Editing 1871 (section)

== Events ==
=== January–March ===
* [[January 3]] – [[Franco-Prussian War]]: [[Battle of Bapaume (1871)|Battle of Bapaume]] – Prussians win a strategic victory.
* [[January 18]] – [[Proclamation of the German Empire]]: The member states of the [[North German Confederation]] and the south German states unite into a single [[nation state]], known as the [[German Empire]]. The [[King of Prussia]] is declared the first [[German Emperor]] as [[Wilhelm I of Germany]], in the [[Hall of Mirrors]] at the [[Palace of Versailles]]. The [[constitution of the German Confederation (1871)|Constitution of the German Confederation]] comes into effect. It abolishes all restrictions on Jewish marriage, choice of occupation, place of residence, and property ownership, but exclusion from government employment and discrimination in social relations remain in effect.
* [[January 21]] – [[Battle of Dijon (1870)|Battle of Dijon]]: [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]]'s group of French and Italian volunteer troops, in support of the [[French Third Republic]], win a battle against the Prussians.
* [[February 8]] – [[1871 French legislative election]] elects the first legislature of the [[French Third Republic]]; monarchists ([[Legitimists]] and [[Orleanists]]) favourable to peace with the [[German Empire]] gain a large majority. The [[French Parliament|National Assembly]] meets in [[Bordeaux]].
* [[February 9]] – The United States Commission on Fish and Fisheries is founded.
* [[February 21]] – The [[District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871]] is signed into law by U.S. President [[Ulysses S. Grant]].
* [[February 24]] – The [[Danish Women's Society]] is founded to promote women's rights in Denmark; on December 15 it adopts the style ''Dansk Kvindesamfund''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vores historie |publisher=Dansk Kvindesamfund |url=https://danskkvindesamfund.dk/historie/ |location=København |access-date=2020-01-20 |archive-date=January 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125090544/https://danskkvindesamfund.dk/historie/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[March 3]] – The first American civil service reform legislation is signed into law by U.S. President [[Ulysses S. Grant]], creating the [[United States Civil Service Commission]].<ref>"Civil Service Commission", in ''Landmark Legislation, 1774–2002: Major U.S. Acts and Treaties'', ed. by Stephen W. Stathis (Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003) p107</ref>
* [[March 16]] – [[Mokrani Revolt]] breaks out in [[French Algeria]] against colonial rule.
* [[March 18]] – Origin of the [[Paris Commune]]: Troops of the regular [[French Army]], sent by [[Adolphe Thiers]], ''Chef du pouvoir executive de la République française'', to seize cannons stored on the hill of [[Montmartre]], fraternise with civilians and the [[National Guard (France)|National Guard]], and two army generals are killed.  Regular troops are evacuated to [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]].
* [[March 21]]
** [[Otto von Bismarck]] becomes the first [[Chancellor of the German Empire]].
** [[John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll|John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne]] marries [[Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll|Princess Louise]], a daughter of Queen Victoria, at Windsor; she is the first legitimate daughter of a British monarch to marry a subject since 1515.
* [[March 22]]
** In [[North Carolina]], [[William Woods Holden|William Holden]] becomes the first governor of a U.S. state to be removed from office by [[Impeachment in the United States|impeachment]].
** The [[Marseille Commune]] is established in southern France.
** The [[United States Army]] issues an order for the abandonment of [[Fort Kearny]], [[Nebraska]].
* [[March 26]] – The [[Paris Commune]] is formally established in France.
* [[March 27]] – The first [[rugby union|Rugby Union]] International results in a 1–0 win, by Scotland over England.
* [[March 29]]
** The first [[Surgeon General of the United States]] ([[John Maynard Woodworth]]) is appointed.
** The [[Royal Albert Hall]] in London is opened by [[Queen Victoria]]; it incorporates a [[Royal Albert Hall Organ|grand organ]] by [[Henry Willis & Sons]], the world's largest at this time.

