| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1845 | |
| 2 | 1846 | - 25 Apr 1846—2 Feb 1848:
 Mexican-American War
- 10 Sep 1846—10 Sep 1846: The sewing machine is patented by Elias Howe
|
| 3 | 1847 | - 1847—1847: US Mormons make Salt Lake City their centre
- Jan 1847—Jan 1847: An anesthetic used for the first time in England (James Simpson used ether to numb the pain of labour)
|
| 4 | 1848 | - 1848—1848: First commercial production of chewing gum
- 24 Jan 1848—24 Jan 1848: Gold found at Sutter's Mill, California - starts the California gold rush
- 11 Jul 1848—11 Jul 1848: Waterloo railway station in London opens
|
| 5 | 1849 | - 1849—1849: Florin (2 shilling coin) introduced as the first step to decimalisation - which finally
occurred in 1971!
- 4 Mar 1849—9 Jul 1850:
 Zachary Taylor U.S. Presidency
|
| 6 | 1850 | |
| 7 | 1851 | - 1851—1851: Gold discovered in Australia
- 1 May 1851—1 May 1851: Great exhibition of the works of industry of all nations ('Crystal Palace' exhibition) opened in Hyde Park
|
| 8 | 1852 | - 1852—1852: Tasmania ceases to be a convict settlement
- 1852—1852: Wells Fargo established in USA
|
| 9 | 1853 | |
| 10 | 1854 | - 1854—1854: Cigarettes introduced into Britain
- 27 Mar 1854—27 Mar 1854: Britain declares war on Russia (Crimean War)
- 25 Oct 1854—25 Oct 1854: Battle of Balaklava in Crimea (charge of the Light Brigade)
|
| 11 | 1856 | - 1856—1856: End of Crimean War
- 29 Jan 1856—29 Jan 1856: Victoria Cross created by Royal Warrant, backdated to 1854 to recognise acts
during the Crimean War (first award ceremony 26 June 1857)
|
| 12 | 1857 | |
| 13 | 1858 | - 1858—1858: 'The great stink' - smell of the River Thames forced Parliament to stop work
- 1858—1858: Royal Opera House opens in Covent Garden, London
|
| 14 | 1859 | - 1859—1859: Peaceful picketing legalised in Britain
- 25 Apr 1859—25 Apr 1859: Work started on building the Suez canal (opened 17 Nov 1869)
- 4 May 1859—4 May 1859: Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge opened at Saltash giving rail link between Devon
and Cornwall
- 24 Nov 1859—24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes 'The Origin of Species'
|
| 15 | 1860 | - 29 Aug 1860—29 Aug 1860: First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
|
| 16 | 1861 | |
| 17 | 1862 | - 1862—1862: Lincoln issues first legal US paper money (Greenbacks)
- 20 Apr 1862—20 Apr 1862: First pasteurisation test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
|
| 18 | 1863 | - 1863—1863: Football Association founded (UK)
- 1863—1863: Opening of state institution for criminally insane at Broadmoor, England
- 10 Jan 1863—10 Jan 1863: First section of the London Underground Railway opens
|
| 19 | 1864 | - 1864—1864: A man-powered submarine, 'Hunley' sank a Federal steam ship USS Housatonic at the entrance to Charleston harbour in 1864 - the first recorded successful attack by a submarine on a surface ship
- 11 Mar 1864—11 Mar 1864: The Great Sheffield Flood - over 250 died when a new dam broke while it was being filled for the first time
- 20 Aug 1864—20 Aug 1864: Red Cross established - Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention
- 8 Dec 1864—8 Dec 1864: Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon officially opened
|
| 20 | 1865 | - 1865—1865: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) becomes first woman doctor in England [she later became the first woman mayor in England, in Aldeburgh 1908]
- 1865—1865: First concrete roads built in Britain
- 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: End of American Civil War - slavery abolished in USA
- 14 Apr 1865—14 Apr 1865: Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth
- 15 Apr 1865—4 Mar 1869:
 Andrew Johnson U.S. Presidency
- 5 Jul 1865—5 Jul 1865: William Booth (1829-1912) founds Salvation Army, in London
|
| 21 | 1867 | - 1 Jul 1867—1 Jul 1867: The British North America Act takes effect, creating the Canadian Confederation
|
| 22 | 1868 | - 1868—1868: Last convicts landed in Australia (Western Australia)
|
| 23 | 1869 | - 1869—1869: Ball bearings, celluloid, margarine, and washing machines, all invented
- 4 Mar 1869—4 Mar 1877:
 Ulysses S. Grant U.S. Presidency
- 23 Nov 1869—23 Nov 1869: Cutty Sark launched in Dumbarton
|
| 24 | 1870 | - 1870—1870: GPO takes over the privately-owned Telegraph Companies (nationalised)
- 1870—1870: Dr Thomas Barnardo opens his first home for destitute children
- 1870—1870: Water closets come into wide use
- 1870—1870: Diamonds discovered in Kimberley, South Africa
- 1 Oct 1870—1 Oct 1870: First British postcard - halfpenny post
|
| 25 | 1871 | - 27 Mar 1871—27 Mar 1871: First Rugby Football international, England v Scotland, played in Edinburgh
- 29 Mar 1871—29 Mar 1871: Opening of Royal Albert Hall, London
- 29 Jun 1871—29 Jun 1871: Trades Unions legalised in Britain, but picketing made illegal
|
| 26 | 1872 | - 1872—1872: Licensing hours introduced
- 1872—1872: Penalties introduced for failing to register births, marriages & deaths (Eng & Wales)
- 4 Dec 1872—4 Dec 1872: American ship 'Mary Celeste' is found abandoned by the British brig 'Dei Gratia' in the Atlantic Ocean
|
| 27 | 1874 | - 1874—1874: Factory Act introduces 56-hour week
- 5 Apr 1874—5 Apr 1874: Birkenhead Park opened, said to be the first civic public park in the world - features of it later copied in Central Park, New York
|
1846 - 1874 (27 years) 
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James K. Polk U.S. Presidency
Millard Fillmore U.S. Presidency
Franklin Pierce U.S. Presidency
James Buchanan U.S. Presidency
Abraham Lincoln U.S. Presidency
American Civil War