The year 1859 was marked by several significant government and scientific reports, most notably those detailing the Carrington Event —the most massive geomagnetic storm on record. In the United States, various executive departments also issued their annual operational summaries for that fiscal year.

: Scientific reports from 1859 detail a massive solar flare observed by astronomers Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson on September 1. The subsequent geomagnetic storm (August 28 – September 3) caused worldwide auroras so bright people could read by them and severely disrupted telegraph systems across Europe and North America.

: Established in 1859, this commission produced a comprehensive report recommending a massive expenditure of £11.85 million to build "Palmerston Forts" to protect British dockyards from potential foreign invasion.

: Following the raid on Harpers Ferry , Col. R.E. Lee submitted an official military report on October 19, 1859, detailing the capture of John Brown and his fellow insurgents. U.S. Government Annual Reports Col. R. E. Lee's Report (October 19, 1859)