Explore 418 historical events from 1850–1859.
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz was a Dutch theoretical physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for their discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman…
Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1928)
Johann Ludwig Tieck was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries…
Ludwig Tieck, German author and poet (born 1773)
Jan Philipp Roothaan, SJ was a Dutch Jesuit, elected twenty-first Superior-General of the Society of Jesus. Roothaan was a decisive figure in the reestablishment of the order after…
Jan Roothaan, Dutch priest, 21st Superior General of the Society of Jesus (born 1785)
Lionel Adalbert Bagration Felix Kieseritzky was a Baltic German chess master and theoretician, known for his contributions to chess theory, as well for a game he lost against Adolf…
Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (born 1806)
General Henry Otway Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, CB was a peer and British Army officer.
Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (born 1777)
Joseph-Norbert Provencher was a Canadian clergyman and missionary and one of the founders of the modern province of Manitoba. He was the first Bishop of Saint Boniface and was an i…
Norbert Provencher, Canadian missionary and bishop (born 1787)
Adrien-Henri de Jussieu was a French botanist.
Adrien-Henri de Jussieu, French botanist and academic (born 1797)
Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Rep…
Andries Pretorius, South African general (born 1798)
Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind , was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in sopra…
Jenny Lind leaves New York after her two-year American tour
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was "the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights…
Frederick Douglass delivers his "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" speech in Rochester, New York.
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint. Opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California gold rush, in twenty years its operations exceeded the capaci…
Congress establishes the United States' 2nd mint in San Francisco.
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was "the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights…
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivers his "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" speech at a meeting organized…
Adrian Constantine Anson, nicknamed "Cap", "Pop", and "Baby" was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association (NA), he play…
Cap Anson, American baseball player and manager (died 1922)
William IV was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 17 November 1905 until his death in 1912. He succeeded his father, Adolphe. Like his father, William did not participate in politics, d…
William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (died 1912)
Santiago Ramón y Cajal was a Spanish neuroscientist, pathologist, and histologist specialising in neuroanatomy, and the central nervous system. He and Camillo Golgi received the No…
Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish neuroscientist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1934)
Alice Pleasance Hargreaves was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photographic subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boatin…
Alice Liddell, English model (died 1934)
Charles Warren Fairbanks was the 26th vice president of the United States under President Theodore Roosevelt serving from 1905 to 1909. A member of the Republican Party, Fairbanks …
Charles W
Henri Julien was a Canadian artist and cartoonist noted for his work for the Canadian Illustrated News and for his political cartoons in the Montreal Daily Star. His pseudonyms inc…
Henri Julien, Canadian illustrator (died 1908)
Martha Jane Canary, better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter and storyteller. In addition to many exploits, she was known for being an acquaintan…
Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and professional scout (died 1903)
Gertrude Käsebier was an American photographer. She was known for her images of motherhood, her portraits of Native Americans, and her promotion of photography as a career for wome…
Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (died 1934)
William Muldoon was an American Greco-Roman Wrestling champion, a physical culturist, and the first chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission. He once wrestled a match tha…
William Muldoon, American wrestler and trainer (died 1933)
William Barnes was an English professional cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club from 1875 to 1894, and in 21 Test matches for England from 1880 to 1890. He …
Billy Barnes, English cricketer (died 1899)
Francisco Pascasio Moreno was a prominent explorer and academic in Argentina, where he is usually referred to as Perito Moreno. Perito Moreno has been credited as one of the most i…
Francisco Moreno, Argentinian explorer and academic (died 1919)
Julius Richard Petri was a German microbiologist who is generally credited with inventing the device known as the Petri dish, which is named after him, while working as assistant t…
Julius Richard Petri, German microbiologist, invented the Petri dish (died 1921)