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William Wordsworth becomes poet laureate
In 1843, after the death of Robert Southey Wordsworth became Poet Laureate. He originally refused the post due to his advanced age but the Prime Minister, Robert Peel, assured him that no duties would be expected. -
Alfred, Lord Tennyson becomes a poet laureate
In 1850, with the publication of In Memoriam, Tennyson became one of Britain's most popular poets. He was selected Poet Laureate in succession to Wordsworth. He held until the position until his death in 1892, by far the longest tenure of any laureate before or since. -
Japan opens trade to the West
The opening of Japan to the West by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, U.S.N., profoundly affected the American imagination. In the summer of 1853, Perry presented Japanese ministers with a letter from President Fillmore seeking friendly relations; in 1854 the Treaty of Kanagawa confirmed the gesture. -
U.S. Civil War begins
Scott ordered General Irvin McDowell to advance on Confederate troops stationed at Manassas Junction, Virginia. McDowell attacked on July 21, and was initially successful, but the introduction of Confederate reinforcements resulted in a Southern victory and a chaotic retreat toward Washington by federal troops. -
In France, Victor Hugo publishes Les Miserables
Hugo began to think about Les Misérables as early as 1829. He observed the specific incident that triggers the novel's action on the streets of Paris in 1845. The plot of the novel is suspenseful from start to finish; it follows both Jean Valjean's and society's struggles with good and evil. -
Lewis Carroll publishes Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
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Mohandas K. Gandhi is born in India
He was born into a Hindu Modh family in Porbanadar, Gujarat, India. His father, named Karamchand Gandhi, was the Chief Minister (diwan) of the city of Porbanadar. His mother, named Putlibai, Gandhi was born into the vaishya (business caste). He was 13 years old when he married Kasturbai (Ba) Makhanji, through his parents arrangement. Gandhi learned tolerance and non-injury to living beings from an early age. -
Thomas Edison invents the incandescent lamp
Edison invented a carbon filament that burned for forty hours. Edison placed his filament in an oxygenless bulb. (Edison evolved his designs for the lightbulb based on the 1875 patent he purchased from inventors, Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans.) -
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn appears
Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer. -
Queen Victoria Dies
Queen Victoria was the longest reigning British monarch in history, ruling the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901. Her death on January 22, 1901 at age 81 was mourned around the world and signaled an end to the Victorian Era.
