What Happened in 1853 — Events, Births & Deaths

After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.

Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.

The Great Indian Peninsula Railway opens the first passenger rail in India, from Bori Bunder to Thane.

The Perry Expedition arrives in Edo Bay with a treaty requesting trade.

Opening of the first major US world's fair, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York City.

Admiral Despointes formally takes possession of New Caledonia in the name of France.

The Crimean War begins when the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Russian Empire.

Crimean War: Battle of Sinop: The Imperial Russian Navy under Pavel Nakhimov destroys the Ottoman fleet under Osman Pasha at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey.

Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.