1860s

The 1860s was the ten-year period from the years 1860 to 1869.

From top left, clockwise: Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell formulates the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, bringing together for the first time electricity, magnetism, and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon; the Meiji Restoration leads to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure; the International Workingmen's Association is formed in 1864, aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups; the Battle of Avay, fought in 1868 during the Paraguayan War, the bloodiest inter-state war in Latin America's history; execution in 1867 of Maximilian I of Mexico, ruler of the Second Mexican Empire, established during the Second French intervention in Mexico; the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the American Civil War, fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North (the Union) and the South (the Confederacy) as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people; the Suez Canal is inaugurated in 1869; Victor Emmanuel meets Garibaldi near Teano in 1860, at the end of the Expedition of the Thousand.
Millennium: 2nd millennium
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  • Births
  • Deaths
  • By country
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  • Establishments
  • Disestablishments

The Americas in particular saw major societal developments. The abolition of Slavery in the United States led to the breakdown of the Atlantic slave trade, which was already suffering from the abolition of slavery in most of Europe in the late 1820s and 1830s. In the United States, civil war between the Confederate States of America and the Union states led to massive deaths and the destruction of cities such as Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; and Atlanta, Georgia. Sherman's March to the Sea was one of the first times America experienced total war, and advancements in military technology, such as iron and steel warships, and the development and initial deployment of early machine guns added to the destruction. After the American Civil War, turmoil continued in the Reconstruction era, with the rise of white supremacist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the issue of granting Civil Rights to Freedmen.

Politics and wars
Emperor Maximilian being executed (1867), marking the end of the Second Mexican Empire

Wars

Internal conflicts
American Civil War

Prominent political events

Assassinations and attempts

Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:

Shown in the presidential booth of Ford's Theatre, from left to right, are assassin John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Clara Harris, and Henry Rathbone

Science and technology
Alfred Nobel invents dynamite in Sweden, patenting it in 1867

Establishments

Religion
  • In Catholicism, reaction against higher criticism and the liberal movement in Europe
  • The Seventh-day Adventist Church becomes officially established in 1863 in Battle Creek, Michigan.
  • Bahá'u'lláh declares his station as "the One whom God shall make Manifest", in the Garden of Ridván, as foretold by the Báb. Bahá’ís see this as the beginning date of the Bahá'í Faith.

Literature and arts

Sports

Fashion
  • The Victorian era and its culture largely thrived from 1860 until 1901.
  • The culture of the Victorian era comes to America and remains in place until around the turn of the 20th century, where the year it ends is disputed as to whether it ended with the rise of progressivism in 1896 or with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901.
  • The start of the bicycle craze of 1860–1900

People

World leaders

Politics

Famous and infamous personalities

References
  1. "American Civil War". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  2. Medical Advances Timeline

Further reading
  • 1860s in fashion – Clothing, Hair Styles and Personal Appearance.
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