Explore 657 historical events from 1850–1859.
Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have…
Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of…
The Lincoln–Douglas debates were a series of seven debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent…
The first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates is held in Ottawa, Illinois.
John Laing Leal was an American physician and water treatment expert who, in 1908, was responsible for conceiving and implementing the first disinfection of a U.S. drinking water s…
John L
Heinrich Berté, born Heinrich Bettelheim was an Austrian-Hungarian composer of operas and operettas.
Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (died 1924)
John Meade Falkner was an English novelist and poet, best known for his 1898 novel Moonfleet. An extremely successful businessman, he became chairman of the arms manufacturer Armst…
J
Belmiro Barbosa de Almeida was a Brazilian painter, illustrator, sculptor and caricaturist.
Belmiro de Almeida, Brazilian painter, illustrator, sculptor (died 1935)
Dhondo Keshav Karve, popularly known as Maharshi Karve, was a social reformer in India in the field of women's welfare. He advocated widow remarriage, and he himself remarried a wi…
Dhondo Keshav Karve, Indian educator and activist, Bharat Ratna Awardee (died 1962)
Édouard Jean-Baptiste Goursat was a French mathematician, now remembered principally as an expositor for his Cours d'analyse mathématique, which appeared in the first decade of the…
Édouard Goursat, French mathematician (died 1936)
Carl Richard Nyberg was a Swedish inventor and industrialist. Nyberg was a pioneer in mechanical engineering. He received a patent for a blow lamp and was an aviation pioneer.
Carl Richard Nyberg, Swedish inventor and businessman, developed the blow torch (died 1939)
Graham Wallas was an English socialist, social psychologist, educationalist, a leader of the Fabian Society and a co-founder of the London School of Economics.
Graham Wallas, English socialist, social psychologist, and educationalist (died 1932)
Charlotte Angas Scott was a British mathematician who made her career in the United States; she was influential in the development of American mathematics, including the mathematic…
Charlotte Scott, English mathematician (died 1931)
Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston was a British explorer, botanist, artist, colonial administrator, and linguist who travelled widely across Africa to speak some of the languages spoken …
Harry Johnston, English botanist and explorer (died 1927)
Henry Scott Tuke was an English artist. His most notable work was in the Impressionist style and he is best known for his paintings of nude boys and young men.
Henry Scott Tuke, English painter and photographer (died 1929)
Gustaf V was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem…
Gustaf V, King of Sweden (died 1950)
Eben Sumner Draper was an American businessman and politician from Massachusetts. He was for many years a leading figure in what later became the Draper Corporation, the dominant m…
Eben Sumner Draper, American businessman and politician, 44th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1914)
Andrew Russell Forsyth, FRS, FRSE was a British mathematician.
Andrew Forsyth, Scottish-English mathematician and academic (died 1942)
Sir Cornthwaite Hector William James Rason, better known as Hector Rason, was the seventh Premier of Western Australia.
Hector Rason, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Western Australia (died 1927)
Sam Walter Foss was an American librarian and poet whose best-known works included "The Coming American" and "The House by the Side of the Road".
Sam Walter Foss, American poet and librarian (died 1911)
Charles Waddell Chesnutt was an African-American author, essayist, political activist, and lawyer, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial an…
Charles W
Giuseppe De Sanctis was an Italian painter, primarily of portraits and cityscapes.
Giuseppe De Sanctis, Italian painter (died 1924)
Medardo Rosso was an Italian sculptor. He is considered, like his contemporary and admirer Auguste Rodin, to have been an artist working in a post-Impressionist style.
Medardo Rosso, Italian sculptor and educator (died 1928)
Hastings Rashdall was an English philosopher, theologian, historian, and Anglican priest. He expounded a theory known as ideal utilitarianism, and he was a major historian of the u…
Hastings Rashdall, English historian, philosopher, and theologian (died 1924)
Georges Courteline born Georges Victor Marcel Moinaux was a French dramatist and novelist, a satirist notable for his sharp wit and cynical humor.
Georges Courteline, French author and playwright (died 1929)
George Washington Goethals was an American military officer and civil engineer, best known for his administration and supervision of the construction and the opening of the Panama …
George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer, co-designed the Panama Canal (died 1928)