Rulers:
• Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States (1853-1857)
• Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837-1901)
Events:
• Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister opened in Dresden.
Births:
• Rivière, Georges (1855-1943)
Literature:
• Dickens, Charles (1812-1870): The Holly-Tree (1855)
• Tolstoy, Leo (1828-1910): A Russian Proprietor, and Other Stories (1852-1859)
• Tolstoy, Leo (1828-1910): Sevastopol (1855-1856)
Art:
• Courbet, Gustave (1819-1877): L’Atelier du peintre (1854-1855)
• Degas, Edgar (1834-1917): Portrait de l’artiste (1855)
• Manet, Édouard (1832-1883): La Barque de Dante (c.1855)