Events January–March January 1 Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. The last issue of the abolitionist magazine The Liberator is published. January 6 – Ottoman troops clash with supporters of Maronite leader Youssef Bey Karam, at St. Doumit in Lebanon; the Ottomans are defeated. January 12 The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed as The Aeronautical Society of Great Britain in London, the world's oldest such society. British auxiliary steamer sinks in a storm in the Bay of Biscay, on passage from the Thames to Australia, with the loss of 244 people, and only 19 survivors. January 18 – Wesley College, Melbourne, is established. January 26 – Volcanic eruption in the Santorini caldera begins. February 7 – Battle of Abtao: A Spanish naval squadron fights a combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet, at the island of Abtao, in the Chiloé Archipelago of southern Chile. February 13 – The first daylight bank robbery in United States history during peacetime takes place in Liberty, Missouri. This is considered to be the first robbery committed by Jesse James and his gang, although James's role is disputed. February 26 – The Calaveras Skull is discovered in California. Purported to be evidence of humans in North America during the Pliocene epoch, it turns out to be a hoax. February 28 – The month concludes without having a full moon. March 13 – The United States Congress overwhelmingly passes the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the first federal legislation to protect the rights of African-Americans; U.S. President Andrew Johnson vetoes the bill on March 27, and Congress overrides the veto on April 9. March 31 – A total lunar eclipse occurs. April–June April 4 – Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in the city of St Petersburg. April 8 – The kingdoms of Italy and Prussia form an alliance against the Austrian Empire. April 10 – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh. May 2 – Battle of Callao: Peruvian defenders fight the Spanish fleet. May 7 – Student Ferdinand Cohen-Blind makes a failed attempt to assassinate Otto von Bismarck in Unter den Linden in Berlin. May 10 – London bank Overend, Gurney and Company collapses, precipitating Panic of 1866. May 16 – The United States Congress approves the minting of a nickel 5-cent coin (nickel), eliminating its predecessor,