On This Day

What Happened in December 1857

Historical Events

  • Dec 8 1st production of Dion Boucicault's "Poor of New York"
  • Dec 16 Earthquake in Naples, Italy

Music releaseMusic Premiere

Dec 29 Franz Liszt's symphonic poem "Die Hunnenschlacht" premieres in Weimar

Composer & Pianist Franz Liszt
Composer & Pianist
Franz Liszt

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Dec 31 Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada

Queen of the United Kingdom Queen Victoria
Queen of the United Kingdom
Queen Victoria

Famous Birthdays


Person of interestJoseph Conrad

Dec 3 Joseph Conrad, Polish novelist (Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness), born in Berdychiv, Poland (d. 1924)

Novelist Joseph Conrad
Novelist
Joseph Conrad
  • Dec 7 Niccolò van Westerhout, Italian composer, born in Mola di Bari, Italy (d. 1898)
  • Dec 15 Eugeniusz Pankiewicz, Polish composer, born in Siedlce, Poland (d. 1898)
  • Dec 16 E. E. [Edward Emerson] Barnard, American astronomer (Jupiter's 5th satellite), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1923)
  • Dec 31 King Kelly, American baseball player, born in Troy, New York (d. 1894)

Famous Weddings


LoveWedding of Interest

Dec 30 Confederate army cavalry battalion commander John S. Mosby (24) weds Pauline Clarke in Nashville

The Gray Ghost John Singleton Mosby
The Gray Ghost
John Singleton Mosby

Famous Deaths

  • Dec 3 Christian D Rauch, German sculptor, dies at 80
  • Dec 11 Francois Henri Joseph Castil-Blaze, composer, dies at 73
  • Dec 17 Francis Beaufort, Irish admiral and hydrographer (Beaufort wind force scale), dies at 83

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