1892 CE

In Samoa, 1892 had 367 days instead of 366, repeating July 4 twice. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west.

In the 1890s, the 19th century.

1892 at a glance

World population
about 1.54 billion Our World in Data
United States
Benjamin Harrison (President) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
United Kingdom
Victoria (Queen); Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, then William Ewart Gladstone (Prime minister) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
Russian Empire
Alexander III (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
Qing dynasty
Guangxu (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
French Third Republic
Marie François Sadi Carnot (President); Charles de Freycinet, then Alexandre Ribot (President of the Council of ministers) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602
German Empire
Wilhelm II (Emperor); Leo von Caprivi (Chancellor) Wikipedia rev. 1370561602

Who led every country in 1892 →

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing immigrants to the United States.source
  • 13 February – The Conservative Party publishes its manifesto.Romaniasource
  • March 1 – Theodoros Deligiannis ends his term as Prime Minister of Greece and Konstantinos Konstantopoulos takes office.source
  • March 6–8 – Exclusive Agreement: Rulers of six Trucial States (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras al-Khaimah and Umm al-Quwain) and Bahrain sign an agreement, by which they become de facto British protectorates.source
  • 20 April – Victoria holds a general election.Australiasource
  • May 15 – The new government headed by Giovanni Giolitti takes office after Antonio Di Rudinì lost the vote in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, because his financial policy is opposed on both the right and the left.Italysource
  • 14 June – Belgian general election, 1892Belgiumsource
  • July 4–26 – British general election: The Conservative and Liberal Unionist coalition government loses its majority in the House of Commons, eventually leading to Prime Minister Lord Salisbury's resignation on August 12.source
  • 12 July – Free State – Natal-Free State border to Harrismith, 23 mi 12 ch.South Africasource
  • July 17 – Rizal is exiled to Dapitan.Philippinessource
  • August 18 – William Ewart Gladstone assumes the U.K. premiership, as head of the Liberal government, with Irish Nationalist Party support.source
  • September 8 – The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited in the United States.source
  • 23 October - Legislative electionPortugalsource
  • November 8 – 1892 United States presidential election: Grover Cleveland is elected over Benjamin Harrison and James B. Weaver, to win the second of his non-consecutive terms.source
  • December 5 – John Thompson becomes Canada's fourth prime minister.source
  • Diplomat Henry Galway secures a treaty by which Ovonramwen, Oba of Benin, ostensibly accepts British protection for his kingdom.source
  • Colonial Probates Act (British statute)Indiasource

Conflict & Security

  • 5 March Ireland 0–2 England (in Belfast)Irelandsource
  • April 30 – Lynching of Ephraim Grizzard, an African American, in Nashville, Tennessee.United Statessource
  • April – The Johnson County War breaks out between small farmers and large ranchers in Wyoming.source
  • May 19 – Battle of Yemoja River: British troops defeat Ijebu infantry in modern-day Nigeria, using a maxim gun.source
  • May 22 – The British conquest of Ijebu Ode marks a major extension of colonial power into the Nigerian interior.source
  • June 26 – Battle of Serobeti between Italy and Mahdist Sudan.Italysource
  • June 30 – The Homestead Strike begins in Homestead, Pennsylvania, culminating in a battle between striking workers and private security agents on July 6.source
  • 2 September – Everton F. C. play their first game at their new Goodison Park stadium following their exit from Anfield earlier this year. Their first game at the stadium ends in a 2–2 draw with Nottingham Forest.United Kingdomsource
  • October 24 – Boston Beaneaters win their Fifth National League Pennant by defeating Cleveland Spiders 5 games to 0.United Statessource
  • November 8 – An anarchist bomb kills six in a police station in Avenue de l'Opéra, Paris.source
  • November 17 – French troops occupy Abomey, capital of the kingdom of Dahomey.source
  • 17 November – French troops occupy Abomey, capital of kingdom of Dahomey.Francesource
  • The Conquest of Bread by Peter KropotkinRussiasource
  • Chair – Evan Jones, "Y Cenhadwr"Walessource

