1859 ( MDCCCLIX ) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar  and a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar , the 1859th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 859th year of the 2nd millennium , the 59th year of the 19th century , and the 10th and last year of the 1850s decade. As of the start of 1859, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

Events [ change | change source ]

• The Suez Canal begins to be built in Egypt .
• January 24 - Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexander John Cuza under the name Romania (see December 1 1918 for the final unification, Transylvania and other regions are still missing at that time).

Deaths [ change | change source ]

• Date unknown ? Mahmud Bayazidi , Kurdish polymath
• John Brown