1855 in France

Incumbents

• Monarch – Napoleon III

Events

• 1 March – Compagnie Générale des Omnibus established to secure a monopoly over horse-buses in Paris.
• 16 April – Emperor Napoleon III, with Empress Eugénie, begins a 6-day state visit to Britain.
• 18 April – The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, requested by Napoleon III for the Exposition Universelle (opening 15 May), first appears.
• 15 May–15 November – Exposition Universelle (an early World's fair) officially opens in Paris.
• 16 June – Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest formed by amalgamation.
• 16 August – Battle of Chernaya River: Russian troops are defeated by French and Sardinian forces in the Crimean War.
• 18 August – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, with Prince Albert, begins a 10-day state visit to Paris, the first visit of a reigning British monarch to France since 1413. While there, she visits the Exposition Universelle.
• 7 September – Battle of Malakoff, French victory over Russian forces, part of the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War.
• 11 September – Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) ends in Franco-British victory.
• 17 October – Battle of Kinburn (Crimean War) – Combined French and British forces subdue Russian shore forts. The successful use of French floating batteries makes this the first use of modern ironclad warships in action.
• 17 December – London General Omnibus Company established in Paris as the Compagnie Générale des Omnibus de Londres; in the following year it will absorb a substantial proportion of horse-bus operators in London.
• Undated – Réunion des Organismes d'Assurance Mutuelle (ROAM) association is founded.

Births

• 20 January – Ernest Chausson, composer (died 1899)
• 15 February – Jean-Joseph Carriès, sculptor, ceramist, and miniaturist (died 1894)
• 18 February – Jean Jules Jusserand, author and diplomat (died 1932)
• 16 March – Achille Maffre de Baugé, poet (died 1928)
• 27 April – Caroline Rémy de Guebhard, socialist, journalist and feminist (died 1929)
• 27 September – Paul Émile Appell, mathematician (died 1930)
• 5 November – Léon Teisserenc de Bort, meteorologist (died 1913)
• 10 November – Alexandre Darracq, automobile manufacturer (died 1931)

Deaths

• 15 January – Henri Braconnot, chemist and pharmacist (born 1780)
• 26 January – Gérard de Nerval, poet, essayist and translator (born 1808)
• 3 March
  • Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure, lawyer and Prime Minister (born 1767)
  • Antoine-Geneviève-Héraclius-Agénor de Gramont, aristocrat (born 1789)
• 18 April – Jean-Baptiste Isabey, painter (born 1767)
• 26 May – Jean Isidore Harispe, Marshal of France (born 1768)
• 10 June – Jacques-Jean Barre, engraver (born 1793)
• 22 July – Raymond Gayrard, sculptor (born 1807)
• 23 October – François André Michaux, botanist (born 1770)
• 25 November – Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart, entomologist (born 1778)
• 2 December – Frédéric Berat, poet and songwriter (born 1801)

The arts

• 15 May–15 November – The Exposition Universelle includes a retrospective of the paintings of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. Gustave Courbet, having had several paintings rejected for the Exposition, exhibits in a temporary "Pavillon du Réalisme" adjacent.
• 13 June – Verdi's opera Les vêpres siciliennes (The Sicilian Vespers) is premiered in Paris.
• 5 July – Jacques Offenbach inaugurates performances of operettas as director of his own Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens.
• October – Victor Hugo moves to Hauteville House, Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, accompanied by his mistress, Juliette Drouet.
• Jean-François Millet produces the engraving "Study of a Woman Churning Butter".

References

References

1. "The reception of the Emperor and Empress of the French at Windsor Castle, 16 April 1855". The Royal Collection Trust.
2. "The Official Classification of Medoc and Graves of 1855". [[Wine-Searcher]].
3. Joanne, Adolphe. (1859). "Atlas historique et statistique des chemins de fer français". Hachette.
4. "Queen Victoria's entry into Paris, 18 August 1855". The Royal Collection Trust.
5. Hamilton, Jill. (2017-07-04). "Thomas Cook’s first tours to the continent". The History Press.
6. Wilson, Herbert Wrigley. (1896). "Ironclads in Action: A Sketch of Naval Warfare from 1855 to 1895". S. Low, Marston and Company.
7. Hibberd, Sarah. (2013). "Les Vêpres siciliennes: programme book". Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.