1855 CE

The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota (a crossing made today by the Hennepin Avenue Bridge). In Australia, the province of Victoria (named for then reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria) to the southeast is separated administratively from the earlier larger province of New South Wales to the north. The Port of Iloilo in the Philippines is opened to international trade, by Queen Isabella II of Spain. This year also the ports of Sual (modern-day Pangasinan) and Zamboanga City are opened to international trade.

In the 1850s, the 19th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru.source
  • January 26 – The Point No Point Treaty is signed in the Washington Territory.source
  • January 29 – Lord Aberdeen resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, over the management of the Crimean War.source
  • February 5 – Lord Palmerston becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.source
  • 7 February - The Simoda Agreement was signed between Russian Empire and Japan, which consolidated Russian control over the Kuril Islands.Russiasource
  • March 3 – The United States Congress appropriates $30,000 to create the U.S. Camel Corps.source
  • March 30 – Elections are held for the first Kansas Territory legislature. Missourian 'Border Ruffians' cross the border in large numbers to elect a pro-slavery body.source
  • 30 March – Pierre de Decker succeeds Henri de Brouckère as Prime Minister.Belgiumsource
  • May 1 – Van Diemen's Land is separated administratively from the Australian province of New South Wales and granted self-government.source
  • May 22 – In Australia, the province of Victoria (named for then reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria) to the southeast is separated administratively from the earlier larger province of New South Wales to the north.source
  • July 1 – The Quinault Treaty, in which the Quinault and Quileute tribes cede their land to the United States, is signed.source
  • July 2 – The Kansas territorial legislature convenes in Pawnee, and begins passing proslavery laws.source
  • July 16 – The Australian Colonies are granted self-governing status by the United Kingdom.source
  • July: New Zealand's first postage stamps are issued.New Zealandsource
  • 27 August - Jacobus Boshoff becomes the 2nd president of the Orange Free StateSouth Africasource
  • 8 September – Queen Victoria signs an Order in Council to change the name of Van Diemen's Land to Tasmania.Australiasource
  • October 24 – Van Diemen's Land is officially renamed Tasmania.source
  • December 11 – Ignacio Comonfort (1812–1863) becomes President of Mexico.source
  • 14 December - The Chilean Civil Code is passed into law by the Chilean Congress.Chilesource
  • The British annexed Thanjavur Maratha kingdomIndiasource
  • Switzerland opens a consulate in Sydney, AustraliaSwitzerlandsource

Conflict & Security

  • 5 January – The War of Southern Queensland ends with the hanging of Dundalli.Australiasource
  • 9 January – The Earl of Aberdeen loses a vote of no confidence against his government over the management of the Crimean War.United Kingdomsource
  • March 17 – Taiping Rebellion: A Taiping army of 350,000 invades Anhui.source
  • April 3 – The Nepalese invasion of Tibet (west of China) to the north across the Himalaya Mountains (tallest and most rugged in the world) starts the Nepalese–Tibetan War (1855–1856).source
  • April 7 – Battle of Kaba: The Kingdom of Tonga in the islands of the southwest Pacific Ocean (Polynesia, Melanesia / Oceania), intervenes in the war between the self-proclaimed Tui Viti (King) of the island of Fiji, Cakobau, and his rivals the Confederation of Rewa. It results in Rewa's defeat and the tenuous unification of Fiji under Cakobau.source
  • April 16 – Emperor of the French Napoleon III, with Empress Eugénie, begins a 6-day state visit to Britain.source
  • 30 June - Santhal rebellion against British rule in Damin-i-koh, Bengal Presidency.Indiasource
  • August 6 – Bloody Monday: Protestant mobs attack Irish and German Catholics on an election day in Louisville, Kentucky, causing 22 deaths.United Statessource
  • 16 August – Battle of Chernaya River: Russian troops are defeated by French and Sardinian forces in the Crimean War.Francesource
  • September 9 (August 28 O.S.) – Crimean War: Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) – Sevastopol falls to French and British troops.source
  • October 17 – Crimean War: Battle of Kinburn – Combined French and British forces subdue Russian shore forts. The successful use of French floating batteries makes this the first use of modern ironclad warships in action.source
  • November 15 – The Hejaz rebellion takes place in Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire, triggered by a firman of 1854 against the slave trade, which is condemned by the ulema of Mecca as influenced by Westerners and contrary to Islamic law.source
  • November 21 – Large-scale Bleeding Kansas violence begins, with events leading to the 'Wakarusa War' between antislavery and proslavery forces.source
  • 29 November The Siege of Kars ends in a Russian victory.Russiasource
  • British Empire's Crimean War continues, British troops being withdrawn.Canadasource
  • Red Turban Rebellion (1854–1856)Chinasource

