WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO APRIL 1854
Find out what all happened January to April 1854

Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade. (31. March 1854)

In Venezuela, slavery was abolished (24. March 1854)

The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State. (17. February 1854)

Crimean War: France and Britain declare war on Russia. (28. March 1854)

The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang. (4. January 1854)

German psychologist Friedrich Eduard Beneke disappears; two years later his remains are found in a canal near Charlottenburg. (1. March 1854)

The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared. (23. February 1854)

The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin. (20. March 1854)

Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times begins serialisation in his magazine, Household Words. (1. April 1854)

Crimean War: The United Kingdom declares war on Russia. (27. March 1854)