Birthdays
Caspar Wistar Bell
Turns 47 on this date
William Gregg
Turns 66 on this date
John Hays
Turns 29 on this date
Robert Samuel Maclay
Turns 42 on this date
Henry Merryman Wilson
Turns 37 on this date
Events
| Crime/Disasters | A serious fire in Pennsylvania's oil fields destroys nine wells along Bennehof Run in Venango County | 02/02/1866 |
| Lawmaking/Litigating | At the U.S. Capitol, the Senate passes the Civil Rights Bill of 1866 | 02/02/1866 |
| Science/Technology | In New York Harbor, a U.S. Revenue cutter tests a new, safer boat lowering mechanism | 02/02/1866 |
| Crime/Disasters | In the third river disaster in a week, the Mississippi steamboat "W.R. Carter" explodes and scores die | 02/02/1866 |
| Crime/Disasters | Months of sometimes violent volcanic activity are striking the Greek Island of Santorini |
01/19/1866 to 02/20/1866 |
| Legal/Political | The first session of the 39th Congress is sitting in Washington DC from early January to late July, 1866 |
01/07/1866 to 07/27/1866 |