1844 - "INVENTION OF THE TELEGRAPH."
1845 - Florida and Texas admitted to the United States; beginning of
President Folk's Administration.
- Sir John Franklin sails on his last search for the Northwest
Passage.
- England and France war on the Argentine Confederation.
1846 - War between the United States and Mexico; General Taylor captures Monterey; California and New Mexico occupied by United States troops. See "THE ACQUISITION OF CALIFORNIA."
- Treaty with England arranges the Oregon boundary.
- Elias Howe patents the sewing-machine.
- "THE DISCOVERY OF NEPTUNE."
- Great Famine begins in Ireland. Corn-Law agitation at its
height in England, "REPEAL OF THE ENGLISH CORN LAWS."
- Unsuccessful uprising of the Poles. Cracow annexed to Austria.
Election of Pope Pius IX; his reforms. See "THE REFORMS OF Pius
IX."
1847 - General Taylor conquers Northern Mexico; Battle of Buena Vista. General Scott captures Vera Cruz, marches on the city of Mexico, wins repeated battles, and enters the capital in triumph, September 14th. See "THE MEXICAN WAR."
- "FAMINE IN IRELAND."
- Tumult occasioned in Italy by the papal reforms; civil war of the Sonderbund in Switzerland; France finally subjugates Morocco. See "THE FALL OF ABD-EL-KADER."
1848 - Peace signed between Mexico and the United States; cession of large territory by Mexico.
- "DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA."
- The Mormons settle in Utah. See "MIGRATIONS OF THE MORMONS."
- Italian uprisings in Milan and Sicily; Sardinia grants a
constitution to its subjects. See "THE REVOLUTION OF FEBRUARY
IN FRANCE." Gathering of a workingmen's convention in Paris.
- Outbreak of revolution in Vienna (March 13th) and in Berlin
(March 18th). See "REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS IN GERMANY."
- Meeting of the German Parliament at Frankfort.
- Venice declares itself a republic. Sardinia begins war for the "liberation of Italy"; Battle of Custozza. Bloody outbreak of communists in Paris. Unsuccessful revolts in Poland and Bohemia.
- "THE REVOLT OF HUNGARY."
- Storming of Vienna by government troops. Flight of Pius IX from
Rome. Louis Napoleon elected President of France.
- The English crowd back the Boers in Southern Africa; the Boers
migrate and form the Transvaal Republic.
1849 - Zachary Taylor inaugurated as President of the United States.
- Rome declared a republic. The Sardinian troops defeated by the
Austrians at Novara, and the Sardinian King resigns his throne
to his son, Victor Emmanuel II. Austria again dominant in
Italy. Rome stormed by French troops. See "RISE AND FALL OF THE
ROMAN REPUBLIC."
- Venice surrenders to the Austrians after nearly a year of
siege. Hungary declared a republic; her forces crushed by the
- Russians in aid of Austria.
- Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein at war. A German confederation established.
- "LIVINGSTONE'S AFRICAN DISCOVERIES."
- The Punjab annexed to British India.
1850 - Death of President Taylor.
- Congress passes the Clay compromise measures admitting California as a free State, but compelling the return of fugitive slaves by the North.
- Tai-ping rebellion begins in China.
1851 - First great world's fair in the Crystal Palace, London.
- "DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN AUSTRALIA."
- "THE COUP D'ÉTAT OF LOUIS NAPOLEON." Napoleon dismisses the
Assembly, and is elected President of France for ten years.
1852 - Napoleon III proclaimed Emperor of France.
1853 - Franklin Pierce inaugurated as President of the United States.
- The Gadsden Purchase made from Mexico, including Southern Arizona and New Mexico. Surveys begin for a transcontinental railroad.
- Dr. Kane sets out on his arctic explorations.
- Russia quarrels with Turkey, claims a protectorate over all Christians in Turkish dominions; war begun, a Turkish fleet destroyed at Sinope. England and France interfere.
- Great successes of the Tai-pings in China.
1854 - Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill intensifies the slavery agitation in the United States; formation of the Republican party. See "THE RISE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY."
- France and England declare war against Russia; bombardment of
Bomarsund; the allies land in the Crimea; battles of the Alma, of Balaklava, of Inkerman, siege of Sebastopol.
- "THE OPENING OF JAPAN."
1855 - "THE CAPTURE OF SEBASTOPOL."
- Russian successes against the Turks in Asia.
- Overthrow of Santa Ana, Dictator of Mexico.
- Opening of a railway across the Isthmus of Panama. 1856 - Tumult and bloodshed in Kansas.
- Walker, the filibuster, seizes temporary control of Nicaragua.
- End of the Crimean War; Russia withdraws from the Danubian
Provinces.
- Second war between England and China; Persians attack
Afghanistan.
1857 - James Buchanan inaugurated as President of the United States.
The decision in the Dred Scott case extends slavery into the
Territories.
- Mormon Revolt in Utah.
- "THE INDIAN MUTINY." Nana Sahib heads the insurgents; recapture
of Delhi and Cawnpore; relief of Lucknow.
- England ends the Persian War. France joins England against
China.
- The first Atlantic cable laid and broken.
1858 - Jews admitted to share in the government of England.
- End of the Indian Mutiny; the East Indian Company transfers its authority to the Crown.
1859 - John Brown's Raid.
- Charles Darwin announces the doctrine of evolution. See "DARWIN
PUBLISHES His ORIGIN OF SPECIES."
- Russia captures Shamyl, and subdues the entire region of the
Caucasus.
- Cavour, the chief statesman of Sardinia, arranges an alliance
with France and begins a war with Austria to establish "United
Italy."
- "BATTLES OF MAGENTA AND SOLFERINO."
- Lombardy added to the Italian Kingdom; Venice remains Austrian.
1860 - Garibaldi and his "Thousand" attack the Neapolitans in
Sicily; they capture Naples. Victor Emmanuel seizes the States of the Church. See "THE KINGDOM OF ITALY ESTABLISHED."
1860 - French and English troops seize Peking and dictate peace terms.
- Election of Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, as
President of the United States. South Carolina secedes from the
Union.