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Iceland's parliament, the althing, passes a resolution that everyone on the island is to be baptized.
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France becomes the first kingdom to establish a permanent parliament when Louis IX reserves a chamber in his palace for quarterly sessions.
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John Hancock is the first delegate to sign the Declaration of Independence, formally written out on a large sheet of parchment.
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The first political parties, Hamilton's Federalists and Jefferson's Republicans, emerge in the USA.
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The Republican party in the USA splits into National Republicans and Democratic Republicans.
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Conservative 'bigwigs' and liberal 'novices' emerge as Chile's two main political parties.
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A committee to campaign for women's suffrage is formed in Manchester, the first of many in Britain.
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The Fourteenth Amendment to the US constitution (not ratified till 1868) assures equal rights as citizens to all born or naturalized in the USA.
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Britain's new Reform Act extends the franchise to working men in British towns.
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Romania achieves a new status as an internationally recognized independent nation.
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The Tynwald in the Isle of Man becomes the first parliament to give women the vote.
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The All-India Muslim League is set up at a meeting of the Muhammadan Educational Conference in Dhaka.
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An uprising in the city of Wuchang is the first major event in the rapidly developing Chinese revolution.
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Agnes Macphail becomes the first woman to sit in Canada's parliament.
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is set up by the USA and Canada, together with Britain and other European countries, for purposes of collective security.
