1853: The first true International Meteorological Organization is established in Brussels, Belgium.
1853: The Bendigo Petition, 30 metres long with at least 23,000 signatures requesting reform of the license fee system that applied to miners on the gold fields, was sent to Governor La Trobe in Melbourne, Australia.
2
1854
1854: Ignacy Lukasiewicz drills the world's first oil well in Poland, in Bóbrka near Krosno.
Mar 1854: Australia's first telegraph line, linking Melbourne and Williamstown, opens.
3
1855
1855: David Livingstone becomes the first European to see Victoria Falls in what is now present-day Zambia-Zimbabwe.
Jun 1855: The Daily Telegraph begins publication.
Sep 1855: Queen Victoria signs an Order-in-Council to change the name of Van Diemen's Land to Tasmania.
4
1856
1856: Pre-human remains are found in the Neanderthal valley in Germany.
Jan 1856: Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross.
Apr 1856: At a public meeting in Melbourne, Dr Thomas Embling repeated the slogan "eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest".
5
1857
1857: In Victoria, Australia one adult male in 7 is Chinese.
Mar 1857: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Blacks are not citizens and slaves can not sue for freedom, driving the country further towards the American Civil War (the ruling is not overturned until the 14th Amendment in 1868).
Dec 1857: Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa, Ontario as the capital of Canada.
6
1858
11 Feb 1858: The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to St Bernadette of Lourdes.
Aug 1858: The first claimed Australian rules football match is held between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College.
7
1859
Apr 1859: Ground is broken for the Suez Canal.
Jun 1859: The colony of Queensland is established by decree of Queen Victoria.
Sep 1859: The clock Big Ben becomes operational in London.
8
1860
1860: The Grand Duchy of Tuscany is annexed to the newly Kingdom of Italy.
6 Nov 1860: U.S. presidential election: Abraham Lincoln beats John C. Breckinridge, Stephen A. Douglas, and John Bell and is elected as the 16th President of the United States, the first Republican to hold that office.
1853 - 1860 (7 years)
