1866
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'''1866''' is a common year starting on Monday.
Events
January – June
January 6 – Ottoman Empire|Ottoman troops clash with men of a Maronite leader Karam in St. Doumit in Lebanon - Turks are defeated
January 12 - Royal Aeronautical Society is formed (London)
January 28 - 800 Maronite troops clash with Ottoman troops in Karem Saddah, modern-day Lebanon - more battles between nationalist Maronites and Ottoman army follow
February 13 - The first daylight robbery in United States history during peacetime takes place in Liberty, Missouri. This is considered to be the first robbery committed by Jesse James and his gang, although James's role is disputed.
February 26 - The Calaveras Skull is discovered. Purported to be evidence of humans during the Pliocene Age, it turns out to be a hoax.
April 4 - Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in the city of Kiev. A design for a city gate to commemorate his escape was the inspiration for Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky's ''The Great Gate of Kiev'' from ''Pictures at an Exhibition''.
April 10 - The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.
May - Student Choen Blind fails to assassinate Otto von Bismarck in Unter den Linden in Berlin
May 2 - Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
May 16 - The Congress of the United States|U.S. Congress eliminates the half dime (U.S. coin)|dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel.
May 16 - Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer.
May 24 - Battle of Tuyuti - 32.000 soldiers of the War of the Triple Alliance|Triple Alliance defeat 24.000 Paraguayan soldiers few miles north of the Parana - 18.000 dead
June 2 - Fenian forces skirmish with Canadian militia at Battle of Ridgeway|Ridgeway and Battle of Fort Erie (1866)|Fort Erie
June 5 - Calculations indicate Pluto reached its most recent apsis|aphelion (furthest point from Sun) on this day. The next aphelion will occur in ''August 2113''.
June 8 - The Canadian Parliament meets for the first time in Ottawa.
June 11 - Agra High Court established (later shifted to Allahabad High Court.
June 14 - Beginning of the Austro-Prussian War, when the Austrians and most of the medium German states declare war on Prussia.
June 20 - The Kingdom of Italy declares war on Austria.
June 24 - At the Second Battle of Custozza, the Austrian army under Archduke Albert of Austria|Archduke Albert defeats the main Italian army, commander by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy|Victor Emmanuel.
June 27-June 29|29 - The Prussians defeat the Hanover (state)|Hanoverian army at the Battle of Langensalza.
July – December
July 3 - At the Battle of Königgratz, the Prussian army under Wilhelm I of Germany|King Wilhelm and Helmuth von Moltke the Elder|Helmuth von Moltke defeats the Austrian army of Ludwig August, Ritter von Benedek|Ludwig von Benedek, leading to a decisive Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War.
July 5 - Marriage of Princess Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein|Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, third daughter of Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein|Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
July 20 - At the Naval Battle of Lissa (1866)|Battle of Lissa, the Austrian fleet under Wilhelm von Tegetthoff defeats the Italian fleet of Carlo di Persano.
July 24 - Reconstruction: Tennessee becomes the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the United States|Union following the American Civil War.
July 25 - The Congress of the United States|U.S. 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
September 22 - Paraguay successfully defends Curupaity against the War of the Triple Alliance|Triple Alliance, scoring more than 5000 with just about 50 casualties.
October 12 - The Treaty of Vienna (1866)|Treaty of Vienna ends the war between Austria and Italy. It formalizes the annexation of Venetia by Italy.
December 21 - Fetterman's massacre - Sioux ambush and wipe out 79 cavalrymen under lieutenant colonel William J. Fetterman
Federalist revolts in Argentina
In Sweden the Riksdag of the Estates is replaced by an elected two chamber assembly, the Riksdag.
Alfred Nobel invents dynamite.
First historical mention of gerbils, "yellow rats" sent to Museum of Natural History (Musée d'Histoire Naturelle) in Paris, by father Armand David from northern China
First use of the term Ecology
Births
January 13 - Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian composer (d. 1901)
January 15 - Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1931)
January 29 - Romain Rolland, French writer, Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
March 30 - George Van Haltren, baseball player (d. 1945)
April 1 - Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1924)
April 6 - Butch Cassidy, American outlaw (d. 1909)
April 17 - Ernest Starling, British physiologist (d. 1927)
May 17- Erik Satie, French composer (d. 1925)
June 26 - George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English financier of Egyptian excavations (d. 1923)
July 28 - Beatrix Potter, English children's author (d. 1943)
August 12 - Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
September 1 - James J. Corbett, American boxer (d. 1933)
September 7 - Tristan Bernard, French writer (d. 1947)
September 10 - Jeppe Aakjaer, Danish poet and novelist |