July 2 – Former twice-served British Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel dies following a fall from his horse at Constitution Hill, London. July 9 Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad, known as the Báb, is executed by a firing squad in Tabriz, Persia, for claiming to be a prophet. Vice President Millard Fillmore becomes the 13th President of the United States upon the death of President Zachary Taylor, aged 65. July 10 – Inauguration of Millard Fillmore: U.S. President Fillmore is sworn in. July 17 – Vega became the first star (other than the Sun) to be photographed. August 28 – Richard Wagner's romantic opera Lohengrin (including the Bridal Chorus) premieres under the direction of Franz Liszt, in Weimar. September 4 – The Eusébio de Queirós Law is passed in the Brazilian Empire to abolish the international slave trade. September 9 California is admitted as the 31st U.S. state. The New Mexico Territory is organized by order of the United States Congress. September 12 – A 7.9 earthquake shakes the Chinese province of Sichuan killing more than 20,000 people. September 13 – Piz Bernina, the highest summit of the eastern Alps, is first ascended. September 18 The Fugitive Slave Law is passed by the United States Congress. Harriet Tubman becomes an official conductor of the Underground Railroad. September 29 – Papal bull Universalis Ecclesiae: The Catholic hierarchy is re-established in England and Wales, by Pope Pius IX and future Pope Pius X. October–December October 1 – The University of Sydney (the oldest in Australia) is founded. October 19 – The Phi Kappa Sigma international fraternity is founded, at the University of Pennsylvania. October 28 – Delegate Edward Ralph May delivers a speech on behalf of African-American suffrage, to the Indiana Constitutional Convention. November Taiping Rebellion: The first clashes of the Taiping Rebellion occur, between the Imperialist militia and the Heavenly Army. Undergraduates at Exeter College, Oxford arrange a "foot grind" (a cross-country steeplechase), the first organised university athletic event. November 29 – The treaty known as the Punctation of Olmütz is signed in Olomouc. It means diplomatic capitulation of Prussia to the Austrian Empire, which takes over the leadership of the German Confederation. December 16 – Members of the Canterbury Association, the first settlers bound for Christchurch, arrive from England at the port of Lyttelton, New Zealand, aboard the Charlotte Jane and Randolph. Date unknown Dost Mohammad Barakzai, emir of Afghanistan, captures Balkh. The