On This Day
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First Victoria Cross won during the bombardment of Bomarsund in the Åland Islands during the Crimean War

The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of...

The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont from October 1853 to February 1856. Geopolitical causes of the war included the "Eastern question" (the decline of the Ottoman Empire), expansion of Imperial Russia in the preceding Russo-Turkish wars, and the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe.

The war's proximate cause was a dispute between France and Russia over the rights of Catholic and Orthodox minorities in Palestine.

Historical Significance

The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont from October 1853 to February 1856.

Events Before

  1. The first practical horse-drawn fire engine in the US enters service

    The first practical horse-drawn fire engine in the US enters service

  2. Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il trovatore" (The Troubadour) premieres in Rome

    Il trovatore ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the Spanish play El trovador (1836) by Antonio...

  3. Emperor and French President Napoleon III marries Eugenie de Montijo, Countess of Teba

    Eugénie de Montijo was Empress of the French from her marriage to Napoleon III on 30 January 1853 until he was overthrown on 4 September 1870.

  4. Piano company Steinway & Sons is founded by Heinrich Steinweg (later Henry Steinway) in New York City

    Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway ( ), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E.

  5. Giuseppe Verdi's opera "La Traviata" premieres at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy

    La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave.

Events After

  1. British preacher and Salvation Army founder William Booth (26) weds British Salvation Army co-founder Catherine Mumford

    British preacher and Salvation Army founder William Booth (26) weds British Salvation Army co-founder Catherine Mumford (26) at Stockwell Green Congregational Church in Surrey, England

  2. Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart (22) weds Flora Cooke in Fort Riley, Kansas

    Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart (22) weds Flora Cooke in Fort Riley, Kansas

  3. Scottish explorer David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfall, which he christens as Vic

    Scottish explorer David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfall, which he christens as Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River in Barotseland, Africa (now Zambia and Zimbabwe)

  4. Clipper "Guiding Star" disappears in Atlantic, 480 dead

    Clipper "Guiding Star" disappears in Atlantic, 480 dead

  5. First bridge over the Mississippi River in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, opens; today known as the Father Louis He

    First bridge over the Mississippi River in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, opens; today known as the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge

More from the 1850s

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Alice Mary Robertson is born

Alice Mary Robertson, American politician, known for american politician, was born on 1854-01-02.

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Tim Keefe is born

Tim Keefe, American athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1857-01-01.

City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line

City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line

National debt of Britain and Ireland is £765,126,582

National debt of Britain and Ireland is £765,126,582

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on June 21, 1854?
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont from October 1853 to February 1856. Geopolitical causes of the war included the "Eastern question" (the decline of the Ottoman Empire), expansion of Imperial Russia in the preceding Russo-Turkish wars, and the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe. The war's proximate cause was a dispute between France and Russia over the rights of Catholic and Orthodox minorities in Palestine.
Why is First Victoria Cross won during the bombardment of Bomarsund in the Åland Isl... significant?
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont from October 1853 to February 1856.

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June 21 in HistoryYear 1854