1863

Events

January 1 - Abraham Lincoln delivers the Emancipation Proclamation during the second year of the American Civil War.
January 1 - The first claim under the Homestead Act is made for a farm in Nebraska
January 11 - American Civil War: Battle of Arkansas Post - General John McClernand and Admiral David Porter capture the Arkansas River for the Union.
January 10 - The first section of the London Underground Railway opens (Paddington to Farringdon Street).
May 2 - May 4 - General Robert E. Lee defeats Union forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville
May 31 - First running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe horse race
July 2 - July 3 - Union forces turn back a Confederate invasion at the Battle of Gettysburg
July 4 - The Confederate city of Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders after a 47 day siege.
November 19 - Gettysburg Address
Thomas Nast draws the modern Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly, although Santa existed previously.
Construction begins on the First Transcontinental Railroad in Sacramento, California

Arts, Sciences, Literature and Philosophy

Births

Deaths