1887 CE

The first international telephone line in Europe is opened to the public between Brussels and Paris. Udston mining disaster in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland: 73 coal miners die in a firedamp explosion at Udston Colliery. James Blyth operates the first working wind turbine at Marykirk, Scotland.

In the 1880s, the 19th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 20 – The United States Senate allows the United States Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.source
  • 21 February – German federal election, 1887Germanysource
  • June 18 – The Reinsurance Treaty is closed between Germany and Russia.source
  • June 21 – Zululand becomes a British colony.source
  • July 6 – King Kalākaua of Hawai'i is forced by anti-monarchists to sign the 'Bayonet Constitution', stripping the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, as well as disenfranchising most native Hawaiians, all Asians and the poor.source
  • October 1 – The British Empire takes over Balochistan.source
  • 2 October – Prime Minister Crispi visits Germany and meets German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, for consultation upon the working of the Triple Alliance.Italysource
  • October 17 – French Indochina was established, comprising (Lower) Cochinchina, (Upper) Annam, Tonkin, and Cambodia.source
  • 20 November - The radical left wing Democrat Party is founded.Chilesource
  • 1 December - Sino-Portuguese Treaty of PekingChinasource
  • 1 December – Signing of the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking, when sovereignty over Macau was surrendered to Portugal, or as in the Chinese interpretation, only administrative rights were transferredPortugalsource
  • Taiwan becomes a Chinese provincesource
  • Progressive Party founded, led by Paul JansonBelgiumsource
  • Rodrigues Alves, future President of Brazil, becomes president of the province of São Paulo.Brazilsource
  • Men's doubles – P. Fenwicke and M. FenwickeNew Zealandsource

Conflict & Security

  • January 24 – Battle of Dogali: Abyssinian troops defeat the Italians.source
  • 25 January – Italian troops move into the hinterland of Massawa, territory claimed by Ethiopia, brought her forces into conflict with those of Ethiopia, specifically those of Ras Alula, governor of Mareb Mellash. On 24 or 25 January 1887, Alula attacked the Italian fort at Saati. In the ensuing skirmish, his troops were beaten back.Italysource
  • 26 January – An Ethiopian force of about 15,000 men ambushed an Italian battalion sent to reinforce Saati and almost annihilated it at the Battle of Dogali, 10 mi west of Massawa. The Italian response was immediate. The Italian parliament voted 5,000,000 lire for troops to reinforce Massawa. An Italian force was sent to garrison the interior, while Emperor Yohannes IV withdrew his forces to avoid confrontation. Disease ravaged the Italian troops and they were pulled out in March 1887, ending the first phase of the war. The battle marks the start of the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889.Italysource
  • February 8 – The Dawes Act, or the General Allotment Act, is enacted in the United States.source
  • April 20−30 – Schnaebele incident: A French/German border incident nearly leads to war between the two countries.source
  • May 25 – The Hells Canyon massacre begins: 34 Chinese gold miners are ambushed and murdered in Hells Canyon, Oregon, United States.source
  • 21 June – Jubilee Plot: Clan na Gael supporters land in Britain from the United States to commit terrorist offences.United Kingdomsource
  • 24 August – Soldiers fire upon Ostend trawlermen protesting the favouritism shown to British trawlermenBelgiumsource
  • 1 November – The Helvetia wrecked off Worms Head, Rhossili (remains can still be seen at low tide).Walessource
  • November 13 – Bloody Sunday: Police in London clash with radical and Irish nationalist protesters.source
  • 13 November – Bloody Sunday: Police in London clash with radical and Irish nationalist protesters.Irelandsource
  • 21–28 April – The Schnaebele incident nearly leads to war between France and Germany.Francesource
  • Defence Forces Cemetery of TallinnRussiasource

