1868
1868 was 3 years before the founding of the City of Birmingham and 49 years after Alabama first became a state.
Events
- July 14: William H. Smith succeeded Robert M. Patton as the elected governor of Alabama.
- December 29: The "Here We Rest" Seal of Alabama was adopted by the State Legislature, replacing the original seal.
- December 30: Baker County was established.
- Alabama was officially readmitted to the Union.
- Lincoln School of Marion was designated as Lincoln Normal School by the Alabama State Board of Education.
- Pleasant Hill Academy was founded by Isaac and Alice McAdory.
Business
- October 5: The combination of the Wills Valley and Northeast & Southwest Railroads was approved by the legislature, forming the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad.
- December 30: The Pioneer Mining and Manufacturing Company was incorporated.
Individuals
- August 8: Marion A. May succeeded William F. Hamby as Jefferson County Sheriff.
- Andrew Applegate became the first Lieutenant Governor of Alabama.
- Lewis H. Duyck succeeded Thomas Harrison as Shelby County Sheriff.
- George Johnson succeeded John Brown as Walker County Sheriff.
- Shandy Jones was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives.
- Elisha Peck became Alabama's Chief Justice.
- Edward Q. Thornton succeeded Jabez Curry as president of Howard College.
Births
- March 25: Robert Brown, businessman and Alabama State Fair president
- April 3: Louis Pizitz, merchant
- May 12: Myrtle Corbin, the "Four Legged Girl," was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee.
- June 5: William Brandon, Governor of Alabama
- July 24: Miles Copeland Sr, physician
- December 17: Walter McAdory, Jefferson County Sheriff
- December 26: James Dovel, engineer
- Ed Boykin, industrial accident victim
- Caroline Johnson, church and civic worker
Marriages
- April 26: Robert Mustin married the former Mary Elizabeth "Mollie" Gardner in Carrollton.
- April 29: Banker William Berney married Lizzie J. Taylor in Montgomery.
- Widow Harriet Perkins married Goldsmith Hewitt II.
Deaths
- June 4: Benjamin Porter, judge, legislator and author
- September 28: Elisha McMath, pioneer farmer
- December 21: Basil Manly, president of the University of Alabama
Works
- "Alabama" by Julia Tutwiler
Context
In 1868, the Meiji Restoration restored the emperor to power in Japan. Andrew Johnson became the first President to be impeached by the House of Representatives; he is acquitted by one vote in the Senate. French geologist Louis Lartet discovered the first identified skeletons of Cro-Magnon. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. Wyoming became a territory. Ulysses S. Grant defeated Horatio Seymour in the presidential election. The world's first traffic signal lights were installed in London. President Andrew Johnson granted unconditional pardon to all Civil War rebels.
Books published in 1868 included the first edition of The World Almanac and Book of Facts, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and In Search of the Castaways by Jules Verne.
Notable births in 1868 included civil rights leader W. E. B. Du Bois, physicist Robert Millikan, author Maxim Gorky, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, writer Gaston Leroux, explorer Robert Falcon Scott, traveller Gertrude Bell, mathematician Felix Hausdorff, chemist Fritz Haber, and actress Eugenie Besserer. Notable deaths included astronomer Léon Foucault, King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia (suicide), frontiersman Kit Carson, former president James Buchanan, mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius, King Mongkut of Siam, composer Gioachino Rossini, and Chief Black Kettle.
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