kills between 2,000 and 3,000 people. December 15 Romania opens its first mountain railway (from Anina to Oravița). Gerard Adriaan Heineken, 22, buys the brewery 'De Hooiberg' ("The Haystack") in Amsterdam. December 19 – Linoleum is patented in the United Kingdom. Date unknown The Second Anglo-Ashanti war begins. Bartolomé Mitre secretly backs the revolt of Venancio Flores, against the Uruguayan Blanco government. The Chōshū Five leave Japan secretly to study at University College London, which is part of the ending of sakoku. Douglas becomes the capital of the Isle of Man, after its parliament (Tynwald) moves its chambers from Castletown. The first outbreak of phylloxera on the European mainland is observed, in the vineyards of the southern Rhône region of France. The recipe for the herbal liqueur Bénédictine is devised by Alexandre Le Grand in Fécamp, France. Richard Owen publishes the first description of a fossilised bird, Archaeopteryx. The Winged Victory of Samothrace is found at Samothrace by Charles Champoiseau. Made c. 190 BC, it will be displayed in the Louvre, Paris. Colmar Treasure is discovered Births January–March January 1 – Pierre de Coubertin, French founder of the modern Olympic Games (d. 1937) January 7 – Anna Murray Vail, American botanist and first librarian of the New York Botanical Garden (d. 1955) January 12 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian religious leader (d. 1902) January 14 – Manuel Gomes da Costa, Portuguese general, who served as the 10th president of Portugal (d. 1929) January 15 – Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946) January 17 David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1945) Constantin Stanislavski, Russian theatre practitioner, founder of modern realistic acting (d. 1938) January 28 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian painter (d. 1918) February 11 – John F. Fitzgerald, Mayor of Boston (d. 1950) March 1 – Sydney Deane, Australian cricketer, actor (d. 1934) March 9 – Emelie Tracy Y. Swett, American author (d. 1892) March 11 – Andrew Stoddart, English sportsman (d. 1915) March 12 – Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer, war hero and politician (d. 1938) March 13 – Maria Mikhailovich Volkonskaya, Russian princess, Catholic convert and writer March 14 – Casey Jones, American railway engineer (d. 1900) March 27 – Henry Royce, English automobile pioneer (d. 1933) April–June April 15 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (d. 1914) April 18 – Count Leopold Berchtold, Austro-Hungarian foreign minister (d. 1942) April 20 – Helen Dortch