1855 in France

← 1854 1853 1852 1851 1850 1855 in France → 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860
Decades:	1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s
See also:	Other events of 1855 History of France  • Timeline  • Years

Events from the year 1855 in France .

Incumbents

• Monarch – Napoleon III

Events

• 1 March – Compagnie Générale des Omnibus established to secure a monopoly over horse-buses in Paris.
• 16 April – Emperor Napoleon III, with Empress Eugénie, begins a 6-day state visit to Britain. ^[1]
• 18 April – The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, requested by Napoleon III for the Exposition Universelle (opening 15 May), first appears. ^[2]
• 15 May–15 November – Exposition Universelle (an early World's fair) officially opens in Paris.
• 16 June – Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest formed by amalgamation. ^[3]
• 16 August – Battle of Chernaya River: Russian troops are defeated by French and Sardinian forces in the Crimean War.
• 18 August – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, with Prince Albert, begins a 10-day state visit to Paris, ^[4] the first visit of a reigning British monarch to France since 1413. While there, she visits the Exposition Universelle. ^[5]
• 7 September – Battle of Malakoff, French victory over Russian forces, part of the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War.
• 11 September – Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) ends in Franco-British victory.
• 17 October – Battle of Kinburn (Crimean War) – Combined French and British forces subdue Russian shore forts. The successful use of French floating batteries makes this the first use of modern ironclad warships in action. ^[6]
• 17 December – London General Omnibus Company established in Paris as the Compagnie Générale des Omnibus de Londres; in the following year it will absorb a substantial proportion of horse-bus operators in London.
• Undated – Réunion des Organismes d'Assurance Mutuelle (ROAM) association is founded.

Births

• 20 January – Ernest Chausson, composer (died 1899)
• 15 February – Jean-Joseph Carriès, sculptor, ceramist, and miniaturist (died 1894)
• 18 February – Jean Jules Jusserand, author and diplomat (died 1932)
• 16 March – Achille Maffre de Baugé, poet (died 1928)
• 27 April – Caroline Rémy de Guebhard, socialist, journalist and feminist (died 1929)
• 27 September – Paul Émile Appell, mathematician (died 1930)
• 5 November – Léon Teisserenc de Bort, meteorologist (died 1913)
• 10 November – Alexandre Darracq, automobile manufacturer (died 1931)

Deaths

• 15 January – Henri Braconnot, chemist and pharmacist (born 1780)
• 26 January – Gérard de Nerval, poet, essayist and translator (born 1808)
• 3 March
  • Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure, lawyer and Prime Minister (born 1767)
  • Antoine-Geneviève-Héraclius-Agénor de Gramont, aristocrat (born 1789)
• 18 April – Jean-Baptiste Isabey, painter (born 1767)
• 26 May – Jean Isidore Harispe, Marshal of France (born 1768)
• 10 June – Jacques-Jean Barre, engraver (born 1793)
• 22 July – Raymond Gayrard, sculptor (born 1807)
• 23 October – François André Michaux, botanist (born 1770)
• 25 November – Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart, entomologist (born 1778)
• 2 December – Frédéric Berat, poet and songwriter (born 1801)

The arts

• 15 May–15 November – The Exposition Universelle includes a retrospective of the paintings of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. Gustave Courbet, having had several paintings rejected for the Exposition, exhibits in a temporary "Pavillon du Réalisme" adjacent.
• 13 June – Verdi's opera Les vêpres siciliennes (The Sicilian Vespers) is premiered in Paris. ^[7]
• 5 July – Jacques Offenbach inaugurates performances of operettas as director of his own Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens.
• October – Victor Hugo moves to Hauteville House, Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, accompanied by his mistress, Juliette Drouet.
• Jean-François Millet produces the engraving "Study of a Woman Churning Butter".

References

1. "The reception of the Emperor and Empress of the French at Windsor Castle, 16 April 1855". The Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
2. "The Official Classification of Medoc and Graves of 1855". Wine-Searcher . Archived from the original on 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
3. Joanne, Adolphe (1859). Atlas historique et statistique des chemins de fer français (in French). Paris: Hachette. pp.  21–22.
4. "Queen Victoria's entry into Paris, 18 August 1855". The Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
5. Hamilton, Jill (2017-07-04). "Thomas Cook's first tours to the continent". The History Press. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
6. Wilson, Herbert Wrigley (1896). Ironclads in Action: A Sketch of Naval Warfare from 1855 to 1895. London: S. Low, Marston and Company.
7. Hibberd, Sarah (2013). "The Creation of Les Vêpres siciliennes". Les Vêpres siciliennes: programme book. London: Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. pp. 11–17.