What Happened in 1859 — Events, Births & Deaths

The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.

Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Prince of Moldavia, is also elected as prince of Wallachia, joining the two principalities as a personal union called the United Principalities, an autonomous region within the Ottoman Empire, which ushered in the birth of the modern Romanian state.

Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captures the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.

The two-day Great Slave Auction, one of the largest such auctions in United States history, concludes.

British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.

The sailing clipper ship Pomona is wrecked on the coast of Ireland with the loss of 424 of the 448 passengers and crew aboard.

The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking Devon and Cornwall in England.

Queensland is established as a separate colony from New South Wales. The date is still celebrated as Queensland Day.

Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between American and British/Canadian settlers.

First ascent of Aletschhorn, second summit of the Bernese Alps.

Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.

King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway.

First ascent of Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps.

The American Dental Association is founded in Niagara Falls, New York.

Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania, leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.

Carrington Event started - the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history.

Spain declares war on Morocco.

The Royal Charter Storm kills at least eight hundred people in the British Isles.

British naturalist Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species is published.