1850s

The 1850s was a decade that ran from January 1, 1850, to December 31, 1859. The 1850s was a very turbulent decade, as wars such as the, shifted and shook European politics, as well as the expansion of towards the , which also sparked conflicts like the. In the mean time, the saw its peak on, that particularly made the nation experience an economic boom, as well as a rapidly increasing population.

Wars

 * (1854–56) fought between and an alliance consisting of the, the , the  and the . The majority of the conflict takes place around Crimea, on the northern coasts of the.
 * On 8 October 1856, the between several western powers and  begins with the Arrow Incident on the.
 * (1859), also known as Franco-Austrian War, or Austro-Sardinian War.

Internal conflicts

 * The : revolt against  rule in
 * (1854–59): battles erupt in between proslavery and "" settlers, directly precipitating the.
 * (1857-61) in
 * (1851–64) in . (Southeastern China)
 * (1853–68) in . (Northern China)
 * in . (Guizhou Province)
 * in . (Guangdong Province)
 * (1855-67) in . (Guangdong Province)
 * (1856-73) in . (Yunnan Province)

Prominent political events

 * and are unified and form.
 * attempts to create a.
 * Dissolution of the by the British.
 * Establishment of the (Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) and the, granting independence to the  by the British.

Assassinations and attempts
Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:
 * Eight were killed and 142 wounded in in a failed  attempt on, Emperor of the French (1858).

Science, technologies and Institutions

 * publishes , putting forward the theory of by natural selection in November 1859.
 * begins when traces the source of an outbreak of  in London to a contaminated water pump.
 * Discovery of fossils in
 * s discovered by
 * established at 1850

Economics

 * Distinction between and  begins to blur
 * Production of revolutionized by invention of the
 * fractionates by  for the first time
 * First transpacific cable laid
 * First safety installed by
 * s begin to supplant s in the United States as a primary means of transporting goods.
 * First commercially successful sewing machine made by

Environment

 * bring s to the

Society

 * The word  first appears in writing in 1855.
 * The word  first appears in writing in 1856.

Literature

 * publishes ', ', ' and '
 * publishes  in 1850
 * publishes  in 1853

World leaders
Note: Names of leaders shown below in bold face have remained in power continuously throughout the entirety of the decade