Exploration & Expansion

  • May 3 – American adventurer William Walker and a group of armed mercenaries (filibusters) sail from San Francisco in California south to Central America to attempt to conquer Nicaragua.source
  • July 4 – Thomas Cook escorts his first party of excursionists from England to tour the European continent, travelling via Belgium and enabling the tourists to visit the Paris Exposition.source
  • 4 July – Thomas Cook escorts his first party of excursionists to tour the European continent, travelling via Belgium and enabling the tourists to visit the Exposition Universelle in Paris.United Kingdomsource
  • 26 July - Ole Paus, ship's captain, shipowner and land owner (born 1766)Norwaysource
  • September 29 – The Port of Iloilo in the Philippines is opened to international trade, by Queen Isabella II of Spain. This year also the ports of Sual (modern-day Pangasinan) and Zamboanga City are opened to international trade.source
  • October 28–31 – 1855 Fiji expedition: The U.S. Navy dispatches the USS John Adams to Viti Levu, Fiji, to protect American interests. One American sailor is killed and two Marines are wounded.United Statessource
  • October – Victor Hugo moves to Hauteville House, Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, accompanied by his mistress, Juliette Drouet.Francesource
  • November 17 – Scottish missionary explorer David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Victoria Falls, in modern-day Zambia–Zimbabwe.source
  • 17 November – explorer David Livingstone discovers Victoria Falls in Africa.Scotlandsource
  • Palm oil sales from West Africa to the United Kingdom reach 40,000 tons.source
  • Charles Leickert, Coastal scene with fisherfolkBelgiumsource
  • William Healey Dall moved to India to work as a missionaryIndiasource
  • William Rees (Gwilym Hiraethog) – Gweithiau Barddonol Gwilym HiraethogWalessource

Religion & Belief

  • 25 February – The steamship Morna is wrecked off North Bishop Rock, with the loss of 21 lives.Walessource
  • 28 February – Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) established as an association of Anglo-Catholic priests with a mission to the urban poor under the mastership of Charles Lowder.United Kingdomsource
  • 22 August – The Roman Catholic St Mary's Cathedral, Killarney, is consecrated.Irelandsource
  • Emile De Cauwer, Church InteriorBelgiumsource
  • Rani Rashmoni funded construction of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Dakshineswar near KolkataIndiasource
  • St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee, completed as an Episcopal church.Scotlandsource
  • The London School of Jewish Studies opens as the Jews' College, a rabbinical seminary, in London.United Kingdomsource
  • John Jones (Talhaiarn) – Gwaith Talhaiarn, vol. 1Walessource

Economy & Finance

  • 31 July – Limited Liability Act protects investors in the event of corporate collapse.United Kingdomsource
  • July – Bank of Toronto incorporated in Canada (in 1955 it will merge with The Dominion Bank to become Toronto-Dominion Bank).source
  • August 31 – The First Volunteer Militia units are formed, by year end 21 Companies have been formed.Canadasource
  • 18 November – Sødring & Co. is founded by Christopher Hansen Sødring and Frederik Marchus, Count Knuth til Knuthenborg.Denmarksource
  • 15 December – Fredrik Meltzer, businessman and politician (born 1779).Norwaysource
  • 17 December – London General Omnibus Company established in Paris as the Compagnie Générale des Omnibus de Londres; in the following year it will absorb a substantial proportion of horse-drawn omnibus operators in London.Francesource
  • Premier of Newfoundland — Philip Francis LittleCanadasource
  • Legal Representatives Suits ActIndiasource
  • Dublin Zoo buys its first pair of lions.Irelandsource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • 1 January - The Telegraphynet between the most important cities in Sweden are completed.Swedensource
  • January 23 – The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in modern-day Minneapolis, a predecessor of the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge.source
  • January 23 – The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota (a crossing made today by the Hennepin Avenue Bridge).United Statessource
  • January 27 – The Panama Railway becomes the first railroad to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.source
  • February 15 – The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates the Western North Carolina Railroad, to build a rail line from Salisbury to the western part of the state.source
  • March 8 – A bridge over the Niagara River near Niagara Falls is completed.Canadasource
  • June 15 – Stamp duty revenue tax is removed from British newspapers, creating free mass media thereafter in the United Kingdom.source
  • June 29 – The Daily Telegraph newspaper begins publication in London.source
  • 29 June – Telegraphic convention between Belgium, France and Prussia signed in Berlin.Belgiumsource
  • 26 September – Sydney to Parramatta railway openedAustraliasource
  • October 17 – Henry Bessemer files his patent in the United Kingdom for the Bessemer process of steelmaking.source
  • Samuel Colt incorporates his business as the Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and opens a new factory, the Colt Armory, in Hartford, Connecticut.source
  • Steamship service links Manaus with Nauta, PeruBrazilsource
  • Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway was incorporated to undertake the task of constructing a railway line between Bombay and VadodaraIndiasource
  • The Oberwinterthur railway station and Winterthur main railway station openSwitzerlandsource

