1861

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	18th century 19th century 20th century
Decades:	1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s
Years:	1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864

1861 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	1861 MDCCCLXI
Ab urbe condita	2614
Armenian calendar	1310 ԹՎ ՌՅԺ
Assyrian calendar	6611
Baháʼí calendar	17–18
Balinese saka calendar	1782–1783
Bengali calendar	1268
Berber calendar	2811
British Regnal year	24 Vict. 1 – 25 Vict. 1
Buddhist calendar	2405
Burmese calendar	1223
Byzantine calendar	7369–7370
Chinese calendar	庚申年 (Metal Monkey) 4558 or 4351 — to — 辛酉年 (Metal Rooster) 4559 or 4352
Coptic calendar	1577–1578
Discordian calendar	3027
Ethiopian calendar	1853–1854
Hebrew calendar	5621–5622
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1917–1918
- Shaka Samvat	1782–1783
- Kali Yuga	4961–4962
Holocene calendar	11861
Igbo calendar	861–862
Iranian calendar	1239–1240
Islamic calendar	1277–1278
Japanese calendar	Man'en 2 / Bunkyū1 (文久元年)
Javanese calendar	1789–1790
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 12 days
Korean calendar	4194
Minguo calendar	51 before ROC 民前51年
Nanakshahi calendar	393
Thai solar calendar	2403–2404
Tibetan calendar	阳金猴年 (male Iron-Monkey) 1987 or 1606 or 834 — to — 阴金鸡年 (female Iron-Rooster) 1988 or 1607 or 835

Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry.^[1]

January–March

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January 1
- Benito Juárez captures Mexico City.
- The first steam-powered carousel is recorded, in Bolton, England.^[2]
January 2 – Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies, and is succeeded by Wilhelm I.
January 3 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the Union.
January 9 – American Civil War: Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union.
January 10 – American Civil War: Florida secedes from the Union.
January 11 – American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the Union.
January 12 – American Civil War: Major Robert Anderson sends dispatches to Washington.
January 19 – American Civil War: Georgia secedes from the Union.
January 21 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
January 26 – American Civil War: Louisiana secedes from the Union.
January 29 – Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state, being admitted as a free state.
February 1 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the Union.
February 4 – American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, the Provisional Confederate States Congress is formed by representatives from the first seven break-away states.
February 8 – American Civil War: The Confederate States of America are formed, comprising the first seven break-away States.
February 9 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected Provisional President of the Confederate States of America, by the Weed Convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
February 11
- American Civil War: The U.S. House unanimously passes a resolution, guaranteeing non-interference with slavery in any state.
- About 850 convicts at Chatham Dockyard in England take over their prison in a riot.^[3]
February 13 – Italian unification: The Siege of Gaeta, stronghold of the Neapolitan King Francis II, is ended by Piedmontese forces. Francis goes into exile.
February 18 – American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional president of the Confederate States of America.
February 19 – Alexander II, Czar of Russian Empire, made a law against serfdom.
February 20 – In Britain, storms damage the Crystal Palace and cause the collapse of the steeple of Chichester Cathedral.^[4]
February 21 – Mariehamn, the capital city of Åland, is founded.^[5]
February 23 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C. after an assassination attemptinBaltimore.
February 24 – Battle of Ky Hoa: the French and the Spanish defeat the Vietnamese.^[6]
February 27 – Russian troops fire upon a crowd in Warsaw protesting Russian rule over Poland, killing 5 protesters.
February 28 – Colorado is organized as a United States territory.
March 2
- Nevada is organized as a United States territory.
- American Civil War: Texas is admitted to the Confederate States of America.
March 3 (February 19 O.S.) – Emancipation reform of 1861: Serfdom is abolished in the Russian Empire.
March 4
- Abraham Lincolnissworn in as the 16th president of the United States.^[7]
- American Civil War: The "Stars and Bars" is adopted as the flag of the Confederate States of America.
March 10 – El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Ségou, destroying the Bamana EmpireofMali.
March 11 – American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
March 13 – Tsushima incident: The Russian corvette Posadnik arrives at Tsushima Island in the Korea Strait, Japan, provoking a reaction from the Japanese Shogunate.
March 17 – Italian unification: The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed by the new Parliament, with Victor Emmanuel IIofPiedmont-Sardinia becoming its king.
March 19 – The First Taranaki War ends in New Zealand.
March 20
- An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
- Italian unification: The surrender of Civitella del Tronto ends the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
March 21 – Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederacy, gives the infamous Cornerstone SpeechinSavannah, Georgia, in which he declares that slavery is the natural condition of blacks, and the foundation of the Confederacy.
March 28 – Confederate Arizona: convention in present-day Tucson ratified the ordinance of secession of southern part of New Mexico Territory.
March 30 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of thallium.

