Alexander Watson Nisbet (1848 - 1875)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Alexander's lifetime.

In 1848, in the year that Alexander Watson Nisbet was born, on January 24th, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in California. On August 19th, the New York Herald published news of the Gold Rush in California - alerting the east coast. The Gold Rush brought over 300,000 people to northern California from the rest of the US and overseas.

In 1853, he was only 5 years old when on March 4th, Franklin Pierce became the 14th President of the United States. His son had been killed in a train accident that also involved Pierce and his wife on January 6 - the only of 3 sons to survive until then. Due to the resultant depression and his unpopular policies, he was not re-nominated for President and served only one term.

In 1855, when he was just 7 years old, on March 3rd, Congress appropriated $30,000 to create the U.S. Camel Corps. The idea was to use camels as pack animals in the Southwest and 34 camels were bought. But the Army wasn't enthusiastic about the idea and after the Civil War the Camel Corps was entirely abandoned.

In 1866, by the time he was 18 years old, on April 10th, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - the ASPCA - was created. New Yorker Henry Bergh was the first President of the Society and the leader in its creation. He later formed the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

In 1875, in the year of Alexander Watson Nisbet's passing, the Bombay Stock Exchange - the first stock exchange in Asia - was established. It was called "The Native Share & Stock Brokers Association".