Science & Discovery

  • April 18 – The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, requested by Napoleon III for the Exposition Universelle (opening May 15), first appears.source
  • 18 April – The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, requested by Napoleon III for the Exposition Universelle (opening 15 May), first appears.Francesource
  • 25 July – Robert Napier and Sons launch RMS Persia on the River Clyde, the first iron-hulled ship for the Cunard Line and the world's largest at this date (3300 grt, 398 ft (121 m)).Scotlandsource
  • August 1 – Monte Rosa, the second-highest summit in the Alps, is first ascended.source
  • 27 November – Christian Winther publishes Hjortens Flugt. Et Digt.Denmarksource
  • The cocaine alkaloid is first isolated by German chemist Friedrich Gaedcke.source
  • Approximate date – the Corraghy Heads and Corleck Head are discovered.Irelandsource
  • Olea Crøger, folk music collector (born 1801)Norwaysource
  • Botanist Carl Meissner gives Grevillea ramosissima its current name and first describes Grevillea thyrsoidesSwitzerlandsource
  • James Clerk Maxwell unifies electricity and magnetism into a single theory, classical electromagnetism, thereby showing that light is an electromagnetic wave.United Kingdomsource

Health & Medicine

  • 4 May - Kyrkoplikt as well as all remaining forms of Public humiliation and Corporal punishments are abolished.Swedensource
  • May 17 – Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, is dedicated (originally named as the Jews' Hospital) in New York City; it opens to patients on June 5.source
  • May 17 – The Mount Sinai Hospital is dedicated (as the Jews' Hospital) in New York City; it opens to patients on June 5.United Statessource
  • 12 June – the Victorian parliament passed the Chinese Restriction Act in an effort to restrict Chinese immigration. These restrictions, including a £10 poll tax on Chinese and a limit to Chinese passengers per tonnage of shipping.Australiasource
  • 31 December – Population Census: 1,490,047 inhabitants in Norway.Norwaysource
  • The third plague pandemic breaks out in Yunnan, China. This bubonic plague pandemic eventually spreads to all inhabited continents, and ultimately leads to more than 12 million deaths in India and China (estimated 15 million worldwide) making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history. The pandemic is considered active until 1960.source
  • Governor of New Brunswick — John Manners-SuttonCanadasource
  • Third plague pandemic, major bubonic plague pandemic that begins in Yunnan and later spread across China and into IndiaChinasource
  • Edinburgh Medical Journal first published.Scotlandsource
  • The island of Samson, in the Isles of Scilly, is depopulated.United Kingdomsource

Crime & Justice

  • April: James McKenzie is found guilty of stealing 1000 sheep and sentenced to five years hard labour in Lyttelton. He is pardoned the following year.New Zealandsource
  • May 15 – The Great Gold Robbery is made from a moving train between London Bridge and Folkestone in England, one of the first crimes of its kind.source
  • 15 May – Great Gold Robbery from a train between London Bridge and Folkestone.United Kingdomsource
  • 25 June – Marcus Thrane and 132 other members of the Labour Union was sentenced for crimes against the state security.Norwaysource
  • Alfred Stevens, The Painter and His ModelBelgiumsource
  • Premier of Nova Scotia — William YoungCanadasource
  • O Pobre Rabequista (The Poor Rabeca Player), oil painting by José Rodrigues.Portugalsource
  • California Gold Rush (1848–1855)United Statessource
  • William Williams (Creuddynfab) – Y BarddoniadurWalessource

