1868

Events from the year **1868 in the United States**.

Governors
* Governor of Alabama: Robert M. Patton (Democratic) (until July 24), William Hugh Smith (Republican) (starting July 24)
* Governor of Arkansas: Isaac Murphy (Democratic) (until July 2), Powell Clayton (Republican) (starting July 2)
* Governor of California: Henry Huntly Haight (Democratic)
* Governor of Connecticut: James E. English (Democratic)
* Governor of Delaware: Gove Saulsbury (Democratic)
* Governor of Florida: David S. Walker (Democratic) (until July 4), Harrison Reed (Republican) (starting July 4)
* Governor of Georgia:
	+ until January 13: Charles J. Jenkins (Democratic)
	+ January 13-July 4: Thomas H. Ruger (Military)
	+ starting July 4: Rufus Bullock (Republican)
* Governor of Illinois: Richard J. Oglesby (Republican)
* Governor of Indiana: Conrad Baker (Republican)
* Governor of Iowa: William M. Stone (Republican) (until January 16), Samuel Merrill (Republican) (starting January 16)
* Governor of Kansas: Samuel J. Crawford (Republican) (until November 4), Nehemiah Green (Republican) (starting November 4)
* Governor of Kentucky: John W. Stevenson (Democratic)
* Governor of Louisiana:
	+ until January 8: Benjamin Franklin Flanders (Republican)
	+ January 8-June 27: Joshua Baker (Democratic)
	+ starting June 27: Henry C. Warmoth (Republican)
* Governor of Maine: Joshua Chamberlain (Republican)
* Governor of Maryland: Thomas Swann (Democratic)
* Governor of Massachusetts: Alexander H. Bullock (Republican)
* Governor of Michigan: Henry H. Crapo (Republican)
* Governor of Minnesota: William R. Marshall (Republican)
* Governor of Mississippi: Benjamin G. Humphreys (Democratic) (until June 15), Adelbert Ames (Military) (starting June 15)
* Governor of Missouri: Thomas Clement Fletcher (Republican)
* Governor of Nebraska: David Butler (Republican)
* Governor of Nevada: Henry G. Blasdel (Republican)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Walter Harriman (Republican)
* Governor of New Jersey: Marcus Lawrence Ward (Republican)
* Governor of New York: Reuben Fenton (Republican)
* Governor of North Carolina: Jonathan Worth (Conservative) (until July 1), William Woods Holden (Republican) (starting July 1)
* Governor of Ohio: Charles Jacob Dolson Cox (Republican) (until January 13), Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) (starting January 13)
* Governor of Oregon: George L. Woods (Republican)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: John W. Geary (Republican)
* Governor of Rhode Island: Ambrose Everett Burnside (Republican)
* Governor of South Carolina: James Lawrence Orr (Democratic) (until July 6), Robert Kingston Scott (Republican) (starting July 6)
* Governor of Tennessee: William G. Brownlow (Republican)
* Governor of Texas: Elisha M. Pease (Republican)
* Governor of Vermont: John B. Page (Republican)
* Governor of Virginia: Francis Harrison Pierpont (Republican) (until April 4), Henry H. Wells (Republican) (starting April 4)
* Governor of West Virginia: Arthur I. Boreman (Republican)
* Governor of Wisconsin: Lucius Fairchild (Republican)

Lieutenant Governors
* Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Andrew J. Applegate (Republican) (starting July 24)
* Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Calvin C. Bliss (Republican) (until July 2), James M. Johnson (Republican) (starting July 2)
* Lieutenant Governor of California: William Holden (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Ephraim H. Hyde (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Florida: William W. J. Kelly (Republican) (until month and day unknown), William Henry Gleason (Republican) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: William Bross (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: vacant
* Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Benjamin F. Gue (Republican) (until January 16), John Scott (Republican) (starting January 16)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Nehemiah Green (Republican) (until November 4), Charles Vernon Eskridge (Republican) (starting November 4)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Preston H. Leslie (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: vacant (until month and day unknown), Oscar J. Dunn (Republican) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Christopher C. Cox (Unionist) (until month and day unknown), vacant (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: William Clafin (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Dwight May (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Thomas H. Armstrong (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: George Smith (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: James S. Slingerland (political party unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of New York: Stewart L. Woodford (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Tod R. Caldwell (Republican) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Andrew McBurney (Republican) (until January 13), John C. Lee (Republican) (starting January 13)
* Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: William Greene (political party unknown) (until month and day unknown), Pardon Stevens (political party unknown) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: W. D. Porter (no political party) (until July 6), Lemuel Boozer (Republican) (starting July 6)
* Lieutenant Governor of Texas: vacant
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Stephen Thomas (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Leopold Copeland Parker Cowper (Whig)
* Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Wyman Spooner (Republican)

## Events

### January - March

* January 6 – Asa Mercer and a number of new "Mercer Girls" sail from Massachusetts for the West Coast, arriving in Seattle on May 23.
* January 9 – John William De Forest, writing for *The Nation*, calls for a more specifically American literature; the essay's title, "The Great American Novel", is the first known use of the term.
* February 1 – The Benjamin Franklin "Z Grill" postage stamp is issued; it will be among the rarest ever.
* February 16 – In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the *Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks* (BPOE).
* February 24
	+ Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: Three days after his action to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, the House of Representatives votes 126 to 47 in favor of a resolution to impeach Andrew Johnson, the first of three Presidents to be impeached by the full House. Johnson is later acquitted by the Senate.
	+ The first parade to have floats occurs at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.
* March 1 – The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity is founded at the University of Virginia.
* March 5 – A court of impeachment is organized in the United States Senate to hear charges against President Andrew Johnson.
* March 23 – The University of California is founded in Oakland, California, when the Organic Act is signed into California law.
* March 27 – The Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company is organized in Oswego, New York.

