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.

1888 January 3 First wax drinking straw patented, by Marvin C Stone in Washington DC. [1] January 5 Dutch Heidemaatschappij established. [1] Henri Herz composer, dies at a day before 85th birthday. [1] January 7 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Valley of Fear" (BG). [1] January 13 National Geographic Society founded (Washington DC). [1] January 14 Stephen Heller composer, dies at 74. [1] January 21 Stephan Hale Alonzo Marsh composer, dies at 83. [1] January 27 National Geographic Society organizes (Washington DC). [1] January 29 Edward Lear poet/author, dies at 75. [1] January 30 Asa Gray US botanist (Flora of North America), dies at 77. [1] Harry Moses 297 not out for New South Wales against Victoria. [1] February 5 Anton Mauve Dutch painter/cousin of Vincent Van Gogh, dies at 49. [1] February 24 Louisville Kentucky becomes first government in US to adopt Australian ballot. [1] February 28 Ferry in San Pablo Bay explodes. [1] Vincent d'Indy's Wallenstein-trilogy, premieres. [1] March 4 Amos Bronson Alcott US theory/poet (Table Talk), dies at 88. [1] March 6 Louisa May Alcott US author (Old-fashioned Girl), dies at 55. [1] March 10 First performance of César Franck's "Psyche". [1] Ciro Pinsuti Italian pianist/composer, dies at 57. [1] March 11 Great blizzard of '88 strikes northeast US. [1] March 12 Second day of the Great blizzard of '88 in northeast US (400 die). [1] Henry Bergh founder (ASPCA), dies at 76. [1] March 13 Great Blizzard of 1888 rages. [1] March 14 Second largest snowfall in New York City, New York history (21 inches). [1] March 20 Start of the Sherlock Holmes Adventure, "A Scandal in Bohemia". [1] March 21 Arthur Pinero's "Sweet Lavender" premieres in London. [1] March 25 Socialist leader Domela Nieuwenhuis elected to Dutch second chamber. [1] March 29 Charles-Henri Valentin Alkan composer, dies at 74. [1] April 7 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Yellow Face" (BG). [1] April 14 William Fisk Sherwin composer, dies at 62. [1] April 15 Matthew Arnold English poet, dies at 65. [1] April 16 Drentse and Friese peat cutters go on strike. [1] April 24 Eastman Kodak forms. [1] April 29 Old Kavallison, Congo Stanley meet Emin Pasha. [1] April 30 Hailstones kill about 250 in Moradabad district of Delhi India. [1] May 4 Italy and Spain sign military covenant. [1] May 7 Edouard Lalo's opera "Le roi d'Ys" premieres in Paris France. [1] George Eastman patents "Kodak box camera". [1] May 12 Crouching start first used by Charles Sherrill of Yale. [1] May 13 Brazil abolishes slavery. [1] DeWolf Hopper first recited "Casey at the Bat". [1] In Denmark, Inge Lehmann is born; discovered the inner core of the Earth, a zone of solid materal, at a depth of 5150 km, in the early 1930s. She died in 1993 at the age of 105. [53] Princess Isabel of Brazil signs "Lei Auréa" abolishing slavery. [1] May 16 CPR opens Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver British Columbia. [1] May 22 Leroy Buffington patents a system to build skyscrapers. [1] June 1 In Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton, California, formal opening of Ewing duplex-pendulum seismometer, Ewing horizontal-pendulum seismometers, and Gray-Ewing vertical seismometers. [1] [53] June 3 "Casey at the Bat" published (San Francisco Examiner). [1] June 13 US Congress creates the Department of Labor. [1] June 25 Republican Convention, in Chicago, nominates Benjamin Harrison. [1] June 29 The first known recording of classical music, Handel's Israel in Egypt, is made on wax cylinder. [5] July 4 First organized rodeo competition held, Prescott, Arizona. [1] July 11 118 degrees F (48 degrees C), Bennett, Colorado (state record). [1] Pennsylvania's Monongehela River rises 32' after 24 hour rainfall. [1] July 15 Bandai volcano (Japan) erupts for first time in 1,000 years. [1] July 23 Birth of Gluyas Williams SF, cartoonist (Fellows Citizen). [1] August 7 Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia patents revolving door. [1] August 11 California Theatre closed (now a Pac Tel Phone Store). [1] August 12 Bertha, wife of inventor Karl Benz, makes first motor tour. [1] August 19 First beauty contest (Spa, Belgium), 18 year old West Indian wins. [1] August 21 William Seward Burroughs patents the first successful adding machine in the United States. [5] August 30 Lord Walsingham kills 1070 grouse in a single day. [1] August 31 Mary Ann Nicholls a 42-year-old prostitute, is found stabbed to death. [1] September 1 In North Canterbury, New Zealand, a magnitude 7.0-7.3 earthquake occurs. [53] September 4 George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film. [1] [5] September 12 