March 4: Lincoln inaugurated

March 4: Confederate flag

American Civil War: in 1861

April–June

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April 7 – A population census is taken in the United Kingdom.
April 12 – The American Civil War begins with the bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina.
April 13 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Southern forces.

April 12–April 13: Fort Sumter
April 15 – American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 men to confront in the South, "combinations too powerful to be suppressed in the ordinary way".
April 17 – American Civil War: The state of Virginia secedes from the Union.
April 20 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army, in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
April 24 (N.S.) – Bezdna, Russia is the scene of a peasant uprising; the military open fire and about 90 are killed.^[8]
April 25 – American Civil War: The Union Army arrives in Washington, D.C.
April 26 – Giovanni Schiaparelli discovers the asteroid 69 Hesperia.
April 27 – American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in the United States.
May 6 – American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.
May 7 – American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
May 8 – American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
May 13
- North Star Affair: The British merchant ship North Star leaves Hong Kong for Nagasaki, Japan. Chinese pirates board the vessel, kill an officer, and escape with a large quantity of gold.^[9]
- American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality", which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights.
- Comet C/1861 J1 (the "Great Comet of 1861") is discovered in Australia.
  
  May 13: Great Comet
May 14 – The Canellas meteorite, an 859 gram chondrite type meteorite, strikes Earth near Barcelona, Spain.
May 20 – American Civil War:
- Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which lasts until September 3, when Confederate forces enter the state.
- North Carolina secedes from the Union.
May 21 – Russian sailors clash with a group of Japanese samurai and farmers, at Tsushima island.^[10]
May 23 – American Civil War: The state of Virginia's ordinance of secession from the United States is ratified in a referendum held on May 23, 1861.
May 29 – The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is established.
June 9 – The Règlement Organique: With the approval of European powers, the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate is established as a semi-autonomous sub-division separate from the Sidon Eyalet. An Ottoman Armenian, Davud Pasha, is appointed Mutasarrıf by the Ottoman Sultan.
June 15 – Benito Juárez is formally elected President of Mexico; he temporarily stops the payments of foreign debt.
June 22 – Tooley Street fire starts and takes the life of James Braidwood first director of the London Fire Brigade.
June 25 – Abdülmecid I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1839–1861) dies and is succeeded by Abdülaziz (1861–1876).

July–September

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July 1
- The first issue of the Vatican's newspaper L'Osservatore Romano is published.
- Taiping Rebellion – Battle of Shanghai: French and Imperial Chinese troops defeat Taiping forces.
- InCologne, the Wallraf–Richartz Museum opened.
July 2 – Ivan Kasatkin lands on Hakodate, and introduces the Eastern Orthodox Church into Japan.
July 12 – The Confederate States sign a Treaty with Choctaws and ChickasawsinIndian Territory.
July 13 – American Civil War: The Battle of Corrick's Ford takes place in western Virginia.
July 21 – American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run: At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war ends in a Confederate victory.
July 25 – American Civil War: The Crittenden–Johnson Resolution is passed by the U.S. Congress, stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union, and not to end slavery.
July 26 – American Civil War: George B. McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac, following the disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.

