Jules Léotard performs the first high-flying trapeze act at the Cirque Napoléon in Paris

Twenty-one year old Jules Léotard caused a sensation at the Cirque Napoleon in Paris when he first performed his twelve minute high-flying trapeze act. He had perfected the routine at his father's gymnasium in Toulouse, rigging trapezes from the ceiling and swinging over the swimming pool to avoid back-breaking falls. Leotard toured London and New York, had a popular song written about him, and gave his name to the one piece costume that he wore. After revolutionizing the circus, he died of smallpox in 1870. (By John Osborne)
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German immigrant William Menger opens his three story hotel in San Antonio, Texas

William Menger had built a home in 1855 that he expanded with a boarding-house and a brewery, all on the southwest corner of Alamo Plaza, near the famous mission in San Antonio.  On this site he constructed the Menger Hotel, which became one of the most famous and luxurious hostelries in the state of Texas.  The Menger remains in operation in downtown San Antonio today.  (By John Osborne)  
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Australian Thomas Austin hosts his first rabbit hunt with twenty-five wild rabbits imported from England

Thomas Austin stocked his land near Geelong in South Australia with partridge, hare, and wild rabbits, all imported from England.  A hunting party on Christmas Day 1859 inaugurated his new preserves at Barwon Park.  The rabbit had no natural predator in Australia, unfortunately.  Just eight years later, Austin's parties were killing 14,000 rabbits in a single hunt and rabbits were beginning a century-long continental agricultural crisis.  (By John Osborne)
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Oberlin-Wellington rescuer Simeon Bushnell is found guilty in a Cleveland federal court

Simeon Bushnell had been on trial in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio for his part in the rescue, in contravention of the Fugitive Slave Law, of escaped slave John Price from his federal marshal captors in Wellington, Ohio the previous September.  Price, also known as "Little John," was being returned to slavery in Kentucky but a group of students and faculty from Oberlin College, together with local citizens, had acted before he could be put on the train at Wellington.  Price was freed, hidden, and helped in his successful flight to Canada. A federal grand jury indicted 37 people for breaches of the Fugitive Slave Law, including John Mercer Langston, and his brother Charles, both black graduates of Oberlin.  The first trial of the only two men who would be tried began with Bushnell, a white man, facing a judge and jury in federal court on this day.  The trial had lasted ten days and Bushnell was convicted and sentenced to sixty days in prison.  The trial of Charles Langston followed immediately after.  (By John Osborne)

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The federal trial of Oberlin-Wellington rescuer Simeon Bushnell continues in Cleveland, Ohio

Simeon Bushnell was on trial in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio for his part in the rescue, in contravention of the Fugitive Slave Law, of escaped slave John Price from his federal marshal captors in Wellington, Ohio the previous September.  Price, also known as "Little John," was being returned to slavery in Kentucky but a group of students and faculty from Oberlin College, together with local citizens, had acted before he could be put on the train at Wellington.  Price was freed, hidden, and helped in his successful flight to Canada. A federal grand jury indicted 37 people for breaches of the Fugitive Slave Law, including John Mercer Langston, and his brother Charles, both black graduates of Oberlin.  The trials of the only two men who would be tried began with Bushnell, a white man, facing a judge and jury in federal court on this day.  The trial lasted ten days and Bushnell was convicted and sentenced to sixty days in prison.  The trial of Charles Langston followed.  (By John Osborne)

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The trial of Oberlin-Wellington rescuer Charles Langston opens in the federal court in Cleveland, Ohio

Charles Langston, a black man, was on trial in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio for his part in the rescue, in contravention of the Fugitive Slave Law, of escaped slave John Price from his federal marshal captors in Wellington, Ohio the previous September.  Price, also known as "Little John," was being returned to slavery in Kentucky but a group of students and faculty from Oberlin College, together with local citizens, had acted before he could be put on the train at Wellington.  Price was freed, hidden, and helped in his successful flight to Canada. A federal grand jury indicted 37 people for breaches of the Fugitive Slave Law, including Charles' brother John Mercer Langston, also a black graduate of Oberlin.  Only two men would eventually be tried.  Earlier, Simeon Bushnell, a white man, had faced a judge and jury in a trial that lasted ten days. Bushnell was convicted and later sentenced to sixty days in prison.  To save time, Judge Willson had the same jury try both cases, despite the pleas of Langston and his counsel.  After a fifteen day trial, Langston was also found guilty. (By John Osborne)

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The first trial of the Oberlin-Wellington slave rescuers opens in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio

Simeon Bushnell went on trial in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio for his part in the rescue, in contravention of the Fugitive Slave Law, of escaped slave John Price from his federal marshal captors in Wellington, Ohio the previous September.  Price, also known as "Little John," was being returned to slavery in Kentucky but a group of students and faculty from Oberlin College, together with local citizens, had acted before he could be put on the train at Wellington.  Price was freed, hidden, and helped in his successful flight to Canada. A federal grand jury indicted 37 people for breaches of the Fugitive Slave Law, including John Mercer Langston, and his brother Charles, both black graduates of Oberlin.  The first trial of the only two men who would be tried began with Bushnell, a white man, facing a judge and jury in federal court on this day.  The trial lasted ten days and Bushnell was convicted and sentenced to sixty days in prison.  The trial of Charles Langston followed.  (By John Osborne)

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With the Treaty of Caracas, Brazil and Venezuela agree on their Amazonian border

The Treaty of Caracas was a mutually beneficial agreement between Brazil and Venezuela that finalized all boundaries in the area of the Amazon.  The border was agreed based upon the water divide of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers.  Venezuela gave up some territory but gained in economic and navigation rights.  (By John Osborne)
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King Oscar I dies at his palace in Sweden and is succeeded by his eldest son, who becomes Charles XV

Oscar I of Sweden and Norway, the Paris-born godson of Napoleon I who had ruled since 1844, died in Stockholm.  His eldest son, the tall, imposing, and hearty Crown Prince Charles, who had been serving as Regent for almost two years as his father suffered from his terminal illness, became King Charles XV.  He would rule successfully until his death in 1872. (By John Osborne)  
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