Explore the major historical events, famous births, and notable deaths that occurred in the year 1866. This year saw 67 significant events. 9 notable figures were born.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 (14 Stat. 27, enacted April 9, 1866, reenacted 1870) was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by...
First transatlantic telegraph cable comes ashore at Heart's Content, Newfoundland, after being laid out 1,686 miles by Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Eastern steamship
Tsarevich Alexander of Russia (later Alexander III) marries Princess Dagmar of Denmark at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.
Steamship London sinks in storm off Land's End, England and kills 220
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.
Wesley College is a co-educational, open-entry private school in Melbourne, Australia.
Prim's Insurrection in Spain ends
Dutch government of Frans van der Putte forms
Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes the British Secretary of State for War
Lucy B. Hobbs (Taylor) becomes 1st US woman to earn a DDS degree
New York Legislature forms NYC Metropolitan Board of Health
1st US company to make sewing needles by machine incorporated in Connecticut
Immigrant ship Monarch of the Seas sinks in Liverpool; 738 die
US Congress authorizes national soldiers' homes
American Andrew Rankin patents the urinal
First ambulance goes into service
Valparaíso is a major city, commune, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile.
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State ...
Ashmun Institute, in Oxford, Pennsylvania, is renamed Lincoln University
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S.
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918. It played a significant role in the unification of Germany in 1871 and was a major constituent of the German Empire until its...
The ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement Division (colloquially, "ASPCA Law Enforcement") was the law enforcement arm of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) from 1866 until...
Nitroglycerine explodes at a Wells Fargo & Co office in San Francisco shattering glass for half a mile
The Battle of Callao (Spanish: Combate del Dos de Mayo, as it is known in South America) occurred on May 2, 1866, between a Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the...
Woodward's Gardens, commonly referred to as The Gardens, was a combination amusement park, museum, art gallery, zoo, and aquarium operating from 1866 to 1891 in the Mission District of San Francisco,...
The American Equal Rights Association (AERA) was formed in 1866 in the United States.
The copper-nickel three-cent piece, often called a three-cent nickel piece or three-cent nickel, was designed by US Mint Chief Engraver James B.
Netherlands government of Isaäc Dignus Fransen De Putte resigns
George Berkeley (12 March 1685 – 14 January 1753), known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer, and clergyman who is regarded...
The Van Zuylen van Nijevelt cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 1 June 1866 until 4 June 1868. The cabinet was formed by Independent Conservatives (Ind. Con.) after the election of 1866.
Opera "Die Verkaufte Braut" premieres (Prague)
The General Dutch Typographers' Union (Dutch: Algemene Nederlandse Typografenbond, ANTB) was an early trade union, representing typographers in the Netherlands. The union was founded on 30 May 1866,...
Renegade Irish Fenians surrender to US forces
French colonial expedition to explore Mekong River (world's 12th longest, though Southeast Asia) sets out from Saigon, led by Ernest Doudart de Lagrée
1,800 Fenian raiders are repelled back to the United States after they loot and plunder around Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg, Quebec
Allahabad High Court, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, that has jurisdiction...
Prussia attacks Austria
Italy declares war on Austria beginning the Third Italian War of Independence
Second Battle at Custozza: the Austrian Imperial army, joined by the Venetian Army decisively defeated the Italian army, despite the Italians' strong numerical advantage
Firecracker thrown in wood starts fire destroying half of Portland, Maine, US
Indelible pencil patented by Edson P. Clark, Northampton, Massachusetts
Italian fleet under Admiral Count Carlo Pellion di Persano captures Austrian Fort Lissa
Sea battle of Lissa-Austria vs Italy
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe.
The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players.
Tennessee (locally ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States.
25th US Postmaster General: Alexander W. Randall of Wisconsin takes office
The Royal Canoe Club (RCC), founded in 1866, is the oldest canoe club in the world and received royal patronage in the 19th century.
The metric system becomes a legal measurement system in the US
New Orleans's Democratic government orders police to raid an integrated Republican Party meeting, killing 40 people and injuring 150
World's first roller rink opens in Newport, Rhode Island
The Austro-Prussian War (German: Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg) or German War of Brothers (German: Deutscher Bruderkrieg) was fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia,...
