1869
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1 January 1869 Cosima von Bülow begins her diary, which she will keep (amounting to over 5,000 pages) until the day before the death of Richard Wagner (55) in 1883.
Brazilian troops enter Asunción and begin to sack the town. Argentine troops remain outside.
2 January 1869 Modest Musorgsky (29) is appointed head clerk in the Forestry Department of the Russian Ministry of State Property.
Ivan IV the Terrible op.79 for orchestra by Anton Rubinstein (39) is performed for the first time, in the Hall of the Nobility, St. Petersburg, conducted by the composer’s brother Nikolay.
5 January 1869 About 250 Maori followers of Te Kooti are captured at Ngatapa. 120 of them are executed by rival Maori with the approval of the colonial militia.
A Brazilian army captures Asunción. Looting ensues.
7 January 1869 Spanish forces defeat Cuban rebels at El Saladillo, killing 2,000 of them in the process, mostly newly freed slaves.
9 January 1869 A six-party conference opens in Paris to avoid war between Greece and Turkey.
10 January 1869 Edvard Grieg (25) applies to the Norwegian Ministry of Education for a stipend to travel and time for creative work. He includes a recommendation from Franz Liszt (57). It will be granted, but not for a year-and-a-half.
11 January 1869 18 years after its first publication, Richard Wagner (55) sends out from Tribschen a slightly amended Das Judenthum in Musik for republication. It will not be received well.
12 January 1869 Richard Southwell Bourke, Earl of Mayo replaces Sir John Laird Mair Lawrence as Viceroy of India.
15 January 1869 Spanish troops enter Bayamo which has been burned to the ground by Cuban rebels.
16 January 1869 Symphony no.1 by Alyeksandr Borodin (35) is performed publicly for the first time, in St. Petersburg, conducted by Mily Balakirev (32). The first movement elicits a cold response, the second receives an encore and the rest creates a sensation. The composer is repeatedly called on stage. See 7 March 1868.
17 January 1869 05:00 Alyeksandr Sergeyevich Dargomizhsky dies of an aneurism in St. Petersburg, aged 55 years, eleven months and three days.
22 January 1869 The slave trade is completely abolished in all Portuguese territories.
26 January 1869 Illustrationen op.331, a waltz by Johann Strauss (43), is performed for the first time, in the Sophiensaal, Vienna.
29 January 1869 The first revision of Bedrich Smetana’s (44) comic opera The Bartered Bride to words of Sabina is performed for the first time, in the Provisional Theatre, Prague.
2 February 1869 Wein, Weib und Gesang! op.333, a choral waltz by Johann Strauss, Jr. (43), is performed for the first time, in the Dianabadsaal, Vienna.
6 February 1869 Greece agrees to accept the demands of the protecting powers (France-Great Britain-Russis) and withdraws its forces from Crete.
Thrasivoulos Andreou Zaimis replaces Demetrios Georgiou Voulgaris as Prime Minister of Greece.
8 February 1869 The paper mill owned by Moses and Charles Cheney in Henniker, New Hampshire burns down. Charles Cheney will find employment as a traveling salesman of paper products to support his wife and daughter Amy (1).
11 February 1869 Voyevoda, an opera by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (28) to words of Ostrovsky and the composer, is performed for the first time, in the Bolshoy Theatre, Moscow. Tchaikovsky is given 15 curtain calls. Critics are not as positive.
15 February 1869 Trio for strings D.581 by Franz Schubert (†40) is performed for the first time, in St. James’ Hall, London, 52 years after it was composed.
Due to the presidential proclamation of last 25 December, the trial of Jefferson Davis for treason is dropped.
18 February 1869 Relations between Greece and Turkey, broken two months ago over Crete, are resumed.
Ein deutsches Requiem for soprano, baritone, chorus, orchestra and organ by Johannes Brahms (35) to words from the German Bible of Martin Luther is performed completely for the first time, in the Gewandhaus, Leipzig.
