| Personal |
|
Senator John Middleton Clayton, negotiator of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, dies in Delaware |
| Business/Industry |
|
Newfoundland and New York linked by telegraph thanks to new cable under the Gulf of St. Lawrence |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
Powder magazine explodes on the island of Rhodes, killing hundreds |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
American warships bombard Chinese forts in Canton Province |
| Personal |
|
Stephen Douglas marries Adele Cutts in Washington, DC |
| Personal |
|
Samuel Swartwout, the notorious former collector of customs at the Port of New York, dies |
| Slavery/Abolition |
|
South Carolina Governor James Adams calls for the reinstitution of the African slave trade |
| Foreign |
|
The Emperor of Austria visits Venice |
| Legal/Political |
-
|
Seventh National Women's Rights Convention held in New York City |
| Religion/Philosophy |
|
First Sunday in Advent |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
The regular second session of the 34th Congress opens in Washington, DC |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
-
|
The second regular session of the 34th Congress is sitting in Washington, DC between early December and early March |
| Foreign |
|
Treaty of Bayonne between France and Spain sets their international borders |
| US/the World |
|
Dutch Boers in the Transvaal proclaim independence from Great Britain and form the South African Republic |
| Legal/Political |
-
|
The Dred Scott Case is debated before the United States Supreme Court |
| Science/Technology |
|
First day of Winter |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
Fire destroys the Medical School Building at the University of Louisville |
| Foreign |
|
Gretna Green cross-border marriages between England and Scotland become more difficult |
| Personal |
-
|
Ozias Mather Hatch serves as Illinois Secretary of State |
| Legal/Political |
|
Roger Taney issues decision in Dred Scott Case |
| Slavery/Abolition |
|
Robert Brown, a fugitive slave from Virginia, arrives in Philadelphia after crossing Potomac on horseback |
| Cultural |
|
Ashmun Institute opens in Chester County, Pennsylvania |
| Personal |
|
Andrew Ure, famous advocate of the factory system, dies in London |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
Archbishop of Paris is assassinated on his way to Mass |
| Slavery/Abolition |
|
New York Times reports on runaway slave in Kansas |
| Campaigns/Elections |
|
First Republican Governor of Illinois inaugurated |
| Legal/Political |
-
|
William H. Bissell serves as Governor of Illinois |
| Legal/Political |
|
Lincoln elected as officer of Illinois State Colonization Society |
| Personal |
|
Preston Brooks dies suddenly in Washington, D.C. |
| Legal/Political |
|
The Lincolns entertain over 300 guests at their home in Springfield |
