Modern Era
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (1865) at Ford's Theatre
Lincoln died on the morning of 15 April 1865, Andrew Johnson became president, Booth was killed during the manhunt and four conspirators were hanged on 7 July 1865.
Region
Americas
Modern Era
Sultana Disaster (1865): Deadliest Shipwreck in US History
Boiler explosion and fire destroyed the steamboat, killing an estimated 1,100–1,200 or more of roughly 2,100–2,500 people aboard.
Modern Era
Execution of Emperor Maximilian (1867): End of Mexico's Empire
Maximilian and generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía were shot by a Republican firing squad, ending the Second Mexican Empire and restoring Benito Juárez's republic.
Modern Era
Alaska Purchase (1867): Seward's Folly and the Russian Sale
The United States bought Alaska, about 586,000 square miles, from the Russian Empire for 7.2 million dollars, and took formal possession at Sitka on 18 October 1867.
Modern Era
Canadian Confederation (1867): Birth of the Dominion of Canada
The Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick united as the Dominion of Canada, with four provinces and a federal parliament in Ottawa, on 1 July 1867.
Modern Era
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (1868): First Presidential Trial
The House impeached Johnson, but the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict, and he served out his term.
Modern Era
Sholes and Glidden Typewriter (1868): The Birth of QWERTY
The Sholes and Glidden machine became the first commercially successful typewriter and gave the world the QWERTY keyboard layout.
Modern Era
Red River Resistance (1869-1870): Louis Riel and the Metis
The Metis-led provisional government negotiated the Manitoba Act of 1870, which made Red River the new province of Manitoba, before a military expedition arrived and Riel fled.
Modern Era
Peshtigo Fire (1871): The Deadliest Wildfire in US History
A firestorm burned about 1.2 million acres and destroyed Peshtigo and other settlements; it remains the deadliest wildfire in US history.
Modern Era
Great Chicago Fire (1871): How the City Burned and Rebuilt
About 3.3 square miles of the city burned, some 300 people died and around 100,000 were left homeless; Chicago was rapidly rebuilt.
Modern Era
Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876): Custer's Last Stand
Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors annihilated five companies of the US 7th Cavalry under Custer, but the victory provoked a campaign that ended free Plains life within a year.
Modern Era
Telephone Invented (1876): Alexander Graham Bell's First Call
Bell's patent and first successful call launched the telephone industry; within a few decades telephone networks linked cities across North America and Europe.