Exploration & Expansion

Religion & Belief

  • February 29 – St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated as a town.source
  • 5 March – St Michael's & All Angels (Anglican) Theological College is founded at Aberdare.Walessource
  • 17 June - Establishment of the Count of Idanha-a-Nova title of nobilityPortugalsource
  • 3 September – Three years after the formation of the Football League, a Second Division is created. Its twelve members are: Small Heath of Birmingham, Sheffield United, Darwen of Lancashire, Grimsby Town, Ardwick of Manchester, Burton Swifts of Staffordshire, Northwich Victoria of Cheshire, Bootle of Liverpool, Lincoln City, Crewe Alexandra, Burslem Port Vale of Staffordshire and Walsall Town Swifts.United Kingdomsource
  • 5 October – the Australian Cricket Council announces an intercolonial cricket competition to be known as the Sheffield Shield.Australiasource
  • December 8 – The various congregations of Trappists leave the Cistercian Order entirely and merge to form a new order with the approval of Pope Leo XIII named the 'Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe', formalising their identity and spirituality as a separate monastic community.source
  • Jean-Baptiste Bethune, Maredsous Abbey (begun 1872)Belgiumsource
  • Monarch – Umberto I (1878–1900)Italysource
  • In June, the first organised Jewish community was established in Christiania, known as "Det Jødiske Samfund".Norwaysource
  • Foundation stone of new St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh laid.Scotlandsource

Economy & Finance

  • February 18 – Pennsauken Township, New Jersey is incorporated.United Statessource
  • April 15 – The General Electric Company is established through the merger of the Thomson-Houston Electric Company and the Edison General Electric Company.source
  • May 10 – Glen Ellyn, Illinois is incorporated.United Statessource
  • July 4 – Samoa changes its time zone from 4 hours ahead of Japan to being 3 hours behind California, such that it crosses the International Date Line, and Monday, July 4 occurs twice.source
  • September 15 – Sergei Witte replaces Ivan Vyshnegradsky as Russian finance minister.source
  • December 6 – Giolitti's Treasury Minister, Bernardino Grimaldi, and Agriculture Minister, Pietro Lacava, introduce a bill aimed at providing the existing banks the right to issue currency for another six years. The close friendship of Grimaldi with the governor of the Banca Romana, Bernardo Tanlongo, increased suspicion of wrongdoing in Banca Romana scandal.Italysource
  • 7 December – Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co, a leading case in English contract law.United Kingdomsource
  • December 20 – The Socialist deputy Napoleone Colajanni reads out long extracts of a report on the Banca Romana in Parliament and Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti is forced to appoint an expert commission to investigate the Banca Romana scandal.Italysource
  • Panama scandals: The Panama Canal Company bankruptcy is found to have involved over 800,000 French people (including 15,000 single women) losing their investments in stocks, bonds and founder shares of the company, to the sum of approximately 1.8 billion gold Francs.Francesource
  • Superannuation Act (British statute)Indiasource
  • The Knights of the Plough, a farm labourers' body, predecessor of the Irish Land and Labour Association, is founded by Benjamin Pellin in Narraghmore, County Kildare.Irelandsource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • 31 January - The Holmenkollen ski jump opens.Norwaysource
  • February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for a patent in Germany, on his compression ignition engine (the Diesel engine).source
  • March 15 – Jesse W. Reno patents the first escalator, installed at Coney Island as a pleasure ride.source
  • March 15 – Jesse W. Reno patents the first working escalator, used at Old Iron Pier, Coney Island, New York City.United Statessource
  • March 31 – The world's first fingerprinting bureau is formally opened by the Buenos Aires Chief of Police; it has been operating unofficially since the previous year.source
  • May 20 – The last broad gauge train runs from Paddington on the Great Western Railway of England.source
  • 20 May – The last broad gauge train runs on the Great Western Railway main line out of London Paddington station. Over the following two days, 177 route miles (285 km) of its line are converted to standard gauge.United Kingdomsource
  • June 6 – The Chicago "L" begins operation for the first time with the opening of the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad.source
  • August 9 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.source
  • 8 September – Cunard liner RMS Campania is launched by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at GovanScotlandsource
  • 13 September – The Watkin Path up Snowdon is officially opened by William Ewart Gladstone.Walessource
  • September 15 – The railway line from Cape Town via Bloemfontein, with connections to Port Elizabeth and East London, is completed to Germiston.South Africasource
  • U.S. accuses Canadian Pacific Railway of helping Chinese illegally cross border from British ColumbiaCanadasource
  • The Ministerial Residence Ráðherrabústaðurinn is constructed on Flateyri.Icelandsource

