The Calendar of Literary Facts contains more than 6,500 events in literary history.

The Confederate States of America is founded in Montgomery, Alabama; former U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Southern Confederacy

George Eliot publishes Silas Marner

Alexander II frees Russia’s serfs

The united Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed

Charles Dickens publishes Great Expectations

Joseph Seamon Cotter Sr. is born

Eugene Scribe dies

Explore: Eugène Scribe

E. Pauline Johnson is born

The War between the States (commonly called the American Civil War), pitting the Northern union of states against the Southern Confederacy, begins

Bliss Carman is born

Explore: Bliss Carman

Rabindranath Tagore is born

Explore: 60, Rabindranath Tagore, The Postmaster, What is the theme of "Castaway" by Rabindranath Tagore?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning dies

Explore: Sonnet XXIX, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning: A Biography