1864
| 
| 
5 January 1864 French forces capture Guadalajara.
L’amour chanteur, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (44) to words of Nuitter and L’Epine, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris.
6 January 1864 A new law goes into effect in France ending the monopoly of certain theatres over certain repertoire. Now, any theatre may perform any work in the public domain.
French and conservative forces capture Guadalajara, Mexico.
10 January 1864 In a weakened condition because of a fever, Stephen Foster (37) collapses in his hotel room in the Bowery, New York and hits his head on a wash basin. The accident also opens a gash in his neck. He is taken to Bellevue Hospital where his neck is stitched.
11 January 1864 La fiancée du Roi de Garbe, an opéra comique by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (82) to words of Scribe and Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris. In the audience is an increasingly infirm Giacomo Meyerbeer (72).
Neckereien op.31/2 for vocal quartet by Johannes Brahms (30) to anonymous words is performed for the first time, in Vienna conducted by the composer.
12 January 1864 Sir John Laird Mair Lawrence replaces Sir William Thomas Denison as Viceroy of India.
Morgenblätter op.279, a waltz by Johann Strauss (38), is performed for the first time, in the Sophiensaal, Vienna.
13 January 1864 Tsar Alyeksandr II signs the “Zemstvo Statute” giving greater power and autonomy to local authorities.
Stephen Collins Foster dies in Bellevue Hospital, New York City aged 37 years, six months and nine days. Although he suffered wounds on 10 January, the exact cause of his death is not known.
16 January 1864 Prussia and Austria send a joint ultimatum to Denmark demanding that it rescind the 1863 constitution which placed Schleswig in union with Denmark.
17 January 1864 Lorenzo Arrazola García replaces Manuel Pando Fernández de Pinedo, marqués de Miraflores as Prime Minister of Spain.
The train carrying the body of Stephen Foster from New York to Pittsburgh derails between Lewistown and Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Two cars end up in the Juniata River but Foster’s body is not affected.
A Caprice for organ by John Knowles Paine (25) is performed for the first time, by the composer in the Boston Music Hall.
18 January 1864 Juristen-Ball op.280, a polka by Johann Strauss (38), is performed for the first time, in the Sophiensaal, Vienna.
19 January 1864 Vergnügungszug op.281, a polka by Johann Strauss (38), is performed for the first time, in the Redoutensaal, Vienna.
21 January 1864 After a funeral service in Trinity Episcopal Church, Pittsburgh, the mortal remains of Stephen Foster are laid to rest in Allegheny Cemetery, Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh).
23 January 1864 Giacomo Meyerbeer (72) makes the last entry in his diary, in Paris.
24 January 1864 Jules Massenet (21) arrives in Rome for his Prix de Rome stay.
26 January 1864 Gut bürgerlich op.282, a polka française by Johann Strauss (38), is performed for the first time, in the Redoutensaal, Vienna.
31 January 1864 Studentenlust op.285, a waltz by Johann Strauss (38), is performed for the first time, in the Redoutensaal, Vienna.
1 February 1864 Modest Musorgsky (24) is made the head clerk of the barracks section at the Department of Engineering, Russian Ministry of Communications.
Austrian and Prussian troops cross the River Eider into Schleswig, routing the Danish defenders.
2 February 1864 Patronessen-Polka op.286 by Johann Strauss (38) is performed for the first time, in the Sophiensaal, Vienna.
4 February 1864 Die Rheinnixen, a romantische Oper by Jacques Offenbach (44) to words of von Wolzogen after Nuitter, is performed for the first time, at the Vienna Hofoper.
6 February 1864 The men who will tower over the two opposing forces of German art music for the rest of the century, Richard Wagner (50) and Johannes Brahms (30), meet for the first and last time at the home of Baron von Voclow in Penzing, near Schönbrunn. Since late 1862, Brahms has been involved in organizing Wagner’s concerts in Vienna. Brahms performs his Handel Variations prompting Wagner to remark, “It shows what can still be done with the old forms by somebody who knows how to handle them.”