Exploration & Expansion

  • February 4 – The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, passed by the 49th United States Congress, is signed into law by President Grover Cleveland.source
  • October – Cape Central – Worcester to Roodewal, 42 mi.South Africasource
  • November – Park Deer Raid in the Outer Hebrides: a mass poaching expedition by dispossessed crofters turns into a riot.Scotlandsource
  • 17 December – English adventurer Thomas Stevens concludes the first circumnavigation by bicycle in Yokohama, having set out on his penny-farthing from San Francisco in 1884.United Kingdomsource
  • Italian ethnologist Guido Boggiani travels through the interior of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay to document the lives of Indians in the region.Brazilsource
  • British Settlements Act (British statute)Indiasource
  • A Country Cobbler, naturalist is painted by Harriet Backer.Norwaysource
  • The Old Blacksmith's Shop at Gretna Green is promoted as a visitor attraction.Scotlandsource
  • Wales play their first international in Llanelli; though the original venue of Stradey Park is moved to a local cricket pitch due to a frozen pitch.Walessource

Religion & Belief

  • 24 May – The new Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral, designed by Pugin, is opened.Walessource
  • 6 July - Establishment of the Vicariate Apostolic of Southern ShensiChinasource
  • 21 December – Achel Abbey buys the buildings of Rochefort Abbey to restore the monastery thereBelgiumsource
  • December – The Scots Magazine resumes publication in Perth.Scotlandsource
  • The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is founded.source
  • Monarch – Umberto I (1878–1900)Italysource
  • Singles – S. Manning (Christchurch)New Zealandsource
  • To Venner (hellemyrsfolket), is written by Amalie Skram.Norwaysource
  • Saint Gregory the Illuminator's Church, BakuRussiasource

Economy & Finance

  • March 3 – The United States imposes the Fisheries Retaliation Act putting limits on Canadian fishermen and tradersCanadasource
  • 23 May – Slagelse B&I is founded in Slagelse.Denmarksource
  • 20 June – Jubilee coinage first issued, including the only issue of a double florin.United Kingdomsource
  • June 28 – Minot, North Dakota, is incorporated as a city.source
  • 14 July – A strict protectionist tariff is established in Italy in an attempt to support fledgling industry, applicable from 1 January 1888. It marked the start of a tariff war with France that led to the economic crisis of 1888-1894.Italysource
  • October 12 – Yamaha Corporation, the global musical instrument and audiovisual brand, is founded as Yamaha Organ Manufacturing in Hamamatsu, Japan.source
  • December 25 – Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whisky is first produced.source
  • Nagase Shoten (長瀬商店), predecessor of Japanese cosmetics and toiletry brand Kao Corporation, is founded in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan.source
  • Tokyo Fire Insurance, predecessor of Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, is founded.source
  • American financial services company A. G. Edwards is founded by General Albert Gallatin Edwards in St. Louis, Missouri.source
  • Global construction and real estate development company Skanska is founded in Malmö, Sweden.source
  • Conversion Of India Stock Act (British statute)Indiasource
  • George Roe & Company Distillers becomes the largest distillery in Europe.Irelandsource
  • Richard John Lloyd Price establishes a Welsh whisky distillery on his Rhiwlas estate at Frongoch.Walessource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • January 22 - Tōkyō Denkō begins selling electric lights.Japansource
  • January 28 – Construction work begins on the foundations of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.source
  • February 5 – The 1887 Hartford Railroad Disaster leaves thirty-seven dead in Vermont.source
  • February 24 – The first international telephone line in Europe is opened to the public between Brussels and Paris.source
  • 24 February – The first international telephone line in Europe is opened to the public between Brussels and ParisBelgiumsource
  • February – The Atlanta Cyclorama is first displayed in Detroit as "Logan's Great Battle".United Statessource
  • March 3 – Anne Sullivan begins teaching Helen Keller.source
  • March 13 – Chester Greenwood patents earmuffs in the United States.source
  • 9 May – Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show opens in London.United Kingdomsource
  • June 8 – Herman Hollerith receives a U.S. patent for his punched card calculator.source
  • June 21 – The Nederlandsche-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NZASM) is floated.South Africasource
  • 22 June – The Fremantle Town Hall is opened.Australiasource
  • July 1 – Construction of the iron structure of the Eiffel Tower starts in Paris, France.source
  • July 19 – Dorr Eugene Felt receives the first U.S. patent for his comptometer.source
  • July – James Blyth operates the first working wind turbine at Marykirk, Scotland.source
  • July – James Blyth operates the world's first working wind turbine at Marykirk.Scotlandsource
  • 24 August – Roath Dock opened in Cardiff Docks; the first sod of Roath Park is dug.Walessource
  • November 8 – Emile Berliner is granted a U.S. patent for the Berliner Gramophone.source
  • Heyl & Patterson Inc., a pioneer in coal unloading equipment, is founded by Edmund W. Heyl and William J. Patterson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.source
  • Publication in Barcelona of Enrique Gaspar's El anacronópete, the first work of fiction to feature a time machine.source
  • The first battery rail car is used on the Royal Bavarian State Railways.source

