WHAT ALL HAPPENED FEBRUARY TO MAY 1861
Find out what all happened February to May 1861

Pakistan’s (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri. (13. May 1861)

President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 Volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War (15. April 1861)

Alexander Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech (21. March 1861)

Jefferson Davis is notified by telegraph that he has been chosen as provisional President of the Confederate States of America. (10. February 1861)

Edward Clark becomes Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who has been evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy. (16. March 1861)

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong. (29. May 1861)

American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union. (6. May 1861)

American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America. (8. May 1861)

American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. (12. April 1861)

First performance of Arthur Sullivan's debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas. (6. April 1861)

Russian troops fire on a crowd in Warsaw protesting against Russian rule over Poland, killing five protesters. (27. February 1861)

American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia. (20. April 1861)

Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs. (3. March 1861)

The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia. (13. May 1861)

American President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus. (27. April 1861)

American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama. (9. February 1861)

An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina. (20. March 1861)

President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland. (23. February 1861)

American Civil War: United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state. (11. February 1861)

In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America. (18. February 1861)