19th-century Spanish Politicians
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The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the
Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolished in much of
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
. The First Industrial Revolution, though it began in the late
18th century The 18th century lasted from 1 January 1701 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to ch ...
, expanded beyond its British homeland for the first time during the 19th century, particularly remaking the economies and societies of the Low Countries,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, the Rhineland, Northern Italy, and the
Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...
. A few decades later, the
Second Industrial Revolution The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of rapid Discovery (observation), scientific discovery, standardisation, mass production and industrialisation from the late 19th century into the early ...
led to ever more massive
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...
and much higher levels of productivity, profit, and prosperity, a pattern that continued into the 20th century. The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, in response to the growing influence and power of modernism, secularism and materialism, formed the
First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...
in the late 19th century to deal with such problems and confirm certain Catholic doctrines as dogma. Religious missionaries were sent from the Americas and Europe to Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
, it was an era of change and reform. The Islamic gunpowder empires fell into decline and European imperialism brought much of
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
,
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, and almost all of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
under
colonial rule Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an imperialist project, colonialism can also take ...
. Reformers were opposed at every turn by conservatives who strove to maintain the centuries-old Islamic laws and social order. The 19th century also saw the collapse of the large Spanish, Portuguese, French and Mughal empires, which paved the way for the growing influence of the British, French, German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Italian, and Japanese empires along with the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Following the defeat of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, it marked the end of France’s status as the world
superpower Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to Sphere of influence, exert influence and Power projection, project power on a global scale. This is done through the comb ...
. Britain took France’s status as the world
superpower Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to Sphere of influence, exert influence and Power projection, project power on a global scale. This is done through the comb ...
, the British and Russian empires expanded considerably, becoming two of the world's leading powers. Russia expanded its territory to the Caucasus and
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
. The
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
underwent a period of Westernization and reform known as the Tanzimat, vastly increasing its control over core territories in the Middle East. However, it remained in decline and became known as the sick man of Europe, losing territory in the
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
and
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
. The remaining powers in the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
, such as the Maratha and
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
empires, suffered a massive decline, and their dissatisfaction with the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
's rule led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the company's dissolution. India was later ruled directly by the British Crown through the establishment of the
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
. During the post-Napoleonic era (after 1815), Britain enforced what became known as the Pax Britannica, which ushered in unprecedented
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
on a massive scale. Britain's overseas possessions grew rapidly in the first half of the century, especially with the expansion of vast territories in Canada, Australia, India, and in the last two decades of the century in Africa. By the end of the 19th century, the British controlled a fifth of the world's land and a quarter of the world's population. By the end of the century, Britain, France, Germany, and the United States had colonized almost all of
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
. In
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
, China under the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
endured its century of humiliation by foreign powers that lasted until the first half of the 20th century. The last surviving man and woman, respectively, verified to have been born in the 19th century were Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013) and Nabi Tajima (1900–2018), both Japanese.


Overview

The first
electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
appeared in the 19th century, with the introduction of the electric relay in 1835, the
telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
and its
Morse code Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...
protocol in 1837, the first telephone call in 1876, and the first functional light bulb in 1878. The 19th century was an era of rapidly accelerating scientific discovery and
invention An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...
, with significant developments in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, electricity, and metallurgy that laid the groundwork for the technological advances of the 20th century. The
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
began in Great Britain and spread to continental Europe, North America, and Japan. The
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
was notorious for the employment of young children in factories and mines, as well as strict
social norm A social norm is a shared standard of acceptance, acceptable behavior by a group. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into wikt:rule, rules and laws. Social norma ...
s regarding modesty and gender roles. Japan embarked on a program of rapid modernization following the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
, before defeating China, under the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, in the First Sino-Japanese War. Advances in medicine and the understanding of human anatomy and disease prevention took place in the 19th century, and were partly responsible for rapidly accelerating
population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...
in the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
. Europe's population doubled during the 19th century, from approximately 200 million to more than 400 million. The introduction of railroads provided the first major advancement in land transportation for centuries, changing the way people lived and obtained goods, and fuelling major
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...
movements in countries across the globe. Numerous cities worldwide surpassed populations of a million or more during this century. London became the world's largest city and capital of the British Empire. Its population increased from 1 million in 1800 to 6.7 million a century later. The last remaining undiscovered landmasses of Earth, including vast expanses of interior
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
and
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, were explored during this century, and with the exception of the extreme zones of the Arctic and Antarctic, accurate and detailed maps of the globe were available by the 1890s. Liberalism became the pre-eminent reform movement in Europe. Slavery was greatly reduced around the world. Following a successful slave revolt in Haiti, Britain and France stepped up the battle against the Barbary pirates and succeeded in stopping their enslavement of Europeans. The UK's Slavery Abolition Act 1833 charged the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
with ending the global slave trade. The first colonial empire in the century to abolish slavery was the British, who did so in 1834. America's Thirteenth Amendment following their
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
abolished slavery there in 1865, and in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
slavery was abolished in 1888 (see abolitionism). Similarly, serfdom was abolished in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in 1861. The 19th century was remarkable in the widespread formation of new settlement foundations which were particularly prevalent across North America and Australia, with a significant proportion of the two continents' largest cities being founded at some point in the century.
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
in Australia were non-existent in the earliest decades but grew to become the 2nd largest cities in the United States and British Empire respectively by the end of the century. In the 19th century, approximately 70 million people left Europe, with most migrating to the United States. The 19th century also saw the rapid creation, development, and codification of many sports, particularly in Britain and the United States.
Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
,
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
,
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
, and many other sports were developed during the 19th century, while the British Empire facilitated the rapid spread of sports such as
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
to many different parts of the world. Also, women's fashion was a very sensitive topic during this time, as women showing their ankles was viewed to be scandalous. It also marks the fall of the Ottoman rule of the
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
which led to the creation of
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
,
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
, and
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
as a result of the second Russo-Turkish War, which in itself followed the great Crimean War.


Eras

*
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
* European imperialism * British Regency,
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
(UK,
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
) * Bourbon Restoration,
July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...
, French Second Republic, Second French Empire,
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
(
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
) * Risorgimento (Italy) * Belle Époque (Europe) *
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
, Meiji period (Japan) *
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
(China) * Nguyen dynasty (Vietnam) * Joseon dynasty (Korea) * Zulu Kingdom (South Africa) * Tanzimat, First Constitutional Era (
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
) *
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
* Manifest destiny, Antebellum era,
Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...
, American frontier, Gilded Age (United States)


Wars


Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1803 to 1815 pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European powers formed into various coalitions, financed and usually led by the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The wars stemmed from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and its resultant conflict. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte gained power in France in 1799. In 1804, he crowned himself Emperor of the French. In 1805, the French victory over an Austrian-Russian army at the Battle of Austerlitz ended the War of the Third Coalition. As a result of the Treaty of Pressburg, the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
was dissolved. Later efforts were less successful. In the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
, France unsuccessfully attempted to establish Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. In 1812, the French invasion of Russia had massive French casualties, and was a turning point in the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
.In 1814, after defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to Elba. Later that year, he escaped exile and began the Hundred Days before finally being defeated at the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
and exiled to Saint Helena, an island in the
South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. After Napoleon's defeat, the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
was held to determine new national borders. The Concert of Europe attempted to preserve this settlement was established to preserve these borders, with limited impact.


Latin American independence

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and the majority of the countries in
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
obtained independence from colonial overlords during the 19th century. In 1804, Haiti gained independence from France. In
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...
was a decade-long conflict that ended in Mexican independence in 1821. Due to the Napoleonic Wars, the royal family of Portugal relocated to Brazil from 1808 to 1821, leading to Brazil having a separate monarchy from Portugal. The Federal Republic of Central America gained independence from Spain in 1821 and from Mexico in 1823. After several rebellions, by 1841 the federation had dissolved into the independent countries of
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
,
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
,
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
,
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
, and
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
. In 1830, the post-colonial nation of Gran Colombia dissolved and the nations of
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
(including modern-day Panama),
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, and
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
took its place.


Revolutions of 1848

The
Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
were a series of political upheavals throughout
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
in 1848. The revolutions were essentially democratic and liberal in nature, with the aim of removing the old monarchical structures and creating independent nation states. The first revolution began in January in Sicily. Revolutions then spread across Europe after a separate revolution began in France in February. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation among their respective revolutionaries. According to Evans and von Strandmann (2000), some of the major contributing factors were widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership, demands for more participation in government and democracy, demands for freedom of the press, other demands made by the working class, the upsurge of nationalism, and the regrouping of established government forces.


Abolition and the American Civil War

The abolitionism movement achieved success in the 19th century. The
Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...
was abolished in the United States in 1808, and by the end of the century, almost every government had banned slavery. The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 banned slavery throughout the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, and the Lei Áurea abolished slavery in Brazil in 1888. Abolitionism in the United States continued until the end of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman were two of many American abolitionists who helped win the fight against slavery. Douglass was an articulate orator and incisive antislavery writer, while Tubman worked with a network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. The American Civil War took place from 1861 to 1865. Eleven southern states seceded from the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, largely over concerns related to slavery. In 1863, President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln issued a preliminary on September 22, 1862, warning that in all states still in rebellion ( Confederacy) on January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves "then, thenceforward, and forever free." He did so. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865, officially abolished slavery in the entire country. Five days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, Lincoln was assassinated by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth.


Decline of the Ottoman Empire

In 1817, the Principality of Serbia became suzerain from the Ottoman Empire, and in 1867, it passed a constitution that defined its independence from the Ottoman Empire. In 1830,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
became the first country to break away from the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
after the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
. In 1831, the Bosnian Uprising against Ottoman rule occurred. In 1831, The First Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–1833) occurred, between the Ottoman Empire and Egypt brought about by Muhammad Ali Pasha's demand to the Sublime Porte for control of Greater Syria, as reward for aiding the Sultan during the Greek War of Independence. As a result, Egyptian forces temporarily gained control of Syria, advancing as far north as Kütahya. In 1876,
Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
instigated the April Uprising against Ottoman rule. Following the Russo-Turkish War, the Treaty of Berlin recognized the formal independence of the Serbia,
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
, and
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
.
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
became autonomous.


China: Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion was the bloodiest conflict of the 19th century, leading to the deaths of around 20–30 million people. Its leader, Hong Xiuquan, declared himself the younger brother of
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
and developed a new Chinese religion known as the God Worshipping Society. After proclaiming the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in 1851, the Taiping army conquered a large part of China, capturing
Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...
in 1853. In 1864, after the death of Hong Xiuquan, Qing forces recaptured Nanjing and ended the rebellion.


Japan: Meiji Restoration

During the
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
largely pursued an isolationist foreign policy. In 1853, United States Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry threatened the Japanese capital Edo with gunships, demanding that they agree to open trade. This led to the opening of trade relations between Japan and foreign countries, with the policy of Sakoku formally ended in 1854. By 1872, the Japanese government under
Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...
had eliminated the ''daimyō'' system and established a strong central government. Further reforms included the abolition of the
samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
class, rapid industrialization and modernization of government, closely following European models.


Colonialism

* 1803: United States more than doubles in size when it buys out France's territorial claims in North America via the
Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...
. This begins the U.S.'s westward expansion to the Pacific, referred to as its Manifest Destiny, which involves annexing and conquering land from Mexico, Britain, and Native Americans. * 18171819: British Empire annexed the Maratha Confederacy after the Third Anglo-Maratha War. * 18231887: British Empire annexed Burma (now also called
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
) after three Anglo-Burmese Wars. * 18481849: Sikh Empire is defeated in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. Therefore, the entire
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
is under British control. * 1862: France gained its first foothold in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
and in 1863 annexed Cambodia. * 1867: United States purchased Alaska from
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.


Africa

In Africa, European exploration and technology led to the colonization of almost the entire continent by 1898. New medicines such as quinine and more advanced firearms allowed European nations to conquer native populations. Motivations for the
Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...
included national pride, desire for raw materials, and Christian missionary activity. Britain seized control of Egypt to ensure control of the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
, but
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
defeated Italy in the First Italo–Ethiopian War at the Battle of Adwa. France, Belgium, Portugal, and Germany also had substantial colonies. The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 attempted to reach agreement on colonial borders in Africa, but disputes continued, both amongst European powers and in resistance by the native populations. In 1867,
diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
s were discovered in the Kimberley region of South Africa. In 1886, gold was discovered in Transvaal. This led to colonization in Southern Africa by the British and business interests, led by Cecil Rhodes.


