WORLD HISTORY · 19TH CENTURY 日本語
Events of the 1880s1880–1889
What happened in the 1880s?
In the 1880s (1880–1889), the Berlin Conference sped up the partition of Africa, and Koch reported his discovery of the tuberculosis bacterium. In Japan, the Peerage Act was enacted and modern ironmaking began at Kamaishi, followed by the promulgation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan.
- Lesseps breaks ground on the Panama CanalLatin America
- Koch reports discovery of tuberculosis bacteriumEurope
- Krakatoa erupts violentlyAsia
- Peerage Act sets five noble ranksAsia
- Berlin Conference discusses partition of AfricaEurope
- Chicago workers strike for eight-hour dayNorth America
- Kamaishi blast furnace produces first pig ironAsia
- Constitution of the Empire of Japan promulgatedAsia
Summaries are written by the site editors.
The 1880s in AP history courses
| AP World History | Unit 5–6 (Revolutions; Consequences of Industrialization) |
|---|---|
| AP U.S. History | Period 6 |
Events of the 1880s (timeline · 275)
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Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California.
War of the Pacific: The Battle of Arica, the assault and capture of Morro de Arica (Arica Cape), ends the Campaña del Desierto (Desert Campaign).
First performance of O Canada at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français. The song would later become the national anthem of Canada.
France annexes Tahiti, renaming the independent Kingdom of Tahiti as "Etablissements de français de l'Océanie".
Abdur Rahman is proclaimed emir of Afghanistan after having been accepted as ruler by the British.
Second Anglo-Afghan War: Battle of Maiwand: Afghan forces led by Mohammad Ayub Khan defeat the British Army in battle near Maiwand, Afghanistan.
Construction of Cologne Cathedral, the most famous landmark in Cologne, Germany, is completed.
The army of Mohammad Ayub Khan is routed by the British at the Battle of Kandahar, ending the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
The Basuto Gun War breaks out after the Basuto launch a rebellion against the Cape Colony.
A major earthquake strikes Zagreb and destroys many buildings, including Zagreb Cathedral.
Outbreak of the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire.
The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa (44th Vic., c.1).
Cleopatra's Needle, a 3,500-year-old Ancient Egyptian obelisk is erected in Central Park, New York.
Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia, as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.
In Sudan, Muhammad Ahmad declares himself to be the Mahdi, the messianic redeemer of Islam.
The world's first international telephone call is made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States.
General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell and Childers reforms of the British Army, comes into effect.
Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (who will die of complications from his wounds on September 19).
American outlaw Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in the Maxwell House at Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
The Georgia hurricane makes landfall near Savannah, Georgia, resulting in an estimated 700 deaths.
In the Swiss state of Glarus, a rockslide buries parts of the village of Elm, destroying 83 buildings and killing 115 people.
U.S. President Chester A. Arthur is sworn in upon the death of James A. Garfield the previous day.
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday participate in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.
In New Zealand, 1600 armed volunteers and constabulary field forces led by Minister of Native Affairs John Bryce march on the pacifist Māori settlement at Parihaka, evicting upwards of 2000 residents, and destroying the settlement in the context of the New Zealand land confiscations.
Mapuche uprising of 1881: Mapuche rebels destroy the Chilean settlement of Nueva Imperial after defenders fled to the hills.
A meteorite lands near the village of Grossliebenthal, southwest of Odesa, Ukraine.
The first issue of Tamperean daily newspaper Aamulehti ("Morning Paper") is published.
Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick Maclean in Windsor.
Robert Koch announces the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis.
French and Vietnamese troops clash in Tonkin, when Commandant Henri Rivière seizes the citadel of Hanoi with a small force of marine infantry.
Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish are stabbed to death by Fenian assassins in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
The Triple Alliance between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy is formed.
The Shewan forces of Menelik II of Ethiopia defeat the Gojjame army in the Battle of Embabo. The Shewans capture Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and their victory leads to a Shewan hegemony over the territories south of the Abay River.
Nationalist riots break out in Alexandria directed against foreign domination. More than 50 Europeans are killed, including the British consul.
The Anglo-French Convention of 1882 marks the territorial boundaries between Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Charles J. Guiteau is hanged in Washington, D.C. for the assassination of U.S. President James Garfield.
War of the Pacific: Chile suffers its last military defeat in the Battle of La Concepción when a garrison of 77 men is annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears.
The British Mediterranean Fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the Anglo-Egyptian War.
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, today known as ExxonMobil, is established officially. The company would later grow to become the holder of all Standard Oil companies and the entity at the center of the breakup of Standard Oil.
Start of the second part of the Montceau-les-Mines troubles by the Black Band, groups of anarchist miners.
