1883 CE

Battle of Gia Cuc: A French force defeats the Vietnamese in northern Vietnam in the run-up to the Sino-French War. The Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional, since the Court allows private individuals and corporations to discriminate based on race. In five Civil Rights Cases the Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional, allowing individuals and corporations to discriminate based on race.

In the 1880s, the 19th century.

1883 at a glance

World population: about 1.44 billion Our World in Data
U.S. president: Chester A. Arthur Wikidata
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, head of state: Victoria Wikidata
Canada, head of government: John A. Macdonald Wikidata

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 16 – The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States civil service, is passed.source
9 February – Viceroy Lord Ripon's partial reversal of the Ilbert Bill (1883), a legislative measure that had proposed putting Indian judges in the Bengal Presidency on equal footing with British ones, that transformed the discontent into political action.India source
February 27 – Ontario election: Sir Oliver Mowat's Liberals win a fourth consecutive majorityCanada source
20 March – Belgium a signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.Belgium source
June 13 – Count Arvid Posse leaves office as Prime Minister of Sweden. He is succeeded by Carl Johan Thyselius, the first non-aristocrat (Swedish; "ofrälse") to serve as Swedish head of government, and Prime Minister.source
August 6 – The United States of Stellaland is established when the Republics of Stellaland and Goshen unite.South Africa source
18 August – Ion Brătianu signs the secret Romanian-Austro-Hungarian Alliance Treaty, which aligns the country with the Triple Alliance.Romania source
September 30 - Mossoró, in the province of Rio Grande do Norte, is the first city in Brazil to abolish slavery.Brazil source
October 20 – Peru and Chile sign the Treaty of Ancón, by which the Tarapacá province is ceded to Chile, ending Peru's involvement in the War of the Pacific.source
26 November – An Australasian Inter-Colonial Conference is held in Sydney. Federation and annexation of surrounding islands are discussed by the Australian colonies, New Zealand and Fiji.Australia source
December 21 – The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, are formed.source
The Mexican government passes a law allowing real estate companies (controlled by General Porfirio Díaz's political associates) to survey public and "vacant" lands, and to retain one third of the land they survey.source
The British Parliament considers a major bill to allow Indian judges to try Europeans in India. The British community rises in protest, and defeats the measure.source
New Zealand Cup winner: TasmanNew Zealand source

Conflict & Security

January 8 — January 19 – Trial of the 66 in Lyon, targeting the Black International in France.source
March 28 – Battle of Gia Cuc: A French force defeats the Vietnamese in northern Vietnam in the run-up to the Sino-French War.source
May 19 - Battle of Cầu Giấy (Paper Bridge)China source
19 May – Battle of Paper Bridge, French defeat by Black Flag forces.France source
10 July - Battle of HuamachucoChile source
July 22 – Zulu King Cetshwayo barely escapes a rebel attack with his life.source
July 22 – Zulu King Cetshwayo barely escapes with his life in a rebel attack.South Africa source
September 11 – Major Evelyn Baring becomes Consul-General of Egypt under British rule.source
October 15 – The Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional, since the Court allows private individuals and corporations to discriminate based on race.United States source
October 16 – In five Civil Rights Cases the Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional, allowing individuals and corporations to discriminate based on race.source
October 30 – Two Clan na Gael dynamite bombs explode in the London Underground, injuring several people. The next day, British Home Secretary Vernon Harcourt drafts 300 policemen to guard the underground, and introduces the Explosives Bill.source
30 October – two Clan na Gael dynamite bombs explode in the London Underground, injuring several people. Next day the British Home Secretary, William Vernon Harcourt, introduces the Explosives Bill.Ireland source
30 October – two Clan na Gael dynamite bombs explode in the London Underground, injuring several people. Next day Home Secretary William Vernon Harcourt drafts 300 policemen to guard the Underground and introduces the Explosives Bill.United Kingdom source
November 3 – The 14th Century AH begins in the Islamic calendar on the 1st of Muharram, 1301 AH.source
December 16 – Tonkin Campaign: French forces capture the Sơn Tây citadel.source
First Wales match against Scotland. Wales lose by three goals to one.Wales source

Exploration & Expansion

5 May – Cape Western – Muizenberg to Kalkbaai, 1 mi 45 ch.South Africa source
12 May – A German merchant Adolf Lüderitz purchases and takes possession of land in South-West Africa, which subsequently forms the basis of the first German colony of German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika).Germany source
October 1 – In Amsterdam, the first International Colonial and Export Exhibition closes, having had over 1 million visitors.source
October 4 – The Orient Express train begins to run through from Paris Gare de l'Est to Giurgiu in Romania, with onward ferry and train connections to Istanbul (the train has been running since June 5 as far as Vienna).source
15 October – Cape Eastern – Queenstown to Sterkstroom, 35 mi 28 ch.South Africa source
16 October – Cape Midland – Cradock to Colesberg, 126 mi 19 ch.South Africa source
Boundary rider Charles Rath discovers the Line of Lode, a massive silver deposit near the town of Broken Hill, New South Wales.Australia source
The Calcutta International Exhibition world's fair was held from the end of 1883 to March 1884India source
Scotlands first home international game played at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh.Scotland source
Home and Colonial Stores established as grocers, in London.United Kingdom source