9 February 1864 A committee is formed in Geneva, led by Henry Dunant to investigate possible international agreements concerning the treatment of wounded on the battlefield. It is the beginning of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In the largest prison escape of the war, 109 Union officers tunnel out of Libby Prison in Richmond. 59 reach Federal lines, 48 are recaptured, two drown.
14 February 1864 Federal troops capture Gainesville, Florida.
Federal forces capture Meridian, Mississippi and proceed to destroy the town.
15 February 1864 22-year-old Gerard Adriaan Heineken takes over the De Hooiberg brewery in Amsterdam and begins brewing beer.
17 February 1864 The Confederate Congress extends conscription to all able-bodied men between the ages of 17 and 50.
The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley makes its first and only successful run on a Federal ship in Charleston Harbor. The craft’s spar torpedo makes contact with the sloop USS Housatonic and is detonated, sinking the Housatonic. However, the Hunley does not return from its mission. Five men on the Housatonic and the entire seven-man crew of the H.L. Hunley are killed. It is the first time a ship is sunk by a submarine.
19 February 1864 The Renegade for double male chorus by Bedrich Smetana (39) to words of Metlinskij translated by Celakovsky is performed for the first time.
24 February 1864 Haakon Jarl, a symphonic poem by Bedrich Smetana (39) is performed for the first time, in Prague, directed by the composer.
27 February 1864 A hastily constructed stockade prison at Andersonville, Georgia receives its first prisoners. It will become one of the most notorious prison camps of the war.
28 February 1864 Deutscher Krieger-Marsch op.284 by Johann Strauss (38) is performed for the first time, in the Volksgarten, Vienna.
1 March 1864 In an attempt to break the power of the Polish nobility, Tsar Alyeksandr II grants one-third of all Polish lands to peasants.
Alejandro Món Menéndez replaces Lorenzo Arrazola García as Prime Minister of Spain.
2 March 1864 A Prelude for organ op.19 no.1 by John Knowles Paine (25) is performed for the first time, by the composer, in the Boston Music Hall.
3 March 1864 Prince Pavel Pavlovich Gagarin replaces Count Dimitry Nikolayevich Bludov as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of Russia.
A Sonata for violin and piano D.574 by Franz Schubert (†35) is performed for the first time, by the Musikverein, Vienna, 47 years after it was composed.
4 March 1864 22-year-old Gaetano Scavello, tutor to Ruggero Leoncavallo (6) in Montalto Uffugo, Calabria, is set upon by two villagers and stabbed to death in a dispute over the affections of a young woman. The story will provide a starting point for Pagliacci.
5 March 1864 Fantasia on the “Portuguese Hymn” by John Knowles Paine (25) is performed for the first time, by the composer in the Boston Music Hall.
10 March 1864 One of the Three Duets op.20 for soprano, alto and piano by Johannes Brahms (30) is performed for the first time, in Lucerne.
King Maximilian II of Bavaria dies in Munich and is succeeded by his son, Ludwig II.
William A. Pond & Co. publish Beautiful Dreamer, a song by Stephen Foster (†0). Although composed in 1862, Pond probably publishes it only now because of Foster’s recent death.
12 March 1864 Ulysses S. Grant is created commander of the Union armies.
14 March 1864 Petite messe solennelle by Gioachino Rossini (72) is performed for the first time, with piano accompaniment, in the Paris home of Countess Louise Pillet-Will. The work was commissioned for the consecration of her private chapel. Although ordered to bed by his doctors, Giacomo Meyerbeer (72) attends, along with Auber (82). See 24 February 1869.
16 March 1864 Les géorgiennes, an opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach (44) to words of Moinaux, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris.
17 March 1864 Konstantinos Michail Kanaris replaces Demetrios Georgiou Voulgaris as Prime Minister of Greece.
On the second anniversary of the subject’s death, a memorial with full-size sculpture to the memory of Fromental Halévy is unveiled in the Jewish section of Montmartre cemetery.
19 March 1864 Mireille, an opéra dialogué by Charles Gounod (45) to words of Carré after Mistral, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre-Lyrique, Paris. The first act is well received but the rest is a disaster. Hector Berlioz (60) is there but leaves before the fifth act (which begins after 24:30).
