References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 April 30.

1870 January 3 Brooklyn Bridge construction begins; completed May 24, 1883. [1] Constantine D Uschinsky Russian educationalist, dies at 46. [1] January 7 Karl Schwencke composer, dies at 72. [1] January 8 US mint at Carson City Nevada begins issuing coins. [1] January 10 Georgia legislature reconvenes. [1] John D Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil. [1] January 11 Adolf Ganz composer, dies at 73. [1] January 15 Donkey first used as symbol of American Democratic Party, in Harper's Weekly. [1] January 20 Ship City of Boston vanishes at sea with all 177 aboard. [1] Hiram R Revels elected to fill unexpired term of Jefferson Davis. [1] January 23 173 Blackfoot Indians (140 women and children) killed in Montana by US Army. [1] January 25 Soda fountain patented by Gustavus Dows. [1] January 26 Cesare Pugni composer, dies at 67. [1] January 27 First sorority (Kappa Alpha Theta) (DePauw University in Greencastle Indiana). [1] Manitoba and Northwest Territories incorporated. [1] February 2 Mark Twain, 34, marries Olivia Langdon in Elmira New York. [1] The Cardiff Giant (supposed petrified human) proved to be gypsum. [1] February 3 15th Amendment (Black suffrage) passed. [1] February 5 First motion picture shown to a theater audience, Philadelphia. [1] February 9 Grant signs the bill establishing Federal Meteorological Service. [1] February 10 City of Anaheim incorporates (first time). [1] YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association) is founded (New York City, New York). [1] February 11 Jacob M de Kempenaer Dutch Minister of Internal Affairs (1848-49), dies at 76. [1] Leopold Eugen Mechura composer, dies at 66. [1] February 12 Official proclamation sets April 15 as last day of grace for US silver coins to circulate in Canada. [1] February 15 Ground broken for Northern Pacific Railway near Duluth Minnesota. [1] February 17 Esther Morris appointed first female judge. [1] February 25 Hiram Revels, Mississippi, is sworn in as first black member ofUS Congress (Senator). [1] February 26 First New York City subway line opens (pneumatic powered). [1] [5] Wyatt Outlaw black leader of Union League in North Carolina, lynched. [1] March 1 Francisco S López President of Paraguay (1862-70), dies at 43. [1] March 7 Cincinnati Red Stockings, first pro BB team, begin 8-month tour of Midwest and East. [1] March 9 Theodore Labarre composer, dies at 65. [1] March 10 Isaak-Ignaz Moscheles composer, dies at 75. [1] March 14 California legislature approves act making Golden Gate Park possible. [1] March 17 Massachusetts legislature authorizes incorporation of Wellesley Female Seminary. [1] March 18 First US National Wildlife Preserve (Lake Meritt in Oakland CA). [1] Joaquin y Garbayo Gaztambide composer, dies at 48. [1] March 19 Antônio Carlos Gomes's opera "Il Guarany" premieres in Milan Italy. [1] March 30 15th Amendment passes, guarantees right to vote regardless of race. [1] March 31 Thomas P Mundy became first black to vote in US (Perth Amboy New Jersey). [1] April 1 Patrick Gass Sergeant of Lewis and Clark Expedition, dies at 98. [1] April 2 Victoria Woodhull is first woman to be nominated for US President. [1] April 4 Golden Gate Park established by City Order #800. [1] April 8 Charles-Auguste de Beriot Belgian violinist/composer, dies at 68. [1] April 9 American Anti-Slavery Society dissolves. [1] April 13 Metropolitan Museum of Art forms in New York City. [1] April 15 Last day US silver coins allowed to circulate in Canada. [1] April 16 Anatoli O Demidov Russian ruler of Donato/traveller, dies. [1] Vaudeville Theatre Strand opens in London. [1] April 19 Andreas Schelfhout painter/etcher/lithographer, dies at 83. [1] Camille Marie Stamaty composer, dies at 59. [1] William Henry Havergal composer, dies at 77. [1] April 27 Heinrich Schliemann discovers Troi. [1] May 1 Francisco Solano López fieldmarshal/President of Paraguay. [1] May 6 Birth of John McClutcheon cartoonist (Pulitzer Prize-1931). [1] May 12 Manitoba becomes a province of Canada. [1] May 14 Ramon Vilanova y Barrera composer, dies at 69. [1] May 20 Second Chamber abolishes capital punishment. [1] May 24 Memoria of Jackson Kemper, first Missionary Bishop in US. [1] May 25 Irish Fenians raid Eccles Hill, Québec. [1] May 30 Gustave Vogt composer, dies at 89. [1] May 31 US Congress passes first Enforcement Act (rights of blacks). [1] E J DeSemdt patents asphalt pavement. [1] June 9 Charles Dickens author, dies in England. [1] June 14 All-pro Cincinnati Red Stockings suffer first loss in 130 games. [1] June 22 US Congress