24 February 1869 Gioachino Rossini’s (†0) Petite messe solennelle is performed for the first time with orchestral accompaniment, in the Théâtre-Italien, Paris. See 14 March 1864.
25 February 1869 Slavery is abolished throughout the Portuguese Empire.
26 February 1869 William Ratcliffe, an opera by Cesar Cui (34) to his own words after Heine (tr.Pleshcheyev), is performed for the first time, in the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg. It is the first complete opera by one of the Balakirev (32) circle to be produced.
27 February 1869 Fatum (Fate), a symphonic poem by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (28) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
28 February 1869 Johannes Brahms’ (35) cantata Rinaldo to words of Goethe is performed for the first time, in the Großer Redoutensaal, Vienna, conducted by the composer.
Georges Bizet’s (30) Roma symphony is performed for the first time, at the Cirque Napoléon, Paris.
4 March 1869 Ulysses Simpson Grant replaces Andrew Johnson as President of the United States. The Forty-first Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. Grant’s Republican Party increases its stranglehold on the Senate while they lose 20 seats in the House. They retain a strong majority in the House, however.
Two songs for female chorus and piano from op.44 by Johannes Brahms (35) are performed for the first time, in Basel. They are Fragen op.44/4 to traditional Slavonic words translated by Grün, and Und gehst du über den Kirchhof op.44/10, to words of Heyse.
5 March 1869 Two works for alto, baritone and piano by Johannes Brahms (35) are performed for the first time, in Vienna: Es rauscht das Wasser op.28/3 to words of Goethe, and Der Jäger und sein Liebchen op.28/4 to words of Hoffmann von Fallersleben.
6 March 1869 Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleyev publishes his first version of the periodic table of elements.
The Finnish Fantasy by Alyeksandr Dargomizhsky (†0) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
8 March 1869 12:30 Louis-Hector Berlioz dies in a partial coma, in Paris, aged 65 years, two months and 25 days.
9 March 1869 Great Britain purchases the territories of the Hudson Bay Company.
10 March 1869 Vert-vert, an opéra-comique by Jacques Offenbach (49) to words of Meilhac and Nuitter, is performed for the first time, at the Opéra-Comique, Paris. It is relatively successful.
11 March 1869 The funeral in memory of Hector Berlioz takes place at L’Église de la Trinité, Paris. The procession to the church is led by Adolphe Sax who directs the National Guard band in Berlioz’ Symphonie funèbre. Illustrious attenders include Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (87), Ambroise Thomas (57) and Charles Gounod (50). The music features works of Christoph Willibald Gluck (†81), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†77), Ludwig van Beethoven (†41), Luigi Cherubini (†26) and the Hostias from Berlioz’ own Requiem. The mortal remains of Louis-Hector Berlioz are laid to rest in Montmartre next to those of his two wives, Harriet Smithson and Marie Recio.
13 March 1869 Arthur Sullivan (26) is formally presented to Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace.
15 March 1869 The contracts of the Cincinnati Red Stockings come into effect, making them the first all-professional baseball team. The player-manager is Harry Wright.
16 March 1869 Eljen a Magyar! op.332, a schnell-polka by Johann Strauss (43), is performed for the first time, in Pest. Also premiered is the instrumental version of Strauss’ waltz Wein, Weib und Gesang! op.333.
20 March 1869 The Canadian government buys a huge tract called Rupert’s Land from the Hudson Bay Company. It comprises present northern Quebec and Ontario, Nunavut and the prairie provinces.
22 March 1869 Symphony no.2 “Antar” by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (25) is performed for the first time, by the Russian Musical Society in St. Petersburg.
La diva, an opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach (49) to words of Meilhac and Halévy, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris. It is a failure.