The Georgia legislature suggest to President Davis that after the next significant Confederate victory, a peace offer should be made.
20 March 1864 Hector Berlioz’ (60) retirement as music critic of the Journal des débats is announced in La France musicale.
23 March 1864 Richard Wagner (50) escapes from Vienna ahead of his creditors making for Switzerland via Munich.
24 March 1864 Louis Moreau Gottschalk (34) performs in Willard’s Hall, Washington before an audience including President and Mrs. Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward.
26 March 1864 Richard Wagner (50) arrives in Zürich where a friend, Eliza Wille, has agreed to give him room for a month.
General Ulysses S. Grant and his staff attend a concert given by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (34) at Grover’s Theatre on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington.
29 March 1864 An agreement is concluded in London between the three protecting powers (France-Great Britain-Russia) and Greece. Great Britain transfers the Ionian Islands to Greece.
31 March 1864 British forces attack Maori positions at Orakau. The Maori easily defeat this and the British settle in for a siege.
1 April 1864 After two and a half years, John Knowles Paine (25) resigns his position at West Church in Boston, for Harvard University.
3 April 1864 After about 250 Maori escape from Orakau, the British easily overwhelm the remaining defenders and a massacre ensues. This essentially ends the British invasion of the Waikato region.
5 April 1864 George Pullman receives a US patent for his railroad car designed specifically for sleeping.
6 April 1864 Just south of New Plymouth, New Zealand, British settlers who have just finished destroying Maori crops are set upon by the owners of the crops. Seven British are killed, twelve injured.
A constitutional convention, meeting in New Orleans, adopts a new constitution for Louisiana and abolishes slavery.
8 April 1864 Confederates halt a Union advance on Shreveport, Louisiana at Sabine Crossroads, costing 3,235 total casualties.
10 April 1864 In Mirimar Castle, near Trieste, Austrian Archduke Maximilian Josef von Habsburg is created Emperor of Mexico by France.
11 April 1864 A Union government for Arkansas is inaugurated at Little Rock.
Verbrüderungs-Marsch op.287 by Johann Strauss (38) is performed for the first time, in the Königliches Schauspielhaus, Berlin.
12 April 1864 After Confederates attack Ft. Pillow on the Mississippi River in Tennessee, the Union garrison surrenders. The southerners thereupon begin a massacre of the survivors. Of the 557 men inside Ft. Pillow (half of whom are black) only 168 whites and 58 blacks survive.
14 April 1864 18-year-old King Ludwig II of Bavaria, on the throne for one month, orders his cabinet secretary Franz Seraph von Pfistermeister, to find Richard Wagner (50).
Spanish forces seize the Chincha Islands off the coast of Peru in retaliation for what Spain claims is Peruvian mistreatment of Spanish immigrants. The islands are an important source of guano.
17 April 1864 A concert conducted by Johannes Brahms (30) in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna of his own music meets with only limited success. Among the works premiered are the Sonata for Two Pianos op.34b and four works for unaccompanied chorus: Marias Kirchgang op.22/2 and Ruf zur Maria op.22/5, both to traditional German words, the motet Es is das Heil uns Kommen her op.29/1 to words of Speratus, and Abendständchen op.42/1 to words of Brentano.
18 April 1864 Austrian and Prussian forces launch an offensive against the Danes in central Jutland. After a siege of a month, Prussians capture Düppel (Dybbøl) on Als Island from Denmark. The battle marks the first time that the Red Cross symbol is used in attending to the wounded.
Mily Balakirev’s (27) Second Overture on Russian Themes is performed for the first time, at the Free School of Music, St. Petersburg. The work will be published in 1869 as 1000 years and in 1887 as Russia.
23 April 1864 March for the Shakespearean Festival by Bedrich Smetana (40) is performed for the first time, in Prague, conducted by the composer. The Festival celebrates the 300th anniversary of the playwright’s birth.
