What happened in 1863

World3

• Feb 1Radicals in Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, northern Ukraine and western Russia join the January Uprising.
• Feb 2January Uprising: Polish peasants are massacred by Russian hussars at Čysta Būda, near Marijampolė.
• May 8January Uprising: The Polish insurgent army is defeated by the Russians near Gudiškis.

Japan3

• Jun 27The Chōshū Five leave Japan secretly to study at University College London, which is part of the ending of sakoku.
• Jul 16Battle of Shimonoseki Straits: The screw sloop engages with the Chōshū Domain fleet before withdrawing, in Japan's first naval engagement between elements of modern navies.
• Aug 15Bombardment of Kagoshima: The British Royal Navy bombards the town of Kagoshima in Japan in retribution, after the Namamugi Incident of 1862.

North America35

• Jan 1Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate States of America an official war goal. The signing proclaims the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's four million slaves and immediately frees 50,000 of them, with the rest freed as the Union Army advances. This event marks the start of America's Reconstruction Era.
• Jan 29American Indian Wars – Bear River Massacre: The United States Army, led by General Patrick Edward Connor, massacres Chief Bear Hunter and forces of the Shoshone, in the Idaho Territory.
• Mar 3The U.S. National Conscription Act is signed, leading to the New York City draft riots in July.
• Mar 25U.S. Army Private Jacob Parrott, a soldier in "Andrews' Raiders", becomes the first person to receive the Medal of Honor, presented by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to six of the Raiders. Parrott is followed that day by six others.
• May 1American Civil War: Battle of Chancellorsville – General Robert E. Lee defeats Union forces with 13,000 Confederate casualties, among them Stonewall Jackson (fatally wounded by friendly fire), and 17,500 Union casualties.
• May 14American Civil War: Battle of Jackson, Mississippi – Union General Ulysses S. Grant defeats Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, opening the way for the siege of Vicksburg.
• May 18American Civil War: The siege of Vicksburg begins (ends July 4, when 30,189 Confederate men surrender).
• May 21The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is formed in Battle Creek, Michigan.
• Jun 9American Civil War: The Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia, ends inconclusively.
• Jul 1Battle of Gettysburg – Union forces under George G. Meade turn back a Confederate invasion by Robert E. Lee in the largest battle of the war (28,000 Confederate casualties, 23,000 Union).
• Jul 4Siege of Vicksburg – Ulysses S. Grant and the Union army capture the Confederate city Vicksburg, Mississippi, after the town surrenders following a 47-day siege.
• Jul 13New York City draft riots: In New York City, opponents of conscription to the American Civil War begin 3 days of violent rioting, which will be regarded as the worst in the history of the United States with around 120 killed.
• Aug 8American Civil War: Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (Davis refuses the request upon receipt).
• Sep 19Battle of Chickamauga – Confederate forces turn back a Union invasion of Georgia.
• Nov 19U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address, at the military cemetery dedication ceremony in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

20 more in the app

Europe16

• Jan 2Master Lucius Tar Paint Company (Teerfarbenfabrik Meister Lucius), predecessor of Hoechst as a worldwide chemical manufacturing brand, is founded in a suburb of Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
• Jan 4Founding date of the New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, in a schism with the Catholic Apostolic Church in Hamburg, Germany.
• Jan 8The Yorkshire County Cricket Club is founded at the Adelphi Hotel, in Sheffield, England.
• Jan 10The first section of the London Underground Railway (Paddington to Farringdon Street) opens officially. This is the world’s first ever underground railway.
• Jan 21Adam Opel founds Opel in Germany, originally for the manufacture of sewing machines.
• Jan 22The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement is to liberate the Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth from Russian occupation.
• Jan 31Jules Verne's first adventure novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon (Cinq semaines en ballon), is published in Paris.
• Feb 17The "Committee of the Five" holds their first meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, which is regarded as the foundation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, following the lead of humanitarian businessman Henry Dunant.
• Apr 21January Uprising: The Polish peasant army, now led by Zygmunt Sierakowski, achieves its first victory over the Russian army, near Raguva.
• May 17The opening of Salon des Refusés in Paris draws attention to paintings by avant-garde artists, notably Manet's_ Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe.
• Aug 1The pharmaceutical brand Bayer is founded by Friedrich Bayer in Germany.
• Sep 30Georges Bizet's opera Les pêcheurs de perles debuts, at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris.
• Oct 26The Resolutions of the Geneva International Conference are signed by sixteen countries meeting in Geneva agreeing to form the International Red Cross.
• Nov 15King Christian IX of Denmark succeeds his distant cousin Frederick VII, giving rise to the beginning of the Second Schleswig-Holstein crisis.
• Nov 18King Christian IX of Denmark signs the November Constitution, which declares Schleswig to be part of Denmark, regarded by the German Confederation as a violation of the London Protocol of 1852, leading to the German–Danish war of 1864.

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USSR / Russia1

• Jul 30Valuev Circular bans the publication of religious, educational and training books in Ukrainian in the Russian Empire.

Asia2

• Apr 14The Treaty of Huế is signed between Vietnam and the French Empire.
• Apr 21Ayyam-i butun: Bahá'u'lláh begins a 12-day stay in the Najibiyyih gardens, Baghdad (later known as the Garden of Ridván) during which he declares his station as He whom God shall make manifest. This date is celebrated in the Baháʼí Faith as the festival of Ridván.

Middle East1

• May 27Afghan Civil War (1863-1869): Herat is captured by the forces of Dost Mohammad Khan.

Latin America4

• Apr 30Battle of Camarón in Mexico: 65 soldiers of the French Foreign Legion fight 2,000 Mexicans.
• May 8The Granadine Confederation becomes the United States of Colombia, under President Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera.
• Aug 16After Spain's annexation of the Dominican Republic, rebels raise the Dominican flag in Santiago to begin the Dominican Restoration War.
• Dec 8The Church of the Company Fire in Santiago, Chile, kills between 2,000 and 3,000 people.