3 April 1869 The Board of Directors of the Russian Musical Society vote not to elect Mily Balakirev (32) to the board.
Concerto for piano and orchestra in a minor by Edvard Grieg (25) is performed for the first time, in the Casino, Copenhagen, in the presence of Queen Louise and Anton Rubinstein (39). A wildly appreciative audience interrupts the performance with applause between movements and after the first movement cadenza. The composer is in Christiania (Oslo).
4 April 1869 Könisgslieder op.334, a waltz by Johann Strauss (43), is performed for the first time, in the Gartenbau, Vienna.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s (39) Piano Septet is performed for the first time, in Montevideo.
5 April 1869 Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel is born in Tourcoing, 15 km north of Lille on the Belgian border, the only child of Albert Roussel and Louise (née) Roussel, wealthy industrialists.
10 April 1869 A constitution for the Republic of Cuba is adopted at Guaimaro.
13 April 1869 George Westinghouse of Schenectady, New York receives the first patent for a railroad air brake.
17 April 1869 Edvard, Count Taafe, who has been working as Prime Minister of Austria without title since last 24 September, is given the title.
20 April 1869 Valse caprice op.4 for piano by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (28) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe dies of a stroke, in Kiel, aged 72 years, four months and 21 days.
21 April 1869 Louis Moreau Gottschalk (39) boards the steamship Kepler in Montevideo, making for Rio de Janeiro.
2 May 1869 Vladimir Stasov sends to Alyeksandr Borodin (35) an opera scenario based on the historical epic The Lay of Igor’s Campaign and The Ipatyevsky Chronicle. The composer is delighted.
3 May 1869 Louis Moreau Gottschalk (39) arrives in Rio de Janeiro from Buenos Aires.
4 May 1869 The first offshore oil rig is patented by Thomas F. Rowland of Greenpoint, New York.
5 May 1869 Hans Erich Pfitzner is born in Moscow, the second child of Robert Pfitzner, a violinist and Anne Wilhelmine Henriette Reimer.
7 May 1869 Richard Wagner (55) is elected a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts in Berlin.
9 May 1869 One day after the last concert of the Russian Musical Society season, Grand Duchess Yelena Pavlovna, Imperial Patroness of the RMS, informs Mily Balakirev (32) that he is removed as director. The action is probably due to Balakirev’s outspokenness and his programming of too many new works.
10 May 1869 The “Golden Spike” completing the transcontinental railroad across North America, is driven at Promontory, Utah.
15 May 1869 A Divertimento on Slavonic Songs for flugelhorn by Bedrich Smetana (45) is performed for the first time.
Ave maris stella by Franz Liszt (57), in the version for solo male quartet, is performed for the first time, in Regensburg.
17 May 1869 Friedrich Nietzsche, now a professor at the University of Basel, makes the first of several visits to Richard Wagner’s (55) home, Tribschen.
21 May 1869 The one-year-old daughter of Edvard (25) and Nina Grieg dies suddenly at Landås, near Bergen.
25 May 1869 Isaac Albéniz (8) passes his solfege examination at the Real Conservatorio de Madrid.
A new Vienna Hofoper opens before a glittering audience which includes Emperor Franz Joseph. The work performed is Don Giovanni.
1 June 1869 The second revision of Bedrich Smetana’s (45) comic opera The Bartered Bride to words of Sabina is performed for the first time, in the Provisional Theatre, Prague.
3 June 1869 Georges Bizet (30) marries Genevieve Halévy, daughter of the composer Fromental Halévy (†7), in the office of the mayor of the Ninth Arrondissement, Paris.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) gives his first concert in Rio de Janeiro, before the Emperor and members of the royal family.
6 June 1869 A third child is born to Richard Wagner (56) and Cosima von Bülow at Tribschen, a son, who is named Helferich Siegfried Richard.
A new constitution is approved in Spain, calling for representative government, equality of all citizens, separation of powers, basic freedoms, male suffrage over 25 and a monarchy.
A second round of voting in French legislative elections results in a plurality of seats for liberals.