Religion & Belief

January 21 - Elias Augusto da Silva launches the Reformador, a revision of the Federação Espírita Brasileira.Brazil source
17 March Ireland 1–1 Wales (in Belfast)Ireland source
29 March – Edward Benson enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.United Kingdom source
12 June – The first Australasian headquarters of the Salvation Army opened in Melbourne.Australia source
September 1 – Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Supremi apostolatus officio ("On Devotion of the Rosary").source
Antoni Gaudí begins to work on the Sagrada Família Cathedral in Barcelona (it was consecrated in 2010)source
5 to 10 June – Third International Eucharistic Congress held in Liège, with over 10,000 in attendance.Belgium source
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (completed)Russia source
Raith Rovers F.C. is established in Kirkcaldy.Scotland source
Robert Williams (Trebor Mai) – Gwaith Barddonol Trebor Mai (posthumously published)Wales source

Economy & Finance

13 August – Coventry City F.C. are formed as "Singers F.C."United Kingdom source
The J. Boag & Son brewery is established in Launceston, Tasmania.Australia source
Emil Christian Hansen from Carlsberg develops a method for propagating pure yeast which revolutionises the brewing industry. The yeast is named Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis after the brewery.Denmark source
Harboe's Brewery is founded in Skælskør.Denmark source
German company AEG is founded in Berlin.Germany source
the New Zealand Shipping Company was formed in Christchurch.New Zealand source
A depression starts in Seattle, Washington, United States.United States source
Depression of 1882–85 (1882–1885)United States source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 19 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires begins service in Roselle, New Jersey, United States, installed by Thomas Edison.source
January 19 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires begins service in Roselle, New Jersey (it was built by Thomas Edison).United States source
February 15 – Tokyo Electrical Lightning Grid, predecessor of Tokyo Electrical Power (TEPCO), one of the largest electrical grids in Asia and the world, is founded in Japan.source
February 23 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law.source
March 20 – The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is held.source
April 5 – Oxygen is liquefied for the first time.source
May 24 – Brooklyn Bridge is opened to traffic in New York City, after 13 years of construction.source
14 June – A rail service between Sydney and Melbourne commences when the NSW and Victorian rail systems are joined at Albury.Australia source
June 28 – In Milan, Italy, the first central European electricity power station is inaugurated.source
July 4 – The world's first rodeo is held in Pecos, Texas.source
July 24 - Campos dos Goytacazes, in the province of Rio de Janeiro, is the first city in Brazil to have street lights.Brazil source
September 29 – A consortium of flour mill operators in Minneapolis forms the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie and Atlantic Railway, as a means to get their product to the Great Lakes ports, avoiding the high tariffs of Chicago.source
15 October – Inauguration of Palais de Justice, Brussels.Belgium source
October 22 – The Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram in Vienna (Austria) is the first electric tram powered by overhead wire.source
November 18 – U.S. and Canadian railroads institute 5 standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.source
ASEA is founded by Ludvig Fredholm in Sweden, predecessor of the global electronic equipment and engineering business ABB.source
Construction of Speicherstadt as a free zone in the Port of Hamburg begins.source
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in Marylandsource
During construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883, blasting and excavation reveal high concentrations of nickel–copper ore at Murray Mine, on the edge of the Sudbury Basin, located near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.source
Nickel-copper ore is discovered at Murray Mine in Sudbury during construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).Canada source
Hofskirkja is constructed in Hof in South Iceland.Iceland source
1883–84 New Zealand cricket seasonNew Zealand source
Eighteen 3rd Class 4-4-0 tender passenger locomotives are delivered to the Cape Government Railways from Neilson and Company and placed in passenger service out of Cape Town, East London and Port Elizabeth respectively.South Africa source

Science & Discovery

1 January – Augustus Pitt Rivers takes office as Britain's first Inspector of Ancient Monuments.United Kingdom source
March 2 – The Hong Kong Observatory is established.source
April 30 – New York Governor Grover Cleveland signs a bill authorizing protection of land for Niagara Falls State Park, which would eventually lead to the Niagara Reservation being established two years later in 1885.United States source
11 October – The Russian tsar family departs from Copenhagen.Denmark source
Fernand Khnopff, Listening to Schumann; Portrait de Mademoiselle Van der HechtBelgium source
The Schotten-Baumann reaction is first described in 1883 by German chemists Carl Schotten and Eugen Baumann.Germany source

