1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar).
Events
January
February
March
April
May
- May 1 – May 4 - American Civil War: General Robert E. Lee defeats Union forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville with 13,001 Confederate casualties, among them Stonewall Jackson lost to friendly fire, and 17,500 Union casualties.
- May 14 - American Civil War: Battle of Jackson (MS).
- May 17 - After a two-month siege, the French army of Bazaine takes Puebla Mexico.
- May 18 - American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins (ends Saturday, July 4).8600 union 30,189 confederate men surrendered
- May 21 - American Civil War: Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana by Union forces.
- May 21 - General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists formed.
- May 23 - Ferdinand Lassalle founds the Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (General German Workers' Association, ADAV), the first socialist workers party in Germany.
- May 23 - The Siege of Port Hudson starts.
- May 26 - American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg starts
- May 28 - American Civil War: The 54th Massachusetts, the first African-American regiment, leaves Boston, Massachusetts to fight for the Union.
- May 31 - First running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe horse race.
June
July
- July 1 - 3 - American Civil War: Union forces under George G. Meade turn back a Confederate invasion by Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg, the largest battle of the war. 28,000 Confederate casualties, 23,000 Union.
- July 4 - American Civil War: Battle of Vicksburg - Ulysses S. Grant and the Union army capture the Confederate city Vicksburg, Mississippi, after the town surrendered. The siege lasted 47 days.
- July 9 - The Siege of Port Hudson ends and the Union controls the entire Mississippi River for the first time.
- July 13 - American Civil War (New York Draft Riots): In New York City, opponents of conscription begin three days of violent rioting, which would later be regarded as the worst in the history of the United States.
- July 18 - American Civil War: The first formal African American military unit, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, unsuccessfully assaults Confederate-held Fort Wagner but their valiant fighting still proves the worth of African American soldiers during the war. Their colonel was shot leading attack and was buried with his men. 450 union/ 175 confederate
- July 26 - American Civil War: Morgan's Raid ends - At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 375 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces.
- July 30 - Indian Wars: Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone tribe signs the Treaty of Box Elder, promising to stop harassing the emigrant trails in southern Idaho and northern Utah.
August
October
November
December
Unknown dates
Ongoing Events
Births
- January 1 - Pierre de Coubertin, French founder of the modern Olympic Games (d. 1937)
- January 12 - Swami Vivekananda, Indian religious leader (d. 1902)
- January 15 - Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
- January 17 - David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1945)
- March 11 - Andrew Stoddart, English cricketer (d. 1915)
- March 12 - Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer, war hero, and politician (d. 1938)
- March 25 - Simon Flexner, American pathologist (d. 1946)
- May 21 - Archduke Eugen of Austria, Austrian field marshal (d. 1954)
- March 27 - Henry Royce, English automobile pioneer (d. 1933)
- April 18 - Leopold Graf Berchtold, Austro-Hungarian foreign minister (d. 1942)
- May 24 - George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (d. 1938)
- May 29 - Arthur Mold, English cricketer (d. 1921)
- June 2 - Felix Weingartner, Yugoslavian conductor (d. 1942)
- July 1 - William Stairs, Canadian explorer (d. 1892)
- July 21 - C. Aubrey Smith, English actor (d. 1948)
- July 30 - Henry Ford, American automobile manufacturer and industrialist (d. 1947)
- August 3 - Géza Gárdonyi, Hungarian author (d. 1922)
- September 13 - Arthur Henderson, Scottish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1935)
- September 21 - John Bunny, American film comedian (d. 1915)
- October 11 - Louis Cyr, Canadian strongman (d. 1912)
- October 16 - Austen Chamberlain, English statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1937)
- December 7 - Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer (d. 1945)
- December 11 - Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (d. 1941)
- December 12 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
- Aaron S. Watkins, American Presidential candidate (d. 1941)
Deaths
- April 1 - Jakob Steiner, Swiss mathematician (b. 1796)
- May 10 - Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, American Confederate general (b. 1824)
- July 26 - Sam Houston, first President of the Republic of Texas (b. 1793)
- August 13 - Eugène Delacroix, French painter (b. 1798)
- September 17 - Alfred de Vigny, French author (b. 1797)
- September 20 - Jakob Grimm, German folklorist (b. 1785)
- October 13 - Philippe Antoine d’Ornano, Marshal of France (b. 1784)
- November 2 - Theodore Judah, American railroad engineer (b. 1826)
- November 15 - Frederick VII, King of Denmark (b. 1808)
- December 13 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German writer (b. 1813)
1863
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