8 June 1869 The first United States patent for a suction principle vacuum cleaner is granted to IW McGaffey of Chicago. It is hand-pumped and meant for light dusting.
9 June 1869 Grande Phantasia sobre motivos de Norma for two pianos by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) is performed for the first time, in Rio de Janeiro, the composer at one keyboard.
15 June 1869 Acting President of Spain, Francisco Serrano y Dominguez, Duke de la Torre is made permanent president.
Cosima von Bülow writes from Tribschen to her husband in Munich, once again asking for a divorce.
John Wesley Hyatt receives a US patent for what will become known as celluloid. He will use it to make billiard balls and false teeth.
16 June 1869 Henry Roscoe announces to the Royal Society in London that he has isolated metallic vanadium.
17 June 1869 Hans von Bülow, in Munich, writes to his wife Cosima at Tribschen that he reluctantly agrees to a final separation. He entrusts the care of their two children to her. He is apparently unaware that she has just given birth to Richard Wagner’s (56) third child.
18 June 1869 Juan Prim y Prats, marqués de los Castillejos, conde de Reus, vizconde del Bruch replaces Francisco Serrano y Domínguez, duque de la Torre, conde de San Antonio as Prime Minister of Spain.
Two works for piano by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) are performed for the first time, in Rio de Janeiro by the composer: Dernier Amour op.63 and Tremolo op.58.
1 July 1869 Hereditary priesthood is abolished in Russia.
6 July 1869 Egyptischer Marsch op.335 by Johann Strauss (43) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
John Wesley Powell and nine others depart on the first scientific exploration of the Colorado River.
17 July 1869 Justin de Chasseloup-Laubat replaces Adolphe Vuitry as Minister President of the Council of State for France.
18 July 1869 Giuseppina Verdi writes that she and her husband (55) were nearly drowned in the lake at their villa, Sant’Agata.
20 July 1869 The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain is published in Hartford, Connecticut.
26 July 1869 Royal Assent is given to the Irish Church Act of 1869 which disestablishes the Church of Ireland. It will take effect 1 January 1871.
30 July 1869 Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) performs at the Palace of San Christorão in Rio de Janeiro for Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.
31 July 1869 Dawn. As Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) leaves the royal palace in Rio de Janeiro, he stands in the rain for some time waiting for his carriage. By tomorrow he will be in bed with a fever.
La princesse de Trébizonde, an opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach (50) to words of Nuitter and Tréfeu, is performed for the first time, in the Kurtheater, Baden-Baden.
2 August 1869 The first congress of the German Social Democratic Labor Party convenes in Eisenach.
4 August 1869 Doctors announce that Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) is near death with yellow fever.
8 August 1869 Radivoje Milojkovic replaces Djordje Cenic as Prime Minister of Serbia.
9 August 1869 In response to a request that Giuseppe Verdi (55) compose something for the opening of the Cairo Opera House and the Suez Canal, Verdi writes that he is too busy and, in any case, he does not compose occasional pieces.
10 August 1869 Nuno José Severo de Mendoça Rolim de Moura Barreto, duque e marquês de Loulé, conde de Vale de Reis replaces Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, visconde e barão de Sá Bandeira as Prime Minister of Portugal.
12 August 1869 Brazilians overrun the last Paraguayan stronghold at Piribebuy.
13 August 1869 John Wesley Powell and his party exploring the Colorado River enter the Grand Canyon.
15 August 1869 The allies set up a provisional government for Paraguay at Asunción.
19 August 1869 Hans von Bülow departs Munich and his positions there. He is unable to remain in the place where his marriage failed. He will eventually live in Florence.
22 August 1869 Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) arrives in Valença, a mountain retreat 90 km northwest of Rio de Janeiro, while convalescing with yellow fever.