The Pearl Street Station in New York City becomes the first power plant to supply electricity to paying customers.
A British force repels an Egyptian force led by Ahmed Urabi in the battle of Qassasin during the Anglo-Egyptian War.
Anglo-Egyptian War: English forces defeat the Egyptian army in the battle of Tel el-Kebir.
Thomas Edison's first commercial hydroelectric power plant, the Vulcan Street Plant, begins operation.
Assommoir bombing: Anarchists such as Fanny Madignier commit the first deadly anarchist attack in France.
The great fire destroys a large part of Oulu's city center in Oulu Province, Finland.
Wales and England contest the first Home Nations (now Six Nations) rugby union match.
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is enacted by Congress.
The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
Demonstration of 9 March 1883: Parisian anarchists, unemployed and carpenters narrowly miss the Presidential palace during a violent protest; first use of the black flag as a symbol of anarchism by Louise Michel.
Krakatoa begins to erupt; the volcano explodes three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.
The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
In New York City, 12 people are killed in a stampede on the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge.
War of the Pacific: Chileans led by Alejandro Gorostiaga defeat Andrés Avelino Cáceres's Peruvian army at the Battle of Huamachuco, hastening the end of the war.
A moderate earthquake measuring magnitude 4.3–5.2 strikes the Italian island of Ischia, killing over 2,300 people.
The last quagga dies at the Natura Artis Magistra, a zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The first public performance of the Dominican Republic's national anthem, Himno Nacional.
An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.
France and Viet Nam sign the Treaty of Huế, recognizing a French protectorate over Annam and Tonkin.
Eruption of Krakatoa: Four enormous explosions almost completely destroy the island of Krakatoa, with a combination of tsunamis and pyroclastic flows killing more than 36,000. Climate effects are observed worldwide.
The Northern Pacific Railway (reporting mark NP) was completed in a ceremony at Gold Creek, Montana. Former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in an event attended by rail and political luminaries.
Peru and Chile sign the Treaty of Ancón, by which the Tarapacá province is ceded to the latter, bringing an end to Peru's involvement in the War of the Pacific.
The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City opens with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust.
In the "day of two noons", American and Canadian railroad companies institute four standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.
The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, are formed.
More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.
A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and burn down the courthouse.
The arrival at Plymouth of Tāwhiao, King of Maoris, to claim the protection of Queen Victoria.
The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson's "Switchback Railway", opens in New York's Coney Island amusement park.
The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.
On the night of 23–24 September, the steamship Arctique runs aground near Cape Virgenes leading to the discovery of nearby placer gold, beginning the Tierra del Fuego gold rush.
George Eastman receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film.
The International Meridian Conference designates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich as the world's prime meridian.
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 met on 15 November 1884, and after an adjournment concluded on 26 February 1885, with the signature of a General Act, regulating the European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period.
Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming's proposal for standard time (and also, time zones).
Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum, killing the Governor-General Charles George Gordon.
Sino-French War: French Army gains an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of Vietnam.
The Mikado, a light opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, receives its first public performance at the Savoy Theatre in London.
Louis Riel declares a provisional government in Saskatchewan, beginning the North-West Rebellion.
Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Phu Lam Tao near Hưng Hóa, northern Vietnam.
The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the Russian and British Empires.
Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for a light, high-speed, four-stroke engine, which he uses seven months later to create the world's first motorcycle, the Daimler Reitwagen.
American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired by Nate Salsbury to be a part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
Governor of New York David B. Hill signs legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, New York's first state park, ensuring that Niagara Falls will not be devoted solely to industrial and commercial use.
Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
Treaty of Tientsin is signed to end the Sino-French War, with China eventually giving up Tonkin and Annam – most of present-day Vietnam – to France.
Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
The Football Association legalizes professionalism in association football under pressure from the British Football Association.
Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle with an internal combustion engine, the Reitwagen.
Rock Springs massacre: In Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 white miners, who are struggling to unionize so they could strike for better wages and work conditions, attack their Chinese fellow workers, killing 28, wounding 15 and forcing several hundred more out of town.
Eastern Rumelia declares its union with Bulgaria, thus accomplishing Bulgarian unification.
Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord, a world record scoreline in professional association football.
Five Chinese people were lynched outside of Pierce City in the Idaho Territory of the United States.
Lord Randolph Churchill makes a speech in Ulster in opposition to the Irish Home Rule movement.
Ethiopian forces under Ras Alula defeat Mahdist Sudanese forces in the battle of Kufit.
The first practical public electric tramway in the world is opened in Blackpool, England.
