istoryworld
Events relating to europe
Antoni Gaudí begins a life-long commitment to the building of a modern cathedral in Barcelona, El Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia
The British empire is first described as a 'Commonwealth of Nations', by Lord Rosebery speaking in Australia
General Gordon marches south to protect Khartoum from the advancing forces of the Mahdi
Bismarck launches the colonial scramble for Africa by suddenly annexing three territories for Germany (Togo, Cameroon and Angria Pequena)
The Boer republic in the Transvaal regains its independence from Britain
English socialists, including Bernard Shaw and Sidney Webb, found the Fabian Society as part of a long-term political strategy
A new Reform Act in Britain further reduces the financial threshold for voters in Britain, in effect extending the franchise to male workers in rural areas
Greenwich becomes accepted internationally as the prime meridian, or 0° longitude
The newly founded Fabian Society publishes Manifesto by George Bernard Shaw
Gustav Nachtigal arrives in Togo and persuades local chiefs to accept the protection of the German emperor
The Gaelic Athletic Association is founded in Ireland to promote indigenous games such as hurling
Gustav Nachtigal, moving on to Cameroon, annexes this region too for the new German empire
Verlaine publishes Les Poètes maudits, short studies of various 'cursed poets' – including Rimbaud
Karl Peters hurries round east Africa persuading chiefs to accept the German emperor as their protector
British general Garnet Wolseley sails from London on a mission to rescue Gordon, trapped by the Mahdi in Khartoum
US-born British inventor Hiram Maxim demonstrates the first prototype of his machine gun, using the recoil force to eject the spent cartridge and insert a new one
Bismarck invites the European powers to a West Africa Conference in Berlin
Spain begins to colonize the Western Sahara, subsequently known as the Spanish Sahara
Oxford University Press publishes the A volume of its New English Dictionary, which will take 37 years to reach Z
Bismarck grants Karl Peters a charter to rule a German protectorate in east Africa
Britain annexes Bechuanaland as a protectorate, to secure the route north from the Cape into central Africa
Explorer and orientalist Richard Burton begins publication of his multi-volume translation from the Arabic of The Arabian Nights
Italian troops occupy Eritrea, a province of Ethiopia
A secret revolutionary group (Union and Progress, later known as the Young Turks) is formed in Salonika in the Ottoman empire
Gladstone resigns as British prime minister, after a defeat on the budget, and is followed by a minority government headed by Conservative leader Lord Salisbury
