On This Day

What Happened in July 1856

Historical Events

  • Jul 15 Natal forms as a British colony separate from Cape Colony
  • Jul 16 Statue of Laurens Jansz Coster unveiled in Haarlem
  • Jul 17 The Great Train Wreck of 1856 between Camp Hill and Fort Washington, Pennsylvania kills over 60 people
  • Jul 31 Christchurch, New Zealand, is chartered as a city.

Famous Birthdays

  • Jul 6 Edward Anseele, Belgian socialist politician, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1938)
  • Jul 7 George Hearne, cricketer (brother of Frank and Alec, Test for England)
  • Jul 9 Daniel Guggenheim, American mining magnate and philanthropist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1930)

Person of interestNikola Tesla

Jul 10 Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American physicist, electrical engineer and inventor, developed alternating current and the Tesla Coil, born in Smiljan, Austrian Empire (now Croatia) (d. 1943)

Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Nikola Tesla
Electrical and Mechanical Engineer
Nikola Tesla
  • Jul 15 Owen Dunell, cricketer (South Africa's 1st Test captain)
  • Jul 21 Harry A P Eyres, British diplomat (Constantinople, Albania)
  • Jul 21 Louise Blanchard Bethune, 1st American woman architect, born in Waterloo, New York (d. 1915)
  • Jul 23 Arthur H. Bird, American composer, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 1923)
  • Jul 23 Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian early nationalist leader, born in Ratnagiri, British India (d. 1920)
  • Jul 24 Charles Émile Picard, French mathematician, born in Paris (d. 1941)

Person of interestGeorge Bernard Shaw

Jul 26 George Bernard Shaw, Irish dramatist (Pygmalion, Nobel Prize for Literature 1925), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1950)

Playwright George Bernard Shaw
Playwright
George Bernard Shaw
  • Jul 30 Richard Haldane, British viscount and lord-chancellor (Life of A Smith), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1928)

Famous Deaths

  • Jul 4 Istvan Ferenczi, Hungarian sculptor, dies at 64

Person of interestAmedeo Avogadro

Jul 9 Amedeo Avogadro, Italian scientist who contributed to molecular theory, including what is known as Avogadro's law (6.022 x 10 ^ 23), dies at 79

Scientist Amedeo Avogadro
Scientist
Amedeo Avogadro
  • Jul 9 James Strang, Mormon splinter group leader (b. 1813)
  • Jul 15 Margaretha J de Neufville, author (The Kidnap), dies at 81

Person of interestRobert Schumann

Jul 29 Robert Schumann, German composer (Humoresque, Neue Zeitschrift fuer Musik), dies at 46

Composer Robert Schumann
Composer
Robert Schumann



What Happened in 1856