Science & Discovery

  • 11 February – Henriette Homann, photographer and painter (born 1819).Norwaysource
  • 19 March Ireland 2–3 Scotland (in Belfast)Irelandsource
  • April – First publication of The Irish NaturalistIrelandsource
  • September 9 – Amalthea, the fifth moon of Jupiter, is discovered by Edward Emerson Barnard.source
  • Viruses are first described by Russian biologist Dmitri Ivanovsky.source
  • Danish botanist Eugenius Warming gives the first detailed description of the Brazilian cerrado in his book Lagoa Santa.Brazilsource
  • 4–9 July – The 14th Scandinavian Scientist Conference is held in Copenhagen.Denmarksource
  • Winners: Linfield 7–0 The Black WatchIrelandsource
  • The discovery of viruses by Dmitri IvanovskyRussiasource

Health & Medicine

  • September 17 - inauguration of new psychiatric hospital in CaracasVenezuelasource
  • A cholera outbreak occurs in Hamburg, Germany.source
  • The Afro-Brazilian practice of Capoeira is banned (not to be re-legalised until 1937).Brazilsource
  • Free primary schooling and compulsory education up to the age of 14 is introduced through the Irish Education Act.Irelandsource
  • Alexander Grant develops the original recipe for McVitie's digestive biscuit in Edinburgh.Scotlandsource

Crime & Justice

  • 23 May – Frederick Deeming hanged at Melbourne Gaol having been unsuccessfully defended by the lawyer Alfred Deakin. Deeming was accused of committing a series of crimes on three continents – theft, perjury, fraud, bigamy and murder; he used at least 20 aliases.Australiasource
  • June 7 – Homer Plessy, a mixed-race man, is arrested for deliberately sitting in a whites-only railroad car in Louisiana, leading to the landmark United States Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson, which legitimizes "separate but equal" racial segregation in the United States.source
  • July 6 – Dr. José Rizal, Filipino writer, philosopher and political activist, is arrested by Spanish authorities in connection with La Liga Filipina.source
  • July 6 – Rizal is arrested for establishing the La Liga Filipina.Philippinessource
  • July 9 – Parliament passes the Criminal Code, 1892, the first unified criminal law for all of Canada, under the direction of the Minister of Justice, John ThompsonCanadasource
  • August 4 – The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden are found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home; she will be acquitted of their murder.source
  • August 4 – The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden are found violently murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home; she will be acquitted of their murder.United Statessource
  • October 5 – Master criminal Adam Worth is captured in Liège, Belgium, during an attempted robbery of a money delivery cart.source
  • October 5 – The Dalton Gang, attempting to rob two banks in Coffeyville, Kansas, is shot by the townspeople; only Emmett Dalton, with 23 wounds, survives, to spend 14 years in prison.source
  • 14 October – Peter Nicolai Arbo, painter (born 1831)Norwaysource
  • Théo van Rysselberghe, An EveningBelgiumsource
  • Travemünde Week in Travemünde is started.Germanysource
  • Ruggero Leoncavallo - PagliacciItalysource

Disasters & Accidents

  • May 5 – A fire ravages the Tiambeng family home in Orion, Bataan, destroying many of Francisco Balagtas' original manuscripts.Philippinessource
  • May 10 – A gas explosion at Mine No. 1 in Roslyn, Washington kills 45 miners, the worst industrial disaster in Washington State history.United Statessource
  • 21 May - The French-built monitor Solimoes is wrecked off Cape Polonio, Uruguay, with the loss of 125 lives.Brazilsource
  • June 5 – An oil fire in Oil City, Pennsylvania, United States, kills 130 people.source
  • July 8 – The Great Fire of 1892 devastates the city of St. John's, Newfoundland.source
  • July 8 – The Great Fire of 1892 destroys two-thirds of St. John's, NewfoundlandCanadasource
  • 26 August – An underground explosion at Parc Slip Colliery, Aberkenfig, Glamorgan, kills 110 people.United Kingdomsource
  • November 24 – The Hotel Zinzendorf catches fire in the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; 45 people die.source
  • 26 November – The original Jenners department store in Edinburgh is destroyed by fire.Scotlandsource
  • Newspaper coverage of Great Fire of St. John's, NewfoundlandCanadasource
  • A large fire destroyed a significant portion of the capital, Christiania (Oslo), in July.Norwaysource

