Questions tagged [19th-century]
The 19th century began on January 1, 1801, and ended on December 31, 1900.
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Virginia's response to Harper's Ferry, compared to the US response to 9/11
9/11 is now far enough in the past that I feel more able to analyze it as history. For most of the last 18 years, my rough mental model has been something like this. The US was subject to horrific ...
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What known impacts to economy have been caused by electronical or digital data? [closed]
I'm looking for special milestones in history where digital or electronic data had an impact in the economy.
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What (else) happened July 1st 1858 in London?
I'm looking for sources of information freely available online about happenings in London the day July 1st 1858 (besides the famous Darwin-Wallace presentation, that is.)
I have found copies of the ...
7
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1answer
134 views
How was library classification done in English-speaking libraries prior to the 19th century?
I was reading about major library classification systems. The major one in English-speaking lands seems to be the Dewey Decimal Classification system, which was invented in 1876. Several other ...
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1answer
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Does anyone have information about a pre-1859 church in Villers-Bretonneux?
The current church of Villers-Bretonneux, Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Villers-Bretonneux was built after WWI. Before this was a church built in 1859; here is an historic photo. There was a church ...
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427 views
Why was fellatio considered so horrible during the XIX century in Europe?
The mentioned sexual practice was extremely frowned upon during that period, basically only prostitutes were to do them and even in this case, only with huge amounts of received money, that, in the ...
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2answers
185 views
How did Qing China keep in contact with other places?
Imperial China received diplomatic missions from other places whenever those places decide to send a mission (for example: Japanese missions to Imperial China). These missions were irregular, and were ...
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2answers
355 views
Is this wrench from 1881, or is it just a serial number?
One of my facebook group's member posted these pictures, he found them in their garden buried. He made cleaning, and they look old, but are they from 1880's? If the location helps: it is in Hungary, ...
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0answers
68 views
How much would it cost to bribe a prison warden in New England in the year 1800?
The value of money from one decade to another is a very confusing topic - in my opinion, anyway.
For instance, something called the CPI Inflation Calculator states that $1 in 1800 was the equivalent ...
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2answers
606 views
Why did Russia set up so many cities in Siberia and Far East?
If one takes a casual glance at the Russian population census data, he or she would be astonished to find that a significant part of the Russian population is actually not concentrated west of the ...
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2answers
252 views
What were the legal and societal conditions concerning “interracial love” during 1870s?
For the timeframe 1850–1880 I have a question related to the slave trade and love, specifically so-called "interracial love".
Was it possible in any way for a slave woman to marry a white man who had ...
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3answers
547 views
Were slave plantations economically superior or inferior to plantations with paid labor?
According to certain Marxist authors (Mostly Georgi Plekhanov (and some others), but I'm afraid I cannot quote because the text is not in electronic form and not in English.), slavery in US and latter ...
4
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1answer
140 views
Range of sailors' ages on a typical Pacific trading ship in 1810
This question is about crew ages on trading voyages in the North Pacific around 1810. The number of crew members on these voyages was often in the low dozens. Funding could come at least in part from ...
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1answer
139 views
For U.S. history 1800-1830, what was GDP by sector and industry?
The U.S. Census Bureau's Historical Statistics of the United States does not appear to break GDP down.
I'm aware that the terminology is imprecise:
GDP is a modern term, but is much shorter than the ...
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1answer
278 views
How can I understand the effect of the Sonderweg on the Revolution of 1848?
I'm trying to understand the effect that the German 'Sonderweg' had on the Revolution of 1848 in Germany. Are there authoritative/canonical references that would help?
PS: Since I also speak German ...
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2answers
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Where was the first European electric tramway operated?
Many sources agree that the tramway Vevey-Montreux-Chillon, built in 1888 was Switzerland's first and Europe's second electric tramway. However, sources are contradictory on which was the first ...
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Which “Walker” is Thoreau referring to in “A Plea for Captain John Brown”?