Start of the Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Greek Interpreter" (BG). [1] September 18 Start of the Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Sign of Four" (BG). [1] September 19 The first beauty contest is held, the Concours de Beauté, held at Spa in Belgium. Winner is 18-year-old Bertha Soucaret of Guadeloupe. [55.22] September 25 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (BG). [1] October 9 In the USA, the Washington Monument officially opens to the general public. [1] [5] October 10 Teetotalers excursion train crushed, killing 64 (Mud Run Pennsylvania). [1] October 19 Moshav Gederah is attacked by the Arabs. [1] October 23 Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, vested. [1] October 30 First ballpoint pen patented. [1] November 3 Jack the Ripper kills last victim. [1] November 6 Benjamin Harrison (Republican-Senator-Indiana) beats President Grover Cleveland (Democrat), 233 electoral votes to 168, Cleveland received slightly more votes. [1] November 20 William Bundy patents the timecard clock. [1] December 2 Franz Xaver Witt composer, dies at 54. [1] Mehmed N Kemal Bey Turkish writer/journalist (Vatan), dies at 47. [1] December 10 Mariano Obiols composer, dies at 79. [1] December 11 French Panamá Canal company fails. [1] December 19 Stanley's expedition reaches Fort Bodo, East-Africa. [1] December 23 Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh cuts off his left ear. [1] December 30 Belgium: king Leopold II installs Order of African Star. [1] 1889 January 3 Admissions convention meets in Ellensburg Washington, asks for statehood. [1] January 8 Dr Herman Hollerith receives first US patent for a tabulating machine (first Computer). [1] January 10 Ivory Coast declared a protectorate of France. [1] Martin Andreas Udbye composer, dies at 68. [1] January 16 In Cloncurry, Queensland, an Australian record hot temperature of 128 degrees F (53 degrees C) is recorded. [1] [54] January 17 Juan Montalvo Ecuadorian author (Siete Tratados), dies at 56. [1] January 23 Dr Daniel Hale Williams forms Provident Hospital in Chicago. [1] January 27 Ivan S Aksakov Russian journalist, dies at 65. [1] January 30 John Herschel uses camera obscura to photograph 48" (120cm) telescope. [1] February 1 Joseph Gungl composer, dies at 78. [1] February 3 Belle Starr US female gangster, murdered at 40. [1] February 7 Astronomical Society of Pacific holds first meeting in San Francisco. [1] February 8 Flood ravages Dutch coast. [1] February 11 Meiji constitution of Japan adopted; first Diet convenes in 1890. [1] February 12 César Francks Symphony in D, premieres. [1] Henrik Ibsen's "Fruen fra Haven" premieres in Oslo. [1] February 14 First trainload of fruit (oranges) leaves Los Angeles for the east. [1] February 22 Dakotas, Montana and Washington admitted to the union. [1] President Cleveland signs bill to admit Dakotas, Montana and Washington state. [1] March 2 Kansas passes first US antitrust. [1] March 3 Edward Sydney Smith composer, dies at 49. [1] March 4 Benjamin Harrison inaugurated as 23rd President. [1] March 8 Jens/John Ericsson Sweden/US, engineer (fire extinguisher), dies at 85. [1] March 9 Battle at Gallabat (Metema); Mahdi's beat Abyssinian emperor John IV. [1] Kansas passes first general antitrust law in US. [1] March 12 Battle at Metema (Gallabad); Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV, defeated. [1] Start of South Africa's first Test, vs England, Port Elizabeth. [1] Yohannes IV [Kasa], Emperor of Ethiopia (1872-89), dies in battle. [1] March 14 August Strindberg's "Froken Julie" premieres in Copenhagen. [1] German Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his "Navigable Balloon." [5] March 15 Six US and German warships perish in harbor of Apia Samoa, 200 die. [1] March 17 Joseph A Alberdingk Thijm [Pauwels Foreestier], poet, dies at 68. [1] March 18 William Henry Monk composer, dies at 66. [1] March 23 President Harrison opens Oklahoma for white colonization. [1] March 26 Bernard Tancred carries bat for 26 out of 47! South Africa vs England. [1] Johnny Briggs took 15-26 (7-17 and 8-11) vs South Africa at Newlands. [1] March 27 Moritz Furstenau composer, dies at 64. [1] March 28 Matilde "Tillie" Ziegler killed by husband William Kemmler. [1] March 31 300 metre Eiffel Tower officially opens (commemorates French Revolution). [1] April 1 First dishwashing machine marketed (Chicago). [1] April 3 Savings Bank of the Order of True Reformers opens in Richmond Virginia. [1] April 4 Thomas T H Jorissen historian, dies at 56. [1] April 5 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of The Copper Beeches" (BG). [1] April 6 George Eastman places Kodak Camera on sale for first