25 April 1864 Truce negotiations between Prussia, Austria and Denmark open in London.
28 April 1864 Alyeksandr Borodin (30) is appointed full professor of chemistry at the Medico-Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg.
Zinovios Valvis replaces Konstantinos Michail Kanaris as Prime Minister of Greece.
29 April 1864 British forces attack Maoris at Gate Pa near Tauranga. Despite eight hours of bombardment, a British assault is decisively defeated by the Maori defenders. This stinging result encourages the British governor of New Zealand to begin peace negotiations.
The Danish fortress of Fredericia surrenders to the Prussians.
30 April 1864 Maoris attack British troops and local militia at Sentry Hill. They are easily repulsed with heavy casualties.
1 May 1864 Giacomo Meyerbeer (72) completes copying the full score of L’africaine.
2 May 1864 05:40 Giacomo Meyerbeer dies in Paris, aged 72 years, seven months and 27 days.
3 May 1864 As Gioachino Rossini (72) seeks out Giacomo Meyerbeer in Paris he learns of the latter’s death and faints on the spot. He is unconscious for ten minutes. Later, Rossini will compose a Chant funèbre.
After a search of nearly two months, Franz Seraph von Pfistermeister, cabinet secretary to King Ludwig II of Bavaria, catches up to Richard Wagner (50) in Stuttgart and conveys the king’s wish that Wagner come to Munich at once. Later in the day, Wagner learns of the death of Meyerbeer. He takes the coincidence of these two “happy” events as an omen of good fortune.
4 May 1864 Richard Wagner (50) meets King Ludwig II of Bavaria for the first time, in the Residenz, Munich. Ludwig offers Wagner an annual stipend, a house and to pay all his outstanding debts. Wagner accepts. According to the composer, “It was one unending love scene.”
5 May 1864 Confederate forces attack Federals on the Orange Turnpike in the “Wilderness” west of Fredericksburg, Virginia. In confused fighting, no lasting advantage can be gained by either side.
Saison-Quadrille op.283 by Johann Strauss (38) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
6 May 1864 A funeral ceremony for Giacomo Meyerbeer takes place in the Gare du Nord, Paris. Some of his music is performed. Then his body is placed on a train for Berlin.
Federal advances in the Wilderness, west of Fredericksburg, Virginia are checked and a Confederate counterattack begins. The southerners make advances but the battlefield is so confused that they begin shooting at their own units. Federals manage to halt the advance. Over the last two days, there have been 25,166 total casualties.
8 May 1864 Skirmishing around the town of Spotsylvania Court House, 75 km north of Richmond, erupts into major fighting. Neither side gains an advantage.
10 May 1864 Queen Victoria writes to her daughter Victoria, the Crown Princess of Prussia, “Meyerbeer’s death grieved me much; I do so admire his music and so did darling Papa (Prince Albert)!”
Richard Wagner (50) arrives in Vienna to pay off his debts and retrieve his personal items. He learns that his Erard piano has been sold to pay creditors.
12 May 1864 Before hundreds of mourners, including Prince Georg of Prussia, Oberstkämmerer and intendant-general of theatres Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Redern, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of King Wilhelm and Queen Augusta, the mortal remains of Giacomo Meyerbeer are laid to rest in the Jewish Cemetery in the Schönhauser Alle, Berlin.
The most vicious fighting of the ten-day battle for Spotsylvania Court House takes place as thousands of people die in hand-to-hand fighting. Very slowly, over the next few weeks, Federals force the Confederates back in the direction of Richmond. This day sees 11,800 total casualties.
14 May 1864 Richard Wagner (50) moves into Haus Pellet, a house provided for him on Lake Starnberg by King Ludwig.
L’île enchantée, a ballet by Arthur Sullivan (22) to a scenario of Desplaces, is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden Theatre, London. It plays after a complete performance of Bellini’s (†28) La sonnambula.
19 May 1864 Nathaniel Hawthorne dies in Plymouth, New Hampshire at the age of 59.
22 May 1864 His beloved Erard having been sold to pay creditors, King Ludwig II gives a new Bechstein piano to Richard Wagner for his 51st birthday.
