Havelock Ellis, the famous and influential physician and sexologist, was born in Croydon in Surrey the son of a sea captain.  After training as a doctor, he became notorious for his willingness to violate Victorian taboos and discuss sex openly in public and the academy.  His most influential work was Studies in the Psychology of Sex, published between 1897 and 1928.  He died in July 1939 in Suffolk in eastern England.  (By John Osborne)

Charles Dickens had published the first chapter of The Tale of Two Cities in the April 30 edition of the London weekly magazine, All the Year Round, a new journal he founded and controlled. Weekly installments continued until November 26, 1859, when the great story of the French Revolution was concluded. (By John Osborne)

Johannes Brahms'  First Piano Concerto in D Minor, Opus 15 was first performed in Hanover in northern Germany with the composer himself at the piano.  The reception from the audience was no more than polite. The next performance five days later in Leipzig was even more poorly received. (By John Osborne) 

Charles Darwin began to edit his final version Origin of the Species By Means of Natural Selection: Or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life making significant last minute changes along the way.  He finished the task on October 10, 1859 and sent the final version to the printers.  This monumentally influential work was published in London on November 24, 1859 at the cost of fifteen shillings a copy.  The first print sold out long before the end of the day.  (By John Osborne)

Charles Darwin had begun to edit his final version Origin of the Species By Means of Natural Selection: Or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life in late May, 1859, making last minute changes along the way.  He finished the task on this day and sent the final version to the printers.  This monumentally influential work was published in London on November 24, 1859 at the cost of fifteen shillings a copy.  The first print sold out long before the end of the day.  (By John Osborne)

Perhaps the most influential book of the century, Charles Darwin's, Origin of the Species By Means of Natural Selection: Or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life was published in London on this date at the cost of fifteen shillings a copy.  The first print sold out long before the end of the day.  (By John Osborne)

Russian playwright Aleksandr Ostrovsky's wrote his best-known work "Groza," or "The Storm" after a visit to the headwaters of the Volga River.  Its premiere in Moscow on this date resulted in Ostrovsky winning the prestigious Uvarov Prize. (By John Osborne)