1851

1851 was a year of notable cultural, political, and scientific developments across several regions. In London, the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations opened in the newly built Crystal Palace on May 1, showcasing technological innovations and designs from around the world and attracting large crowds. In literature, Herman Melville published Moby-Dick, a work that would become a major American novel and a touchstone of 19th-century fiction.

In politics, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte carried out a coup d'etat on December 2, dissolving the French National Assembly and establishing the groundwork for the Second French Empire. The event marked a turning point in French politics and influenced European power dynamics in the following years. In the British Isles, the 1851 census was conducted, gathering demographic data that would inform social and economic policy.

Australia experienced significant demographic and economic changes as gold discoveries spurred new rushes in New South Wales and Victoria, accelerating settlement and urban development. In the realm of photography, Louis Daguerre, a pioneer of the daguerreotype process, died in 1851, marking the end of an era in early photographic technology.

Overall, 1851 stands as a year that connected industrial progress, literary achievement, and political upheaval, while also illustrating the global reach of cultural and technological change during the mid-19th century.