Science & Discovery

  • 1 January – Clement Wragge is appointed Government Meteorologist for QueenslandAustraliasource
  • February 26 – At the Sydney Cricket Ground, George Lohmann becomes the first bowler to take eight wickets, in a Test innings.source
  • 1 October – A. G. Sheath, with Shot Put, 10.21 m at Napier, makes the first performance to be recognised as a national record.New Zealandsource
  • Results of the Michelson–Morley experiment are published, indicating that the speed of light is independent of motion.source
  • Heinrich Hertz discovers the photoelectric effect on the production and reception of electromagnetic (EM) waves (radio); this is an important step towards the understanding of the quantum nature of light.source
  • Franz König publishes "Über freie Körper in den Gelenken" in the medical journal Deutsche Zeitschrift für Chirurgie, describing (and naming) the disease Osteochondritis dissecans for the first time.source
  • The Petri dish is created by German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri.Germanysource
  • Heinrich Hertz discovers the photoelectric effect on the production and reception of electromagnetic waves in radio, an important step towards the understanding of the quantum nature of light.Germanysource
  • Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick invents the contact lens, made of a type of brown glass.Germanysource
  • Appellate Jurisdiction Act (British statute)Indiasource
  • William Ewart Gladstone publishes Handbook of Home Rule.Irelandsource
  • Mixed doubles – ?. Hudson and K. HitchingsNew Zealandsource

Health & Medicine

  • January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher.source
  • 11 January – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the French Academy of Medicine by Dr. Joseph Grancher.Francesource
  • 31 March – St. John Ambulance Brigade formed.United Kingdomsource
  • 1 April – Glasgow Botanic Gardens management taken over by town council.Scotlandsource
  • August – The earliest constituent of the U.S. National Institutes of Health is established at the Marine Hospital, Staten Island, as the Laboratory of Hygiene.source
  • August – The U.S. National Institutes of Health is founded at the Marine Hospital, Staten Island, New York, as the Laboratory of Hygiene.United Statessource
  • September- 1887 Yellow River flood- an estimated 1-2 million people die and up to another 2 million die in a pandemic in the following monthsChinasource
  • Census finds a population of 401,520,392Chinasource
  • Friedrich Loeffler creates Löffler's serum, a coagulated blood serum used for the detection of the bacteria.Germanysource
  • The Hospitals Association establishes the first (non-statutory and voluntary) register of nurses in the UK.United Kingdomsource

Crime & Justice

  • 7 March–18 April – The Times publishes a series of articles on "Parnellism and Crime" quoting letters, subsequently confessed to be forgeries, intended to discredit Charles Stewart Parnell by appearing to show him as implicated in illegal activities, in particular, support for the 1882 Phoenix Park Murders.United Kingdomsource
  • 29 March – the Criminal Law and Procedure (Ireland) Act 1887 is introduced by Arthur Balfour in response to the boycott of certain landlords by their tenants (led by the Irish National Land League), suspending the right to trial of people suspected of involvement in the boycott. The act is passed in September, despite protests from Liberal and Home Rule Members of Parliament, and will continue in force until 1890.Irelandsource
  • July 6 – Berthe bombing, targeting a Parisian landowner in conflict with several Italian anarchists. Nobody is sentenced but Vittorio Pini and Paolo Chiericotti are heavily suspected by French authorities.source
  • November 10 – Louis Lingg, sentenced to be hanged for his alleged role in the Haymarket affair (a bombing in Chicago on May 4, 1886), kills himself by dynamite.source
  • November 11 – August Spies, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer and George Engel are hanged for inciting riot and murder in the Haymarket affair.source
  • James Ensor, Carnaval sur la plageBelgiumsource
  • The Thorvaldsen Rxhibition Medal is awarded to Otto Haslund fpr the painting Concerto and Hans Michael Therkildsen for Køerne vandes,Denmarksource
  • Guy de Maupassant - Le Rosier de Madame HussonFrancesource
  • India formed the Central Special Branch, now called the Intelligence Bureau (IB). It is India's equivalent to the US's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Intelligence Bureau is said to be the oldest organization of its type.Indiasource
  • Albertine i politilægens venteværelse, is painted by Christian Krohg.Norwaysource
  • The Turner House Gallery, Penarth, is built to house the art collection of Major James Pyke Thompson.Walessource

