Calendar of Literary Facts

1865

The first transatlantic telegraph cable is laid
War rages between the Basutos and the Dutch Boers of the Orange Free State
Giosuè Carducci publishes Inno a Satana (Hymn to Satan)
Sully Prudhomme publishes Stances et poems
Anthony Trollope, Frederic Chapman, and others found The Fortnightly Review in London
E. L. Godkin founds The Nation magazine in New York
Orestes Brownson publishes The American Republic
Abraham Lincoln is assassinated in Washington, D.C. by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth
Defeated on all fronts, Confederate armies surrender to U.S. forces, ending the War between the States
Mary Mapes Dodge publishes Hans Brinker; or, The Silver Skates
Lewis Carroll publishes Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell dies (November 12)
William Butler Yeats is born (June 13)
The New York Saturday Press publishes “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog,” by Mark Twain (November 18)
The U.S. Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery (December 18)
African Americans in Texas learn that the War between the States is over and that they are freed from slavery: June 19 becomes known as “Juneteenth” (June 19)
Rudyard Kipling is born (December 30)