Otto von Bismarck
Event of Interest
Jul 14 The United States Congress grants Mary Todd Lincoln a life pension in the amount of $3,000 a year
Mary Todd Lincoln
- Jul 15 Georgia becomes last confederate to be readmitted to US
- Jul 15 Manitoba becomes 5th Canadian province and NW Territories created
- Jul 15 Hudson's Bay and Northwest Territories transferred to Canada
- Jul 18 Pope Pius IX and the First Vatican Council officially proclaim the concept of papal infallibility
- Jul 19 France declares war on Prussia; Franco-Prussian war begins
Event of Interest
Jul 23 Emperor Napoleon III appoints Empress Eugenie as Regent of France
Napoleon III
- Jul 24 1st trans-US rail service begins
- Jul 30 Staten Island ferry "Westfield" burns, killing 100
- Jul 30 The Republic of Klipdrift is proclaimed by Transvaal President Andries Pretorius after the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1866 resulted in a flood of treasure hunters; ownership of the diamond fields was contested by the Boer republics