1869★★★★★
Mendeleev's periodic table
Dmitri Mendeleev arranges the chemical elements by atomic weight and properties, predicting elements not yet discovered.
Science· Russia
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Events this year
May 10, 1869★★★★★
First transcontinental railroad completed
The golden spike is driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, completing the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
TechnologyEconomy· United States
October 2, 1869★★★★★
Birth of Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is born in Porbandar; he becomes the leader of India's nonviolent independence movement.
Birth· India
November 17, 1869★★★★★
Suez Canal opens
The Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea opens, greatly shortening the sea route between Europe and Asia.
TechnologyEconomy· Egypt
Ongoing
November 3, 1839 – 1876★★★★★
Tanzimat reforms begin
The Edict of Gülhane opens the Tanzimat, a series of reforms modernising Ottoman administration, law and the army.
Politics· Turkey
1845 – 1872★★★★★
The New Zealand Wars
A series of armed conflicts between the colonial government and Māori iwi, chiefly over land and sovereignty, which led to large confiscations of Māori land.
War· New Zealand, United Kingdom
1858 – 1947★★★★★
Beginning of the British Raj
After the 1857 rebellion, the Government of India Act transfers rule from the East India Company to the British Crown; the Mughal Empire formally ends.
Politics· India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, United Kingdom
1864 – 1870★★★★★
Paraguayan War
Paraguay fights the Triple Alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in a war that devastates Paraguay and kills a large share of its population.
War· Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay