HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

When Faust premieres in 1859:

• Oregon is admitted as the 33rd state.
• "Insanity plea" is used for the first time to prove innocence.
• The first Zoological Society incorporates in Philadelphia.
  
• Vulcan, a planet thought to orbit inside Mercury, is first sighted.
• Charles Dickens' "A Tale Of Two Cities" is published.
• The first dog show is held (Newcastle-on-Tyne, England).
  
• George Simpson patents the electric range.
• Charles Darwin publishes "On the Origin of Species."