| Science/Technology |
|
In Ireland, George Boole, British mathematician and founder of "Boolean Algebra," dies at his home in Cork |
| Science/Technology |
|
Over the River Avon near Bristol, Brunel's magnificent Clifton Suspension Bridge finally is opened |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
Off the South Carolina coast, the only survivor of the wreck of a lightship has a fortunate escape from death |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Near Savannah, Georgia, Fort McAllister falls to Union troops and Sherman makes contact with the U.S. Navy |
| Battles/Soldiers |
-
|
Battle of Nashville, December 15-16, 1864 |
| Battles/Soldiers |
-
|
In Georgia, Confederate troops evacuate Savannah and Sherman's "March to the Sea" is complete |
| Science/Technology |
|
The winter of 1864 begins at precisely 7:55 am, Washington DC time |
| Legal/Political |
-
|
The second session of the 38th Congress is in a two-week holiday recess until January 6, 1865 |
| Religion/Philosophy |
|
Hanakkuh, the Jewish Festival of Lights, begins |
| Religion/Philosophy |
|
Christmas Day |
| Personal |
|
Former United States Vice-President George M. Dallas dies at his home in Philadelphia |
| Personal |
|
Former Vice-President George Mifflin Dallas dies of a heart attack at his home in Philadelphia |
| Religion/Philosophy |
|
Hanakkuh, the Jewish Festival of Lights, ends |
| Personal |
|
In Philadelphia, wealthy citizens gift a house to the Grant family as reward for the commanding general's war service |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
In Lansing, the newly elected Michigan legislature gathers to inaugurate the new Republican governor |
| Personal |
|
In Philadelphia, former U. S. Vice-President George M. Dallas is buried at St. Peter's Episcopal Church |
| Legal/Political |
|
The second session of the 38th Congress returns from a two-week holiday recess |
| Legal/Political |
-
|
Second session of the 38th Congress sitting in Washington DC from early January to early March, 1865 |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
In Scotland, fire destroys Edinburgh's Theatre Royal and kills the city's top building official |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
A brand-new British blockade runner sinks in a storm the day she sails from Liverpool, drowning forty-seven people |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
In Philadelphia, a sizable explosion levels a fireworks factory and kills four workers |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
After a ten week voyage from India, a East India merchant ship wrecks on the Irish coast |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
In Washington D.C., the House of Representatives passes the Thirteen Amendment outlawing slavery |
| Slavery/Abolition |
|
In Philadelphia, white streetcar riders vote overwhelmingly to keep black citizens from city streetcars |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
In Philadelphia, a massive killer fire in a petroleum storage spreads quickly and devastates the neighborhood |
| US/the World |
|
In Uruguay, the civil war comes to an end as negotiations replace the government with the rebel Colorado Party |
| Religion/Philosophy |
|
In Dublin, the ancient St. Patrick's Cathedral reopens with great ceremony after four years of restorations |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
On the lower River Thames in London, ten teenage naval cadets drown when their cutter overturns |
| Religion/Philosophy |
|
Ash Wednesday |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
The 38th Congress comes to the end of its term in Washington DC |
