1869: in March Mendeleev presented his periodic table, and in November the Suez Canal opened.
The events
- Mendeleev's periodic table1869 · Saint Petersburg. In 1869 Dmitri Mendeleev arranged the known chemical elements by atomic weight and properties into a periodic system. He left gaps in his table and predicted the properties of undiscovered elements, gallium, scandium and germanium, which were soon found.
- Opening of the Suez Canal1869 · Port Said. On 17 November 1869 the Suez Canal, built under Ferdinand de Lesseps, was opened. Linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, it spared ships the voyage around Africa and dramatically shortened the route from Europe to Asia.
More amazing facts
- 1859 · 1869 Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) and Mendeleev's periodic law (1869) are just ten years apart.
- 1861 Alexander II signed the manifesto freeing the serfs on 3 March 1861 (19 February Old Style); the very next day Lincoln became US president.
- 1861 1861: Russia abolished serfdom, and a united Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in Turin.
- 1861 · 1888 Russia abolished serfdom in 1861 and the USA slavery in 1865; Brazil was the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery, only in 1888.
- 1868 · 1905 Only 37 years after the Meiji Restoration, when Japan was just leaving its samurai order behind, it defeated Russia in the war of 1904–1905.
- 1868 · 1964 In 1868 Japan was still ruled by a shogun and samurai carried swords.