On This Day

July 1856 in History

Events in History

  • 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.

Birthdays in History

  • Jul 6 Edward Anseele, Belgian socialist politician, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1938)
  • Jul 9 Daniel Guggenheim, American mining magnate and philanthropist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1930)

Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla (1856-1943)

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

Nikola Tesla
  • Jul 21 Louise Blanchard Bethune, 1st American woman architect, born in Waterloo, New York (d. 1915)
  • 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)

George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Jul 26 Irish dramatist (Pygmalion, Nobel Prize for Literature 1925), born in Dublin, Ireland

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

Deaths in History

  • Jul 4 István Ferenczy, Hungarian sculptor, dies at 64

Amedeo AvogadroAmedeo Avogadro (1776-1856)

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

Amedeo Avogadro
  • Jul 9 James Strang, American Mormon splinter group leader (self-proclaimed king of Beaver Island), dies of his wounds three weeks after being attacked by disaffected members at 43
  • Jul 15 Margaretha Jacoba de Neufville, Dutch author (The Kidnap), dies at 81

Historical Figures

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