Health & Medicine

May 31 – Otto von Bismarck pushes the first social security law through the Reichstag. It establishes a system of Publicly funded health care, one of the first worldwide. It is signed into law on June 15.source
June 16 – Victoria Hall disaster: A rush for treats results in 183 children being asphyxiated in a concert hall in Sunderland, England.source
16 June – Victoria Hall disaster: A rush for treats results in 183 children being asphyxiated in a concert hall in Sunderland.United Kingdom source
1 November – Mater Infirmorum Hospital in Belfast admits its first patients.Ireland source
Bernard Kroger establishes the first Kroger grocery store, in Cincinnati, Ohio.source
Augusta Stowe, daughter of Emily Stowe, is the first woman graduated by the Toronto Medical School.Canada source
Medicine Hat is settled by European Canadians when the CPR crosses the South Saskatchewan River.Canada source
Germany gets the world's first national social health insurance system by legislation of Otto von Bismarck's social legislation, which included the Health Insurance Bill of 1883.Germany source
Susan Hayhurst becomes first woman to get a pharmacy degree in the United States.United States source

Crime & Justice

19 February: Pacifist leaders Te Whiti o Rongomai and To hu are released from prison, where they had been held without trial since November 1881.New Zealand source
April 13 – In Colorado, prospector Alferd Packer convicted of manslaughter after being accused of cannibalism.United States source
11 May – William Morris registers his Strawberry Thief printed textile design.United Kingdom source
November 3 – American Old West: Self-described Black Bart the Po-8 makes his last stagecoach robbery, but leaves a handkerchief with a laundry mark that eventually leads to his capture.source
The Black Arabs F.C (later Bristol Rovers) in Englandsource
Joseph Poelaert, Palais de Justice, BrusselsBelgium source
The Thorvaldsen Exhibition Medal is awarded to Thorvald Niss for Winter Scene from Folehaven and Bertha Wegmann for Portrait of the Artist's Sister.Denmark source
Émile Zola - Au Bonheur des Dames / Pot-BouilleFrance source
Moscow Society of Stamp CollectorsRussia source
Welsh-Canadian artist Robert Harris is commissioned to paint the Meeting of the Delegates of British North America.Wales source

Disasters & Accidents

January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people.source
January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee kills 73 people.United States source
27 January – In the same storm, the James Gray is wrecked on Tusker Rocks, Porthcawl, and the Agnes Jack off Port Eynon. The Mumbles lifeboat puts out, and 5 of its crew are drowned in the rescue attempt, in which Jessie Ace and Margaret Wright assist.Wales source
16 February – Six million tons of rock collapse at the Welsh Slate Company's underground quarry at Blaenau Ffestiniog.Wales source
15 March – Fenian dynamite campaign: An explosion at the Local Government Board, Charles Street, Mayfair (Westminster) causes over £4,000 worth of damage and some minor injuries to people nearby. A second bomb at The Times newspaper offices in Queen Victoria Street, London does not explode.United Kingdom source
May 30 – A rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse causes a stampede, which crushes 12 people.source
May 30 – In New York City, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse causes a stampede which crushes 12 people.United States source
July 3 – The SS Daphne sinks on launch in Glasgow, Scotland, leaving 124 dead.source
3 July – SS Daphne sinks on launch at Alexander Stephen and Sons' Linthouse shipyard, leaving 124 dead.Scotland source
3 July – SS Daphne sinks on launch in Glasgow, leaving 124 dead.United Kingdom source
31 October – 18 people are drowned when the German barque Alhambra sinks off Holyhead.Wales source

Climate & Environment

May 20 – 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, Indonesiasource
August 21 – 1883 Rochester tornado: An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.source
August 26–27 – 1883 eruption of Krakatoa: The volcanic island of Krakatoa erupts at 10:02 am (local time); 163 villages are destroyed, 36,417 killed by tsunami.source
November–December – the Tay Whale (a humpback) appears in the Firth of Tay; on 31 December it is harpooned but escapes, dying later.Scotland source
6 December – Steamer Plantyn abandoned in the North Atlantic after being damaged in a storm.Belgium source
1882–83 New Zealand cricket seasonNew Zealand source

