References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

1815 January 1 Birth of Charles Renouvier French philosopher (neocriticism). [1] January 8 Birth of George Webb Morell Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1883. [1] Birth of Lawrence Pike Graham Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1905. [1] January 9 Birth of William Jackson composer. [1] January 10 Birth of Alexander Brydie Dyer Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1874. [1] Birth of Thomas Williams Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1862. [1] January 11 Birth of Sir John A MacDonald (Conservative) first Prime Minister of Canada (1867-73). [1] January 13 Birth of William Henry French Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1881. [1] January 15 Birth of Henry Morris Naglee Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1886. [1] January 16 Birth of Adolph Trube composer. [1] Birth of Henry Wagner "Old Brains" Halleck Major-General (Union Army). [1] January 18 Birth of James Chesnut Jr Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1885. [1] Birth of Richard Yates Warsaw Kentucky, Governor-Illinois (1861-65), died in 1873. [1] Birth of Konstantin von Tischendorf in Lengefeld, Germany; Biblical critic, discovered the Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript from the fourth century with most of the Old and New Testaments. [37] January 21 Birth of Horace Wells dentist (pioneered use of medical anesthesia). [1] January 22 Birth of Ferdinand Christian Wilhelm Praeger composer. [1] January 28 Birth of Andrew Jackson Hamilton Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1875. [1] February 2 Birth of Nathaniel Collins McLean Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1905. [1] February 18 Birth of Henri Leys Flemish painter. [1] February 21 Birth of Ernest Meissonier French painter/sculptor. [1] February 25 Birth of Robert Hall Chilton Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1879. [1] March 2 Birth of Antonio Buzzolla composer. [1] March 8 Birth of Jean Delphin Alard French violinist/composer. [1] March 14 Birth of Josephine Lang composer. [1] March 30 Birth of Wincenty Studzinski composer. [1] April 1 Birth of Otto Von Bismarck Germany, chancellor (1866-90). [1] April 6 Birth of Friedrich Robert Volkmann composer. [1] April 11 Birth of Klara Fey German orchestra leader (Deutscher Arbeiterverein). [1] April 12 Birth of Henry Hugo Pierson composer. [1] April 24 Birth of Anthony Trollope England, novelist/poet (Barchester Towers). [1] Birth of James Edward Harrison Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1875. [1] April 28 Birth of Andrew Jackson Smith Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1897. [1] April 29 Birth of Abram Duryee Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1890. [1] May 3 Birth of Hermanus W Witteveen Dutch theologist. [1] May 5 Birth of Eugène-Marin Labiche French playwright. [1] May 18 Birth of Thomas Stanhope Bocock representative (Confederacy), died in 1891. [1] May 19 Birth of John Gross Barnard Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1882. [1] May 20 Birth of Barthélémy Menn Swiss graphic artist/painter. [1] May 27 Birth of Henry Parkes British journalist/premier of Australia. [1] August 1 Birth of Richard Henry Dana spent two years before mast. [1] August 29 Birth of Anna Ella Carroll US, civil war writer (Reconstruction). [1] October 31 Birth of Karl Weierstrass Germany, mathematician (theory of functions). [1] November 1 Birth of Crawford Williamson Long surgeon/pioneer (use of ether). [1] November 2 Birth of George Boole mathematician (Boolean algebra). [1] November 12 Birth of Elizabeth Cady Stanton Johnstown New York, suffragist (80 Years and More). [1] November 15 Birth of John Banvard New York City, painted world's largest painting (3 mile canvas). [1] December 10 Birth of Ada Byron (Lovelace) London England, considered the first computer programmer. [1] December 21 Birth of Thomas Couture French painter/author. [1] December 22 Birth of Johann J Bachofen Swiss judicial historian. [1] Birth of Lucien Petipa French dancer/choreographer/ballet leader. [1] December 23 Birth of Henry Highland Garnet