WHAT ALL HAPPENED FEBRUARY TO OCTOBER 1866
Find out what all happened February to October 1866

Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War. (16. February 1866)

Venice - Annexion of Veneto and Mantua to Italy - At Hotel Europa, Austria hands over Veneto to France, which hands it immediately over to Italy. (19. October 1866)

Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire. (8. April 1866)

Austro-Prussian War ends with the Treaty of Prague. (23. August 1866)

New Orleans, Louisiana's Democratic government orders police to raid an integrated Republican Party meeting, killing 40 people and injuring 150. (30. July 1866)

The Fenians are driven out of Fort Erie, Ontario, into the United States. (3. June 1866)

Miners in Calaveras County, California, discover what is now called the Calaveras Skull - human remains that supposedly indicated that man, mastodons, and elephants had co-existed. (25. February 1866)

The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart's Content, Newfoundland. (27. July 1866)

Memorial Day first celebrated in United States at Waterloo, New York. (5. May 1866)

A plebiscite ratifies the annexion of Veneto and Mantua to Italy, occurred three days before, on October 19. (22. October 1866)

The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded. It lasts until 1956. (6. April 1866)

Battle of Custoza: an Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War. (24. June 1866)

1,800 Fenian raiders were repelled back to the United States after they looted and plundered around Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg, Quebec. (7. June 1866)

The Spanish Navy bombs the harbor of Valparaíso, Chile. (31. March 1866)

In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the United Kingdom. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded. (31. May 1866)

Fenian raids: the Fenians are victorious over Canadian forces in both the Battle of Ridgeway and the Battle of Fort Erie. (2. June 1866)

Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Kiev. (4. April 1866)

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh. (10. April 1866)

Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao. (2. May 1866)

The U.S. Congress eliminates the half dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel. (16. May 1866)