WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO MAY 1859
Find out what all happened January to May 1859

Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state. (14. February 1859)

The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time. (31. May 1859)

Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexander John Cuza as the United Principalities, an autonomous region within the Ottoman Empire, which ushered the birth of the modern Romanian state. (5. February 1859)

The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England. (4. May 1859)

The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt. (4. February 1859)

British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal. (25. April 1859)

Political and state union of Moldavia and Wallachia; Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected as Domnitor in both Principalities. (24. January 1859)

Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity. This is the first time this defense is successfully used in the United States. (19. February 1859)

Bryant's Minstrels debut "Dixie" in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show. (4. April 1859)