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1846 - Oregon country divided between US and Britain at 49th parallel.

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1850 - Birth of Guy de Maupassant France, author (Boule de Suif).

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1858 - After several unsuccessful attempts, Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable.

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1860 - Birth of Joseph Carey Merrick "Elephant Man".

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1861 - US Army abolishes flogging.

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1861 - US levies its first Income Tax (3% of incomes over $800).

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1864 - Spectrum of a comet observed for first time, by Giovanni Donati.

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1864 - Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama; Admiral David Farragut orders "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".

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1876 - Birth of Mary R Beard Indianapolis, historian (Woman as a Force in History).

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1882 - Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.

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