1856

Before the Civil War

1856 is the year, used attributively to date events, documents, or artifacts from that time: the 1856 presidential election, an 1856 daguerreotype.

Like other years, it functions as a noun or adjective without modification.

globalEvents

Bessemer process

Converting iron to steel

Treaty of ParisMajor war-ending diplomatic pact
transatlantic cableUnderwater intercontinental communication wire
Kansas-Nebraska Act1854 territorial organization law

Dred Scott · James Buchanan · clipper ship · Gold Rush · abolitionism · expansionism · emancipation · antebellum · paddle steamer

CrimeanWar

Sevastopol

Crimean port city

siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
Treaty of ParisMajor war-ending diplomatic pact
Black SeaLandlocked sea near Caucasus

Florence Nightingale · Balaclava · war correspondent · British Army · French Army · Ottoman Empire · Tsarist Russia · artillery · infantry · naval blockade

Victorian

Queen Victoria

Long-reigning British empress

British EmpireVast colonial domain
Industrial RevolutionEra of mechanized production
Great Exhibition1851 London industrial showcase

colonialism · steam engine · gaslight · telegraph · railroads · etiquette · gentility · Charles Dickens · crinoline · workhouse

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G