- March 17
- Postage stamp canceling machine patent is issued. [1]
- March 29
- In Ka'u District, Hawaii, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs. [53]
- April 2
- In Ka'u District, Island of Hawaii, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurs. This earthquake causes 77 deaths (tsunami, 46; landslide, 31). [53]
- April 10
- British defeat King of Abyssinia at Magdala. [1]
- April 13
- Theodorus [Kasa], emperor of Abyssinia, commits suicide. [1]
- May 15
- Dutch Government of Zuylen van Nijevelt falls. [1]
- May 16
- US President Andrew Johnson acquitted during Senate impeachment, by one vote. [1]
- May 26
- Last British public execution: Michael Barrett, Irish nationalist. [1]
- June 23
- Christopher Latham Sholes patents "Type-writer". [1]
- (month unknown)
- The Ornans chondrite meteorite (type CO3) falls in France. [523.90]
- July 14
- Tape measure enclosed in a circular case is patented, by AJ Fellows, in Connecticut, USA. [1]
- July 25
- Territory of Wyoming is created in the USA. [1]
- August 8
- In Pillistfer, Estonia, a building is struck by a falling meteorite. [521]
- August 13
- In Arica, Peru, a magnitude 8.5-9.0 earthquake occurs, with catastrophic tsunamis killing 25,000 in South America. Damage extreme (US$300 million). [1] [53] [383.A8]
- August 18
- Pierre Janssan discovers helium in solar spectrum during eclipse. [1]
- September 23
- Grito de Lares proclaims Puerto Rico's independence (crushed by Spain). [1]
- September 28
- Battle of Alcolea, causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France. [1]
- Opelousas Massacre at Saint Landry Parish, Louisiana (200 blacks killed). [1]
- October 10
- Cuba revolts for independence against Spain. [1]
- Declaration of the plan of Yara in Cuba. [1]
- October 17
- Constitution of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg comes into effect. [1]
- October 21
- Severe earthquake at 7:53 AM, centered in Hayward, California. [1]
- November 23
- Louis Ducos du Hauron patents trichrome color photo process. [1]
- December 2
- First British government of Benjamin Disraeli resigns. [1]
- December 9
- First British government of William Gladstone forms. [1]
- December 25
- Despite bitter opposition, US President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion (the Civil War). [1]
1869
- February 2
- James Oliver invents the removable tempered steel plow blade. [1]
- April 6
- First plastic, celluloid, is patented by John Wesley Hyatt, in Albany, New York, USA. [1]
- April 9
- Hudson Bay Company cedes its territory to Canada. [1]
- April 13
- Steam power brake is patented (George Westinghouse). [1]
- May 10
- The final railroad spike is driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, completing the US Transcontinental Railroad. [572.15] [762.78]
- May 15
- Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman's Suffrage Association in the USA. [1] [5]
- June 1
- Voting Machine patented by Thomas Edison. [1]
- June 8
- Ives W McGaffey of Chicago patents first vacuum cleaner (it sucks). [1]
- June 9
- Charles Elmer Hires sells his first root beer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). [1]
- (month unknown)
- The Angra dos Reis stony meteorite falls in Brazil. [523.104]
- July 15
- Margarine is patented in Paris, for use by French Navy. [1]
- August 17
- First international boat race (Thames River) (Oxford beats Harvard). [1]
- September 6
- The White Star Line is founded, with 400,000 pounds sterling capital. [274.11]
- Mine fire kills 179 at Avondale, Pennsylvania, USA. [1]
- September 10
- Baptist minister invents the rickshaw in Yokohama, Japan. [1]
- September 24
- "Black Friday" in the US: Wall Steet panic after Gould and Fisk attempt to corner gold; U.S. government begins to sell off large quantities of gold. [1] [5]
- October 1
- Vienna, Austria issues the world's first postcards. [1] [5]
- October 16
- The Cardiff Giant is discovered (a hoax). [5]
- November 17
- The 190km Suez Canal in Egypt is opened for traffic. First ship through is French imperial yacht Aigle, followed by military ships of Austria, Britain, and Russia, total 50 ships. [1] [560.84] [722.52] [729.38]
- December 8
- 20th Roman Catholic ecumenical council, Vatican I, opens in Rome. [1]
- December 10
- Women suffrage (right to vote) granted in Wyoming Territory (US first). [1]
- December 28
- William Finley Semple of Mount Vernon, Ohio, USA, patents chewing gum. [1] [5]
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