Maryland, minister/abolitionist/diplomat. [1] December 25 Birth of Temistocle Solera composer. [1] December 26 Birth of Israel Bush Richardson Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1862. [1] December 31 Birth of George Gordon Meade Major General (Union Army), died in 1872. [1] 1816 January 7 Birth of Stephen Miller Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1881. [1] January 9 Birth of John Palmer Usher Secretary Interior (Union) died in 1889. [1] January 11 Birth of Fitz-Henry Warren Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1878. [1] January 19 Birth of Henry Gray Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1892. [1] January 23 Birth of Carl Herrmann near Hanover Germany, stage magician. [1] January 26 Birth of Lloyd Tilghman Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1863. [1] January 30 Birth of Nathaniel Prentiss Banks Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1894. [1] February 17 Birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Markull composer. [1] February 20 Birth of Josef Michal Ksawery Jan Poniatowski composer. [1] March 12 Birth of David Stuart Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1868. [1] March 14 Birth of Montgomery Dent Corse Alexandria Virginia, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1895. [1] March 19 Birth of Johannes Josephus Hermanus Verhulst composer. [1] March 21 Birth of Charlotte Bronte novelist/poet. [1] March 27 Birth of George Elvey composer. [1] March 29 Birth of James Gallant Spears Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1869. [1] April 8 Birth of Frederick William Burton painter. [1] April 13 Birth of William Sterndale Bennett composer. [1] April 16 Birth of Edward "Old Allegheny" Johnson Major General (Confederate Army). [1] April 21 Birth of Charlotte Brontë Tornton England, novelist (Jane Eyre). [1] Birth of Louis Trezevant Wigfall Confederate Army, died in 1874. [1] April 22 Birth of Philip James Bailey English poet (Festus). [1] May 3 Birth of Montgomery Cunningham Meigs Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1892. [1] May 14 Birth of Gualtiero Sanelli composer. [1] May 16 Birth of Henry Hopkins Sibley Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1886. [1] May 24 Birth of Emanuel Leutze US, painter (Washington Crossing the Delaware). [1] Birth of Robert Seaman Granger (Union Army Brevet Major General, died in 1894). [1] July 21 Birth of Paul Julius Baron von Reuter founded Reuters news service. [1] July 23 Birth of Charlotte Sanders Cushman US, actress (Lady MacBeth). [1] August 24 Birth of Sir Daniel Gooch laid first successful transatlantic cables. [1] September 11 Carl Zeiss is born. [5] December 6 Birth of Henry Eustace McCulloch Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1895. [1] December 13 Birth of Clement Claiborne Clay MC (Confederacy), died in 1882. [1] Birth of E Werner von Siemens German artillery officer/inventor. [1] December 18 Birth of Alfred Elzey Jones Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1871. [1] December 27 Birth of Eliakim Parker Scammon Brigadier-General (Union volunteers), died in 1894. [1] 1817 January 1 Birth of Martin H Klaproth Germany, chemist. [1] January 8 Birth of John Selden Roane Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1867. [1] January 14 Birth of Harmen S Sytstra Dutch poet/editor (Iduna). [1] January 15 Birth of Lewis Golding Arnold Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1871. [1] January 18 Birth of Jacques Gregoir composer. [1] January 31 Birth of Antony Winkler Prins Dutch writer (Groiler Encyclopaedia). [1] February 2 Birth of John Glover English chemist (sulfuric acid). [1] Birth of Jose Maria de la Purificacion Ventura composer. [1] February 3 Birth of Emile Racine Gauthier Prudent composer. [1] Birth of Samuel Ryan Curtis Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1866. [1] February 7 Birth of Frederick Douglass Maryland, first high ranking black in US government. [1] Birth of Leroy Pope Walker US lawyer/Confederate minister of War (1861). [1] February 8 Birth of Richard Stoddert Ewell Lieutenant General (Confederate Army), dies in 1872. [1] February 14 Birth of Frederick Douglass African-American