1859 in France

"See also:"
1858 in France,
other events of 1859,
1860 in France.

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Events from the year 1859 in France.

Events

*26 March - A French amateur astronomer claims to have noticed a planet closer to the Sun than Mercury - later named Vulcan.
*23 April - Austria issues an ultimatum seeking the complete de-militarization of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
*29 April - Second Italian War of Independence begins, when Austrian ultimatum is ignored.
*14 May - Napoleon III arrives in Alessandria, taking command of the operations.
*20 May - Battle of Montebello, Piedmontese cavalry and French infantry defeat Austrian troops.
*30 May - Battle of Palestro, French-Sardinian victory.
*4 June - Battle of Magenta, French-Sardinian victory under Napoleon III against the Austrians.
*24 June - Battle of Solferino, French-Sardinian victory.
*30 June - Charles Blondin crosses Niagara Falls on a tightrope for the first time.
*12 July - Armistice of Villafranca ends the Second Italian War of Independence.
*24 November - The French Navy's "La Gloire" ("Glory"), the first ocean-going ironclad warship in history, is launched.

Arts and Literature

*Sculptor, Aimé Millet, receives the Légion d'honneur.

Births

*15 May - Pierre Curie, physicist, shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics (d.1906).
*3 September - Jean Jaurès, socialist and pacifist (assassinated) (d.1914).
*9 October - Alfred Dreyfus, military officer (see: Dreyfus Affair) (d.1935).
*18 October - Henri Bergson, philosopher (d.1941).
*2 December - Georges-Pierre Seurat, painter (d.1891).
*17 December - Paul César Helleu, artist (d.1927).

Deaths

*18 March - Jean Louis Lassaigne, chemist (b.1800).
*16 April - Alexis de Tocqueville, political thinker and historian (b.1805).
*5 July - Charles Cagniard de la Tour, engineer and physicist (b.1777).
*23 July - Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, poet (b.1786).
*7 November - Auguste Hilarion, comte de Kératry, poet, novelist, historian and politician (b.1769).
*19 November - Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson, playwright and theatre director (b.1790).

Full date unknown

*Pierre Boitard, botanist and geologist (b.1789).

References