The Second French Empire was the regime of Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon I, who was elected president of the Second Republic in 1848 and made himself emperor after a coup in December 1851. It was authoritarian at first and became more liberal in its later years. The period brought rapid economic modernization, with railways, banks and department stores, and Paris was rebuilt with broad boulevards under the prefect Haussmann. France took part in the Crimean War, fought Austria in Italy in 1859, expanded in Algeria and Indochina, and suffered a costly failure in Mexico. The Suez Canal, built by Ferdinand de Lesseps, opened in 1869. The empire collapsed when Napoleon III was captured at Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War.
Before and after
- 30 August 1852Birth of Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff
- 11 September 1852Revolution of 11 September 1852
- 25 November 1852Earthquake in Bandanaira, Maluku, Indonesia
- 27 November 1852Death of Ada Lovelace
- from 2 December 1852 to 4 September 1870Second French Empire
- 15 December 1852Birth of Antoine Henri Becquerel
- 19 December 1852Birth of Albert Abraham Michelson
- 19th centuryPublication of The Three Little Pigs
- 1853Gadsden Purchase
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 1760 to 1820Industrial Revolution
- 15 July 1799The Rosetta Stone is found
- 16 March 1815Founding of Kingdom of the Netherlands
- 27 September 1822Champollion deciphers the hieroglyphs
- 7 August 1908Discovery of Venus of Willendorf
- 24 July 1911Hiram Bingham reaches Machu Picchu
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.