Disasters & Accidents

  • 21 January – Fire at the Monnaie Theatre.Belgiumsource
  • 30 March – The Severn ferry from Chepstow sinks, and seven people drown.Walessource
  • The 3,000 kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi are destroyed by the TaipingsChinasource
  • 20 Irish miners arrive to work in the Namaqualand copper minesSouth Africasource

Climate & Environment

  • January 23 – The 8.2–8.3 Mw Wairarapa earthquake claims between five and nine lives near the Cook Strait area of New Zealand.source
  • 23 January: The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake causes extensive damage but few deaths. The quake, estimated at magnitude 8.2, raises parts of the Wellington harbour foreshore by as much as 6 metres. It is the strongest known New Zealand earthquake since European settlement.New Zealandsource
  • 8 February – The Devil's Footprints, a series of mysteriously hoof-like marks, appear in the snow in Devon and continue throughout the countryside for over 100 mi.United Kingdomsource
  • 16 February – emigrant ship Tornado sails from Broomielaw in Glasgow with 500 settlers bound for Melbourne.Scotlandsource

Culture & Society

  • January: The Māori language magazine, The Maori Messenger or Te Karere Maori resumes publication with a change to the Māori title. It stopped publication the previous year. Under this name, it continues until 1861.New Zealandsource
  • February 11 – Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia.source
  • February 12 – Michigan State University (the "pioneer" land-grant college) is established.source
  • February 22 – Pennsylvania State University is founded, as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania.source
  • March 2 – Alexander II ascends the Russian throne, upon the death of his father Nicholas I.source
  • March 16 – Bates College is founded by abolitionists in Lewiston, Maine.source
  • May 15 – The Exposition Universelle (an early World's fair) officially opens in Paris (continues to November 15).source
  • July 4 – Walt Whitman's poetry collection Leaves of Grass is published in Brooklyn.source
  • July 4 –Amelia Bloomer speaks in favor of women's rights and suffrage in Omaha, Nebraska.United Statessource
  • August 18 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, with Prince Albert, begins a 10-day state visit to Paris, the first visit of a reigning British monarch to France since 1413. While there, she visits the Exposition Universelle.source
  • September 3 – The last Bartholomew Fair is held in London, England.source
  • September 27 – Alfred Tennyson reads from his new book Maud and other poems, at a social gathering in the home of Robert and Elizabeth Browning in London; Dante Gabriel Rossetti makes a sketch of him doing so.source
  • November 10 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's fictional poem The Song of Hiawatha is published in Boston.source
  • December 22 – The Metropolitan Board of Works is established in London.source
  • 22 December - The newspaper El Ferrocarril is established.Chilesource
  • Collège Saint-François-Xavier established in Verviers.Belgiumsource
  • 1855 Newfoundland general electionCanadasource
  • Napier Museum, an art and natural history museum situated in Thiruvananthapuram, was establishedIndiasource
  • Oporto Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club foundedPortugalsource
  • The Swiss Benevolent Society of New Orleans is foundedSwitzerlandsource

Births

Deaths

  • January 8 – Diponegoro, Leader of Javanese Rebellion (born 1785)source
  • January 26 – Gérard de Nerval, French writer (born 1808)source
  • February 23 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (born 1777)source
  • March 2 – Emperor Nicholas I of Russia (born 1796)source
  • March 8 – William Poole, infamous member of New York City's Bowery Boys Gang (born 1821)source
  • March 31 – Charlotte Brontë, English author (born 1816)source
  • June 28 – FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, commander of British forces in the Crimean War (born 1788)source
  • July 12 (June 30 O.S.) – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (born 1802)source
  • August 7 – Mariano Arista, President of Mexico (born 1802)source
  • August 12 – Helen Hunt Jackson, American activist (born 1830)source
  • 21 August: William Hulme, British army officerNew Zealandsource
  • August 30 – Feargus O'Connor, British political radical, Chartist leader (born 1794)source
  • November 11 – Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (born 1813)source
  • November 26 – Adam Mickiewicz, Lithuanian-Polish poet, writer (born 1798)source
  • December 6 – William Swainson, English naturalist, artist (born 1789)source
  • 29 December - Buenaventura Cousiño Jorquera (born 1855)Chilesource
  • 31 December – Sir Charles Hotham, 1st Governor of Victoria (born in the United Kingdom) (born 1806)Australiasource
  • Liang Fa (1789–1855), also known by other names, was the second Chinese Protestant convert and the first Chinese Protestant minister and evangelistChinasource