In London, an excursion train of the Great Northern Railroad approached its terminus in King's Cross Station at an uncontrollable speed.  The locomotive, its tender, and several carriages jumped the platform and continued across the station, out its entrance, and crossed the street outside, coming to rest in an area being excavated for a new underground tunnel.  Remarkably, no-one was injured. (By John Osborne)

During the peak day in a series of heavy gales on the southern and eastern coasts of Great Britain, one hundred and forty-three vessels were wrecked, thirty-six of them completely destroyed, and thirty-four lives were lost. The winds also caused significant damage ashore, as well.  (By John Osborne)

The Peninsular and Orient steamship Malabar was in the harbor near Point de Galle in Ceylon and was about to sail when it was struck with a sudden squall and driven onto a reef.  There was significant damage to cargo and luggage but no-one was harmed.  Among the items lost were the diplomatic papers of the British and French ambassadors travelling to negotiate with the Chinese over the then current conflict in China.  (By John Osborne)

After defeat at Palermo left the capital and much of the island under Garibaldi's control, the thousands of Neapolitan troops on Sicily withdrew to the Italian mainland.  In twenty-four ships gathered for their transport, the forces of the Kingdom of Naples left the province for the last time on this day. (By John Osborne) 

Garibaldi and his men had entered Palermo on May 27, 1860. With the local population joining the barricades, and the royal garrison shelling the city and its people, there were three days of very heavy fighting that killed hundreds and isolated occupying troops in several parts of the city.  After senior officers from British vessels in the harbor brokered an uneasy truce, royal troops finally capitulated on June 6, 1860 and left Palermo the following day. (By John Osborne) 

In the early hours of a Sunday morning, Garibaldi and his men, reinforced with Sicilian volunteers, audaciously entered the capital of Palermo, occupied by around 16,000 Neapolitan royal troops.  With the local population joining the barricades, and the royal garrison shelling the city and its people, there were three days of very heavy fighting that isolated occupying troops in several parts of the city.  After an uneasy truce, royal troops left Palermo on June 6, 1860. (By John Osborne) 

On the morning of May 15, 1860, Garibaldi and his force of around 1200 men turned back from Salemi to engage a 3000 man pursuing contingent of the Neapolitan army, supported by artillery, around the mountain town of Calatafimi.  Storming the heights of  the Pianto dei Romani, the insurgents drove away their pursuers who retreated to the capital city of Palermo.  Garibaldi's men suffered around thirty killed and several hundred wounded in the victory.  (By John Osborne) 

At Salemi, a mountain town above the coast of Sicily, Giuseppe Garibaldi declared himself "Dictator of Sicily" in the name of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.  At the same time, his 1087 strong force of mostly northern Italians was being reinforced with hundreds of local Sicilians. The following day, the first battle of the invasion was fought at nearby Calatafimi. (By John Osborne) 

After a two day voyage from Tuscany, Giuseppe Garibaldi and his 1087 strong force landed on Sicily at the port of Marsala in the early afternoon on May 11, 1860.  Although several Neapolitan warships arrived and briefly bombarded the invaders, the port was taken without a fight and the entire force and its supplies were ashore by the end of the afternoon.  The following morning the force marched inland towards Salemi and the interior of the island.  (By John Osborne)