3 June 1864 Federal troops attack Confederate positions at Cold Harbor, 15 km northeast of Richmond, losing 7,000 people in 30 minutes. They are repulsed.
French troops capture San Blas and Acapulco.
4 June 1864 Three movements of Edvard Grieg’s (20) Symphony in c minor are performed for the first time, in Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen. See 19 January 1865.
La Succession Bonnet, a comédie-vaudeville by Jacques Offenbach (44) to words of Saint-Rémy, is performed for the first time, in the Salons du Corps législatif, Paris.
6 June 1864 A Venetian Dirge for voice and piano by Charles Villiers Stanford (11) is performed for the first time, privately in Dublin.
7 June 1864 Mexican Republicans recapture San Blas and Acapulco from the French.
11 June 1864 06:00 Richard Georg Strauss is born in Munich, eldest of two children of Franz Joseph Strauss, principal horn player of the Munich Court Orchestra, and his second wife, Josephine Pschorr, daughter of a brewer. The birth takes place in an apartment in the back of the Pschorr brewery.
12 June 1864 Maximilian, brother of the Emperor Franz-Joseph, Archduke of Austria arrives in Mexico City and takes up the title of Emperor of Mexico. He is placed there by French forces on orders of Emperor Napoléon III.
16 June 1864 By today the Army of the Potomac has taken up positions before Petersburg, Virginia and has proceeded to assault the city.
18 June 1864 Union troops give up their frontal assault on Petersburg. Over the last four days, 1,688 people have been killed, 8,513 wounded and 1,185 are missing. A long siege begins.
19 June 1864 USS Kearsarge defeats the Confederate raider Alabama off Cherbourg. Alabama surrenders and subsequently sinks.
21 June 1864 British forces defeat Maoris at Te Ranga, near the British stronghold of Tauranga.
25 June 1864 The London Conference on Denmark concludes indecisively. This allows Austria and Prussia to resume the war.
King Wilhelm I of Württemberg dies and is succeeded by his son Karl.
27 June 1864 Confederate defenders of Atlanta defeat attacking Federals at Kenesaw Mountain, 30 km northwest of the city leaving 2,500 total casualties.
29 June 1864 Cosima von Bülow and her two daughters join Richard Wagner (51) at his house on Lake Starnberg, Bavaria. Wagner has invited the von Bülow family to his house and Hans has sent Cosima and the children on ahead. He will arrive on 7 July.
5 July 1864 Confederate terrorists cross the Potomac into Maryland causing widespread panic.
6 July 1864 Confederate terrorists occupy Hagerstown, Maryland and demand $20,000 of the citizens.
7 July 1864 After Cosima von Bülow has visited Richard Wagner (51) for a week in the Villa Pellet on Lake Starnberg (during the king’s absence), Hans von Bülow arrives, producing the most famous musical ménage à trois. In the week before von Bülow’s arrival, Wagner and Cosima have consummated their union. A servant will later testify that when von Bülow finds the locked bedroom door, he went “to his living room, threw himself on the ground, beat on the floor with his hands and feet like a man possessed, and cried and even screamed.” (Köhler, 460)
9 July 1864 Confederate terrorists rout a hastily assembled Union force near Frederick, Maryland. They stop at Frederick and demand $200,000 of the citizens.
11 July 1864 Christian Albrecht Bluhme replaces Ditlev Gothard Monrad as Prime Minister of Denmark.
Confederate terrorists arrive at Silver Springs, Maryland but with the arrival of Union reinforcements they decide not to attack Washington.
Persischer Marsch op.289 by Johann Strauss (38) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
12 July 1864 Denmark sues for peace with Prussia and Austria.
Le fitre enchanté, ou Le soldat magicién, an opéra-comique by Jacques Offenbach (45) to words of Nuitter and Tréfeu, is performed for the first time, at Bad Ems.
14 July 1864 Confederate troops withdraw across the Potomac.
Russia annexes its protectorate of Abkhazia.
15 July 1864 Alfred Nobel receives a Swedish patent for nitroglycerin.
19 July 1864 After a long siege, Imperial Chinese troops take Nanking in heavy fighting. This essentially ends the Taiping Rebellion.