Climate & Environment

  • 3 February – Jørund Telnes, farmer, teacher, writer and politician (born 1845).Norwaysource
  • February 23 – The 7.1–7.2 Mw Laguna Salada earthquake shakes Southern California and northern Mexico with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe).United Statessource
  • March 17 – The St. Patrick's Day Snowstorm besieges Tennessee with upwards of 26 inches of snow, establishing accumulation records that still stand.source
  • April 19 – The 6.4 M La Vacaville–Winters earthquake shakes the North Bay are of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). This first event in a doublet earthquake results in one death and is followed two days later by a 6.2 M La shock. Total damage from the events is $225,000–250,000.United Statessource
  • 8 July – Eruption on the southern flank of the Mount Etna vulcano in Sicily. Eruptions would continue to 29 December 1892. A spectacular row of pyroclastic cones was formed named Monti Silvestri, in honour of the Italian volcanologist Orazio Silvestri (1835 – 1890).Italysource
  • July 12 – A hidden lake bursts out of a glacier on the side of Mont Blanc, flooding the valley below and killing around 200 villagers and holidaymakers in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.source
  • 12 July – A hidden lake bursts out of a glacier on the side of Mont Blanc, flooding the valley below and killing around 200 villagers and holidaymakers in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.Francesource
  • 10 October – Jackie Howe shears a total of 321 sheep in 7 hours and 40 minutes at Blackall, Queensland, a record for hand shears that still stands.Australiasource
  • Jacob Bøckmann Barth, forester (born 1822)Norwaysource
  • Jørgen Aall Flood, politician, vice consul and businessman (born 1820)Norwaysource

Culture & Society

  • March 11 – The first basketball game is played in public, between students and faculty at the Springfield, Massachusetts, YMCA before 200 spectators. The final score is 5–1 in favor of the students, with the only goal for the faculty being scored by Amos Alonzo Stagg.source
  • March 13 – Ernest Louis, a grandson of Queen Victoria, becomes Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine on the death of his father, Grand Duke Louis IV.source
  • 13 March – The first edition of the newspaper Proletarul ('Proletarian') is published.Romaniasource
  • March 15 – The Liverpool Football Club is founded in England by John Houlding, the owner of Anfield; Houlding decides to form his own team after Everton leaves Anfield, in an argument over rent.source
  • March 18 – Sir Frederick Stanley, Governor General of Canada, announces his intention to donate the Stanley Cup for ice hockey.source
  • March 20 – The first ever French rugby championship final takes place in Paris. Pierre de Coubertin referees the match, which Racing Club de France wins 4–3 over Stade Français.source
  • May 5 – A first issue of Chugoku Shinbun Newspaper published in Hiroshima Prefecture.Japansource
  • May 24 – Prince George (later George V of the United Kingdom) becomes Duke of York.source
  • June 3 – Liverpool Football Club officially comes into existencesource
  • June 11 – The Limelight Department, later one of the world's first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.source
  • July 13 – The United International Bureau for the Protection of Intellectual Property (UIBPIP or BIRPI) is established in Bern, Switzerland.source
  • July 25 – The Community of the Resurrection, an Anglican religious community for men, is founded by Charles Gore and Walter Frere, initially in Oxford.source
  • 25 July – German football club Hertha BSC is founded in Berlin.Germanysource
  • August 14 – Foundation of the Partito dei Lavoratori Italiani (Italian Workers Party) a forerunner of the Italian Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Italiano, PSI) in Genoa by Filippo Turati, Claudio Treves and Leonida Bissolati.Italysource
  • August 15 – Valparaíso, Chile founds its first football team, Santiago Wanderers.source
  • 15 August - The Santiago Wanderers Football Club is establishedChilesource
  • August 20 – The Johannesburg Reform Committee is established by prominent Johannesburg citizens.South Africasource
  • September – Women are first admitted to Yale University's graduate school.source
  • October 1 – The University of Chicago holds its first classes.source
  • October 12 – To mark the 400th anniversary Columbus Day holiday, the "Pledge of Allegiance" is first recited in unison by students in U.S. public schools.source
  • October 31 – The first collection of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories from The Strand Magazine, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, is published in London.source
  • November 2 – The first football club in Bohemia, Slavia Praha is established, originally under name of Akademický cyklistický odbor Slavia (A.C.O.S.), focusing on cycling.source
  • November 8 – The four-day New Orleans General Strike begins.source
  • December 9 – The Newcastle East End F.C. is renamed Newcastle United F.C., following the demise of the Newcastle West End F.C. and East End's move to St James' Park, formerly West End's home, in the north east of England.source
  • December 17 – First issue of Vogue is published in the United States.source
  • December 18 – The Nutcracker ballet, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, is premiered at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.source
  • A 50-year-old tortoise called Timothy, previously serving as a naval mascot, is brought to the estate of Powderham Castle in England, where she lives until her death in 2004.source
  • Glenloth wins the Melbourne CupAustraliasource
  • Foreign Marriage Act (British statute)Indiasource

