1858
Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century
Decades: 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s - 1850s - 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s
Years: 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 - 1858 - 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863
Events
- January 14 - Napoleon III of France escapes an assassination attempt.
- January 25 - The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn becomes a popular wedding recessional after it is played on this day at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter Victoria, "Vicky," the Princess Royal to Prince Friedrich of Prussia in St. James's Palace, London
- February 11 - The Virgin Mary is said appear to St Bernadette of Lourdes
- March 30 - Hyman Lipman patents a pencil with an attached eraser.
- May 11 - Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd U.S. state.
- June 23 - kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara
- July 29 - United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.
- August 5 - Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts.
- August 11 - First ascent of the Eiger.
- August 16 - US President James Buchanan inaugurates the new trans-Atlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal will force a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.
- British Empire takes over powers & properties of the British East India Company (see also history of Bangladesh).
- William Marcy Tweed begins his thirteen-year term as "Boss" of Tammany Hall.
Arts, Sciences, Literature and Philosophy
Office holders
- List of state leaders in 1858
- List of religious leaders in 1858
- List of international organization leaders in 1858
- List of colonial governors in 1858
Births
- January 7 - Eliezer Ben-Yehuda responsible for revival of Hebrew language
- January 10 - Heinrich Zille, illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
- March 10 - Kokichi Mikimoto, pearl farm pioneer (d. 1954)
- March 18 - Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the compression ignition engine (d. 1913)
- March 1 - Georg Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher.
- April 23 - Max Planck, German physicist, inventor of quantum mechanics
- June 16 - King Gustav V of Sweden
- August 1 - Hans Rott, composer
- August 27 - Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician
- October 27 - Theodore Roosevelt, later President of the United States
- December 22 - Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer
Deaths
- March 4 - Matthew Calbraith Perry, American Commodore.
- April 7 - Anton Diabelli, music publisher, editor and composer
- June 3 - Julius Reubke, composer