Jeanne qui pleure et Jean qui rit, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (45) to words of Nuitter and Tréfeu, is performed for the first time, at Bad Ems.
20 July 1864 Confederates assault Union troops at Peachtree Creek, Georgia. They are repulsed with 6,575 total casualties.
21 July 1864 A dentist named Dr. Mahlon Loomis, living in Washington, makes a sketch of something he has been working on for years. It is a method of connecting two points telegraphically without the use of wires. It is the earliest known description of radio communication. In October 1866 he successfully performs an experiment to produce this result.
22 July 1864 Armin Count Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeö replaces Antal Count Forgách de Ghymes et Gács as Chancellor of Hungary.
30 July 1864 After the town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania fails to produce a ransom of $500,000, Confederate terrorists burn it to the ground.
Federals who have tunneled under the Confederate lines east of Petersburg, Virginia (35 km south of Richmond), plant powder and blow a hole 50 meters long, 20 meters wide and ten meters deep, killing 278 southerners in the process. The hopelessly bungled attempt by the northerners to exploit the breach is called the “Battle of the Crater.” The day leaves 5,200 total casualties.
A Prelude for organ op.19 no.2 by John Knowles Paine (25) is performed for the first time, by the composer at the Boston Music Hall.
4 August 1864 Brazil presents an ultimatum to Uruguay, threatening war if their demands are not met.
5 August 1864 Federal naval forces capture or destroy all Confederate shipping at Mobile Bay, Alabama, closing the port to the rebels.
7 August 1864 Konstantinos Michail Kanaris replaces Zinovios Valvis as Prime Minister of Greece.
Federal troops capture Fort Gaines in Mobile Bay, Alabama.
12 August 1864 Emperor Napoléon III names Hector Berlioz (60) an Officer in the Legion of Honor.
13 August 1864 Emperor Napoléon III creates Gioachino Rossini (72) a Grand Officer in the Legion of Honor.
20 August 1864 King Vittorio Emanuele II names Gioachino Rossini (72) Commander of the Order of Sts. Maurice and Lazarus.
22 August 1864 26 delegates representing 16 countries agree to The Geneva Convention for the Protection of Wounded. Twelve countries sign the convention.
23 August 1864 Federal forces take Fort Morgan, the last Confederate fort on Mobile Bay, Alabama.
25 August 1864 Franz Liszt (52) and his daughter Cosima von Bülow arrive at Richard Wagner’s (51) villa on Lake Starnberg. Wagner has gone to Hohenschwangau to be with King Ludwig on his birthday but returns in the evening.
30 August 1864 President Francisco Solano López criticizes Brazil for sending warships into the Rio de la Plata to threaten Uruguay. After a brief naval encounter between Uruguayan and Brazilian ships, Uruguay severs diplomatic relations.
1 September 1864 Delegates from the various provinces of British North America meet in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to map out proposals for their confederation.
Unable to carry off all of their munitions, Confederates retreating from Atlanta blow them up.
2 September 1864 Federal forces capture Atlanta.
5 September 1864 British, French and Dutch navies attack the Japanese in the Shimoneski Straits in reprisal for the closing of ports and expelling of foreigners by Japan.
8 September 1864 Kenilworth, a masque by Arthur Sullivan (22) to words of Chorley, is performed for the first time, at Birmingham Town Hall.
15 September 1864 In a treaty between France and Italy, France renounces its claim to Rome in return for the move of Italy’s capital from Turin to Florence. Italy promises never to invade the Papal States and pledges to defend the Papal States against rogue attacks.
African explorer John Hanning Speke is killed by his own gun while hunting in Wiltshire, one day before he is to debate Richard Burton on whether he found the source of the Nile.
16 September 1864 Ramón María Narváez y Campos, duque de Valencia replaces Alejandro Món Menéndez as Prime Minister of Spain.
19 September 1864 Union troops defeat southerners at Winchester, Virginia forcing them to retreat. The day leaves 8,000 total casualties.
