Events in History
- Feb 18 King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia becomes first King of Italy
- Mar 3 Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs and granting them the full rights of free citizens [O.S. Feb 19]
- Mar 4 Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the 16th US President
- Mar 10 West African political leader El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Segou, destroying the Bambara Empire of Mali
- Mar 17 Italy is unified into a single kingdom under Victor Emmanuel II following the campaigns led by Giuseppe Garibaldi
- Apr 15 Federal army (75,000 volunteers) mobilized by US President Abraham Lincoln (US Civil War)
- Apr 23 Robert E. Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces (US Civil War)
- Jul 21 First Battle of Bull Run [Battle of First Manassas], 1st major battle of the US Civil War is fought near Manassas, Virginia, Confederate victory
- Oct 26 Pony Express (Missouri to California) ends after 19 months
- Dec 31 22,990mm of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam in India in 1861, a world record
- More Events in History
Articles and Photos
Emancipation of the Serfs
Peasants Reading the Emancipation Manifesto, an 1873 painting by Grigory MyasoyedovMarch 3Battle of Fort Sumter
The Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter, the first battle of the American Civil WarApril 12Pony Express
San Francisco Pony Express to New York coverAugust 10