- 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]
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- 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 8
- First American transcontinental train departs from Sacramento, California. [1143.130]
- May 10
- The final railroad spike is driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, completing the US Transcontinental Railroad. [572.15] [762.78] [1143.127]
- 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]
- June 15
- Marshall Francisco Serrano os appointed regent of Spain. [1157.92]
- (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 15
- A dike separating the two sections of the Suez Canal under construction is broken, allowing water of the Red Sea to begin flowing north to the Mediterranean. [1842.250]
- 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
- Austria issues the world's first postal cards. [1] [5] [1135]
- October 16
- The Cardiff Giant is discovered (a hoax). [5]
- November 17
- The 190km Suez Canal in Egypt from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea is opened for traffic. First ship through is French imperial yacht l'Aigle, followed by military ships of Austria, Britain, and Russia, total 50 ships. [560.84] [722.52] [729.38] [1842.246,255]
- 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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