time. [1] April 18 In Potsdam, germany, Ernst von Rebeur-Paschwitz makes the first known recordings of a distant earthquake, taken place in Tokyo, Japan, an hour earlier. [53] April 19 Warren De La Rue astronomer/chemist, dies. [1] April 22 Oklahoma land rush officially starts; as many as nine out of ten of these settlers had jumped the gun, earning themselves the name "Sooners". [1] April 30 First US national holiday, on centennial of Washington's inauguration. [1] May 1 First International Workers Day, according to the second International. [1] Bayer introduces aspirin in powder form (Germany). [1] May 2 Abyssinian emperor Menelik II/Italy signs Treaty of Wichale. [1] May 6 Universal Exposition opens in Paris France; Eiffel Tower completed. [1] May 15 Alfred Potocki premier Austrian/Governor/Viceroy of Galicia, dies. [1] May 17 William Roxby Beverly artist, dies. [1] May 18 Jules Massenets opera "Esclarmonde" premieres in Paris France. [1] May 28 Willem M d'Ablaing lawyer, dies at 37. [1] May 29 August Strindberg's "Hemsoborna" premieres in Copenhagen. [1] May 30 The brassiere is invented. [1] May 31 Johnstown Flood; 2,209 die in Pennsylvania. [1] June 6 Great Fire in Seattle destroys 25 downtown blocks. [1] June 8 Cable Cars begin service in Los Angeles. [1] Start of Sherlock Holmes Adventure "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" (BG). [1] June 12 Single tornado kills 119, injures 146 (New Richmond Wisc). [1] June 13 2' of snow accumulates in Rawlins Wyoming. [1] June 15 Start of the Sherlock Holmes Adv "The Stockbroker's Clerk" (BG). [1] June 19 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Man with the Twisted Lip". [1] June 28 Maria Mitchell first US woman astronomer, dies at 71. [1] July 1 Frederick Douglass named Minister to Haiti. [1] US mint at Carson City, Nevada reopens. [1] July 4 Washington state constitutional convention holds first meeting. [1] July 8 John L Sullivan wins by KO in 75 rounds in last bare-knuckle bout. [1] Wall Street Journal begins publishing. [1] July 30 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Naval Treaty" (BG). [1] August 23 First ship-to-shore wireless message received in US (San Francisco). [1] August 31 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Cardboard Box" (BG). [1] September 7 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of The Engineer's Thumb" (BG). [1] September 11 Start of the Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Crooked Man" (BG). [1] September 28 The first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a metre as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of platinum with ten percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice. [5] October 1 Washington voters adopt state constitution in referendum. [1] October 2 First Pan American conference (Washington DC). [1] October 6 Thomas Edison shows his first motion picture. [1] October 29 Stanley Park dedicated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. [1] November 2 North Dakota becomes 39th and South Dakota becomes the 40th state. [1] November 8 Montana admitted as 41st state. [1] November 11 Washington admitted as 42nd state. [1] November 14 New York World's Nellie Bly (Liz Cochrane) begins 72 day world trip. [1] November 15 Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, deposed; republic proclaimed. [1] November 17 Union Pacific begins daily through service, Chicago-Portland and San Francisco. [1] November 18 Oahu Railway begins public service in Hawaii. [1] November 23 The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco. [5] November 27 First permit issued to drive a car through Central Park (Curtis Brady). [1] December 3 Baltasar Saldoni composer, dies at 82. [1] December 4 Stanley's expedition reaches Bagamoyo in Indian Ocean. [1] December 6 Jefferson Davis President of Confederate States of America (1861-5), dies at 81. [1] Joseph H "Jozef" Neuhuys painter, dies at 48. [1] December 7 Gilbert and Sullivan's "Gondoliers" premieres in London. [1] December 9 President Harrison visits opening of Chicago Auditorium. [1] December 10 Ludwig Anzengruber Austrian playwright, dies at 50. [1] December 12 Robert Browning English poet (Ring and Book), dies at 77. [1] December 13 Belgium rules on women/child labor law. [1] December 14 American Academy of Political and Social Science organized, Philadelphia. [1] December 15 Ferdinand II king of Portugal, dies at 73. [1] December 19 Bishop Museum founded in Hawaii. [1] December 21 Joseph B Lightfoot English theologist/bishop of Durham, dies at 61. [1] December 24 Daniel Stover and William Hance patent bicycle with back pedal brake. [1] December 31 Ion Creanga Romanian (fairy tales) author, dies at 52. [1]