Captain N.C. Brooks in the Hawaiian vessel Gambia discovered the tiny islands on the north-west end of the Hawaiian Islands chain, 1,250 miles from Honolulu.  He named them the Middlebrook Islands.  Although Brooks, a merchant captain, claimed them for the United States, this not made formal until 1869 when Washington dispatched Captain Reynolds in the U.S.S. Lackawanna to establish a base and take possession.  The name Midway Islands was adopted in 1869.  (By John Osborne)  

Johannes Brahms'  First Serenade for Orchestra in D Major was first performed in Hamburg in northern Germany.  He continued to work on the piece, revising it into his Serenade for Large Orchestra, which he published in December, 1860. (By John Osborne) 

The new 150 foot tower of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse was lit for the first time on November 1, 1859 and was immediately reported to be visible for nineteen miles.  The previous 90 foot lighthouse had been built in 1812 and was so ineffective it was considered to be a hazard rather than help to navigation.  The iconic diamond painted 1859 tower still stands and remains in operation as an unmanned light.  (By John Osborne) 

Walter Camp was born in New Britain, Connecticut on April 7, 1859.  He attended Yale University where he later became coach of the football team.  Before the end of the century, Harper's Magazine had dubbed him the "Father of American Football" since his influence on the game had been undeniable.  Among the innovations he pioneered were the snap from center, the number of downs, the safety, as well as the rest of the points system.  He died in New York City in March 1925.  (By John Osborne)

Joshua Norton was born to a Jewish family in England and arrived in San Francisco in the 1850s where he became a wealthy businessman.  He was bankrupt, however, by 1853, and became mentally deranged.  On this date gave his first written proclamation as Norton the First, Emperor of the United States.  San Francisco went along with the charade and the ornately uniformed Norton became a popular figure whose pronouncements were keenly followed.  He died "in office" in January 1880. Ten thousand people attended his viewing.  (By John Osborne) 

The Arkansas state legislature passed a measure requiring that all "free negroes" in the state choose between enslavement or exile.  The law required that free black leave the state and that if they were still remaining after the stated period of grace, they would be subject to slave auction. Similar efforts were made around this time in Florida, Mississippi, and Missouri but failed, either through defeat or governor's veto.  The Arkansas law was enacted, however.  (By John Osborne)

The Codex Sinaiticus is the oldest known complete version of the Bible, dating from the middle of the fourth century, written in Greek on 346 parchments.  The German biblical scholar Constantin Tischendorf discovered the manuscript in an ancient Greek monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai in Egypt.  The manuscript made its way to Imperial Russia and in 1933 Joseph Stalin sold it to the British Museum for £100,000.  (By John Osborne)