Other wars

* 18011815: First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War between the United States and the Barbary States of
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
. * 1802: Tay Son army recaptured Phu Xuan, causing Vo Tanh to commit suicide, Nguyen Phuc Anh successfully captured Thang Long, founded the Nguyen dynasty * 18041810: Fulani Jihad in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. * 18041813: Russo-Persian War. * 18061812: Russo-Turkish War, Treaty of Bucharest. * 18071837:
Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...
among Māori in many parts of
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. * 18081809: Russia conquers Finland from Sweden in the Finnish War. * 1810: Grito de Dolores begins the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...
. * 1811: Battle of Tippecanoe: U.S. outnumbering Native Americans resulting in defeat and burning of community * 18121815: War of 1812 between the United States and Britain; ends in a draw, except that Native Americans lose power. * 18131837: Afghan–Sikh Wars. * 18141816: Anglo-Nepalese War between
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
(Gurkha Empire) and
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. * 1817: First Seminole War begins in Florida. * 1817: Russia commences its conquest of the Caucasus. * 1820: Revolutions of 1820 in Southern Europe * 18211830:
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
against the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. * 18251830: Java War begins. * 1826
1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organiz ...
: After the final Russo-Persian War, the Persian Empire took back territory lost to Russia from the previous war. *
1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organiz ...
1832: Black War in
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
leads to the near extinction of the Tasmanian aborigines * 1830:
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...
overthrew old line of Bourbons. * 1830:
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
against
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. * 1830: Belgian Revolution results in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
's independence from
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. * 1830: End of the Java War. The whole area of Yogyakarta and Surakarta Manca nagara Dutch seized. 27 September, Klaten Agreement determines a fixed boundary between Surakarta and Yogyakarta and permanently divide the kingdom of Mataram was signed by Sasradiningrat, Pepatih Dalem Surakarta, and Danurejo, Pepatih Dalem Yogyakarta. Mataram is a de facto and de yure controlled by the Dutch East Indies. * 1831: France invades and occupies Algeria. * 18311833: Egyptian–Ottoman War. * 18321875: Regimental rebellions of Brazil * 18351836: Texas Revolution results in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
's independence from
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. * 18391842: First Opium War begins. * 18461848: Mexican–American War leads to Mexico's cession of much of the modern-day Southwestern United States. * 1848: February Revolution overthrew Louis Philippe's government. Second Republic proclaimed; Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon I, elected president. * 18531856: Crimean War between France, the United Kingdom, the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
and Russia. * 18561860: Second Opium War * 1857: Indian Rebellion against the
Company Raj Company rule in India (also known as the Company Raj, from Hindi , ) refers to regions of the Indian subcontinent under the control of the British East India Company (EIC). The EIC, founded in 1600, established its first trading post in India ...
. After this the power of the East India Company is transferred to the British Crown. * 1859: Franco-Austrian War is part of the wars of Italian unification. * 18611865:
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
between the Union and seceding Confederacy. * 18611867: French intervention in Mexico and the creation of the Second Mexican Empire, ruled by Maximilian I of Mexico and his consort Carlota of Mexico. * 18631865: January Uprising against the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. * 18641870: Paraguayan War ends Paraguayan ambitions for expansion and destroys much of the Paraguayan population. * 1866: Austro-Prussian War results in the dissolution of the German Confederation and the creation of the North German Confederation and the Austrian-Hungarian Dual Monarchy. * 18681869: Boshin War results in end of the shogunate and the founding the Japanese Empire. * 18681878: Ten Years' War between
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. * 18701871: Franco-Prussian War results in the unifications of Germany and
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, the collapse of the Second French Empire and the emergence of a New Imperialism. * 1870: Napoleon III abdicated after unsuccessful conclusion of Franco-Prussian War. Third Republic proclaimed. * 1876: The April Uprising in
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
against the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. * 1879: Anglo-Zulu War results in British victory and the annexation of the Zulu Kingdom. * 18791880: Little War against Spanish rule in
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
leads to rebel defeat. * 18791883:
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
battles with
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
and
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
over Andean territory in the War of the Pacific. * 18801881: First Boer War begins. * 18811899: Mahdist War in
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
. * 1882: Anglo-Egyptian War British invasion and subsequent occupation of
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
* 18831898: Mandingo Wars between the
French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...
and the
Wassoulou Empire The Samorian state, also referred to as the Wassoulou empire, Ouassalou empire, Mandinka empire or Samory's empire, was a short-lived West African state that existed from roughly 1878 until 1898, although dates vary from source to source. It span ...
of the Mandingo people led by Samory Touré. * 18941895: After the First Sino-Japanese War, China cedes
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
to Japan and grants Japan a free hand in Korea. * 1895:
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
is ceded to the
Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
as a result of the First Sino-Japanese War. * 18951896:
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
defeats Italy in the First Italo–Ethiopian War at the Battle of Adwa. * 18951898: Cuban War for Independence results in Cuban independence from
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. * 18961898: Philippine Revolution results in a Filipino victory. * 1898: Spanish–American War results in the independence of Cuba. * 18991901: Boxer Rebellion in China is suppressed by the Eight-Nation Alliance. * 18991902: Thousand Days' War in
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
breaks out between the " Liberales" and " Conservadores", culminating with the loss of
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
in 1903. * 18991902:
Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
begins. * 18991902:
Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...
begins.


Science and technology

The 19th century saw the birth of science as a profession; the term scientist was coined in 1833 by William Whewell, which soon replaced the older term of natural philosopher. Among the most influential ideas of the 19th century were those of
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
(alongside the independent researches of Alfred Russel Wallace), who in 1859 published the book '' The Origin of Species'', which introduced the idea of
evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
by
natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generation ...
. Another important landmark in medicine and biology were the successful efforts to prove the germ theory of disease. Following this,
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...
made the first
vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
against rabies, and also made many discoveries in the field of chemistry, including the asymmetry of crystals. In chemistry, Dmitri Mendeleev, following the atomic theory of John Dalton, created the first
periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows (" periods") and columns (" groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other s ...
of elements. In physics, the experiments, theories and discoveries of Michael Faraday, André-Marie Ampère,
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism an ...
, and their contemporaries led to the creation of
electromagnetism In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...
as a new branch of science.
Thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed b ...
led to an understanding of heat and the notion of energy was defined. Other highlights include the discoveries unveiling the nature of atomic structure and matter, simultaneously with chemistry – and of new kinds of radiation. In astronomy, the planet Neptune was discovered. In mathematics, the notion of complex numbers finally matured and led to a subsequent analytical theory; they also began the use of
hypercomplex number In mathematics, hypercomplex number is a traditional term for an element (mathematics), element of a finite-dimensional Algebra over a field#Unital algebra, unital algebra over a field, algebra over the field (mathematics), field of real numbers. ...
s. Karl Weierstrass and others carried out the arithmetization of analysis for functions of real and complex variables. It also saw rise to new progress in geometry beyond those classical theories of Euclid, after a period of nearly two thousand years. The mathematical science of logic likewise had revolutionary breakthroughs after a similarly long period of stagnation. But the most important step in science at this time were the ideas formulated by the creators of electrical science. Their work changed the face of physics and made possible for new technology to come about including a rapid spread in the use of electric illumination and power in the last two decades of the century and radio wave communication at the end of the 1890s. * 1807: Potassium and
Sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...
are individually isolated by Sir Humphry Davy. * 18311836:
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
's journey on . * 1859:
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
publishes '' On the Origin of Species''. * 1861:
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism an ...
publishes '' On Physical Lines of Force'', formulating the four
Maxwell's equations Maxwell's equations, or Maxwell–Heaviside equations, are a set of coupled partial differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electromagnetism, classical optics, Electrical network, electr ...
. * 1865: Gregor Mendel formulates his laws of inheritance. * 1869: Dmitri Mendeleev creates the
Periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows (" periods") and columns (" groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other s ...
. * 1873: Maxwell's '' A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism'' published. * 1877: Asaph Hall discovers the moons of Mars * 1896: Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity; J. J. Thomson identifies the
electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...
, though not by name.


