February 1859 in History

Events in History

4th Century Bible Discovered

Feb 4 One of the oldest known copies of the Bible, "The Codex Sinaiticus" (Sinai Bible), is seen in Egypt by Constantin von Tischendorf who takes the manuscript home with him

A page from the Codex Sinaiticus, displaying the Lord's Prayer. The first few letters are part of Matthew 6:4; the first new paragraph denotes Matthew 6:5. The last full sentence is Matthew 6:24; the last incomplete sentence on this page is Matthew 6:25.

Feb 5 Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexander John Cuza as the United Principalities

The Indian Mutiny

Feb 10 General Horsford defeats Begum of Oude and Nana Sahib in Indian Mutiny

Mutineers are executed by the Bengal Horse Artillery, in a painting by Orlando Noire

Feb 14 Oregon admitted as 33rd state of the Union
Feb 16 The French Government passes a law to set the A-note above middle C to a frequency of 435 Hz, in an attempt to standardize the pitch
Feb 28 Arkansas legislature requires free blacks to choose exile or slavery

Birthdays in History

Feb 2 Havelock Ellis, American physician/sexologist (Psychology of Sex)
Feb 3 Hugo Junkers, German aircraft designer (d. 1935)
Feb 4 Timofei Mikhailov, Russian revolutionary, member of Narodnaya Volya (d. 1881)
Feb 10 Alexandre Millerand, French President (d. 1943)
Feb 13 Frank van de Goes, Dutch writer/marxist theorist
Feb 13 William Strang, Scottish painter/engraver
Feb 14 George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., American engineer and inventor (Ferris Wheel), born in Galesburg, Illinois (d. 1896)
Feb 19 Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1903), born in Wik Castle, Sweden (d. 1927)