24 August 1869 Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York receives a US patent for his waffle iron.
6 September 1869 Im Krapfenwald’l op.336, a polka française by Johann Strauss (43), is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
7 September 1869 John Knowles Paine (30) marries Mary Elizabeth Greeley, daughter of William E. Greeley, a Cambridge merchant, and Myra A. Smith Greeley, in Cambridge.
8 September 1869 The Prodigal Son, an oratorio by Arthur Sullivan (27) to his own words after the Bible, is performed for the first time, in Worcester.
12 September 1869 Recovered from yellow fever, and after performances in Santos and São Paulo, Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) arrives back in Rio de Janeiro.
20 September 1869 Jay Gould and James Fisk start hoarding gold, in an attempt to corner the market and drive up the price.
21 September 1869 The governor of Tarragona, Spain is murdered by a republican mob.
22 September 1869 The Vorabend to Der Ring des Nibelungen, Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner (56) to his own words is performed for the first time, in the Königliches Hof-und Nationaltheater, Munich. The production is forced by King Ludwig against the wishes of the composer. Among those in attendance is Franz Liszt (57). See 13 August 1876.
Louischen-Polka française op.339 by Johann Strauss (43) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
24 September 1869 Attempting to thwart the plan of Jay Gould and James Fisk to corner the gold market, US President Grant orders the government to sell $4,000,000 in gold. The price of gold instantly drops precipitously and thousands of gold speculators are ruined.
25 September 1869 Spanish governors are given power to suppress republican organizations.
28 September 1869 Aristide Berges becomes the first to convert a waterfall into electrical energy at his paper plant in the French Alps. He will coin the term “hydroelectricity.”
29 September 1869 Mass no.2 in e for chorus, woodwinds and brass by Anton Bruckner (45) is performed for the first time, outside Linz Cathedral for the consecration of the Votivkapelle.
1 October 1869 The first prestamped postcard is issued in Austria. It was invented by Emmanuel Herrman of Vienna.
4 October 1869 Maori led by Te Kooti are decisively defeated by Colonial militia and their Maori allies at Te Porere.
5 October 1869 Slovianka-Quadrille op.338 by Johann Strauss (43) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
6 October 1869 Ten of the Liebeslieder Waltzes op.52 for vocal quartet and piano four hands by Johannes Brahms (36) are performed for the first time, in Karlsruhe. See 5 January 1870.
10 October 1869 Von der Börse op.337, a polka française by Johann Strauss (43), is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
11 October 1869 Canadians of mixed descent led by Louis Riel stop a survey team near Winnipeg, thus beginning the Red River Rebellion.
23 October 1869 Hubert Parry (21) is elected President of the Exeter College Musical Society’s standing committee.
29 October 1869 A setting of Locus iste for chorus by Anton Bruckner (45) is performed for the first time, in the Votivkapelle of the Neuer Dom, Linz.
31 October 1869 Variations de concert sur l’hymne portugais for piano and orchestra by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40), composed to honor King Luis I of Portugal and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, is performed for the first time, in Rio de Janeiro.
1 November 1869 The Cairo Opera House is inaugurated with a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s (56) Rigoletto.
2 November 1869 Métis led by Louis Riel seize Upper Fort Garry (Winnipeg), the center of the Hudson’s Bay Company on the Red and Assiniboine rivers. They will hold it until a province of Manitoba is created.
4 November 1869 Nature: a Weekly Illustrated Journal of Science is published for the first time, in England by Norman Lockyer.
6 November 1869 The first intercollegiate American football game takes place in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Final score: Rutgers 6, Princeton 4.
17 November 1869 The Suez Canal is opened in the presence of Empress Eugènie of France, Emperor Franz Joseph II of Austria-Hungary and Ferdinand de Lesseps.
22 November 1869 The clipper Cutty Sark is launched at Dumbarton on the Clyde, Scotland.
24 November 1869 Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) directs an enormous performance of 650 musicians in the Theatro Lyrico Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro. Included is the first performance of his orchestral work, Marche solennelle.
