1869
Mendeleev's Periodic Table
In St. Petersburg, a shaggy chemist named Dmitri Mendeleev arranged the sixty-three known elements into a grid by atomic weight and found, miraculously…
Transcontinental Railroad Completed
At Promontory Summit in Utah, a Chinese and Irish labor force that had laid rails east and west from opposite coasts drove a golden spike to join the Central…
Suez Canal Opens
Ferdinand de Lesseps, an ex-diplomat with a genius for hype, opened the 120-mile waterway that joined the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Vatican I Opens
Pope Pius IX, alarmed at the modern world, convened the first ecumenical council since Trent.
Tolstoy's War and Peace
After six years of writing, Leo Tolstoy finished his enormous novel about five Russian families and the Napoleonic invasion.
Black Friday Gold Panic
Jay Gould and James Fisk nearly cornered the New York gold market in a scheme that drew on their friendship with the president's brother-in-law.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1869?
Saeculum lists 6 events from 1869. The most significant is Mendeleev's Periodic Table.
What era was 1869 part of?
1869 falls within the Industrial Age (1801-1900). Steam, empire, and the unmaking of the old order.
Which regions saw notable events in 1869?
The events from 1869 span Europe, North America and Middle East.