Elisha Graves Otis develops the first working elevator
The Sepoy Rebellion, an attempt by the Mogul emperor of India to regain power from the British, is put down
The Panic of 1857 leads to widespread unemployment and bank failures in the U.S.
Francis Underwood and James Russell Lowell found The Atlantic Monthly in Boston
Parliament adopts the Obscene Publications Act, which weighs British publications for obscene content and provides for these publications to be supressed
The Dred Scott decision is handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, finding that blacks are not American citizens and denying the power of Congress to restrict the spread of slavery (March 6)