“If Walker may be considered the representative of the South, I wish I could say that Brown was the representative of the North. He was a superior man.”
Excerpt From: Henry David Thoreau. A Plea ...
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Where in San Francisco did the Land Commission meet?
After taking California, the U.S. needed a way to sort through land claims and established a Public Land Commission. This operated from 1852 to 1856, principally in San Francisco but also briefly in ...
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After Antarctica was discovered, did 19th or early 20th century map makers give any estimates on the % of the earth's surface covered by water?
According to the U.S. Geological Survey's article How much water is there on, in, and above the Earth?,
About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered
Wikipedia's Earth article also ...
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1answer
117 views
When did *wooden* 'nails' (pegs) for clay roof tiles go out of fashion?
Judging by Google searches, wooden 'nails' for fixing roof tiles are definitely a thing of the past. However almost all the searches I have attempted (in an area I don't know my way around) have only ...
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Which ship took Tolman to Kamchatka?
William Tolman was reportedly a mechanic from New England who got to Petropavlovsk on a whaling ship in 1813. Somehow he stayed behind and lived his whole long life in Kamchatka.
None of the sources ...
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1answer
535 views
Why did the British take Hong Kong instead of any other of the later treaty ports?
The aftermath of the first Opium War declared that Hong Kong and the island of Kowloon should be ceded to the UK as a port for refitting ships and storing cargo. It also meant there was easy access ...
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2answers
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When (and where) did public polling start taking place on topics other than elections?
Image Source: The Roper Center on Cornell.edu
Question
When did public opinion polling on topics other than elections begin? Are there examples prior to the 1930's when Gallup and Roper began ...
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1answer
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Who conducted the first “straw poll” in U.S. election politics, and when was it conducted?
Prior to Gallup and Roper et al in the 1930's and The Literary Digest in 1916, what was the first election straw poll in US elections? Three sources that I found cite three different answers (though ...
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1answer
141 views
Were “The People's Will” referred to as “terrorist” by their contemporaries?
Narodnaya Volya (The People's Will) was the organization responsible for the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in in March 1881. Is there any evidence (preferably online sources) which point to the ...
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1answer
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When did the last (non-tourist) commercial stagecoach line run in the USA?
Stagecoach at Holladay Express Office, Boise City, Idaho, circa mid-1860s. Source: A Stamp a Day- National Stamp Collecting Month: The Mail Coach
Background
Across from my office is a small Wells ...
10
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1answer
284 views
Could Thomas Jefferson have ever heard Mozart's Symphony No. 40, KV. 550?
The third president of the United States was a lifelong admirer of W. A. Mozart. Or rather, of Mozart's music; he arranged to meet Mozart in Paris when he was Minister to France (August 1784–September ...
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What was the troop ratio between the red and white army in the Russian revolution?
I am making a game over the Russian Revolution for English class. I want to make this game a somewhat accurate representation of the Russian Revolution. I have been able find the answers to all of my ...
12
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1answer
282 views
Was there any genuine debate in the pre-1860 United States regarding Native American sovereignty?
The United States treated Native American tribes as sovereign states. Relations with various tribes were governed by a series of (often broken) treaties.
At the same time, however, general ...
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1answer
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Where was the site of Mary Seacole's store in Aldershot?
Mary Seacole is best known for running a boarding-house for officers and their families during the Crimean War. I have found a few reliable sources suggesting that on her return to England she briefly ...
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0answers
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Making bread at home: daily or weekly
My grandmother used to tell me about the life of field workers in her (and her grandmother's) time, going from the 1950s backwards to the 19th century (in Portugal). This often included baking bread ...
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What is this old dual-disc metal object with a spindle? [more pictures added]
[Updated: There are now pictures of both top and side views. Scroll to bottom of post to see the side views.]
While sorting through family artifacts, I found a black metal two-layer disc with a long ...
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1answer
412 views
What is the approximate date of this photo?
