July 1 in Victorian History
What the Victorians were up to on this date, year by remarkable year.
1858
Darwin and Wallace go public
At the Linnean Society in London, papers by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace are read aloud, unveiling natural selection to the world. Neither author is present -- Darwin is burying his infant son, Wallace is in Malaya. The Origin of Species will follow sixteen months later.
1867
Canada becomes a dominion
The British North America Act takes effect, uniting Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into the Dominion of Canada. John A. Macdonald becomes its first prime minister. A new nation is born -- peacefully, and by Act of Parliament.