page_title: 1861
section_title: April–June
hierarchical_section_title: 1861 / Events / April–June
caption_attribution_description: English: Great Comet of 1861, also known as C/1861&#160;J1 or comet Tebbutt; drawing by E.&#160;Weiss&#91;1&#93;
context_page_description: 1861 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar, the 1861st year of the Common Era and Anno Domini designations, the 861st year of the 2nd millennium, the 61st year of the 19th century, and the 2nd year of the 1860s decade. As of the start of 1861, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
context_section_description: April 7 – A population census is taken in the United Kingdom.
  April 12 – The American Civil War begins with the bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina.
  April 13 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Southern forces.
  April 15 – American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 men to confront in the South, "combinations too powerful to be suppressed in the ordinary way".
  April 17 – American Civil War: The state of Virginia secedes from the Union.
  April 20 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army, in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
  April 24 (N.S.) – Bezdna, Russia is the scene of a peasant uprising; the military open fire and about 90 are killed.
  April 25 – American Civil War: The Union Army arrives in Washington, D.C.
  April 26 – Giovanni Schiaparelli discovers the asteroid 69 Hesperia.
  April 27 – American Civil War:
  President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in the United States.
  May 6 – American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.
  May 7 – American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
  May 8 – American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
  May 13
  North Star Affair: The British merchant ship North Star leaves Hong Kong for Nagasaki, Japan.  Chinese pirates board the vessel, kill an officer, and escape with a large quantity of gold.
  American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality", which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights.
  Comet C/1861 J1 (the "Great Comet of 1861") is discovered in Australia.
  May 14 – The Canellas meteorite, an 859 gram chondrite type meteorite, strikes Earth near Barcelona, Spain.
  May 20 – American Civil War:
  Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which lasts until September 3, when Confederate forces enter the state.
  North Carolina secedes from the Union.
  May 21 – Russian sailors clash with a group of Japanese samurai and farmers, at Tsushima island.
  May 23 – American Civil War: The state of Virginia's ordinance of secession from the United States is ratified in a referendum held on May 23, 1861.
  May 29 – The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is established.
  June 9 – The Règlement Organique: With the approval of European powers, the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate is established as a semi-autonomous sub-division separate from the Sidon Eyalet. An Ottoman Armenian, Davud Pasha, is appointed Mutasarrıf by the Ottoman Sultan.
  June 15 – Benito Juárez is formally elected President of Mexico; he temporarily stops the payments of foreign debt.
  June 22 – Tooley Street fire starts and takes the life of James Braidwood first director of the London Fire Brigade.
  June 25 – Abdülmecid I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1839–1861) dies and is succeeded by Abdülaziz (1861–1876).
caption: May 13: Great Comet
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