Medicine

* 1804: Morphine first isolated. * 1842:
Anesthesia Anesthesia (American English) or anaesthesia (British English) is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prev ...
used for the first time. * 1847: Chloroform invented for the first time, given to
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
at the birth of her eighth child, Prince Leopold in 1853 * 1855: Cocaine is isolated by Friedrich Gaedcke. * 1885:
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...
creates the first successful
vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
against rabies for a young boy who had been bitten 14 times by a rabid dog. * 1889: Aspirin patented.


Inventions

* 1804: First steam locomotive begins operation. * 1816: Laufmaschine invented by Karl von Drais. * 1825: Erie Canal opened connecting the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
to the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. * 1825: First isolation of
aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
. * 1827: First photograph taken (technique of heliography) by Joseph Nicephore Niepce. * 1825: The Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first public railway in the world, is opened. * 1826: Samuel Morey patents the
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...
. * 1829: First
electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
built. * 1837:
Telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...
patented. * 1841: The word "
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
" is coined by Richard Owen. * 1844: First publicly funded
telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
line in the world—between Baltimore and Washington—sends demonstration message on 24 May, ushering in the age of the telegraph. This message read "What hath God wrought?" (Bible, Numbers 23:23) * 1849: The safety pin and the gas mask are invented. * 1852: The first successful blimp is invented * 1855: Bessemer process enables
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
to be mass-produced. * 1856: World's first
oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...
in
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
* 1858: Invention of the phonautograph, the first true device for recording sound. * 1859: The first
ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...
was launched into sea by the
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
. * 1860: Benjamin Tyler Henry invents the 16-shot Henry Rifle * 1861: Richard Gatling invents the
Gatling Gun The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling of North Carolina. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon. The Gatling gun's operatio ...
, first modern machine gun used notably in the battles of Cold Harbor and Petersburg * 1862: First meeting in combat of ironclad warships, and , during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. * 1863: First section of the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
opens. * 1866: Successful transatlantic telegraph cable follows an earlier attempt in 1858. * 1867: Alfred Nobel invents
dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...
. * 1868: Safety bicycle invented. * 1869: First transcontinental railroad completed in United States on 10 May. * 1870: Rasmus Malling-Hansen's invention the Hansen Writing Ball becomes the first commercially sold
typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...
. * 1873: Blue jeans and barbed wire are invented. * 1877:
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
invents the phonograph * 1878: First commercial telephone exchange in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
. * c. 1875/ 1880: Introduction of the widespread use of electric
lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...
. These included early crude systems in France and the UK and the introduction of large scale outdoor arc lighting systems by 1880. * 1879:
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
patents a practical incandescent light bulb. * 1882: Introduction of large scale electric power utilities with the Edison Holborn Viaduct (London) and Pearl Street (New York) power stations supplying indoor electric lighting using Edison's incandescent bulb. * 1884: Sir Hiram Maxim invents the first self-powered Machine gun, the Maxim gun. * 1885: Singer begins production of the ' Vibrating Shuttle'. which would become the most popular model of sewing machine. *
1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...
: Karl Benz sells the first commercial
automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
. * 1890: The cardboard box is invented. * 1892: John Froelich develops and constructs the first gasoline/petrol-powered
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
. * 1894: Karl Elsener invents the Swiss Army knife. * 1894: First gramophone record. * 1895: Wilhelm Röntgen identifies x-rays.


Religion

* 1818: The first permanent
Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...
congregation, the Neuer Israelitischer Tempel, is founded in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
on October 18. Around the same time, through the development of '' Wissenschaft des Judentums'', the seeds of Conservative Judaism are sown. * 1830: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is established. * 1844: The Báb announces his revelation on 23 May, founding Bábism. He announced to the world of the coming of " He whom God shall make manifest". He is considered the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
. * 1850s1890s: In Islam, Salafism grows in popularity. * 1851: Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the God Worshipping Society, founds the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. * 1857: In
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Allan Kardec, publishes The Spirits' Book and founds the Spiritism. * 1868: In Japan, State Shinto is established amidst the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
. * 18691870: The
First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...
is convened, articulating the dogma of
papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...
and promoting a revival of scholastic theology. * 18711878: In
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...
challenges the Catholic Church in the '' Kulturkampf'' ("Culture War") * 1875: Helena Blavatsky co-founds the Theosophical Society and becomes the leading articulator of Theosophy. * 1879: Mary Baker Eddy founds the Church of Christ, Scientist. '' The Watchtower,'' published by the Jehovah's Witnesses, releases its first issue. * 1881: In the Sudan, Muhammad Ahmad claims to be the Mahdi, founding the Mahdist State and declaring war on the Khedivate of Egypt. * 1889: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad establishes the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. * 1891: Pope Leo XIII issues the papal encyclical '' Rerum novarum'', the first major document informing modern Catholic social teaching.