25 November 1869 Concerto for piano and orchestra no.3 op.29 by Camille Saint-Saëns (34) is performed for the first time, in the Leipzig Gewandhaus, conducted by the composer. The work is badly received in Leipzig, even sparking a loud argument in the audience at the beginning of the slow movement.
After lying exhausted in bed all day, Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) appears for a performance at the Theatro Lyrico Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro. He plays ten to twelve bars of his Tremelo, grande étude de concert op.58 and collapses from appendicitis. Doctors, unaware of his affliction, treat him with opiates.
26 November 1869 Georg Albrecht replaces Albrecht as Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40), in agonizing pain, appears to conduct the second of the large festival performances in Rio de Janeiro. Before he mounts the podium, he collapses again and is carried off to his hotel where he is attended by the personal physician to Emperor Pedro.
28 November 1869 Edvard Grieg (26) and his wife travel south from Copenhagen making for Rome.
29 November 1869 On the 72nd anniversary of the composer’s birth, the first version of Gaetano Donizetti’s (†21) tragedia lirica Gabriella di Vergy to words of Tottola after Du Belloy is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 43 years after it was composed. The work has been considerably altered for this production.
Canada takes possession of all lands of the Hudson Bay Company.
Orville Babcock, personal representative of US President Grant, signs a treaty to annex Santo Domingo to the United States.
8 December 1869 The First Vatican Council is convened by Pope Pius IX.
Stanislaw Moniuszko’s (50) choral ballad Pani Twardowska to words of Mickiewicz is performed for the first time, in Warsaw.
Because of a summer heat wave, Louis Moreau Gottschalk (40) is moved to Tijuca, twelve km from downtown Rio de Janeiro.
10 December 1869 Les brigandes, an opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach (50) to words of Meilhac and Halévy, is performed for the first time, at the Variétés, Paris.
The Territory of Wyoming grants women the right to vote, the first state or territory in the United States to do so.
11 December 1869 Paria, an opera by Stanislaw Moniuszko (50) to words of Checinski after Delavigne, is performed for the first time, in Warsaw.
La romance de la rose, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (50) to words of Tréfeu and Prével, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris.
12 December 1869 Giovanni Lanza replaces Federico Luigi, Count Menabrea as Prime Minister of Italy.
Islamey, an oriental fantasy for piano by Mily Balakirev (32) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
Im Gägenwartigen Vergangenes D.710 for male vocal quartet and piano by Franz Schubert (†41) to words of Goethe is performed for the first time, in Vienna, 48 years after it was composed.
13 December 1869 Modest Musorgsky (30) is promoted to the rank of Collegiate Assessor in the Forestry Department of the Russian Ministry of State Property.
14 December 1869 At Tijuca, near Rio de Janeiro, where he had gone to escape the summer heat, Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s (40) appendix bursts and, although he is no longer in pain, he shortly becomes delirious. He develops peritonitis.
18 December 1869 Dawn. Louis Moreau Gottschalk dies at Tijuca, Brazil, of peritonitis following a burst appendix, aged 40 years, seven months and ten days.
19 December 1869 After lying in state in the rooms of the Philharmonic Society, thousands of onlookers watch as the mortal remains of Louis Moreau Gottschalk are laid to rest in the Cemitério São João Batista, Rio de Janeiro.
20 December 1869 Rêve d’amour, an opéra comique by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (87) to words of d’Ennery and Cormon, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris.
22 December 1869 Three songs by Johannes Brahms (36) are performed for the first time, in Vienna: Wie bist du, meine Königin op.32/9, to words of Hafis, Am Sonntag Morgen zierlich angetan op.49/1 and Wiegenlied op.49/4.
23 December 1869 Edvard Grieg (26) and his wife reach Rome on his second trip to Italy.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
12 July 2012
Last Updated (Thursday, 12 July 2012 04:58)