The photo below is of an (as yet) unidentified (English) family member and is from the London studio of Hermann Ernst. There is nothing printed on the back. The photo is part of a collection, the ...
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1answer
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What epithet would John Quincy Adams use?
In his journal for 1824, John Quincy Adams records an incident where he was informed that a William King was telling people that he [Adams] should be nominated for vice-president under Crawford, one ...
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2answers
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Why was France's birth rate low from 1800 to WWII?
Inspired by this lemma on Wikipedia as well as a few paragraphs here and there in Piketty's Capital in the 21st century I'm asking the question how the low birth rate in France between 1800 and WWII ...
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1answer
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Who is in this c.1866 photo?
This photo was found with (but not in) an envelope containing seven photos of European royals, all but two of which have been positively identified (one of them here by Evargalo).
Below is a photo of ...
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Who is this, probably royal, teenager?
This photo was found in the same envelope as a photo of the Prince Imperial, Louis Napoleon, (recently identified on this site by Evargalo). The photos (seven in all) were recently handed down on the ...
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3answers
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Who is this young 'Prince'?
The photo below was found in an envelope among a bundle of family photos which were recently handed down on the English side of my family.
Aside from the photo itself, the only clues are as follows:
...
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1answer
447 views
How did the Filipinos lose the Philippine-American War? [closed]
The Americans were fighting a war thousands of miles away from their country, against the Filipinos who just won a war of independence against Spain. Change the Filipinos to Vietnamese and Spain to ...
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Who owned the ship Ensayo, and what were they doing near Baja California in 1842?
According to Plummer's The Shogun's Reluctant Ambassadors, in 1842, sea drifters from the Eijū-maru were picked up and by the Ensayo, a "Spanish pirate ship" with a Philippine crew. It was "carrying ...
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1answer
194 views
Can someone help me ID this insignia?
Charles Miller - fought with US Army at battle at Wounded Knee - this photographer took images during and after the Battle. Anyone recognize the insignia? He later became a Mason? Could it be from ...
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2answers
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Time span of a decade
Wikipedia says that
The 21st century began on January 1, 2001 and will end on December 31, 2100.
The first decade of 21st century is the 2000s. Here Wikipedia says that
The 2000s was a decade ...
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0answers
84 views
What did Boston shoemakers do with cattle brands?
In the Mexican era, whole cattle hides were California's principal export. To prevent theft law enforcement sometimes checked the brands on hides before they were exported by sailing ship. Most went ...
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2answers
155 views
Regional dominance of Sitka library
The Russian-American Company's directors were in St. Petersburg while its Chief Manager lived and worked in Sitka. The library there held "more than 1,200 books, valued at some 7,500 rubles. More than ...
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Charles Darwin's dog in 1858
What would have been the breed and name of Charles Darwin's dog at Down House in 1858?
The black and white retriever (Bob) which appears in a photo dated 1863, the Pomeranian (Snow) or someone else?
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2answers
288 views
Are there any surviving military textbooks from the Napoleonic era?
Napoleon attended school for military officers, so it stands to reason they would have some books around which they based their curriculum. Are there any complete and publicly available recordings of ...
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0answers
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California rancho budget
This question is a source request for real or estimated annual account ledgers for ranchos in Mexican California.
Not much cash was used, so records are sparse. Most goods on the rancho were produced ...
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2answers
218 views
For steam trains, what kind of deaerator was used, if any?
Deaerators are things that remove dissolved gasses in water. Dissolved O2 and CO2 in water will result in boiler corrosion.
So I'm wondering how this was done back in the old days of steam trains, ...
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2answers
1k views
Was there a European response to the trail of tears?
This question is pretty straightforward. While looking into Victorian British beliefs about Americans and American history I began to wonder about European attitudes toward American Indians; and more ...
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3answers
2k views
How profitable was India for the British Empire in the 1800s?
I recently read Imperial Twilight, an excellent history of the opium wars. The author claims several times that while the British trade with China was very lucrative, India was by contrast "...
