1859

1859 was a year marked by pivotal developments across science, industry, and politics. In science, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published on November 24, presenting natural selection as the mechanism of evolution, a work that reshaped biology and natural history. It followed Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace's joint presentation in 1858.

In industry, Edwin Drake drilled the first successful oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, on August 27, inaugurating the modern petroleum industry and transforming energy markets.

In Europe, the Second Italian War of Independence continued against Austrian rule, with major battles at Magenta (June 4) and Solferino (June 24). The subsequent Peace of Villafranca in July effectively ended the war, leading to the cession of Lombardy to Sardinia and accelerating the path toward Italian unification.

In the United States, abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry in October (16–18), seeking to incite a slave rebellion; Brown was captured and hanged later that year, heightening sectional tensions on the road to the Civil War.

Other significant developments included the authorization of the project to build the Suez Canal, with the Egyptian ruler granting a concession to a French-led company, marking the start of a canal whose completion would reshape global trade.

Overall, 1859 saw science, industry, and geopolitics converge in ways that influenced subsequent decades, contributing to shifts in scientific thought, economic development, and national rearrangements.