| |
Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1853 | - 4 Mar 1853—3 Mar 1857: Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States
 Franklin Pierce
|
| 2 | 1855 | |
| 3 | 1856 | - 1856: End of Crimean War
- 29 Jan 1856: Victoria Cross created by Royal Warrant, backdated to 1854 to recognise acts
during the Crimean War (first award ceremony 26 June 1857)
|
| 4 | 1857 | - 1857: Work starts on the laying of the Transatlantic cable
- 4 Mar 1857—3 Mar 1861: James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States
 James Buchanan
|
| 5 | 1858 | - 1858: 'The great stink'
- 1858: Royal Opera House opens in Covent Garden, London
- 20 Feb 1858—11 Jun 1859: Edward Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, UK Prime Minister (Tory and Whig)
 Edward Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
|
| 6 | 1859 | - 1859: Peaceful picketing legalised in Britain
- 25 Apr 1859: Work started on building the Suez canal (opened 17 Nov 1869)
- 4 May 1859: Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge opened at Saltash giving rail link between Devon
and Cornwall
- 12 Jun 1859—18 Oct 1865: Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, UK Prime Minister (Whig)
 Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
- 24 Nov 1859: Charles Darwin publishes "The Origin of Species"
|
| 7 | 1860 | - 1860: Slavery
official abolition of slavery in the Dutch East Indies
- 29 Aug 1860: First tram service in Europe starts in Birkenhead
|