The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway is symbolized by the Last Spike ceremony at Craigellachie, British Columbia.
Canadian rebel leader of the Métis and "Father of Manitoba" Louis Riel is executed for treason.
Serbo-Bulgarian War: Bulgarian victory in the Battle of Slivnitsa solidifies the unification between the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia.
Bulgarian victory in the Serbo-Bulgarian War preserves the Unification of Bulgaria.
Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of aluminium from the electrolysis of aluminium oxide, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister, Julia Brainerd Hall.
Geronimo, Apache warrior, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.
William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
Rallies are held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 is celebrated as International Workers' Day in many countries.
Haymarket affair: In Chicago, United States, a homemade bomb is thrown at police officers trying to break up a labor rally, killing one officer. Ensuing gunfire leads to the deaths of a further seven officers and four civilians.
Workers marching for the eight-hour day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are shot at by Wisconsin National Guardsmen in what becomes known as the Bay View Massacre.
Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a patent medicine.
The pharmacist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, which appeared in The Atlanta Journal.
Mount Tarawera in New Zealand erupts, killing 153 people and burying the famous Pink and White Terraces. Eruptions continue for three months creating a large, 17 km (11 mi) long fissure across the mountain peak.
The first transcontinental train trip across Canada departs from Montreal, Quebec. It arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia on July 4.
The New-York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.
Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first purpose-built automobile.
The Canadian Pacific Railway's first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.
The 7.0 Mw Charleston earthquake strikes southeastern South Carolina with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 60 people and causing damage worth an estimated at $5 to $6 million.
American Indian Wars: After almost 30 years of fighting, Apache leader Geronimo, with his remaining warriors, surrenders to General Nelson Miles in Arizona.
Normanton incident: As the British merchant vessel Normanton sinks off the coast of Japan, her European officers appear to commandeer the ship's lifeboats for themselves, leaving her Asian crew and passengers to die and conjuring significant political outrage in Japan.
The Dawes Act is enacted, authorizing the U.S. President to divide Native American tribal land into individual allotments.
Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of the Catholic University of America.
A week after being arrested by the Prussian Secret Police, French police inspector Guillaume Schnaebelé is released on order of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, defusing a possible war.
Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the 'Art of Compiling Statistics', which was his punched card calculator.
The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada, creating the nation's first national park, Banff National Park.
The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king's authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Granny, a sea anemone, died in Edinburgh after nearly 60 years in captivity. Her death was reported in The Scotsman and The New York Times.
A fire at the Theatre Royal, Exeter kills 186, making it the UK's deadliest ever building fire.
Johannes Brahms conducts the premiere of his Double Concerto, composed for violinist Joseph Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann.
The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400 people.
The eruption of Ritter Island triggers tsunamis that kill up to 3,000 people on nearby islands.
The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow, Russia.
In England, The Football League, the world's oldest professional association football league, meets for the first time.
Jack the Ripper: The first of 11 unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurs.
With the passage of the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law"), the Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery.
Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
George Edward Gouraud records Handel's Israel in Egypt onto a phonograph cylinder, thought for many years to be the oldest known recording of music.
The stratovolcano Mount Bandai erupts, killing approximately 500 people in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.
The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.
Mary Ann Nichols, the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims, is murdered.
George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film.
In London, the body of Jack the Ripper's second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found.
The Great Herding (Spanish: El Gran Arreo) begins with thousands of sheep being herded from the Argentine outpost of Fortín Conesa to Santa Cruz near the Strait of Magellan.
Jack the Ripper kills his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes.
The "From Hell" letter allegedly sent by Jack the Ripper is received by investigators.
The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.
Jack the Ripper murders Mary Jane Kelly, his final victim in the Whitechapel murders.
The Christmas Meeting of 1888, considered to be the official start of the Faroese independence movement.
Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator.
The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in the Mayerling.
US president Grover Cleveland signs a bill elevating the United States Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet-level agency.
President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian, British India.
At noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Rush of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000.
Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.
The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.
Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam fails and sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
Bangui is founded by Albert Dolisie and Alfred Uzac in what was then the upper reaches of the French Congo.
Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships vote to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population at the time.
The Great Fire of Spokane, Washington destroys some 32 blocks of the city, prompting a mass rebuilding project.
William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut is granted United States Patent Number 408,709 for "Coin-controlled apparatus for telephones."
The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a metre.
Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfield Oration, effectively starting the federation process in Australia.
Pioneering female journalist Nellie Bly (aka Elizabeth Cochrane) begins a successful attempt to travel around the world in less than 80 days. She completes the trip in 72 days.
Brazil is declared a republic by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca as Emperor Pedro II is deposed in a military coup.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.