Births

  • January 3 – J. R. R. Tolkien, English professor and writer (died 1973)source
  • January 13 – Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh, Iranian writer.Iransource
  • February 18 – Wendell Willkie, U.S. Republican presidential candidate (died 1944)source
  • March 30 - Sanzo Nosaka, one of the founders of the Japanese Communist Party (died 1993)Japansource
  • April 8 – Mary Pickford, Canadian actress, studio founder (died 1979)source
  • April 14 – V. Gordon Childe, Australian archaeologist (died 1957)source
  • May 2 – Manfred von Richthofen (the "Red Baron"), German World War I fighter pilot (died 1918)source
  • May 7 – Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (died 1980)source
  • May 9 – Ștefan Foriș, Hungarian-Romanian journalist and politician (died 1946)source
  • June 21 – Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian (died 1971)source
  • July 15 – Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and cultural critic (suicide 1940)source
  • July 23 – Haile Selassie I, Ethiopian emperor (died 1975)source
  • 23 July - João de Souza Mendes, chess master (died 1969)Brazilsource
  • August 14 – Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, English composer and pianist (died 1988)source
  • October 31 – Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess champion (died 1946)source
  • 3 November 1892 – Maria Antonescu, socialite and philanthropist (died 1964).Romaniasource
  • November 5 – J. B. S. Haldane, British geneticist (died 1964)source
  • December 4 – Francisco Franco, Spanish dictator (died 1975)source

Deaths

  • January 2 – Sir George Biddell Airy, English astronomer royal (born 1801)source
  • January 14 – Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, second in line for the throne of the United Kingdom (born 1864)source
  • January 21 – John Couch Adams, English astronomer (born 1819)source
  • January 23 – Ueki Emori, revolutionary (born 1857)Japansource
  • January 31 – Charles Spurgeon, English preacher (born 1834)source
  • March 26 – Walt Whitman, American poet (born 1819)source
  • May 29 – Bahá'u'lláh, Persian founder of the Bahá'í Faith (born 1817)source
  • May 29 – Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith.Iransource
  • July 6 – Homestead Strike: The arrival of a force of 300 Pinkerton detectives from New York and Chicago results in a fight in which about 10 men are killed.source
  • July 11 – Ravachol, French illegalist anarchist (born 1859)source
  • July 17 – Carlo Cafiero, Italian anarchist and leader of the Italian section of the International Workingmen's Association (born 1846)source
  • 23 August - Deodoro da Fonseca, first president of the Republic of Brazil (born 1827)Brazilsource
  • September 22 – In Paris, Filipino painter Juan Luna fatally shot his wife Paz Pardo de Tavera, who died 11 days later.Philippinessource
  • October 2 – Ernest Renan, French philosopher, philologist, historian and writer (born 1823)source
  • October 6 – Alfred, Lord Tennyson, English poet laureate (born 1809)source
  • December 2 – Jay Gould, American financier (born 1836)source
  • December 18 – Sir Richard Owen, English paleontologist (born 1804)source
  • December – Eudora Stone Bumstead, American poet (born 1860)source