abolitionist/lecturer/editor. [1] February 15 Birth of Charles F Daubigny French restauranteur/painter. [1] February 17 Birth of Frederick Douglass famous African-American. [1] February 18 Birth of Lewis Addison Armistead Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1863. [1] Birth of Walter Page Lane Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1892. [1] February 19 Birth of Willem III last male King of Netherlands (1849-90). [1] February 21 Birth of José Zorrilla y Moral Vallodolid Spain, poet/dramatist (El rey Loco). [1] February 22 Birth of Niels Wilhelm Gade Danish violinist/composer/conductor. [1] February 23 Birth of George Watts London, painter. [1] February 28 Birth of James Craig Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1888. [1] March 2 Birth of János Arany Hungary, epic poet (Toldi, Death of King Buda). [1] March 5 Birth of Austen H Layard British archaeologist/diplomat. [1] March 19 Birth of Lewis Henry Little Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1862. [1] March 22 Birth of Braxton Bragg General (Confederate Army), died in 1876. [1] March 24 Birth of Aime Maillart composer. [1] March 26 Birth of Herman Haupt Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1905. [1] March 28 Birth of Mariano Soriano Fuertes y Piqueras composer. [1] March 29 Birth of Constantine S Aksakov Russian historian/poet. [1] April 1 Birth of Johannes J van Oosterzee Dutch theologist. [1] April 2 Birth of Teodulo Mabellini composer. [1] April 4 Birth of John Wilson Sprague Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1893. [1] April 13 Birth of Alphonse Wauters Belgian historian/archivist (Brussels). [1] April 18 Birth of George Henry Lewes English philosophical writer (Life of Goethe). [1] April 19 Birth of John Philip painter. [1] May 2 Birth of Zikmund Michal Kolesovsky composer. [1] May 5 Birth of George Washington Julian MC (Union), died in 1899. [1] May 18 Birth of James William Denver Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1892. [1] May 31 Birth of Edouard Deldevez composer. [1] Birth of Georg Herwegh writer. [1] July 12 Birth of Henry David Thoreau Concord Massachusetts, naturalist/author/pacifist. [1] July 19 Birth of Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke US, army nurse (union). [1] September 6 Birth of Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt a Canadian founding father. [1] September 27 Birth of Hiram R Revels Fayetteville North Carolina, first black US senator. [1] October 17 Birth of Samuel Ringgold Ward Maryland, minister/abolitionist/author. [1] November 12 Birth of Bahá'u'lláh (Mirza Husayn Ali) founded Bahá'ís faith. [1] November 21 Birth of Richard B Garnett Brigadier General, killed during Pickett's charge. [1] November 30 Birth of Theodor Mommsen Germany, historian/writer (Nobel Prize 1902). [1] December 19 Birth of James Jay Archer Brigadier-General (Confederate Army) died in 1864. [1] 1818 January 11 Birth of John Reese Kenly Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1891. [1] January 14 Birth of Zacharias Topelius Finnish historical novelist (Surgeon's Stories). [1] January 17 Birth of Sir Antoine Dorion (Liberal) joint premier of Canada (1858, 1863-64). [1] January 18 Birth of Johannes van Vloten Dutch literary/theologist. [1] January 28 Birth of George Sewall Boutwell MC (Union), died in 1905. [1] January 31 Birth of William Raine Peck Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1871. [1] February 6 Birth of William Maxwell Evarts (Union), died in 1901. [1] February 8 Birth of Austin Blair Governor/MC (Union), died in 1894. [1] February 10 Birth of Isham Green Harris Governor (Confederacy), died in 1897. [1] February 12 Birth of Otto Ludwig German writer (Die Heiterethei). [1] February 23 Birth of Major General Jeremy F Gilmer General/Chief Engineer Confederate War Department. [1] March 10 Birth of George Wythe Randolph Secretary of War (Confederacy), died in 1867. [1] March 11 Birth of John Wilkins Whitfield Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1879. [1] March 12 Birth of John Lorimar Worden Captain (Union Navy), died in 1897. [1] March 13 Birth of Albion Parris Howe Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1897. [1] March 23 Birth of Don