istoryworld
All Events
The War of the Pacific brings Chile new mineral wealth at the expense of Bolivia and Peru
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
US entrepreneur James 'Buck' Duke wins exclusive rights in a machine that can manufacture 100,000 cigarettes a day
German mathematician Gottlob Frege publishes Grundlagen der Arithmetik ('Foundations of Arithmetic'), linking mathematics and logic
Huck Finn and his friend Tom Sawyer continue their exploits on the Mississippi in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Costa Rica grants a 99-year lease on 800,000 acres to Minor C. Keith, the American founder of the United Fruit Company
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
Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland wins the US presidental election, defeating Republican James G. Blaine
Botha and his Boer followers are rewarded by Dinizulu with a large tract of land, in which they establish their own Boer republic
Oxford University Press publishes the A volume of its New English Dictionary, which will take 37 years to reach Z
The Gaelic Association is founded n Ireland to promote Gaelic games alongside Irish culture and language
In his novel The Rise of Silas Lapham US author William Dean Howells follows the fortunes of a self-made man in Boston
German engineer Karl Friedrich Benz builds the Tri-Star, a three-wheeled vehicle with an internal combustion that is considered the first commercial automobile
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
Bismarck pioneers in Germany state welfare policies such as sickness benefits and old-age pensions
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
The name Coca-Cola is registered by John S. Pemberton in America for a drink of cocaine, cola nuts and citrus juices
