1860

1860 was 11 years before the founding of the City of Birmingham and the 41st year of Alabama statehood.

Events

• February 9: The Alabama Legislature established the Alabama Hospital for the Insane in Tuscaloosa.
• The University of Alabama temporarily became a military school.
• Alabama's delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina walked out, eventually reconvening with other pro-slavery party members in Baltimore to nominate John Breckinridge for president.

Business

• April 11: Shelby Furnace produced the first finished bar iron in the state.

Individuals

• May 10: Alburto Martin married the former Harriett Louise Mudd.
• Richard H. Brasher became Shelby County Sheriff.
• Andrew Tarrant married the former Martha Ayre.

Births

• April 27: James Stiles, judge
• Benjamin Popwell

Deaths

• Samuel Fields, a founder of the Brookside community

Works

Buzzard Roost Bridge, c. 1960s

• Buzzard Roost Bridge, Colbert County

Context

In 1860, the Taiping Rebellion continued. The Pony Express went into operation. The Oxford evolution debate took place. The Second Opium War ended in China. The first Open Championship, a.k.a. the British Open, took place. The Expedition of the Thousand led to the dissolution of Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, an important step in reunifying Italy. Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Charles Dickens published the first installment of Great Expectations. South Carolina seceded from the U.S.

Notable births in 1860 included writer Anton Chekhov, politician William Jennings Bryan, composer Gustav Mahler, murder suspect Lizzie Borden, show performer Annie Oakley, painter Grandma Moses, and General John J. Pershing. Notable deaths included reformer Theodore Parker, architect Charles Barry, inventor Charles Goodyear, and philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer.

1860s

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Births - Deaths - Establishments - Events - Works