Culture & Society

30 January – England defeats Australia 2–1 in the 1882–83 Test cricket series, reclaiming "The Ashes" of English cricket.Australia source
February 16 – The Ladies' Home Journal is published for the first time, in the United States.source
February 28 – The first vaudeville theater is opened, in Boston, Massachusetts.source
February – The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is first published complete in book form, in Italy.source
March 9 – 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.source
April 28 – The first rugby sevens tournament is played at Melrose RFC in Scotland.source
May 23 – Robert Louis Stevenson's children's pirate adventure novel Treasure Island is first published in book format, in London.source
June 30 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Black Arrow first appears as a serial in the British magazine Young Folks; A Boys' and Girls' Paper of Instructive and Entertaining Literature as by 'Captain George North'. Stevenson completes writing it at the end of the summer in France.source
August 29 – Dunfermline Carnegie Library, the first Carnegie library, is opened in Andrew Carnegie's hometown, Dunfermline, Scotland.source
August 31 – The Calgary Herald publishes its first issueCanada source
August – King William's College is opened on the Isle of Man.source
September 5 – Mary F. Hoyt becomes the first woman appointed to the U.S. federal civil service (and the second person appointed by examination (in which she came top) instituted under the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act) when she becomes a clerk in the Bank Redemption Agency of the Department of the Treasury.United States source
September 15 – The Bombay Natural History Society is founded in India.source
September 15 – The University of Texas at Austin opens to students.source
15 September – Bombay Natural History Society foundedIndia source
September: The Waikato Mail ceases publication. The Cambridge newspaper started in 1880.New Zealand source
October 1 – Sydney Boys High School is founded in Sydney, Australia, the country's first state high school.source
October 4 – The Boys' Brigade (the first uniformed youth organization in existence) is founded in Glasgow, Scotland.source
October 24 – Cardiff University, Wales, opens (under the name of University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire).source
28 October – Founding meeting of the art association Les XX.Belgium source
November 14 – Chile's National Library of Congress is founded.source
November 28 – Whitman College is chartered as a 4-year college in Walla Walla, Washington.source
December 1 – Battleford Industrial School, the first government-operated Indian residential school opens in Canada.source
December 26 – The Harbour Grace Affray takes place in Harbour Grace, Colony of Newfoundland.source
The first purebred Percheron (horse) stud book is created in France.source
The Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen is opened.Germany source
The novel Bondestudentar (English: Peasant students), written by Arne Garborg, is published.Norway source

Births

January 3 – Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1967)source
March 4 – Sam Langford, Canadian boxer (died 1956)source
March 19 – Joseph Stilwell, American general (died 1946)source
April 15 – Stanley Bruce, 8th Prime Minister of Australia (died 1967)source
May 5 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, British field marshal (died 1950)source
May 18 - Eurico Gaspar Dutra, minister of war 1936-1945, president 1946-1951Brazil source
May 25 – Lesley J. McNair, American general (died 1944)source
May 28 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian pro-independence activist, Hindu nationalist (died 1966)source
June 5 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist (died 1946)source
June 28 – Pierre Laval, Prime Minister of France (died 1945)source
July 3 – Franz Kafka, Austrian writer (died 1924)source
July 29 – Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy (died 1945)source
August 19 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer (died 1971)source
October 5 – Joseph Hubert Priestley, British botanist (died 1944)source
December 3 – Anton Webern, Austrian composer (died 1945)source
30 December (in Portuguese colony Macau) – João Tamagnini Barbosa, military officer and politician (died in 1948)Portugal source
date unknown - Jerónimo Lagos Lisboa (died 1958)Chile source
? – Abdolhossein Teymourtash, Iranian politician.Iran source

Deaths

January 10 – Samuel Mudd, American doctor to John Wilkes Booth (born 1833)source
January 23 – Gustave Doré, French artist (born 1832)source
February 13 – Richard Wagner, German composer (born 1813)source
26 February – Miguel Ângelo Lupi, painter (born 1826)Portugal source
March 4 – Alexander Hamilton Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (born 1812)source
March 14 – Karl Marx, German communist philosopher (born 1818)source
14 March – Karl Marx, German philosopher, economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist (born 1818)Germany source
April 4 – Peter Cooper, American industrialist, inventor and philanthropist (born 1791)source
April 30 – Édouard Manet, French painter (born 1832)source
May 1 - Qorpo-Santo (real name José Joaquim de Campos Leão), journalist and playwrightBrazil source
May 24 – Keʻelikōlani, princess of Hawaii (born 1826)source
May 26 – Abdelkader El Djezairi, Algerian leader (born 1808)source
July 24 – Matthew Webb, English sailor, first recorded person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids (born 1848)source
August 12 – The last quagga dies at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam.source
September 3 – Ivan Turgenev, Russian writer (born 1818)source
September 23: Seah Eu Chin, SingaporeChina source
October 30 – Dayananda Saraswati, Hindu religious leader (born 1824)source
December 5 – Bisbee Massacre: Five people are killed in the robbery of a general store by bandits in Bisbee, Arizona.source