creates Department of Justice. [1] June 25 The opera "Die Walküre" is produced (Munich). [1] June 26 First section of Atlantic City (New Jersey) Boardwalk opens. [1] June 30 Ada Kepley becomes first female law college graduate. [1] July 1 James W Smith of South Carolina is first black to enter West Point. [1] July 8 US Congress authorizes registration of trademarks. [1] Governor Holden of North Carolina declares Casswell County in a state of insurrection. [1] July 15 Hudson's Bay and Northwest Territories transferred to Canada. [1] Manitoba becomes 5th Canadian province and NW Territories created. [1] July 19 France declares war on Prussia; the Franco-Prussian war begins. [1] July 24 First trans-US rail service begins. [1] July 30 Staten Island ferry "Westfield" burns, killing 100. [1] August 6 White conservatives suppresed black vote and captured Tenn legislature. [1] August 8 Magic (US) defeats Cambria (Engld) in second running of America's Cup. [1] August 15 Transcontinental Railway actually completed. [1] August 17 First ascent of Mount Rainier, Washington. [1] Mrs Esther Morris becomes first woman magistrate (South Pass, Wyoming). [1] September 1 Napoleon III captured at Sedan. [1] September 4 Third French republic proclaimed as they overthrow their king. [1] September 27 Henry TP Comstock Canadian silver prospector, dies at 50. [1] October 2 Italy annexes Rome and Papal States; Rome made Italian capital. [1] October 12 Robert E Lee, General of the Confederate Army, dies at 63. [1] [5] October 19 First (4) blacks elected to House of Reps. [1] October 20 In Canada, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurs, centered between Montreal and Quebec in the Saint Lawrence Valley. The shock was felt over an area estimated to be at least a million square miles including Sault Sainte Marie. [53] October 25 Pimlico Race Course opens in Baltimore. [1] Postcards first used in US. [1] November 1 US Weather Bureau begins operations (24 locations). [1] November 8 Democratic governor elected in Tennessee. [1] December 5 Alexandre Dumas writer (The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo), dies at 68. [1] December 6 Joseph H Rainey, first black in the House of Representatives (South Carolina). [1] December 12 Joseph Rainey (South Carolina) became first black sworn into House of Representatives. [1] December 16 Stanislaw Duniecki composer, dies at 31. [1] December 17 Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante composer, dies at 75. [1] December 22 Constantine D Uschinsky Russian educator, dies at 46. [1] Jules Janssen flies in a balloon in order to study a solar eclipse. [1] December 24 Giusseppi Verdi's "Aida" premieres at Cairo Opera, one year after the opening of the Suez Canal, for which it was commissioned. [1] December 28 Alexey Fyodorovich L'vov composer, dies at 72. [1] Peter van Schendel Dutch painter, dies at 64. [1] December 30 Prim Spanish general, murdered. [1] December 31 J D Schneiter patents rocket mail in France, (not done). [1] 1871 January 1 Belgium disbands salt tax. [1] January 2 King Amadeus I of Spain inaugurated at 25. [1] January 3 Oleomargarine patented by Henry Bradley, Binghamton New York. [1] January 10 Pierre A du Terrail French writer, dies at 41. [1] January 16 Jefferson Long of Georgia sworn in as second black congressman. [1] January 17 First cable car patented, by Andrew S Hallidie (begins service in 1873). [1] January 18 Second German Empire proclaimed by Kaiser Wilhelm I and Bismarck. [1] [37] January 19 First Negro lodge of US Masons approved, New Jersey. [1] January 21 John J Rochussen Governor-General of Netherlands-Indies (1845-51), dies at 73. [1] January 26 US income tax repealed. [1] January 28 Paris surrenders to Prussians. [1] January 31 Millions of birds fly over western San Francisco, darken the sky. [1] February 1 Alexander Nikoleyevich Serov composer, dies at 51. [1] Jefferson Long of Georgia is first black to make an official speech in House of Representatives (opposing leniency to former Confederates). [1] February 9 Federal fish protection office authorized byUS Congress. [1] February 20 In Molokai, Hawaii, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake occurs. This earthquake caused severe damage on the islands of Lanai, Molokai, and Maui, and minor damage on Hawaii and Oahu. [53] February 24 Théodore Caruelle d'Aligny French painter/etcher, dies at 73. [1] February 26 Charles Niellon Belgian brigade general, dies at 76. [1] February 27 Meeting of Alabama claims commission. [1] February 28 Second Enforcement Act gives federal control of congressional elections. [1] March 