June 25: Abdülaziz

August 1 – The first public weather forecast: measured and predicted correctly by Admiral Robert FitzRoy
August 5
- American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government issues the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US$800; rescinded in 1872).
- The U.S. Army abolishes flogging.
August 10 – American Civil War: The first major battle west of the Mississippi River, the Battle of Wilson's Creek, is fought, with a Confederate victory.
August 15 – First description of Archaeopteryx, based on a feather found in Bavaria;^[11] in September the first complete identified skeleton is found near Langenaltheim in Germany.^[12]
August 19 – Weisshorn, the fifth highest summit in the Alps, is first ascended.
August 20–22 – The first modern Welsh National Eisteddfod takes place in Aberdare.^[13]
August 27 – Martin Doyle's is the last execution in Britain for attempted murder.
September 3 – American Civil War: Confederate General Leonidas Polk invades neutral Kentucky, prompting the state legislature to ask for Union assistance.
September 6 – American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, which gives the Union control of the mouth of the Tennessee River.
September 17 – Argentine Civil War: Battle of Pavón: Victory of Buenos Aires over the Argentine Confederation, and the re-unification of Argentina.

Battle of Santa Rosa Island

October–December

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October 9 – American Civil War: Battle of Santa Rosa Island – Confederate forces are defeated in their effort to take the island.
October 21 – American Civil War: Battle of Ball's Bluff – Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops, in the second major battle of the war. Baker, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, is also killed in the fighting.
October 24
- HMS Warrior, the world's first ocean-going (all) iron-hulled armored battleship, is completed and commissioned into the British Royal Navy.
- Western Union completes the first transcontinental telegraph line
October 25 – The Toronto Stock Exchange is established in Canada.
October 26 – The Pony Express American transcontinental mail service announces its closure.
October 28 – American Civil War: The Missouri legislature takes up a bill for Missouri's secession from the Union.
October 30 – American Civil War: The bill for Missouri's secession from the Union is passed.
October 31
- The Spanish, French and British governments sign a tripartite agreement to intervene in Mexico, in the hope of recovering unpaid debts.^[14]
- The Missouri secession bill is signed by Governor Jackson.
- American Civil War: Citing failing health, 75-year-old Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.
November 1 – American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as commander of the Union Army, replacing Winfield Scott.
November 2 – American Civil War: Western Department Union General John C. Frémont is relieved of command and replaced by David Hunter.
November 4 – The University of Washington founded.
November 6 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America.
November 5 – The first Melbourne Cup horse race is held in Melbourne, Australia.
November 7 – American Civil War – Battle of Belmont: In Belmont, Missouri, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant (in his first combat leadership role) overrun a Confederate camp, but are forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrive.
November 8 – American Civil War – Trent Affair: The USS San Jacinto stops the United Kingdom mail ship Trent, and arrests two Confederate envoys, James Mason and John Slidell, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the U.K. and U.S.
November 10 – Following the death of Henri Mouhot, his servant Phrai begins shipping his diaries and specimens back to the west; they include accounts of Mouhot's discovery of Angkor Wat.
November 19 – American Civil War: Battle of Round MountaininIndian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma).
November 21 – American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints Judah P. Benjamin Secretary of War.
November 25
- A battle commences in the Sundarbans as result of Rahimullah's home being sieged, killing 34 in total^[15]
- Atenement collapses in the Old Town, Edinburgh (Scotland), killing 35 with 15 survivors.
November 28 – Acting on the ordinance passed by the Jackson government, the Confederate Congress admits Missouri as the 12th Confederate state.
December 10
- American Civil War: Kentucky is accepted into the Confederate States of America.
- In southern French Indochina, resistance forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực ambush, board and sink the French lorcha (boat) L'Esperance on the Nhat Tao canal.
December 21 – Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.