The 1865 Epsom Derby, first run in 1780, took place on a fine day before an exceptional crowd, which including the Prince of Wales.  The pre-race favorite, Gladiateur, bred in France and owned by the Count de LaGrange, made a late run and easily overhauled the horses Christmas Carol and Eltham to win by two lengths. The one and a half mile race had thirty horses in the field and, as favorite, Gladiateur paid five to two odds. (By John Osborne)

At around 4 p.m., a fire broke out during scenery work at the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh and soon the building was engulfed in flame.  The fire spead to the adjoining Catholic Church and several men evacuating people from inside the structures were caught by collapsing walls.  Efforts to rescue them cost more lives as the church next-door began to collapse.  Of the six men killed, one was the "Dean of Guild" or chief buildings magistrate of Edinburgh, George Lorimer, who died attempting a rescue.  (By John Osborne) 

The 1100-ton steamer Lelia, newly purpose built as a blockade runner, sailed from Liverpool on her first voyage, bound first for the Bahamas with the intent to run the U.S. Navy blockade to a Confederate port. But she hit severe weather immediately and, despite a desperate effort to return to Liverpool, broke apart. Thirty-seven of the fifty man crew, all eight passengers, and two Liverpool pilots were lost. (By John Osborne)  

The paddle steamer Assaye had left Bombay on November 11, 1864 with a valuable cargo of cotton, jute, and flax seed.  Nearing the end of of her long voyage she ran into a powerful storm and was driven onto the coast of southern Ireland. Thanks to the efforts of the coast guard and local citizens all but one of her forty-nine man crew were saved. (By John Osborne)  

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, the main church of the Protestant Church of Ireland dates its earliest construction from the 12th century.  By the begining of the 19th, however, much of it was nearing collapse.  Between 1860 and 1865, thanks to funding from Benjamin Guinness of the prosperous brewing family, it was closed and extensively restored.  It reopened with great ceremony on this day with more than three thousand people in attendance.  A statue of Guinness sits in the cathedral grounds today. (By John Osborne)  

Three cutters from the British naval training ship Worcester were rowing on the lower River Thames near Erith in Kent, when one of the 28 foot boats with twenty-two cadets aboard capsized in a slight squall.  Despite at the efforts of onlookers and the other boats, ten of the cadets, between the ages of thirteen and sixteen were drowned.   (By John Osborne)  

The Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race was first held in 1829 and became an annual fixture in 1856 that continues till this day.  In 1865, the race was rowed in the early afternoon of a warm and clear day on the Thames outside London.  The Oxford crew scored their fifth successive victory, rowing the course from Putney to Mortlake in 21 minutes and 23 seconds.  (By John Osborne)  

An eclipse of the Moon, visible across much of the southern states, took place in the late evening, beginning at 8 p.m. and lasting until just before midnight. (By John Osborne) 

Winter begins at the Winter Solstice. (By John Osborne) 

Autumn begins at the Autumn Equinox. (By John Osborne)