Coal mining

Historical eventJanuary 161862

Coal mining

A pumping engine at a colliery in New Hartley, England, broke and fell down the shaft, trapping miners below and resulting in 204 deaths.

Everything on January 16Original source

In context

When
Thursday, January 16 1862164 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
19th century · 1860s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

Russia, Greece and some other countries used the Julian calendar into the early 20th century, so local records may show a date up to 13 days earlier.

At a glance

Dates: From 1862.

What happened

Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. In the United Kingdom and South Africa, a coal mine and its structures are a colliery, a coal mine is called a "pit", and above-ground mining structures are referred to as a "pit head". In Australia, "colliery" generally refers to an underground coal mine.

January 16 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1862Coal mining
  2. 2006Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
  3. 2011Syrian civil war
  4. 2012Mali War
  5. 20162016 Ouagadougou attacks
  6. 2016Ouagadougou
  7. 2017Turkish Airlines Flight 6491
  8. 2018Mrauk U
  9. 2018Myanmar
  10. 2020First impeachment of Donald Trump
  11. 2020United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement

Also in 1862

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  • June 8American Civil WarAmerican Civil War: The Confederate Army won a resounding victory at the Battle of Cross Keys, one of the two decisive battles in Jackson…
  • July 17GarroteThe garrotting and robbery of James Pilkington, a British member of Parliament, led to a moral panic in London.
  • December 26American Civil WarAmerican Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou began with Confederate defenders engaging Union forces who were attempting to capture t…
  • August 4BrooklynIn Brooklyn, a mob composed largely of Irish Americans attacked a group of African Americans in a riot.
  • December 7American Civil WarAmerican Civil War: The Battle of Prairie Grove ended a Confederate attempt to regain control of northwestern Arkansas.
  • July 1American Civil WarAmerican Civil War: Confederate general Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed and ultimately unsuccessful assaults on the nearly…

Everything we record for 1862 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Coal mining”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/coal-mining-1862-january-16, accessed October 27, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did Coal mining happen?

January 16 1862 — 164 years ago, on a Thursday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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