Quadrille sur des airs française op.290 by Johann Strauss (38) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
21 September 1864 Karl Friedrich Gottlob, Baron Varnbüler von und zu Hemmingen replaces Joseph, Baron Linden as Prime Minister of Württemberg.
23 September 1864 Alfonso Ferrero, marchese di La Marmora replaces Marco Minghetti as Prime Minister of Italy.
27 September 1864 Newa-Polka française op.288 by Johann Strauss (38) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
28 September 1864 A public meeting in St. Martin’s Hall, London proclaims the International Working Men’s Association. One of those invited is Karl Marx.
Adolphe Vuitry replaces Gustave Rouland as Minister President of the Council of State for France.
2 October 1864 Aus den Bergen op.292, a waltz by Johann Strauss (38), is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
4 October 1864 Franz Liszt (52), with his daughter Cosima von Bülow, spends nine days in Paris. He is reunited with his mother and Marie d’Agoult.
Max von Neumayr becomes acting President of the Council of Ministers of Bavaria.
5 October 1864 A cyclone flattens Calcutta, killing 70,000 people.
Huldigungsmarsch WWV 97 for military band by Richard Wagner (51) in honor of King Ludwig II of Bavaria is performed for the first time, in Munich. See 12 November 1871.
7 October 1864 King Ludwig agrees to give Richard Wagner (51) a contract to finish Der Ring des Nibelungen.
8 October 1864 ‘s giebt nur a Kaiserstadt, ‘s giebt nur a Wien op.291, a polka by Johann Strauss (38), is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
15 October 1864 Arthur Sullivan’s (22) incidental music to Shakespeare’s The Tempest is used for the first time in a staging of the play, in the Prince’s Theatre, Manchester. See 6 April 1861.
17 October 1864 Ode to Labour, a cantata by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (54), is performed for the first time, to celebrate the opening of the North London Working Men’s Industrial Exhibition in the Agricultural Hall, Islington.
19 October 1864 Confederate terrorists slip over the border from Canada and rob three banks in St. Alban’s, Vermont of $200,000. Citizens prevent them from burning the town. Eleven attackers escape into Canada.
Rebel forces attack and gain the advantage at Cedar Creek, Virginia but a Federal counterattack saves the day. The southerners retreat in disarray and never again threaten the Shenandoah Valley.
22 October 1864 War between Japan and the allies of Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands ends when Japan agrees to pay an indemnity.
29 October 1864 A new more liberal constitution is adopted by the Greek national assembly.
30 October 1864 Peace is concluded in Vienna between Denmark and the German allies. Denmark cedes Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenberg to Prussia and Austria jointly.
31 October 1864 Nevada becomes the 36th state of the United States.
2 November 1864 Sind es Schmerzen, sind es Freuden op.33/3, a song by Johannes Brahms (31) to words of Tieck, is performed for the first time, in Karlsruhe.
8 November 1864 Voting in the 25 states loyal to the United States ensure the election of Abraham Lincoln for a second term as president over General George B. McClellan. The ruling Republican Party gains 50 seats in the House of Representatives.
10 November 1864 Piano Concerto no.4 by Anton Rubinstein (34) is performed for the first time, in the Hall of the Nobility, St. Petersburg, the composer at the keyboard.
15 November 1864 Federal forces in Atlanta under William Tecumseh Sherman begin their march to the sea by burning the city to the ground.
16 November 1864 A joint Prussian-Austrian administration takes over in Lauenburg. Prussian and Austrian troops evacuate Jutland.
17 November 1864 Two works for organ by César Franck (41) are performed for the first time, in the Church of Sainte-Clotilde, Paris by the composer: Fantaisie op.16 and Grande Pièce Symphonique op.17.
20 November 1864 Mass no.1 in d minor for solo voices, chorus, orchestra, and organ by Anton Bruckner (40) is performed for the first time, in Linz Cathedral, directed by the composer.
Hans von Bülow, his wife and children arrive in Munich and take up residence not far from Richard Wagner (51). Von Bülow has been appointed “Vorspieler des Königs” at Wagner’s suggestion, but it is a ruse to bring Cosima as close to him as possible.
