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Events on Wednesday 15 December 1858 1
1858Suez Canal Company foundedCompagnie chartered to build a canal linking the Mediterranean and Red SeaThe Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez was formally established under Ferdinand de Lesseps to construct a canal across the Isthmus of Suez. Egyptian ruler Said Pasha had granted the concession the previous year. Construction began in 1859 and the canal opened a decade later.