Culture

* 1808: Beethoven composes his Fifth Symphony * 1813:
Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
publishes '' Pride and Prejudice'' * 1818:
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
publishes '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. * 1819: John Keats writes his six of his best-known odes. * 1819: Théodore Géricault paints his masterpiece '' The Raft of the Medusa'', and exhibits it in the French Salon of 1819 at the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
. *
1824 Events January–March * January 1 – John Stuart Mill begins publication of The Westminster Review. The first article is by William Johnson Fox * January 8 – After much controversy, Michael Faraday is finally elected as a member of th ...
: Premiere of Beethoven's '' Ninth Symphony''. * 1829: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' premieres. * 18331834: Thomas Carlyle publishes '' Sartor Resartus''. * 1837:
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
publishes '' Oliver Twist''. * 1841:
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...
publishes '' Self-Reliance''. * 1845: Frederick Douglass publishes '' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave''. * 1847: The Brontë sisters publish '' Jane Eyre'', '' Wuthering Heights'' and '' Agnes Grey''. * 1848:
Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
and
Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
The Communist Manifesto''. * 1849: Josiah Henson publishes '' The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself''. * 1851: Herman Melville publishes '' Moby-Dick''. * 1851: Sojourner Truth delivers the speech " Ain't I a Woman?". * 1852: Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes '' Uncle Tom's Cabin''. * 1855: Walt Whitman publishes the first edition of '' Leaves of Grass''. * 1855: Frederick Douglass publishes the first edition of '' My Bondage and My Freedom''. * 1862: Victor Hugo publishes '' Les Misérables''. * 1863:
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
begins publishing his collection of stories and novels, '' Voyages extraordinaires'', with the novel '' Cinq semaines en ballon''. * 1865: Lewis Carroll publishes '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. * 1869: Leo Tolstoy publishes '' War and Peace''. * 1875:
Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...
's opera '' Carmen'' premiers in Paris. * 1876:
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's '' Ring Cycle'' is first performed in its entirety. * 1883:
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
's '' Treasure Island'' is published. * 1884: Mark Twain publishes the '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn''. *
1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...
: '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' by Robert Louis Stevenson is published. * 1887: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle publishes his first Sherlock Holmes story, '' A Study in Scarlet''. * 1889: Vincent van Gogh paints '' The Starry Night''. * 1889: Moulin Rouge opens in Paris. * 1892: Tchaikovsky's '' Nutcracker Suite'' premières in St Petersburg. * 1894:
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
's '' The Jungle Book'' is published * 1895: Trial of
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
and premiere of his play '' The Importance of Being Earnest''. * 1897: Bram Stoker writes '' Dracula''. * 1900: L. Frank Baum publishes '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.


Literature

On the literary front the new century opens with
romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
, a movement that spread throughout Europe in reaction to 18th-century rationalism, and it develops more or less along the lines of the Industrial Revolution, with a design to react against the dramatic changes wrought on nature by the steam engine and the railway. William Wordsworth and
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...
are considered the initiators of the new school in England, while in the continent the German '' Sturm und Drang'' spreads its influence as far as Italy and Spain. French arts had been hampered by the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
but subsequently developed rapidly.
Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
began. The Goncourts and Émile Zola in France and Giovanni Verga in Italy produce some of the finest naturalist novels. Italian naturalist novels are especially important in that they give a social map of the new unified Italy to a people that until then had been scarcely aware of its ethnic and cultural diversity. There was a huge literary output during the 19th century. Some of the most famous writers included the Russians Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy,
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...
and Fyodor Dostoyevsky; the English
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
, John Keats, Alfred, Lord Tennyson and
Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
; the Scottish Sir Walter Scott, Thomas Carlyle and
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
(creator of the character Sherlock Holmes); the Irish
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
; the Americans Edgar Allan Poe,
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...
, and Mark Twain; and the French Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac,
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
, Alexandre Dumas and
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...
. Some American literary writers, poets and novelists were: Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Nathaniel Hawthorne,
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...
, Herman Melville, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Joel Chandler Harris, and Emily Dickinson to name a few.


Photography

* Ottomar Anschütz, chronophotographer * Mathew Brady, documented the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
* Edward S. Curtis, documented the American West notably Native Americans * Louis Daguerre, inventor of daguerreotype process of photography, chemist * Thomas Eakins, pioneer motion photographer * George Eastman, inventor of roll film * Hércules Florence, pioneer inventor of photography * Auguste and Louis Lumière, pioneer film-makers, inventors * Étienne-Jules Marey, pioneer motion photographer, chronophotographer * Eadweard Muybridge, pioneer motion photographer, chronophotographer *
Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (; 5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar () or Félix Nadar'','' was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of History of avi ...
a.k.a. Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, portrait photographer * Nicéphore Niépce, pioneer inventor of photography * Louis Le Prince, motion picture inventor and pioneer film-maker * Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, chemist and photographer * William Fox Talbot, inventor of the negative / positive photographic process.


Visual artists, painters and sculptors

The Realism and
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
of the early 19th century gave way to
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
and Post-Impressionism in the later half of the century, with Paris being the dominant art capital of the world. In the United States the Hudson River School was prominent. 19th-century painters included: * Ivan Aivazovsky * Léon Bakst * Albert Bierstadt * William Blake * Arnold Böcklin * Rosa Bonheur * William Burges * Mary Cassatt * Camille Claudel * Paul Cézanne *
Frederic Edwin Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painting, landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for paintin ...
* Thomas Cole * Jan Matejko * John Constable * Camille Corot * Gustave Courbet * Honoré Daumier * Edgar Degas * Eugène Delacroix * Thomas Eakins * Caspar David Friedrich * Paul Gauguin * Théodore Géricault * Vincent van Gogh * William Morris * Francisco Goya * Andō Hiroshige * Hokusai * Winslow Homer * Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres * Isaac Levitan * Édouard Manet * Claude Monet * Gustave Moreau * Berthe Morisot * Edvard Munch * Mikhail Nesterov * Camille Pissarro * Augustus Pugin * Pierre-Auguste Renoir * Ilya Repin * Auguste Rodin * Albert Pinkham Ryder * John Singer Sargent * Valentin Serov * Georges Seurat * Ivan Shishkin * Vasily Surikov * James Tissot * Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec * J. M. W. Turner, Joseph Mallord William Turner * Viktor Vasnetsov * Eugène Viollet-le-Duc * Mikhail Vrubel * James Abbott McNeill Whistler * Tsukioka Yoshitoshi


Music

Sonata form matured during the Classical era to become the primary form of instrumental compositions throughout the 19th century. Much of the music from the 19th century was referred to as being in the Romantic music, Romantic style. Many great composers lived through this era such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
. The list includes: * Mily Balakirev * Ludwig van Beethoven * Hector Berlioz *
Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...
* Alexander Borodin * Johannes Brahms * Anton Bruckner * Frédéric Chopin * Claude Debussy * Antonín Dvořák * Mikhail Glinka * Edvard Grieg * Scott Joplin * Alexandre Levy * Franz Liszt * Gustav Mahler * Felix Mendelssohn * Modest Mussorgsky * Jacques Offenbach * Niccolò Paganini * Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov * Gioachino Rossini * Anton Rubinstein * Camille Saint-Saëns * Antonio Salieri * Franz Schubert * Robert Schumann * Alexander Scriabin * Arthur Sullivan * Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky * Giuseppe Verdi *
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...