Disasters & Accidents

  • January 20 – British emigrant ship Kapunda sinks after a collision off the coast of Brazil, killing 303 with only 16 survivors.source
  • 20 January – Emigrant ship Kapunda sinks after a collision off the coast of Brazil, killing 303 with only 16 survivors.United Kingdomsource
  • 18 February – National Colliery disaster at Cwtch in the Rhondda: an underground explosion kills thirty miners.United Kingdomsource
  • March 23 – The DS «Vardøhus» whaler sinks outside the town of Mandal in Norway. 46 dead.source
  • 11 May – Ship Darling Downs with 7725 bales of Australian wool sinks at Nore after collision with BritanniaAustraliasource
  • 28 May – Udston mining disaster in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland: 73 coal miners die in a firedamp explosion at Udston Colliery.Scotlandsource
  • September 5 – The Theatre Royal, Exeter, England, burns down, killing 186 people.source
  • 5 September – Theatre Royal, Exeter burns down, and 186 people die.United Kingdomsource
  • 19 October – The Sydney-bound steamer SS Cheviot is wrecked near Point Nepean, Victoria, claiming 35 lives.Australiasource

Climate & Environment

  • January 21 – Brisbane receives a one-day rainfall of 465 mm (a record for any Australian capital city).source
  • 21 January – Brisbane receives a daily rainfall of 465 millimetres (18.3 inches), a record for any Australian capital city.Australiasource
  • January 28 – In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the largest snowflakes on record are reported. They are 15 in wide and 8 in thick.source
  • January 28 – In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the largest snowflakes on record are reported. They are 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.United Statessource
  • February 2 – The first Groundhog Day is observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.source
  • February 2 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.United Statessource
  • February 23 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000 along the coast of the Mediterranean.source
  • 23 February – The French Riviera is hit by a powerful earthquake originating in Liguria, killing around 2,000 along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.Francesource
  • 23 February – The 1887 Liguria earthquake strikes off the coast of Imperia, with an estimated moment magnitude of 6.8–6.9, killing about 600–3,000 people. It also generated a tsunami that had a run-up height of 2 meters.Italysource
  • 22 April – A cyclone hits a pearling fleet off Eighty Mile Beach, 120 men drown.Australiasource
  • May 3 – An earthquake hits Sonora, Mexico.source
  • June 23 – The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada, creating that nation's first national park, Banff National Park.source
  • 26 June – the highest temperature ever recorded in Ireland, 33.3C (91.9F) at Kilkenny Castle.Irelandsource
  • September 28 – The 1887 Yellow River flood begins in China, killing 900,000 to 2,000,000 people.source

