Events
in 1861
Alabama secedes from the United States.
Alabama declared its secession from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. While few battles were fought in the state, Alabama contributed about 120,000 soldiers to the American Civil War. Alabama's slaves were freed by the 13th Amendment in 1865. During Reconstruction, the new state legislators created a public school system for the first time, as well as establishing some welfare institutions to help its people. Alabama was officially restored to the Union in 1868.
Alabama,
United States
in 1879

Zulu warriors
The Anglo-Zulu War begins.
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.
Anglo-Zulu War,
Zulu
in 1908
Grand Canyon National Monument is created.
Grand Canyon National Park is the United States' 15th oldest national park and is located in Arizona. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, considered to be one of the Wonders of the World. The park covers 1,217,403 acres (1,902 sq mi; 4,927 km^2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties.
Grand Canyon
Births
in 1815
Sir John Alexander Macdonald was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century. Macdonald served 19 years as Canadian Prime Minister; only William Lyon Mackenzie King served longer.

in 1906
Albert Hofmann was a Swiss scientist known best for being the first person to synthesize, ingest and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
Deaths
in 1882
Theodor Schwann was a German physiologist. His many contributions to biology include the development of cell theory, the discovery of Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system, the discovery and study of pepsin, the discovery of the organic nature of yeast, and the invention of the term metabolism.

in 1988
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was a United States Marine Corps officer who was an American fighter ace during World War II.