1 J Milton Turner named minister to Liberia. [1] March 3 US Congress changes Indian tribes status from independent to dependent. [1] US Congress establishes the civil service system. [1] March 16 First fertilizer law enacted. [1] March 18 Communards revolt in Paris France. [1] March 20 Antonio Buzzolla composer, dies at 56. [1] March 21 Journalist Henry M Stanley begins his famous expedition to Africa. [1] Otto von Bismarck elevated Fürst. [1] March 22 William Holden of North Carolina is first governor removed from office by impeachment. [1] March 26 François-Joseph Fétis Belgian musicologist/composer, dies at 87. [1] Paris Commune founded. [1] March 28 San Francisco Art Association holds open reception at 430 Pine. [1] March 29 Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria in London. [1] March 30 W F A A Louisa/Lovisa queen of Sweden/Norway, dies at 42. [1] April 5 Georg Andreas Henkel composer, dies at 66. [1] April 7 Alexander grandson of English queen Victoria, dies at one day old. [1] Wilhelm Freiherr von Tegetthoff Austrian Admiral (Helgoland/Lissa), dies at 43. [1] April 8 Charles-Louis Hanssens composer, dies at 68. [1] April 10 William Hammond Hall's maps and surveys of Golden Gate Park accepted. [1] April 14 Canada sets denominations of currency as dollars, cents, and mills. [1] April 16 German Empire ends all anti-Jewish civil restrictions. [1] April 18 Omar Pasha [Michael Lats] Croatian Governor, dies at 64. [1] April 20 Third Enforcement Act (President can suspend writ of habeas corpus). [1] April 21 Elisabeth Grube writer, dies. [1] April 23 Blossom Rock in San Francisco Bay blown up. [1] April 24 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida" is produced (Cairo). [1] April 27 Sigismond Fortune François Thalberg composer, dies at 59. [1] April 29 John Gelinde van Blom Fries notary/author, dies at 75. [1] April 30 Apaches in Arizona surrender to white and Mexican adventurers; 144 die. [1] May 7 Louis Papineau political reformer, dies. [1] May 8 English-US treaty ends Alabama dispute. [1] May 10 Peace of Frankfurt-am-Main concluded between France and Germany; France cedes Elzas. [1] May 11 John Herschel cataloguer of southern hemisphere stars, dies at 79. [1] May 12 Daniel-François-Esprit Auber French opera composer, dies at 89. [1] John F W Herschel British astronomer (Catalogue of Nebulae), dies. [1] Segregated street cars integrated in Louisville Kentucky. [1] May 17 Indians fighter General Sherman escapes in ambulance vs Comanches. [1] May 21 French regular troops attack Commune of Paris; 17,000 die. [1] May 24 Francisco Salvador Daniel composer, dies at 40. [1] May 26 Aime Maillart composer, dies at 54. [1] May 28 Paris communards revolt put down. [1] June 13 Hurricane kills 300 in Labrador. [1] June 15 Phoebe Couzins is first woman graduate of a US collegiate law school. [1] June 16 Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine founded, New York City. [1] June 20 Ku Klux Klan trials began in federal court in Oxford Miss. [1] June 30 Guatemala revolts for agarian reforms. [1] July 20 British Columbia becomes 6th Canadian province. [1] July 23 C H F Peters discovers asteroid #114 Kassandra. [1] July 25 Carrousel patented by Wilhelm Schneider, Davenport, Iowa. [1] October 8 Great Fire kills 200, destroys over 4 square miles (10 square km) of Chicago buildings, and original Emancipation Proclamation. (In 1944, the estate of Louis Cohn releases a letter claiming he knocked over a lantern in a barn while playing craps with friends.) [1] [80.147] October 17 President Grant suspends writ of habeas corpus. [1] October 23 Columbia and Sappho (US) beat Livonia (United Kingdom) in third America's Cup. [1] October 24 Mob in Los Angeles hangs 18 Chinese. [1] October 27 Boss Tweed (William Macy Tweed), Democratic leader of Tammany Hall, arrested after New York Times exposed his corruption. [1] November 10 Stanley presumes to meet Livingston in Ujiji, Central Africa. [1] November 21 Moses Gale patents a cigar lighter. [1] November 22 Oscar J Dunn (Lieutenant Governor-Louisiana), dies suddenly, charges he was poisoned. [1] November 24 National Rifle Association organized (New York City). [1] November 28 Ku Klux Klan trials began in Federal District Court in South Carolina. [1] December 12 Jules Janssen discovers dark lines in solar corona spectrum. [1] December 16 Willibald Alexis German writer (Schloss Avalon), dies at 73. [1] December 19 Albert L Jones (New York City, New York), patents corrugated paper. [1] December 27 World's first cat show (Crystal Palace, London). [1] December 29 Ferdinand Marcucci composer, dies at 71. [1]