Heavy snowfalls commenced in the morning across much of the midAtlantic region.  Washington, D.C. had three inches by the end of the day and Baltimore had four.  Philadelphia, New York state, and Boston were also experiencing the storm.  (By John Osborne) 

The two-years-old 1000 ton steamship Constitution left Savannah, Georgia bound for New York with twenty-four passengers and a cargo of cotton bales.  She hit rocks off of Cape Lookout, North Carolina and was held fast as waves broke her up over the next two days.  The captain, twelve crewmen, and one passenger floated ashore using cotton bales but forty passengers and crew were reported as drowned.  (By John Osborne) 

The mixed-race clergymen George William Gordon was a legislator in the Jamaican Parliament highly critical of govenment policies. Following the rioting at Morant Bay, Governor John Eyre had him arrested for sedition although he had been in Kingston miles away from the disturbances.  He was tried by court martial, convicted, and hanged for high treason.  His death caused an outcry in Britain and helped result in London's dismissal of Eyre soon after.  (By John Osborne) 

Disturbances during the trial of a black man accused of illegally farming on abandoned land in the east of the British colony resulted in black protesters, led by a Baptist clergyman named Paul Bogle, marching into Morant Bay and clashing with the small militia force..  An immediate and brutal response killed hundreds more blacks, sparking protests in Britain over the conduct of Governor John Eyre and his eventual removal.  (By John Osborne)

 King Victor Emmmanuel had dissolved the parliament of the infant unified Italy on September 7, 1865 and ordered elections for October.  He opened the resulting legislature personally, laying out his gratitude to those nations, like Spain, that had recently recognised the new state and outlining policies for the future, especially concerning relations with the Papal States and the position of the Catholic Church in the new Italy.  (By John Osborne)

Spanish naval units had been blockading the Peruvian coast for months in the Chincha Islands dispute.  With the Spanish stretched thinly and Chile pursuing a new, more active policy, the Chilean corvette Esmerelda captured the smaller Spanish dispatch schooner Virgen de Covadonga off the coastal town of Papulo, north of Valparaiso.  This so humiliated the already depressed Spanish admiral that he committed suicide a few days later. (By John Osborne)   

With tensions high along the entire south-western coast of South America due to the Spanish blockade over the Chinca Islands dispute, Peru had sought and negotiated an alliance against Spain with Chile, agreed on December 5, 1865.  The Chilean Congress ratified the agreement and, although there had been Peruvian-Spanish naval clashes for months previously, Peru officially declared war on Spain on January 14, 1866. (By John Osborne)

With tensions high along the entire south-western coast of South America due to the Spanish blockade over the Chinca Islands dispute, Peru sought and negotiated an alliance against Spain with Chile.  The Chilean Congress ratified the agreement on December 30, 1865, and, although there had been Peruvian-Spanish naval clashes for months previously, Peru officially declared war on Spain on January 14, 1866. (By John Osborne)

With tensions high between Peru and Spain over the disputed Chincha Islands, Peruvian President Pedro Deiz Canseco's careful approach brought his fall and replacement by General Mariana Ignacio Prado, who was declared "Dictator."  A far more active anti-Spanish policy followed, with naval clashes, an alliance with Chile and an eventual declaration of war in January 1866.  (By John Osborne)

In an attempt to settle differences between the Austrian and Hungarian sections of his empire, Franz Joseph had called for an Hungarian Diet, or Parliament, and moved his court to Buda, the Hungarian capital for a time.  The Emperor personally opened the Diet at the Ofen Palace.  Overall progress was slow and rather symbolic until a later settlement was reached in 1867 and a regular Diet was called from then on. (By John Osborne)