Chinese Imperial forces, until a few weeks before under the command of British officer Captain Charles "Chinese" Gordon, finally stormed the walled city of Nanjing, the center of the Taiping Rebellion.  The rebel leaders were executed and the rebellion essentially defeated.  Historians consider the Taiping Rebellion easily the bloodiest conflict of the century, causing the deaths of perhaps as many as twenty million people.  (By John Osborne)

A Spanish naval force on a scientific expedition to South America's Pacific coast was on hand to enforce Spanish demands against Peru for compensation for both recent losses incurred by Spanish citizens in Peru and the more long-standing demands of the War of Independence.  The warships seized the guano-rich Chincha Islands, worth perhaps 60% of Peru's annual income, and began a blockade of the Peruvian coast.  Events escalated and Spain fought a war with Peru and Chile during 1865 and 1866.  (By John Osborne)

Emperor Maximilian of Mexico had accepted the throne of Mexico in principle in October 1863 and had been formally sworn in Trieste on April 10, 1864.  He and his wife, the Empress Carlotta, travelled from Europe in an Austrian naval flotilla and arrived at the harbor at Vera Cruz in the afternoon to great celebration. From there, they proceeded to Puebla and then on to Mexico City. Two years and two months later, Maximilian was deposed and executed at Santiago de Querétaro in central Mexico.  (By John Osborne) 

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of a sea captain, and was educated at Bowdoin College, where he met his lifelong friend Franklin Pierce. He became one of the most famous living American authors.  He died in Plymouth, New Hampshire four days earlier.  He was buried on a sunny and calm day at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, in Concord, Massachusetts. Emerson, Longfellow, Louis Agassiz, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, were among the pallbearers.  (By John Osborne)  

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of a sea captain.  He was educated at Bowdoin College, where he met his lifelong friend Franklin Pierce, and became one of the most famous living American authors.  He had served as U.S. Consul at Liverpool when Pierce was president.  In poor health, probably complicated by pneumonia, he died in Plymouth, New Hampshire while on a recuperative trip.  He was buried four days later at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, in Concord, Massachusetts. He was fifty-nine years old.  (By John Osborne)  

Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, who had accepted the throne in principle in October 1863, had been formally sworn in Trieste on April 10, 1864.  He and his wife, the Empress Carlotta, arrived in the capital city with great ceremony by railway train from Puebla, attended a ceremony at the Cathedral, and took up residence at the National Palace on the Plaza Major. Two years and two months later, Maximilian was deposed and executed at Santiago de Querétaro in central Mexico.  (By John Osborne) 

With great ceremony at Mirimar Castle near Trieste, Austrian Archduke Maximilian and his wife, Archduchess Carlotta, received at noon a large Mexican delegation led by Gutierrez de Estrada.  The group offered officially the throne of Mexico. Maximilian had accepted in principle the previous October but now formally swore his oath to serve the people of Mexico.  His reign lasted until June 1867 when Mexican revolutionaries under Benito Juarez deposed and executed him.  (By John Osborne)  

King Maximilian II had ascended the throne of Bavaria twenty years before on the abdication of his father after a scandal in 1848. His reign had fluctuated between absolutism and liberalism and was marked diplomatically with the rise of the German Federation, in which he generally supported Austria over Prussia.  He died suddenly in Munich and was succeeded by the eldest of his two teenaged sons, Ludwig II. He was 52 years old. (By John Osborne)