Also Within this year in history
In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as America’s 16th president. Just weeks later, the newly formed Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, igniting the American Civil War. To fund the conflict, Congress enacted the country’s first income tax. Elsewhere in the world, multiple states on the Italian Peninsula united to form the Kingdom of Italy, while multiple European powers invaded Mexico to collect unpaid debts. Back in Britain, The Times gave readers the first-ever published weather forecast.
Illustration showing a scene from the fighting at the First Battle of Bull Run, with the gallant 69th of the New York State Militia assaulting a rebel battery, July 21, 1861. Published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy, English officer of the Royal Navy and scientist.
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