March 20
March 20
Republican Party founded
In Ripon, Wisconsin, former members of the Whig Party meet to establish a new party to oppose the spread of slavery into the western territories. The Whig Party, which was…
A Year In History: 1854
This Year in History:
1854
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
March 31
March 31
Treaty of Kanagawa signed with Japan
In Tokyo, Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, representing the U.S. government, signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade and…
April 29
April 29
First HBCU, Lincoln University, chartered
On April 29, 1854, Lincoln University becomes the nation’s first historically Black degree‑granting institution of higher education. Located in Pennsylvania and originally founded as the Ashmun Institute, the university was…
August 9
August 9
Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” is published
On August 9, 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s classic Walden, or, A Life in the Woods is published. It is required reading in many classrooms today, but when it was first…
September 27
September 27
Ships collide off Newfoundland, killing about 350
Sudden and heavy fog causes two ships to collide, killing some 350 people off the coast of Newfoundland on September 27, 1854. The Arctic was a luxury ship, built in…
October 16
October 16
Abraham Lincoln speaks out against slavery
On October 16, 1854, an obscure lawyer and Congressional hopeful from the state of Illinois named Abraham Lincoln delivers a speech regarding the Kansas‑Nebraska Act, which Congress had passed five…
October 16
October 16
Celebrated writer Oscar Wilde is born
Oscar Wilde is born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up in Ireland and went to England to attend Oxford, where he graduated with honors in 1878.…
October 20
October 20
French poet Arthur Rimbaud is born
On October 20, 1854, Arthur Rimbaud is born in Charleville, France. His father, an army officer, deserted the family when Rimbaud was six. Rimbaud was a brilliant student, and his…
October 25
October 25
Charge of the Light Brigade
In an event alternately described as one of the most heroic or disastrous episodes in British military history, Lord James Cardigan leads a charge of the Light Brigade cavalry against…
December 9
December 9
“The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson is published
On December 9, The Examiner prints Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” which commemorates the courage of 600 British soldiers charging a heavily defended position during…