Sports

* 1858: The Melbourne Football Club was formed, starting the sport of Australian Rules Football * 1867: The Marquess of Queensberry Rules for boxing are published. * 1872: The first recognised international Association football, football match, between England and Scotland, is played. * 1877: The first test cricket match, between England and Australia, is played. * 1891: Basketball is invented by James Naismith. * 1895: Volleyball is invented. * 1896: Olympic Games#Revival, Olympic Games revived in Athens.


Events


1801–1850

* 1801: The Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merge to form the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. * 1801: Thomas Jefferson is elected the third President of the United States; he serves until 1809. * 1802: The Wahhabis of the Wahhabi sack of Karbala, First Saudi State sack Karbala. * 1803: William Symington demonstrates his ''Charlotte Dundas'', the "first practical steamboat". * 1803: The Wahhabis of the First Saudi State capture Mecca and Medina. * 1804: Austrian Empire founded by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I. * 1804: World population reaches 1 billion. * 1805: The Battle of Trafalgar eliminates the French and Spanish naval fleets and allows for British dominance of the seas, a major factor for the success of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
later in the century. * 1805– 1848: Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Muhammad Ali modernizes Egypt. * 1810: The Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Berlin was founded. Among its students and faculty are Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Hegel, Karl Marx, Marx, and Otto von Bismarck, Bismarck. The German university reform proves to be so successful that its model is copied around the world (see History of European universities#European university models in the 19th and 20th centuries, History of European research universities). * 1814: Elisha Collier invents the Flintlock Revolver. * 1814 : February 1 Eruption of Mayon Volcano * 1815: April, Mount Tambora in Sumbawa island erupts, becoming the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history, destroying Tambora culture, and killing at least 71,000 people, including its aftermath. The eruption created global climate anomalies known as "volcanic winter". * 1816: Year Without a Summer: Unusually cold conditions wreak havoc throughout the Northern Hemisphere, likely influenced by the 1815 explosion of Mount Tambora. * 1816
1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organiz ...
: Shaka's Zulu Kingdom becomes the largest in Southern Africa. * 1819: The Colombia, Republic of Colombia ( Gran Colombia) achieves independence after Simón Bolívar's triumph at the Battle of Boyacá. * 1819: The modern city of Singapore is established by the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
. * 1820: Discovery of Antarctica. * 1820: History of Liberia, Liberia founded by the American Colonization Society for freed American slaves. * 1820: Dissolution of the Maratha Empire. * 18211823: First Mexican Empire, as Mexico's first post-independence government, ruled by Emperor Agustín de Iturbide, Agustín I of Mexico. * 1822: Pedro I of Brazil declared Brazil's independence from Portugal on 7 September. * 1823: Monroe Doctrine declared by US President James Monroe. * 1825: The Decembrist revolt. * 1829: Sir Robert Peel founds the Metropolitan Police Service, the first modern police force. * 1830: Anglo-Russian rivalry over Afghanistan, the Great Game, commences and concludes in 1895. * 1831: November Uprising ends with crushing defeat for Poland in the Battle of Warsaw (1831), Battle of Warsaw. * 1832: The British Parliament passes the Great Reform Act 1832. * 18341859: Imam Shamil's rebellion in Russian-occupied Caucasus. * 18351836: The Texas Revolution in Mexico resulted in the short-lived Republic of Texas. * 1836: Samuel Colt popularizes the revolver and sets up a firearms company to manufacture his invention of the Colt Paterson revolver, a six bullets firearm shot one by one without reloading manually. * 1837–1838: Rebellions of 1837 in Canada. * 1838: By this time, 46,000 Native Americans have been forcibly relocated in the Trail of Tears. * 18391860: After the First Opium War, First and Second Opium Wars, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia gain many Treaty ports, trade and associated concessions from China resulting in the start of the decline of the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
. * 1839–1919: Anglo-Afghan Wars lead to stalemate and the establishment of the Durand line * 1842: Treaty of Nanking cedes Hong Kong to the British. * 1843: The first wagon train sets out from Missouri. * 1844: Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers establish what is considered the first cooperative in the world. * 18451849: The Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famine of Ireland leads to the Irish diaspora. * 1848: '' The Communist Manifesto'' published. * 1848: Seneca Falls Convention is the first women's rights convention in the United States and leads to the History of Women's Suffrage in the United States, battle for women's suffrage. * 18481855: California Gold Rush. * 1849: Earliest recorded Airstrike, air raid, as Austria employs The Austrian balloons, 200 balloons to deliver ordnance against Venice. * 1850: The Little Ice Age ends around this time. * 1850: Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch establishes the first cooperative banking, cooperative financial institution.