Carlos Buell Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1898. [1] March 25 Birth of Isaac Ingalls Stevens Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1862. [1] March 27 Birth of Jakob Axel Josephson composer. [1] March 28 Birth of Wade Hampton Charleston South Carolina, Lieutenant General (Confederate Army), died in 1902. [1] April 5 Birth of Lewis Baldwin Parsons Brevet Major General (Union volunteers). [1] April 6 Birth of Francis Henry Brown composer. [1] April 8 Birth of Christaan IX king of Denmark (1863-1906). [1] April 22 Birth of Cadwallader Colden Washburn Major General (Union volunteers). [1] April 23 Birth of James Anthony Froude historian. [1] Birth of John Gill Shorter Governor (Confederacy), died in 1872. [1] April 25 Birth of Marek Konrad Sokolowski composer. [1] April 29 Birth of Alexander II [N Romanov] Tsar of Russia (1855-81). [1] May 1 Birth of José Amador de los Ríos Spanish historian/poet. [1] May 5 Birth of Karl Marx philosopher (Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital). [1] May 20 Birth of William George Fargo founder (Wells Fargo). [1] May 25 Birth of Jacob Burckhardt Swiss cultural historian. [1] May 27 Birth of Amelia Jenks Bloomer suffragette known for her pantaloons. [1] May 28 Birth of Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard St-Bernard Louisiana, US Confederate General (Hero of Sumter). [1] May 31 Birth of John Albion Andrew Governor (Union), died in 1867. [1] June 17 Birth of Charles Gounod Paris, France, opera composer (Faust). [1] July 6 Birth of Adolf Anderssen Prussia, world chess champion (1851-66). [1] July 30 Birth of Emily Brontë England, novelist (Wuthering Heights). [1] August 1 Birth of Maria Mitchell first American woman astronomer on Nantucket Island. [1] August 13 Birth of Lucy Stone pioneered women's rights. [1] September 12 Birth of Richard Jordan Gatling US, inventor (hand-cranked machine gun). [1] October 28 Birth of Ivan Turgenev Russia, novelist/poet/playwright (Fathers and Sons). [1] November 5 Birth of Benjamin F Butler Union general/presidential candidate (anti-monopoly). [1] November 9 Birth of Ivan Turgenev Russia, novelist/poet/playwright (Fathers and Sons). [1] November 29 Birth of George Brown Canada, publisher (Toronto Globe), Prime Minister (Liberal) (1858). [1] December 4 Birth of William Wing "Old Blizzards" Loring Major General (Confederate Army). [1] December 12 Birth of Paul Octave Hebert Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1880. [1] December 13 Birth of Mary Todd Lincoln first lady (1861-65). [1] December 21 Birth of Amalia wife of king Otto of Greece. [1] Birth of Lewis H Morgan US, etnologist (Systems of Consanguinity). [1] December 23 Birth of David Addison Weisiger Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1899. [1] December 24 Birth of James Prescott Joule physicist (discovered conservation of energy). [1] December 30 Birth of James Cantey Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1874. [1] December 31 Birth of Maria J Small-Gartmann actress. [1] 1819 January 1 Birth of Philip Schaff in Chur, Switzerland; early proponent of Protestant/Catholic ecumenicism. [37] Birth of Arthur Hugh Clough poet, friend of Matthew Arnold. [1] Birth of George Foster Shepley Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1878. [1] January 3 Birth of Thomas Hill Watts Attorney General (Confederacy), died in 1892. [1] January 12 Birth of Zealous Bates Tower Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1900. [1] January 14 Birth of Fabio Campana composer. [1] Birth of Frederick Steele Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1868. [1] February 1 Birth of Henry Lawrence Eustis Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1885. [1] February 4 Birth of Joshua Norton San Francisco California, Norton I, emperor of USA. [1] February 8 Birth of John Ruskin writer/critic/artist/Gothic Revivalist (Prerafaelite). [1] February 10 Birth of Richard Storrs Willis composer. [1] February 11 Birth of Samuel Parkman Tuckerman composer. [1] February 14 Birth of James Green Martin Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1878. [1] February 15 Birth of Christopher Sholes Mooresburg Pennsylvania, inventor (typewriter). [1] February 18 Birth of Joseph Philbrick Webster composer. [1] February 19 Birth of Mark Prager Lindo English/Dutch author/novelist/writer. [1] February 22 Birth of Bernardo Calvo Puig composer. [1] Birth of James Russell Lowell poet/critic/diplomat/abolitionist. [1] March 4 Birth of Charles Oberthur composer. [1] March 11 Birth of Henry Tate English sugar producer (Tate Gallery). [1] Birth of Marius Petipa French ballet dancer/choreographer (Don Quiotte). [1] March 19 Birth of David Henry Williams Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1891. [1] March 22 Birth of William Wirt Adams Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1888. [1] March 26 Birth of Francisco Eduardo da Costa composer. [1] Birth of Louise Otto Germany, author/feminist. [1] March 29 Birth of Edwin Drake drilled first productive US oil well. [1] Birth of Isaac Mayer Wise rabbi, founded American Hebrew Congregations. [1] April 6 Birth of Johann A H Scheler Belgian librarian. [1] April 7 Birth of Hubert Leonard composer. [1] April 14 Birth of Charles Halle pianist/conductor/founder (Halle Orchestra). [1] April 18 Birth of Franz von Suppé Spalato Dalmatia, composer (Light Cavalry Over). [1] May 1 Birth of William Steele Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1885. [1] May 3 Birth of Nicola De Giosa composer. [1] May 5 Birth of Stanislaw Moniuszko Polish composer. [1] May 15 Birth of Thomas Leonidas Crittenden Major General (Union volunteers). [1] May 16 Birth of Daniel Ammen Captain (Union Navy), died in 1898. [1] May 17 Birth of Johann Nepomuk Kafka composer. [1] May 18 Birth of Julius Hopp composer. [1] May 24 Birth of Victoria Alexandrine London England, Queen of Great Britain (1837-1901). [1] May 27 Birth of Julia Ward Howe US, author/lecturer (Battle Hymn of the Republic). [1] May 28 Birth of William Birney Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1907. [1] May 31 Birth of Walt Whitman West Hills New York, poet (Leaves of Grass). [1] June 5 Birth of John Couch Adams co-discover (Neptune). [1] June 10 Birth of Gustave Courbet France, realist painter (Funeral at Ornans). [1] June 12 Birth of Charles Kingsley England, clergyman/novelist (Westward Ho!). [1] June 20 Birth of Jacques Offenbach Cologne, French composer (Tales of Hoffmann). [1] June 26 Birth of Abner Doubleday credited with inventing American baseball. [1] June 30 Birth of William A Wheeler (Republican) 19th Vice President (1877-81). [1] July 9 Birth of Elias Howe Spencer Massachusetts, invented sewing machine. [1] August 1 Birth of Herman Melville US, author (Moby Dick, Billy Budd). [1] August 9 Birth of William Thomas Green Morton dentist, used ether (HOF 1920). [1] August 13 Birth of Sir George Gabriel Stokes physicist/mathematician (Spectroscope). [1] August 25 Birth of Allan Pinkerton founded Chicago detective agency. [1] September 13 Birth of Clara Schumann (née Wieck) Leipzig, Germany, pianist/composer. [1] September 17 Birth of Thomas Andrews Hendricks (Democrat) 21st US Vice President; died in office. [1] September 18 Birth of Jean-Bernard-Léon Foucault his pendulum proved Earth rotates. [1] October 20 Birth of Mirza Ali Mohammad [The Báb], forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh. [1] November 10 Birth of Cyrus West Field financier/success of first transatlantic cable. [1] November 22 Birth of George Eliot England, novelist (Silas Marner). [1] December 13 Birth of Edwin George Monk composer. [1] December 16 Birth of Robert Selden Garnett Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1861. [1] December 17 Birth of Samuel Jones Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1887. [1] December 18 Birth of Jakov P Polonski Russian poet (Stichotvorenija). [1] December 19 Birth of James Clifford Veatch Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1895. [1] December 20 Birth of John Geary first San Francisco postmaster, first mayor (May 1, 1850). [1] December 22 Birth of Franz Wilhelm Abt German composer/choir conductor. [1] Birth of George Eliot England, Victorian novelist (Adam Bede). [1] December 30 Birth of John White Geary Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1873. [1] Birth of Theodor Fontane German writer (Effi Briest). [1]