1856
Bessemer Steel Process
Henry Bessemer announced a process for making steel cheaply by blowing air through molten pig iron.
Sumner Caned in Senate
After Charles Sumner's vicious anti-slavery speech insulted a South Carolina senator, Representative Preston Brooks walked onto the Senate floor and beat him…
Arrow Incident
Qing officials boarded a Chinese-owned lorcha flying, illegally, a British flag and arrested its crew.
Treaty of Paris
The Crimean War ended with a treaty in Paris that neutralized the Black Sea, confirmed Ottoman territorial integrity, and prohibited privateering.
Flaubert's Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert's novel about a provincial doctor's wife who poisons herself after squalid adulteries was serialized in the Revue de Paris and promptly…
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1856?
Saeculum lists 5 events from 1856. The most significant is Bessemer Steel Process: Henry Bessemer announced a process for making steel cheaply by blowing air through molten pig iron.
What era was 1856 part of?
1856 falls within the Industrial Age (1801-1900). Steam, empire, and the unmaking of the old order.
Which regions saw notable events in 1856?
The events from 1856 span Europe, North America and East Asia.