1851–1900

* 1851: The Great Exhibition in London was the world's first international Expo or World's fair, World Fair. * 1852: Frederick Douglass delivers his speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" in Rochester, New York. * 1857: Sir Joseph Whitworth designs the first long-range sniper rifle. * 18571858: Indian Rebellion of 1857. The British Empire assumes control of India from the East India Company. * 1858: Construction of Big Ben is completed. * 18591869:
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
is constructed. * 1860: Giuseppe Garibaldi launches the Expedition of the Thousand. * 1861: Russia Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia, abolishes serfdom. * 18621877: Dungan revolt (1862–1877), Muslim Rebellion in north-west China. * 1863: Formation of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Red Cross is followed by the adoption of the First Geneva Convention in 1864. * 18651877: Reconstruction era of the United States, Reconstruction in the United States; Slavery is banned in the United States by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. * 1867: Canada is formed, via the process of Canadian Confederation. * 1868: Michael Barrett (Fenian), Michael Barrett is the last person to be publicly hanged in England. * 1869: The
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
opens linking the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean to the Red Sea. * 1870: Official dismantling of the Cultivation System and beginning of a 'Liberal Period (Dutch East Indies), Liberal Policy' of deregulated exploitation of the Netherlands East Indies.Vickers (2005), page xii * 18701890: Long Depression in Western Europe and North America. * 1871–1872: List of famines, Famine in Iran, Persia is believed to have caused the death of 2 million. * 1871: The Paris Commune briefly rules the French capital. * 1872: Yellowstone National Park, the first national park, is created. * 1874: The ''Société Anonyme Coopérative des Artistes Peintres, Sculpteurs, and Graveurs'', better known as the Impressionists, organize and present their first public group exhibition at the Paris studio of the photographer
Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (; 5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar () or Félix Nadar'','' was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of History of avi ...
. * 1874: The Home Rule Movement is established in Ireland. * 1875: ''HMS Challenger'' surveys the deepest point in the Earth's oceans, the Challenger Deep * 1876: Battle of the Little Bighorn leads to the death of General Custer and victory for the alliance of Lakota people, Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, Cheyenne and Arapaho * 1876–1914: The massive expansion in population, territory, industry and wealth in the United States is referred to as the Gilded Age. * 1877: Great Railroad Strike in the United States may have been the world's first nationwide Strike action, labour strike. * 1881: Wave of Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire, pogroms begins in the Russian Empire. * 18811882: The Jules Ferry laws are passed in French Third Republic, France establishing free, secular education. * 1883: Krakatoa volcano explosion, one of the largest in modern history. * 1883: The quagga is rendered extinct. *
1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...
: Construction of the Statue of Liberty; Coca-Cola is developed. * 1888: Founding of the shipping line ''Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij'' (KPM) that supported the unification and development of the colonial economy. * 1888: The Golden Law abolishes slavery in Brazil. * 1889: Eiffel Tower is inaugurated in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. * 1889: A republican military coup establishes the First Brazilian Republic. The Empire of Brazil, parliamentary constitutional monarchy is abolished. * 18891890: 1889–1890 pandemic kills 1 million people. * 1890: First use of the electric chair as a method of execution. * 1892: The World's Columbian Exposition was held in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
celebrating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World. * 1892: Fingerprinting is officially adopted for the first time. * 1893:
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
becomes the first country to enact women's suffrage. * 1893: The Coremans-de Vriendt law is passed in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, creating legal equality for French language, French and Dutch languages. * 1894: The Dutch intervention in Lombok and Karangasem resulted in the looting and destruction of Cakranegara Palace in Mataram (city), Mataram. J. L. A. Brandes, a Dutch philologist, discovers and secures Nagarakretagama manuscript in Lombok royal library. * 1896: Philippine Revolution ends declaring Philippines free from Spanish rule. * 1898: The United States gains control of
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines after the Spanish–American War. * 1898: Empress Dowager Cixi of Qing dynasty, China engineers a coup d'état, marking the end of the Hundred Days' Reform; the Guangxu Emperor is arrested. * 1900: held in Paris, prominently featuring the growing art trend Art Nouveau. * 19001901: Eight-Nation Alliance, Eight nations invade China at the same time and ransack Forbidden City.


Last survivors

Born on 19 April 1897, Japanese Jiroemon Kimura died on 12 June 2013, marking the death of the last man verified to have been born in the century. Kimura remains to date the List of the verified oldest men, oldest verified man in history. Subsequently, on 21 April 2018, Japanese Nabi Tajima (born 4 August 1900) died as the last person to verifiably have been born in the century.


Supplementary portrait gallery

File:Carl Friedrich Gauss 1840 by Jensen.jpg, Carl Friedrich Gauss File:Charles Robert Darwin by John Collier cropped.jpg,
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
File:Victor Hugo by Étienne Carjat 1876 - full.jpg, Victor Hugo, File:Kramskoy Mendeleev 01.jpg, Dmitri Mendeleev File:Louis Pasteur.jpg,
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...
, 1878 File:Mariecurie.jpg, Marie Curie, File:Nikola Tesla by Sarony c1898.jpg, Nikola Tesla File:Jose Rizal full.jpg, José Rizal File:Jane Austen (chopped) 2.jpg,
Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
File:Leo Tolstoy 1897, black and white, 37767u.jpg, Leo Tolstoy, File:Edgar Allan Poe 2.jpg, Edgar Allan Poe File:Félix_Nadar_1820-1910_portraits_Jules_Verne.jpg,
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
File:Charles Dickens 3.jpg,
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
File:Carjat Arthur Rimbaud 1872 n2.jpg, Arthur Rimbaud, File:Twain in Tesla's Lab.jpg, Mark Twain, 1894 File:RWEmerson.jpg,
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...
File:Benjamin D. Maxham - Henry David Thoreau - Restored - greyscale - straightened.jpg, Henry David Thoreau, 1861 File:Emile Zola 2.jpg, Émile Zola, File:Chekhov 1903 ArM.jpg,
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...
File:Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky 1876.jpg, Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1876 File:John L Sullivan.jpg, John L Sullivan in his prime, File:David Livingstone -1.jpg, David Livingstone 1864, left Great Britain, Britain for
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
in 1840 File:Jesse and Frank James.gif, Jesse James, Jesse and Frank James, 1872 File:William Notman studios - Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill (1895) edit.jpg, Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill, in Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill, a studio portrait from 1885 File:Goyaale.jpg, Geronimo, 1887, prominent leader of the Chiricahua Apache File:Billy the Kid corrected.jpg, William Bonney aka Henry McCarty aka Billy the Kid, File:Wyatt Earp und Bat Masterson 1876.jpg, Deputies Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp in Dodge City, 1876 File:Mathew Brady 1875 cropped.jpg, Mathew Brady, self-portrait, File:Alfred Lord Tennyson 1869.jpg, Alfred, Lord Tennyson File:Thomas Nast - Brady-Handy.jpg, Thomas Nast, –1875, photo by Mathew Brady or Levin Handy File:Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad2.jpg, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad File:Bakunin.png, Mikhail Bakunin File:Kierkegaard.jpg, Søren Kierkegaard File:Solomon Northup 001 (cropped).jpg, Solomon Northup File:Dred Scott photograph (circa 1857).jpg, Dred Scott File:Madame CJ Walker.gif, Madam C. J. Walker File:Claude Monet, Impression, soleil levant.jpg, Claude Monet's ''Impression, Sunrise'' (1872) gave the name to
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. File:Paul Cézanne 159.jpg, Paul Cézanne, self-portrait, 1880–1881 File:Scott Joplin.jpg, Scott Joplin File:NiccoloPaganini.jpeg, Niccolò Paganini, File:Eugène Ferdinand Victor Delacroix 043.jpg, Frédéric Chopin, 1838 File:John D. Rockefeller, Sr.jpg, John D. Rockefeller


