Explore the major historical events, famous births, and notable deaths that occurred in the year 1855. This year saw 39 significant events. 3 notable figures were born. 4 notable figures passed away.
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
Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart (22) weds Flora Cooke in Fort Riley, Kansas
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)
Clipper "Guiding Star" disappears in Atlantic, 480 dead
First bridge over the Mississippi River in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, opens; today known as the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge
The Panama Canal Railway (PCR, Spanish: Ferrocarril de Panamá) is a railway line linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America.
Government of Lord Aberdeen in the United Kingdom falls, following heavy scrutiny of the Crimean War
Wisconsin Supreme Coutt declares US Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional
Anti-semantic rioting drives Jewish families out of Coro, Venezuela
The Devil's Footprints, hoof-like marks mysteriously appear for over 60km after a snowfall in southern Devon, England
US citizenship laws amended; all children of US parents born abroad granted US citizenship
Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia, by Abuna Salama III in a ceremony at the church of Derasge Maryam
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States.
Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas
The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the U.S. government.
Alexander II (29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881.
US Congress approves $30,000 to test camels for military use
1st train crosses 1st US railway suspension bridge, Niagara Falls
Louisiana establishes 1st health board to regulate quarantine
Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County.
1st train crosses Mississippi River's 1st bridge, from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa
First veterinary college in the US is incorporated in Boston
Antwerp-Rotterdam railway opens
New York State Commission on Emigration assumes lease of Castle Garden (now known as Castle Clinton), at the lower tip of Manhattan, to be used for immigration [1]
US adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua, reestablishes slavery
The Portland Rum Riot, also called the Maine Law Riot, and the June Riot by Neal Dow, was a brief but violent period of civil unrest that occurred in Portland, Maine on June 2, 1855, in response to...
Anti-foreign anti-Roman Catholic Know-Nothing Party's 1st convention
Heavy French and British bombing of Sebastopol, Crimea: 2,000+ killed
Commissioners appointed to lay out San Francisco streets west of Larkin
Sigma Chi (ΣΧ) is one of the largest North American social fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters in the United States and Canada and has initiated...
The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with overseas territories in the Caribbean.
Stockholm experiences its hottest July since at least 1756, with an average temperature of 21.4°C
Castle Garden in New York City, now known as Castle Clinton, opens as the first US receiving station for immigrants [1]
Gouda is a railway station in Gouda, Netherlands. The station opened on 21 May 1855 when the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (Dutch Rijn Railway Company) opened the Utrecht–Rotterdam...
Battle of Acapulco during the Mexican Liberal Uprising
Indian Wars: 700 soldiers under American General William S. Harney avenge the Grattan Massacre by attacking a Sioux village in Nebraska, killing 100 men, women, and children
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...
George Frederick Bristow's "Rip Van Winkle," the second American opera, opens in New York City
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace.
King C. Gillette, American entrepreneur, known for american entrepreneur, was born on 1855-01-05.
Percival Lowell, American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer, known for american businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer, was born on 1855-03-13.
Andrew Mellon businessman and politician, known for american businessman and politician, was born on 1855-03-24. Andrew William Mellon (March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), known also as A. W.
Carl Friedrich Gauss, German scholar, known for german scholar, died on 1855-02-23.
Nicholas I dies
Bill the Butcher boxer and gang leader, known for american boxer and gang leader, died on 1855-03-08.
Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet, known for english novelist and poet, died on 1855-03-31.
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
Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart (22) weds Flora Cooke in Fort Riley, Kansas
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)
Clipper "Guiding Star" disappears in Atlantic, 480 dead
First bridge over the Mississippi River in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, opens; today known as the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge
The Panama Canal Railway (PCR, Spanish: Ferrocarril de Panamá) is a railway line linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America.
Government of Lord Aberdeen in the United Kingdom falls, following heavy scrutiny of the Crimean War
Wisconsin Supreme Coutt declares US Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional
Anti-semantic rioting drives Jewish families out of Coro, Venezuela
The Devil's Footprints, hoof-like marks mysteriously appear for over 60km after a snowfall in southern Devon, England
US citizenship laws amended; all children of US parents born abroad granted US citizenship
Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia, by Abuna Salama III in a ceremony at the church of Derasge Maryam
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States.
Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas
The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the U.S. government.
Alexander II (29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881.
US Congress approves $30,000 to test camels for military use
1st train crosses 1st US railway suspension bridge, Niagara Falls
Louisiana establishes 1st health board to regulate quarantine
Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County.
1st train crosses Mississippi River's 1st bridge, from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa
First veterinary college in the US is incorporated in Boston
Antwerp-Rotterdam railway opens
New York State Commission on Emigration assumes lease of Castle Garden (now known as Castle Clinton), at the lower tip of Manhattan, to be used for immigration [1]
US adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua, reestablishes slavery
The Portland Rum Riot, also called the Maine Law Riot, and the June Riot by Neal Dow, was a brief but violent period of civil unrest that occurred in Portland, Maine on June 2, 1855, in response to...
Anti-foreign anti-Roman Catholic Know-Nothing Party's 1st convention
Heavy French and British bombing of Sebastopol, Crimea: 2,000+ killed
Commissioners appointed to lay out San Francisco streets west of Larkin
Sigma Chi (ΣΧ) is one of the largest North American social fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters in the United States and Canada and has initiated...
The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with overseas territories in the Caribbean.
Stockholm experiences its hottest July since at least 1756, with an average temperature of 21.4°C
Castle Garden in New York City, now known as Castle Clinton, opens as the first US receiving station for immigrants [1]
Gouda is a railway station in Gouda, Netherlands. The station opened on 21 May 1855 when the Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (Dutch Rijn Railway Company) opened the Utrecht–Rotterdam...
Battle of Acapulco during the Mexican Liberal Uprising
Indian Wars: 700 soldiers under American General William S. Harney avenge the Grattan Massacre by attacking a Sioux village in Nebraska, killing 100 men, women, and children
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...
George Frederick Bristow's "Rip Van Winkle," the second American opera, opens in New York City
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace.
King C. Gillette, American entrepreneur, known for american entrepreneur, was born on 1855-01-05.
Percival Lowell, American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer, known for american businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer, was born on 1855-03-13.
Andrew Mellon businessman and politician, known for american businessman and politician, was born on 1855-03-24. Andrew William Mellon (March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), known also as A. W.
Carl Friedrich Gauss, German scholar, known for german scholar, died on 1855-02-23.
Nicholas I dies
Bill the Butcher boxer and gang leader, known for american boxer and gang leader, died on 1855-03-08.
Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet, known for english novelist and poet, died on 1855-03-31.