New York City theater, English author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States. December 18 – Angola Horror (Buffalo, New York-area train wreck): The fiery death of 49 people leads John D. Rockefeller to develop and sell his Mineral Seal Fire-Tested Burning Oil, and George Westinghouse to invent the railway air brake, which is mandated in the United States in 1893. Date unknown Pierre Michaux invents the front wheel-driven velocipede, the first mass-produced bicycle. South African diamond fields are discovered. The Prohibition National Committee is formed in the United States. Clarke School for the Deaf in Western Massachusetts opens its doors for the first time, becoming the first school for the deaf in the United States to teach its children how to communicate using the oral method. At Fountain Point, Michigan, an artesian water spring begins to gush continuously. The modern rose is born, with the introduction of Rosa 'La France' by Jean-Baptiste André Guillot. Gorse is naturalised in New Zealand, where it soon becomes the worst invasive weed. The Swedish famine of 1867–1869 begins. Yellow fever kills 3,093 in New Orleans. The Wasps Rugby Football Club is formed in Middlesex, England. Margarine Unie, as predecessor of Unilever, worldwide toiletries, beauty care, beverage brand, founded in Netherlands. Delhaize, as predecessor for Ahold Delhaize, a major retail group of Europe, founded in Belgium. The game Parcheesi is introduced. Ongoing Paraguayan War 1867–1873 – Chinese, Scandinavian and Irish immigrants lay of railroad tracks in the USA. Births January–March January 5 – Dimitrios Gounaris, 94th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1922) January 6 – Takejirō Tokonami, Japanese politician, Home Minister, Railway Minister and Minister of Communication (d. 1935) January 8 Emily Greene Balch, American writer, pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1961) Thomas Coward, English ornithologist (d. 1933) January 17 – Carl Laemmle, German-born film executive (d. 1939) January 18 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet (d. 1916) January 20 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer, actress (d. 1944) January 21 James Marcus, American actor (d. 1937) Maxime Weygand, French general (d. 1965) January 29 – Carl L. Boeckmann, Norwegian-American artist (d. 1923) February 4 – Alexander Godley, British general (d. 1957) February 7 – Laura Elizabeth Wilder, née Ingalls, American children's author (d. 1957) February 8 – William Michael Crose, United States Navy Commander and the seventh Naval Governor of American Samoa (d. 1929) February 10 – Charles