### April - June

* April 1 – The Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute is established in Hampton, Virginia.
* April 29 – After pursuing a policy of total war on the Plain Indians, General William Tecumseh Sherman brokers the Treaty of Fort Laramie.
* May 9 – The city of Reno, Nevada is founded.
* May 16 – President Andrew Johnson is acquitted during his impeachment trial, by one vote in the United States Senate.
* May 30 – Memorial Day is observed in the United States for the first time (it was proclaimed on May 5 by General John A. Logan).
* June 3 – Crown Point, Indiana is incorporated a town.
* June 22 – Reconstruction: Arkansas readmitted to the U.S.
* June 25 – Reconstruction: Florida readmitted to the U.S.
* June 27 – Lowell, Indiana is incorporated a town.

### July - September

* July 4 – Reconstruction: North Carolina and South Carolina readmitted to the U.S.
* July 9 – Reconstruction: Louisiana readmitted to the U.S.
* July 13 – Reconstruction: Alabama readmitted to the U.S.
* July 15 – Reconstruction: Georgia readmitted to the U.S.
* July 25 – Wyoming Territory is organized.
* July 28 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is adopted, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
* September 1 – The first volume of Louisa May Alcott's novel *Little Women* is published.
* September 18 – The University of the South holds its first convocation in Sewanee, Tennessee.
* September 23 – Rebels (some 400–600) in the town of Lares declare Puerto Rico independent; the local militia easily defeats them a week later.

### October - December

* October 6 – The City of New York grants Mount Sinai Hospital a 99-year lease for a property on Lexington Avenue and 66th Street, for the sum of $1.00.
* October 7 – Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, is opened, with an initial enrollment of 412 men the following day.
* October 21 – The M6.3–6.7 Hayward earthquake affects the San Francisco Bay Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (*Violent*), causing damage from Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz.
* October 28 – Thomas Edison applies for his first patent, the electric vote recorder.
* November 3 – U.S. presidential election, 1868: Ulysses S. Grant defeats Horatio Seymour in the election.
* November 25 – The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity is founded at the University of Virginia.
* November 27 – Indian Wars: Battle of Washita River: In the early morning, United States Army Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads an attack on a band of Cheyenne living on reservation land with Chief Black Kettle, killing 103 Cheyenne.
* December 25 – President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War rebels.

## Memoriam

* March 4
	+ Richard H. Bayard, U.S. Senator from Delaware from 1841 to 1845 (aged 71; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
	+ Jesse Chisholm, pioneer (aged 63; Left Hand Spring, Indian Territory, (Now OK), USA)
* April 25 – William Cabell Rives, lawyer, planter, politician and diplomat (aged 74; Charlottesville, VA, USA)
* May 10 – Henry Bennett, politician (aged 59; New Berlin, NY, USA)
* May 23 – Kit Carson, trapper, scout and Indian agent (aged 58; Fort Lyon, CO Territory, USA)
* May 24 – Emanuel Leutze, history painter (aged 52; Washington, DC, USA)
* May 31 – John J. McRae, U.S. Senator from Mississippi from 1851 to 1852 (aged 58; Belize City, British Honduras (Now Belize))
* June 1 – James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States from 1857 to 1861 (aged 77; Lancaster, PA, USA)
* June 6 – Daniel Pierce Thompson, novelist and lawyer (aged 72; Montpelier, VT, USA)
* June 15 – Warren Ives Bradley, children's author (aged 21; Forestville, CT, USA)
* June 22 – Heber C. Kimball, Latter Day Saint leader (aged 67; Salt Lake City, UT Territory, USA)
* July 7 – Edward Coles, planter, politician and the 2nd governor of Illinois (aged 81; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* July 15 – William T. G. Morton, pioneer of anaesthesia (aged 48; New York City, NY, USA)
* August 11 – Thaddeus Stevens, politician (aged 76; Washington, DC, USA)
* August 31 – Francis Granger, politician (aged 75; Canandaigua, NY, USA)
* September 3 – Thomas H. Seymour, 36th Governor of Connecticut (aged 60; Hartford, CT, USA)
* September 17 – Hook Nose, Northern Cheyenne warrior (aged 45; CO Territory, USA)
* September 19 – William Sprague, minister and politician from Michigan (aged 59; Kalamazoo, MI, USA)
* October 9 – Howell Cobb, politician (aged 53; New York City, NY, USA)
* November 27 – Black Kettle, Southern Cheyenne Peace Chief (aged 65; Washita River, Indian Territory (Now OK), USA)
* December 25 – Linus Yale Jr., inventor (aged 47; New York City, NY, USA)