1866
Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th centuryDecades: 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s - 1860s - 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s
Years: 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 - 1866 - 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871
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2 Arts, Sciences, Literature and Philosophy 3 Births 4 Deaths |
Events
- January 12 - Royal Aeronautical Society is formed (London).
- February 13 - Jesse James robs his first bank
- April 1 - Ferruccio Busoni, pianist and composer (+ 1924)
- May 16 - The United States Congress eliminates the half dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel.
- May 16 - Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer.
- June 14 - Beginning of the Austro-Prussian War, when the Austrians and most of the medium German states declare war on Prussia.
- July 3 - Austro-Prussian War decided at the Battle of Königgratz, resulting in Prussia taking over as the prominent German nation from Austria.
- July 5 - Marriage of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, third daughter of Queen Victoria to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
- July 20 - Naval battle at Lissa between Autria Hungary and Italy.
- July 24 - Reconstruction: Tennessee becomes the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.
- July 25 - The United States Congress passes legislation authorizing the rank of General of the Army (now called "5-star general") Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first to have this rank.
- July 27 - The Atlantic Cable is successfully completed, allowing transatlantic telegraph communication for the first time.
- July 28 - The Metric Act of 1866 becomes law and legalizes the standardization of weights and measures in the United States.
- August 23 - Treaty of Prague ends the Austro-Prussian War
- In Sweden The Riksdag of the Estates is replaced by an elected two chamber assembly, The Riksdag.
- Alfred Nobel invents dynamite.
Arts, Sciences, Literature and Philosophy
Births
- January 29 - Romain Rolland, dramatist, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature in 1915 (+ 1944)
- April 1 - Ferruccio Busoni, pianist and composer (+ 1924)
- April 6 - Butch Cassidy, outlaw (+ 1909)
- May 17- Erik Satie, French composer
- July 28 - Beatrix Potter, Children's author
- September 7 - Tristan Bernard, writer
- September 21 - H. G. Wells, science fiction novelist
- Thomas Hunt Morgan, biologist
- Sun Yat-sen, Chinese Revolutionary
- Robert Broom, paleontologist
