsource
  • French diplomat Arthur de Gobineau begins publication of his An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races (Essai sur l'inégalité des races humaines), an early example of scientific racism.source
  • National Herbarium of New South Wales establishedAustraliasource
  • National Herbarium of Victoria establishedAustraliasource
  • Arthur de Gobineau begins publication of his An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races (Essai sur l'inégalité des races humaines).Francesource
  • Grunerite is discovered and named after Emmanuel-Louis Gruner, the Swiss-French chemist who first analyzed itSwitzerlandsource
  • William Spurrell — English-Welsh DictionaryWalessource

Health & Medicine

  • April 7 – Prince Leopold, the youngest son and the eighth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, is born in Buckingham Palace; he has inherited haemophilia. During the labour, Victoria chooses to use chloroform, thereby encouraging the use of anesthesia in childbirth.source
  • May – The 1853 yellow fever epidemic begins along the Gulf Coast, ultimately killing more than 10,000 people.United Statessource
  • 11 June – 1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak begins and continues until October.Denmarksource
  • 1 August – Under terms of the Vaccination Act 1853, all children born after this date are to receive compulsory vaccination against smallpox during their first 3 months of life, with defaulting parents subject to a fine.United Kingdomsource
  • 12 August – Licensing (Scotland) Act (known after its sponsor as the 'Forbes Mackenzie Act') regulates the supply of intoxicating beverages.Scotlandsource
  • 20 August – Betting Act (An Act for the Suppression of Betting Houses) prohibits betting shops, restricting legal betting on horse racing to racecourses.United Kingdomsource
  • August 24 – Potato chips are traditionally said to have been invented on this date by George Crum in Saratoga Springs, New York.United Statessource
  • Charles Pravaz and Alexander Wood independently invent a practical hypodermic syringe.source
  • An outbreak of yellow fever kills 7,790 people in New Orleans.source
  • Second cholera pandemic again revives in Scotland.Scotlandsource
  • 1853 Stockholm cholera outbreak.Swedensource

Crime & Justice

  • 17 March - St Kilda Road robberiesAustraliasource
  • June 26 – Investigation of the riot proceeds, at Montreal.Canadasource
  • 3 July – Johan Gørbitz, painter (born 1782)Norwaysource
  • 20 August – Penal Servitude Act provides for convicted criminals to serve their entire sentence in prison, rather than suffer transportation, and also to be freed on licence.United Kingdomsource
  • Charles Verlat, Buffalo Ambushed by a TigerBelgiumsource
  • Summer – John Everett Millais stays at Brig o' Turk in Glen Finglas with John Ruskin and his wife Effie to begin painting John Ruskin.Scotlandsource
  • California Gold Rush (1848–1855)United Statessource
  • Richard Williams Morgan — Raymonde de Monthault, The Lord MarcherWalessource

Disasters & Accidents

  • January 6 – President-elect Franklin Pierce and his family are involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts. Pierce's 11-year-old son Benjamin is killed in the crash.United Statessource
  • 23 January — Six members of the Rhyl lifeboat crew are drowned when the boat overturns.Walessource
  • 15 February – City of Dublin Steam Packet Company PS Queen Victoria, inward bound from Liverpool, sinks in a snowstorm at night below Baily Lighthouse on Howth Head with the loss of more than 80 lives.Irelandsource
  • 15 February – PS Queen Victoria sinks in a snowstorm at night entering Dublin Bay with the loss of more than 80 lives.United Kingdomsource
  • March 5 – Saint Paul Fire and Marine, as predecessor of The Travelers Companies, a worldwide insurance service, founded in Minnesota, United States.source
  • 28 September – emigrant ship Annie Jane sinks in heavy seas off Vatersay, with the loss of 350 lives.Scotlandsource
  • 28 September – Emigrant ship Annie Jane sinks in heavy seas off the Scottish island of Vatersay with the loss of 350 lives.United Kingdomsource
  • David Williams (Alaw Goch) opens a new colliery at Cwmdare.Walessource

Climate & Environment

  • May 5 – The Shiraz earthquake shook the region with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 13,000 dead.Iransource

Culture & Society

  • 1 January – Valentin Christian Wilhelm Sibbern, government minister (born 1779).Norwaysource
  • January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida.source
  • January 6 – East Florida Seminary is established; it is the oldest institution of what later becomes the University of Florida.United Statessource
  • January 19 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore premieres at Teatro Apollo in Rome.source
  • 22 January - University of Melbourne formally established by Act of ParliamentAustraliasource
  • February 22 – Washington University in St. Louis is founded as Eliot Seminary.source
  • March 6 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera La traviata premieres at La Fenice in Venice, but is poorly received at this time.source
  • June 22 – Guimarães is elevated to city status by Queen Maria II of Portugal.source
  • August 23 – The first true International Meteorological Organization is established in Brussels, Belgium.source
  • 23 August – International Maritime Conference opens in Brussels under the chairmanship of Adolphe Quetelet and at the instigation of Matthew Fontaine Maury (ends 8 September)Belgiumsource
  • August 24 – The Royal Norwegian Navy Museum is founded at Karljohansvern in Horten, perhaps the world's first naval museum.source
  • October 25 – In Munich, the art museum Neue Pinakothek opens.source
  • Wheaton Academy is founded as an evangelical high school in West Chicago, Illinois.source
  • Christ's College pupils play a form of rugby football, the first to do so in New Zealand.New Zealandsource
  • The choir Orphei Drängar was founded.Swedensource
  • Revue Thommen is established under the name WaldenburgSwitzerlandsource
  • Robert Fulke Greville the younger returns to his family estate at Milford Haven.Walessource

Births

Deaths

  • January 6 – U.S. President-elect Franklin Pierce's only living child, Benjamin "Benny" Pierce, is killed in a train accident.source
  • January 16 – Robert Lucas, governor of Ohio, United States (born 1781)source
  • February 4 – Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil, daughter of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil (born 1831)source
  • February 6 – Anastasio Bustamante, 4th President of Mexico (born 1780)source
  • February 6 – Anastasio Bustamante, Mexican President (born 1780)Mexicosource
  • March 30 – Abigail Fillmore, First Lady of the United States (born 1798)source
  • April 18 – William R. King, 13th Vice President of the United States (born 1786)source
  • June 2 – Lucas Alamán, Mexican statesman, historian (born 1792)source
  • July 25 – Outlaw and bandit Joaquin Murrieta is killed in California.source
  • August 9 – Józef Maria Hoene-Wroński, Polish philosopher (born 1776)source
  • August 19 – George Cockburn, British naval commander (born 1772)source
  • August 29 – Charles James Napier, British army general and colonial administrator (born 1782)source
  • September 15 – Théophile Voirol, general in the French Republican Army (born 1781)Switzerlandsource
  • October 2 – François Arago, French Catalan mathematician, physicist, astronomer and politician (born 1786)source
  • November 15 – Maria II of Portugal, queen regnant (born 1819)source
  • 15 November – Maria II of Portugal, queen (born 1819).Portugalsource
  • December 15 – Georg Friedrich Grotefend, German epigraphist, philologist (born 1775)source
  • December - Nicolás Rodríguez Peña (born 1775)Chilesource