Ireland

John O'Donovan, Irish language scholar, dies

John O’Donovan (Irish: Seán Ó Donnabháin; 25 July 1806 – 10 December 1861), from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt’s Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland.

Thousands turn out to view the coffin of Terence Bellew MacManus

Terence MacManus (1811-1861) was an Irish nationalist and a key figure in the struggle for Irish independence during the 19th century.

Foundation stones of main Post Office and National Museum of Scotland laid by Prince Albert

Prince Albert lays the foundation stones of both the General Post Office and the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh — his final public engagement before his death later that year in 1861.

Birth in Belfast of Frederick Crawford, militant unionist and organizer of Larne gun-running

Explorer Robert Burke, from Co. Galway, dies in Australia

Earl Haig, Commander in Chief of British forces, 1915-18, founder of British Legion, born.

Death of Patrick Brontë from Ballynaskeagh, Co Down, father of Emily, Charlotte, Anne and Bramwell

William Ford, who crossed the Atlantic from Ireland by steerage, marries fellow country woman Mary O'Hern.

William Ford, who emigrated from Ireland to the United States by steerage, marries fellow Irish immigrant Mary O’Hern. The couple would go on to have a son, Henry Ford, who would revolutionize transportation and industry by pioneering the mass production of the automobile through the moving assembly line.

The American Civil War begins; 150,000 Irishmen will serve with the Union forces, and 40,000 with the Confederacy

John George Adair evicts 244 tenants on his estate at Derryveagh, Co. Donegal