What Happened in 1856

Douglas Attempts Democractic Party Nomination for a Second Time

The 1856 Democratic National Convention, held at Smith & Nixon's Hall in Cincinnati was the first national party nominating convention to be held... Read more

Sigmund Freud is Born

Freud was born on 6 May 1856, to Jewish Galician parents in the Moravian town of Příbor, Austrian Empire, now the Czech Republic. Freud was born... Read more

Robert Peary is Born

On May 6, 1856, Robert E. Peary, who claimed discovery of the North Pole, was born in Cresson, Pennsylvania. During the early years of the... Read more

L. Frank Baum is Born

Lyman Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was born on May 15, 1856, in Chittenango, New York. The son of a successful entrepreneur,... Read more

Committee of Vigilance Established in Wild West

On May 15, 1856, residents of San Francisco organized a Committee of Vigilance to combat crime in their rapidly growing town. Like other gold rush... Read more

Nikola Tesla Is Born

Tesla was born to Serbian parents in the village of Smiljan, Austrian Empire near the town of Gospić, in the territory of modern-day Croatia. His... Read more

Great Train Wreck of 1856

At the Wissahickon station another train, the Aramingo, engineered by William Vanstavoren, waited for the excursion to pass on the single track... Read more

Last Island Hurricane

The Last Island hurricane of 1856 was an intense Atlantic hurricane that destroyed Last Island in southern Louisiana. The first tropical cyclone,... Read more

The Guano Islands Act Is Passed By The U.S. Congress

The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of... Read more

Louis Henri Sullivan Is Born

Architect and writer Louis Henri Sullivan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 3, 1856. Sullivan spent much of his youth on his... Read more

Louis Sullivan Born

Louis Henri Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called the "father of modernism." He is... Read more

Douglas Marries Adele Cutts

Stephen Douglas and Adele Cutts were married in Washington in November 1856. Adele immediately took over the management of the Senator's household,... Read more

The United States Army Establishes Fort Buchanan On Sonoita Creek

The purchased lands were initially appended to the existing New Mexico Territory. To help control the new land, the United States Army established... Read more

Thomas Woodrow Wilson Is Born

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856, in Staunton, Virginia. The twenty-eighth president of the United States, Wilson served two... Read more