Culture & Society

  • January 21 – The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is formed in the United States.source
  • February 5 – The Giuseppe Verdi opera Otello premieres at La Scala, Milan.source
  • March 7 – North Carolina State University is established, as North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.source
  • April 1 – The final of the first All-Ireland Hurling Championship is held.source
  • April 4 – Argonia, Kansas, elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.source
  • April 10 (Easter Sunday) – The Catholic University of America is founded in Washington, D.C.source
  • April 20 – Occidental College is founded in Los Angeles, California.source
  • May 5 – Ricardo Palma founds the Peruvian Academy of Language.source
  • May 14 – The cornerstone of the new Stanford University, in northern California, is laid (the college opens in 1891).source
  • June 20 – The British Empire celebrates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, marking the 50th year of her reign.source
  • June 20 – Golden Jubilee of Victoria's accession as QueenCanadasource
  • June 29 – The United Retail Federation is established in Brisbane, Australia.source
  • June – The Clube Militar, founded by Benjamin Constant and Deodoro da Fonseca, holds its first meeting.Brazilsource
  • The Stellenbosch Gymnasium, later to become the Stellenbosch University, changes its name to Victoria College, after Queen Victoria.South Africasource
  • July 12 – Odense Boldklub, the Danish football team, is founded as the Odense Cricket Club.source
  • July 26 – L. L. Zamenhof publishes "Unua Libro" (Dr. Esperanto's International Language), the first description of Esperanto, the constructed international auxiliary language.source
  • August 13 – Hibernian F.C. of Scotland defeats Preston North End F.C. of England to win the 'Championship of the World', after the two teams win the Association football Cup competitions in their respective countries.source
  • 29 September – Football club Hamburger SV was founded.Germanysource
  • October 3 – Florida A&M University opens in Tallahassee, Florida.source
  • October 18 – Johannes Brahms conducts the premiere of his Double Concerto, composed for violinist Joseph Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann.source
  • November 3 – The Coimbra Academic Association, the students' union of the University of Coimbra in Portugal, is founded.source
  • November 6 – The Association football club Celtic F.C. is formed in Glasgow, Scotland, by Irish Marist Brother Walfrid, to help alleviate poverty in the city's East End by raising money for his charity, the 'Poor Children's Dinner Table'.source
  • Arthur Conan Doyle's detective character Sherlock Holmes makes his first appearance, in the novel A Study in Scarlet, published in Beeton's Christmas Annual.source
  • December 4 – Örgryte IS, the Swedish football team is founded by Wilhelm Friberg.source
  • December 5 – The International Bureau of Intellectual Property is established.source
  • The first English-language edition of Friedrich Engels' 1844 study of The Condition of the Working Class in England, translated by Florence Kelley, is published in New York City.source
  • Publication begins of Futabatei Shimei's The Drifting Cloud (Ukigumo), the first modern novel in Japan.source
  • Teachers College, later part of Columbia University, is founded.source
  • 26 Sept – The Celtic Club Melbourne is formed and remains today as Australia's oldest Irish ClubAustraliasource
  • Brussels City Museum inauguratedBelgiumsource
  • Trinity College London examiners conducted music examinations in Mumbai for the first time.Indiasource
  • Sjur Gabriel (Hellemyrsfolket), Naturalist book is written by Amalie Skram.Norwaysource

Births

  • February 20 – Vincent Massey, Governor General of Canada (died 1967)source
  • March 25 – Chūichi Nagumo, admiral (died 1944)Japansource
  • 1 April – Aurel Aldea, lieutenant general during World War II, Interior Minister, and anti-communist resistance leader, died in Aiud Prison (died 1949).Romaniasource
  • May 22 – Jim Thorpe, American athlete (died 1953)source
  • May 31 – Saint-John Perse, French diplomat, writer and Nobel Prize laureate (died 1975)source
  • July 7 – Marc Chagall, Russian-born French painter (died 1985)source
  • July 18 – Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian politician, traitor (died 1945)source
  • July 28 – Marcel Duchamp, French artist (died 1968)source
  • August 17 – Marcus Garvey, Jamaican-born American publisher, entrepreneur and Pan Africanist (died 1940)source
  • September 13 - Rodriguez Garcia-UrizaCosta Ricasource
  • September 28 – Avery Brundage, American sports official, 5th President of the International Olympic Committee (died 1975)source
  • October 6 – Le Corbusier, Swiss architect (died 1965)source
  • October 10 – Reza Afshar, Iranian politician.Iransource
  • October 31 – Chiang Kai-shek, 1st president of the Republic of China (died 1975)source
  • November 15 – Georgia O'Keeffe, American painter (died 1986)source
  • November 17 – Bernard Montgomery, British World War II commander (died 1976)source
  • November 24 – Erich von Manstein, German field marshal (died 1973)source
  • December 22 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (died 1920)source

Deaths