22 November 1864 Federal troops occupy Milledgeville, the temporary state capital of Georgia. Just before they arrive, the state legislature issues a call for troops and then runs away.
24 November 1864 Herbstlied for two sopranos, male chorus and piano by Anton Bruckner (40) to words of von Sallet is performed for the first time, in Linz, the composer conducting.
25 November 1864 Voyage au centre de la Terre by Jules Verne is published in Paris.
Confederate terrorists set fire to ten New York City hotels, two theatres and Barnum’s Museum. No serious damage results.
26 November 1864 As an early Christmas present, mathematician Charles L. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) sends his manuscript of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to 12-year-old Alice Liddell.
28 November 1864 King Giorgios I of Greece takes an oath to uphold the new constitution.
29 November 1864 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians awaiting surrender terms at Sand Creek, Colorado are attacked by 900 Colorado Militiamen under John Chivington. Somewhere between 500 and 600 men, women, and children are killed along with nine soldiers. Many of the victims are tortured and mutilated.
30 November 1864 A Confederate assault south of Franklin, Tennessee is repulsed. But during the night, the Federals retreat towards Nashville. The day sees 8,578 total casualties.
2 December 1864 Tsar Alyeksandr II signs an imperial edict instituting a radical reform of the Russian legal system. It creates a judiciary independent of the executive power and equality before the law.
4 December 1864 Karl Ludwig Heinrich, Baron von der Pfordten replaces Max von Neumayr as President of the Council of Ministers of Bavaria.
7 December 1864 A joint Austrian-Prussian administration takes over in Schleswig and Holstein.
8 December 1864 Syllabus Errorum is issued by Pope Pius IX condemning liberalism, socialism and rationalism.
John Clerk Maxwell reads his paper "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field" to the Royal Society in London. It contains the eight Maxwell’s Equations. He shows that electricity and magnetism are unified in a single force called electromagnetism. He is the first to postulate that light is an electromagnetic wave.
10 December 1864 After cutting a swath of destruction from Atlanta to the Atlantic, Union armies reach Savannah, Georgia and surround it.
11 December 1864 Pursuant to the treaty of 15 September, the Italian Parliament creates Florence as the capital of Italy replacing Turin. The actual move will take place next May.
Um Mitternacht for alto, male chorus, and piano by Anton Bruckner (40) to words of Prutz, is performed for the first time, in Linz, the composer conducting.
13 December 1864 Federal troops capture Fort McAllister, downriver from Savannah.
Paraguay declares war on Brazil.
15 December 1864 Federal troops drive back Confederates around Nashville.
16 December 1864 Union forces break the Confederate lines at Nashville. The southerners begin headlong flight towards Franklin. The fighting sees 9,000 total casualties.
17 December 1864 La belle Hélène, an opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach (45) to words of Meilhac and Halevy, is performed for the first time, at the Variétés, Paris. The public is lukewarm. Critics don’t like the irreverence. It will eventually succeed.
21 December 1864 Federal troops enter Savannah without opposition.
24 December 1864 An army from Paraguay invades Mato Grosso, Brazil in compliance with their alliance with Uruguay.
Incidental music to Hippolyte and Théodore Cogniard’s féerie La Fille de l’air by Jacques Offenbach (45) is performed for the first time, at the Folies-Dramatiques, Paris.
25 December 1864 Around this time, Edvard Grieg (21) is secretly engaged to his cousin, Nina Hagerup. When she learns of it, Nina’s mother remarks, “He is nothing and he has nothing and he writes music that nobody wants to listen to.”
Hans von Bülow conducts his first concert as music director at the Odeon Theater in Munich. King Ludwig attends.
26 December 1864 Kazachok, a fantasia for orchestra by Alyeksandr Dargomizhsky (51), is performed for the first time, in Brussels.
30 December 1864 Peter Cornelius (40) arrives in Munich, summoned by Richard Wagner (51) to be with him.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
12 July
Last Updated (Thursday, 12 July 2012 04:53)