See also

* Timelines of modern history * Long nineteenth century * 19th century in film * 19th century in games * 19th-century philosophy * Nineteenth-century theatre * International relations (1814–1919) * List of wars: 1800–1899 *
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
* France in the long nineteenth century * History of Spain (1808–1874) * History of Russia (1855–1892) * Slavery in the United States * Timeline of 19th-century Muslim history * Timeline of historic inventions#19th century, Timeline of historic inventions


References


Further reading

* Langer, William. ''An Encyclopedia of World History'' (5th ed. 1973); highly detailed outline of event
online free
* Morris, Richard B. and Graham W. Irwin, eds. ''Harper Encyclopedia of the Modern World: A Concise Reference History from 1760 to the Present'' (1970
online frr
* ''New Cambridge Modern History'' (13 vol 1957–79), old but thorough coverage, mostly of Europe; strong on diplomacy ** Bury, J. P. T. ed. ''The New Cambridge Modern History: Vol. 10: the Zenith of European Power, 1830–70'' (1964
online
** Crawley, C. W., ed. ''The New Cambridge Modern History Volume IX War and Peace In An Age of Upheaval 1793–1830'' (1965
online
** Darby, H. C. and H. Fullard ''The New Cambridge Modern History, Vol. 14: Atlas'' (1972) ** Hinsley, F.H., ed. ''The New Cambridge Modern History, vol. 11, Material Progress and World-Wide Problems 1870–1898'' (1979
online


Diplomacy and international relations

* * * Bridge, F. R. & Roger Bullen. ''The Great Powers and the European States System 1814–1914'', 2nd Ed. (2005) * * Herring, George C. ''Years of Peril and Ambition: U.S. Foreign Relations, 1776–1921'' (2017) * Paul Kennedy, Kennedy, Paul. The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, ''The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers Economic Change and Military Conflict From 1500–2000'' (1987), stress on economic and military factors * Langer, William. ''European Alliances and Alignments 1870–1890'' (1950); advanced histor
online
* Langer, William. ''The Diplomacy of Imperialism 1890–1902'' (1950); advanced histor
online
* Mowat, R. B. ''A history of European diplomacy, 1815–1914'' (1922
online free
* * Porter, Andrew, ed. ''The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume III: The Nineteenth Century'' (2001) * Sontag, Raymond. ''European Diplomatic History: 1871–1932'' (1933), basic summary; 425 p
online
* Taylor, A. J. P. ''The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848–1918'' (1954) 638 pp; advanced history and analysis of major diplomacy
online free
* Taylor, A. J. P. "International Relations" in F.H. Hinsley, ed., ''The New Cambridge Modern History: XI: Material Progress and World-Wide Problems, 1870–98'' (1962): 542–66
online
*


Europe

* Anderson, M. S. ''The Ascendancy of Europe: 1815–1914'' (3rd ed. 2003) * Blanning, T. C. W. ed. ''The Nineteenth Century: Europe 1789–1914'' (Short Oxford History of Europe) (2000) 320 pp * Bruun, Geoffrey. ''Europe and the French Imperium, 1799–1814'' (1938
online
* Cameron, Rondo. ''France and the Economic Development of Europe, 1800–1914: Conquests of Peace and Seeds of War'' (1961), awide-ranging economic and business history. * Evans, Richard J. ''The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815–1914'' (2016), 934 pp * Gildea, Robert. ''Barricades and Borders: Europe 1800–1914'' (3rd ed. 2003) 544 pp
online 2nd ed, 1996
* * Mason, David S. ''A Concise History of Modern Europe: Liberty, Equality, Solidarity'' (2011), since 1700 * Merriman, John, and J. M. Winter, eds. ''Europe 1789 to 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of Industry and Empire'' (5 vol. 2006) * Steinberg, Jonathan. ''Bismarck: A Life'' (2011) * Salmi, Hannu. ''19th Century Europe: A Cultural History'' (2008).


Africa and Asia

* Ajayi, J. F. Ade, ed. ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VI, Abridged Edition: Africa in the Nineteenth Century until the 1880s'' (1998) * * M. E. Chamberlain, Chamberlain, M. E. ''The Scramble for Africa'' (3rd ed. 2010) * Collins, Robert O. and James M. Burns, eds. ''A History of Sub-Saharan Africa''. * Basil Davidson, Davidson, Basil ''Africa In History, Themes and Outlines''. (2nd ed. 1991). * * Ludden, David. ''India and South Asia: A Short History'' (2013). * McEvedy, Colin. ''The Penguin Atlas of African History'' (2nd ed. 1996)
excerpt
* Mansfield, Peter, and Nicolas Pelham, ''A History of the Middle East'' (4th ed, 2013). * * Pakenham, Thomas. ''The Scramble for Africa: 1876 to 1912'' (1992)


North and South America

* Bakewell, Peter, ''A History of Latin America'' (Blackwell, 1997) * Beezley, William, and Michael Meyer, eds. ''The Oxford History of Mexico'' (2010) * * Black, Conrad. ''Rise to Greatness: The History of Canada From the Vikings to the Present'' (2014) * Burns, E. Bradford, ''Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History'', paperback, Prentice Hall 2001, 7th edition * Howe, Daniel Walker. ''What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848'' (2009), Pulitzer Prize * Kirkland, Edward C. ''A History Of American Economic Life'' (3rd ed. 1960
online
* Lynch, John, ed. ''Latin American revolutions, 1808–1826: old and new world origins'' (University of Oklahoma Press, 1994) * McPherson, James M. ''Battle Cry of Freedom The CIvil War Era'' (1988) Pulitzer Prize for US history * Parry, J. H. ''A Short History of the West Indies'' (1987) * Paxson, Frederic Logan. ''History of the American frontier, 1763–1893'' (1924
online
Pulitzer Prize * White, Richard. ''The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865–1896'' (2017)


Primary sources

* de Bary, Wm. Theodore, ed. ''Sources of East Asian Tradition, Vol. 2: The Modern Period'' (2008), 1192 pp * Kertesz, G. A. ed ''Documents in the Political History of the European Continent 1815–1939'' (1968), 507 pp; several hundred short documents


External links

* {{Authority control 19th century, 2nd millennium Centuries Late modern period 19th-century overviews