Last Navaho chief Manuelito turns himself in at Fort Wingate
Jerome Park Racetrack was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1866 until 1894.
The Viersen–Venlo railway is a railway line running from Viersen in Germany to Venlo in the Netherlands. The line was opened in 1866 by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company.
J. Osterhoudt patents the tin can with a key opener
First train robbery in US: Reno Brothers take $13,000
Quebec (French: Québec) is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, it is the only Francophone-majority province in the country, being home to Québécois French.
Kingdom of Italy annexes Venetia
Opera "Mignon" by Ambroise Thomas premieres at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, Francce
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S.
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each...
Chicago water supply tunnel 3,227 m into Lake Michigan completed
First yacht race across the Atlantic Ocean; schooners Fleetwing, Vesta, and Henrietta, with New York playboy Gordon Bennett on board, leave Sandy Hook for the Scilly Isles (Henrietta wins)
Fetterman Massacre: Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians kill all 81 US Army soldiers, the worst military disaster suffered by the U.S. Army on the Great Plains at the time
First yacht race across the Atlantic won by the schooner Henrietta owned by Gordon Bennett of New York, first to reach Bishop Rock in the Scilly Isles after racing from NY
Butch Cassidy, American old west outlaw, known for american old west outlaw, was born on 1866-04-13.
Beatrix Potter, English writer and illustrator, known for english writer and illustrator, was born on 1866-07-28.
Louis Lapicque, French neuroscientist, known for french neuroscientist, was born on 1866-08-01.
James J. Corbett, American athlete, known for american boxer, was born on 1866-09-01.
Ramsay MacDonald is born
Kenesaw Mountain Landis, American athlete, known for american judge and first commissioner of baseball, was born on 1866-11-20.
Herbert Henry Dow, American chemical industrialist, known for american chemical industrialist, was born on 1866-02-26.
J. B. M. Hertzog, South African african politician, known for south african politician, was born on 1866-04-03.
Harry Burleigh is born
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 (14 Stat. 27, enacted April 9, 1866, reenacted 1870) was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by...
First transatlantic telegraph cable comes ashore at Heart's Content, Newfoundland, after being laid out 1,686 miles by Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Eastern steamship
Tsarevich Alexander of Russia (later Alexander III) marries Princess Dagmar of Denmark at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.
Steamship London sinks in storm off Land's End, England and kills 220
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.
Wesley College is a co-educational, open-entry private school in Melbourne, Australia.
Prim's Insurrection in Spain ends
Dutch government of Frans van der Putte forms
Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes the British Secretary of State for War
Lucy B. Hobbs (Taylor) becomes 1st US woman to earn a DDS degree
New York Legislature forms NYC Metropolitan Board of Health
1st US company to make sewing needles by machine incorporated in Connecticut
Immigrant ship Monarch of the Seas sinks in Liverpool; 738 die
US Congress authorizes national soldiers' homes
American Andrew Rankin patents the urinal
First ambulance goes into service
Valparaíso is a major city, commune, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile.
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State ...
Ashmun Institute, in Oxford, Pennsylvania, is renamed Lincoln University
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S.
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918. It played a significant role in the unification of Germany in 1871 and was a major constituent of the German Empire until its...
The ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement Division (colloquially, "ASPCA Law Enforcement") was the law enforcement arm of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) from 1866 until...
Nitroglycerine explodes at a Wells Fargo & Co office in San Francisco shattering glass for half a mile
The Battle of Callao (Spanish: Combate del Dos de Mayo, as it is known in South America) occurred on May 2, 1866, between a Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Casto Méndez Núñez and the...
Woodward's Gardens, commonly referred to as The Gardens, was a combination amusement park, museum, art gallery, zoo, and aquarium operating from 1866 to 1891 in the Mission District of San Francisco,...
The American Equal Rights Association (AERA) was formed in 1866 in the United States.
The copper-nickel three-cent piece, often called a three-cent nickel piece or three-cent nickel, was designed by US Mint Chief Engraver James B.
Netherlands government of Isaäc Dignus Fransen De Putte resigns
George Berkeley (12 March 1685 – 14 January 1753), known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer, and clergyman who is regarded...
The Van Zuylen van Nijevelt cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 1 June 1866 until 4 June 1868. The cabinet was formed by Independent Conservatives (Ind. Con.) after the election of 1866.
Opera "Die Verkaufte Braut" premieres (Prague)
The General Dutch Typographers' Union (Dutch: Algemene Nederlandse Typografenbond, ANTB) was an early trade union, representing typographers in the Netherlands. The union was founded on 30 May 1866,...
Renegade Irish Fenians surrender to US forces
French colonial expedition to explore Mekong River (world's 12th longest, though Southeast Asia) sets out from Saigon, led by Ernest Doudart de Lagrée
1,800 Fenian raiders are repelled back to the United States after they loot and plunder around Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg, Quebec
Allahabad High Court, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, that has jurisdiction...
Prussia attacks Austria
Italy declares war on Austria beginning the Third Italian War of Independence
Second Battle at Custozza: the Austrian Imperial army, joined by the Venetian Army decisively defeated the Italian army, despite the Italians' strong numerical advantage
Firecracker thrown in wood starts fire destroying half of Portland, Maine, US
Indelible pencil patented by Edson P. Clark, Northampton, Massachusetts
Italian fleet under Admiral Count Carlo Pellion di Persano captures Austrian Fort Lissa
Sea battle of Lissa-Austria vs Italy
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe.
The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players.
Tennessee (locally ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States.
25th US Postmaster General: Alexander W. Randall of Wisconsin takes office
The Royal Canoe Club (RCC), founded in 1866, is the oldest canoe club in the world and received royal patronage in the 19th century.
The metric system becomes a legal measurement system in the US
New Orleans's Democratic government orders police to raid an integrated Republican Party meeting, killing 40 people and injuring 150
World's first roller rink opens in Newport, Rhode Island
The Austro-Prussian War (German: Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg) or German War of Brothers (German: Deutscher Bruderkrieg) was fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia,...
Last Navaho chief Manuelito turns himself in at Fort Wingate
Jerome Park Racetrack was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1866 until 1894.
The Viersen–Venlo railway is a railway line running from Viersen in Germany to Venlo in the Netherlands. The line was opened in 1866 by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company.
J. Osterhoudt patents the tin can with a key opener
First train robbery in US: Reno Brothers take $13,000
Quebec (French: Québec) is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, it is the only Francophone-majority province in the country, being home to Québécois French.
Kingdom of Italy annexes Venetia
Opera "Mignon" by Ambroise Thomas premieres at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, Francce
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S.
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each...
Chicago water supply tunnel 3,227 m into Lake Michigan completed
First yacht race across the Atlantic Ocean; schooners Fleetwing, Vesta, and Henrietta, with New York playboy Gordon Bennett on board, leave Sandy Hook for the Scilly Isles (Henrietta wins)
Fetterman Massacre: Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians kill all 81 US Army soldiers, the worst military disaster suffered by the U.S. Army on the Great Plains at the time
First yacht race across the Atlantic won by the schooner Henrietta owned by Gordon Bennett of New York, first to reach Bishop Rock in the Scilly Isles after racing from NY
Butch Cassidy, American old west outlaw, known for american old west outlaw, was born on 1866-04-13.
Beatrix Potter, English writer and illustrator, known for english writer and illustrator, was born on 1866-07-28.
Louis Lapicque, French neuroscientist, known for french neuroscientist, was born on 1866-08-01.
James J. Corbett, American athlete, known for american boxer, was born on 1866-09-01.
Ramsay MacDonald is born
Kenesaw Mountain Landis, American athlete, known for american judge and first commissioner of baseball, was born on 1866-11-20.
Herbert Henry Dow, American chemical industrialist, known for american chemical industrialist, was born on 1866-02-26.
J. B. M. Hertzog, South African african politician, known for south african politician, was born on 1866-04-03.
Harry Burleigh is born