=== April–June ===
* [[April]] – The [[Stockholms Handelsbank]] is founded.
* [[April 4]] – The New Jersey Detective Agency is chartered, and the [[New Jersey State Detectives]] are initiated.
* [[April 10]] – In [[Brooklyn, New York]], [[P. T. Barnum]] opens his three-ring [[circus]], hailing it as "''The Greatest Show on Earth''".
* [[April 20]] – U.S. President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] signs the [[Civil Rights Act of 1871]].
* [[April 24]] – [[Murder of Jane Clouson]], a servant girl, in [[Eltham]], England; her probable murderer is acquitted.
* [[May 4]] – The first supposedly [[Major League Baseball]] game is played in America.
* [[May 8]] – The first Major League Baseball home run is hit by [[Ezra Sutton]], of the [[Cleveland Forest Citys]].
* [[May 10]] – The [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Treaty of Frankfurt]] is signed, confirming the frontiers between Germany and France. The provinces of [[Alsace]] and [[Lorraine (province)|Lorraine]] are transferred from France to Germany.
* [[May 11]] – The first trial in the [[Tichborne case]] begins, in the London [[Court of Common Pleas (England)|Court of Common Pleas]].
* [[May 21]]
** French government troops enter Paris to overthrow the Commune, beginning "Bloody Week" (''[[Semaine sanglante]]''), leading to the deaths of over 20,000 Parisians and the arrests of over 38,000 more. 
** The first [[rack railway]] in Europe, the [[Rigi Railways#History|Vitznau–Rigi Railway]] on [[Mount Rigi]] in Switzerland, is opened.
* [[May 27]] – French government troops massacre 147 [[Communards]] from Belleville, at [[Père-Lachaise Cemetery]] in Paris.
* [[May 28]] – [[Paris Commune]] falls to French government forces.
* [[June 1]] – [[Bombardment of the Selee River Forts]]: Koreans attack two United States Navy warships.
* [[June 10]] – [[United States expedition to Korea]]: Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 members of the [[United States Marine Corps]] in a punitive naval attack on the [[Han River (Korea)|Han River]] forts on [[Ganghwa Island]] in Korea, resulting in 250 Koreans dying and diplomatic failure to "open up" Korea.
* [[June 18]] – The [[Universities Tests Act 1871]] removes restrictions which have previously limited access to [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] and [[Durham University|Durham]] universities to members of the [[Church of England]].
* [[June 27]] – The [[Meiji (era)|Meiji government]] officially adopts the [[Japanese yen#History|yen]] as Japan's modern unit of currency. Coins which have been made in advance with the date 1870 are released into circulation.
* [[June 29]] – [[Trade union]]s are legalized in the United Kingdom by the [[Trade Union Act 1871]].

=== July–September ===
* [[July 13]] – The first cat show is held at the [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]] of [[London]].
* [[July 20]]
** [[British Columbia]] joins the [[Canadian Confederation|confederation]] of [[Canada]].
** [[C. W. Alcock]] proposes that "a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with [[The Football Association|the Association]]", giving birth to the [[FA Cup]] for [[Association football]] in England.
* [[July 21]]–[[August 26]] – The first ever photographs of [[Yellowstone National Park]] region are taken by photographer [[William Henry Jackson]], during the [[Hayden Geological Survey of 1871]].
* [[July 22]] – The foundation stone of the first [[Tay Bridge]] is laid;<ref>''BBC History'', July 2011, p12</ref> the bridge collapses as a train crosses in a storm eight years later.
* [[July 28]] – The ''Annie'' becomes the first boat ever launched on [[Yellowstone Lake]], in the Yellowstone National Park region.
* [[August 7]] – Banco de Concepcion, predecessor of [[Itaú Unibanco]], a major [[financial services]] provider in [[South America]], is founded in [[Chile]].{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
* [[August 9]] – One of the few known [[major hurricane]]s to strike [[Hawaii]] causes significant damage on the islands of [[Hawaii (island)|Hawaii]] and [[Maui]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Businger |first1=Steven |last2=Nogelmeier |first2=M. Puakea |last3=Chinn |first3=Pauline W. U. |last4=Schroeder |first4=Thomas |s2cid=52996353 |title=Hurricane with a History: Hawaiian Newspapers Illuminate an 1871 Storm |journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |date=1 February 2018 |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=137–147 |doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0333.1 |bibcode=2018BAMS...99..137B|url=https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/64849 }}</ref>
* [[August 29]] – The [[abolition of the han system]] is carried out in Japan.
* [[August 31]] – [[Adolphe Thiers]] becomes President of the French Republic.
* [[September 2]] – [[Whaling disaster of 1871]]: The ''Comet'', a [[brig]] used by whalers, becomes the first of 33 ships to be crushed in the Arctic ice by an early freeze.<ref>{{cite book |first=Edward |last=Joesting |title=Kauai: The Separate Kingdom |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=1988 |page=171}}</ref> Remarkably, all 1,219 people on the abandoned ships are rescued without a single loss of life.<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Taliaferro |title=In a Far Country: The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, a Murder, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898 |publisher=PublicAffairs |year=2007 |page=179}}</ref>
* [[September 3]] – New York City residents, tired of the corruption of the [[Tammany Hall]] political machine and "Boss" [[William M. Tweed]], its "Grand Sachem", meet to form the '[[Committee of Seventy (New York City)|Committee of Seventy]]' to reform local politics.<ref name="Snay">{{cite book |first=Mitchell |last=Snay |title=Horace Greeley and the Politics of Reform in Nineteenth-Century America |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2011 |page=172}}</ref>
* [[September 25]] – [[West Chester University]] ([[List of colleges and universities in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]) is charted as West Chester Normal School <ref>{{cite web |title=HISTORY AND HERITAGE AT 150 YEARS: WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY PREPARES FOR ITS SESQUICENTENNIAL |url=https://www.wcupa.edu/communications/newsroom/2020/12.2teaser150.aspx#:~:text=Although%20its%20roots%20date%20back,first%20classes%20in%20September%201871. |website=wcupa.edu |publisher=WCUPA |access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref>

=== October–December ===
* [[October 5]]
** The ''Società degli Spettroscopisti Italiani'' (later''Società Astronomica Italiana'') is established in [[Rome]], the first scientific organisation in the world dedicated to [[astrophysics]].
* [[October 7]] – The [[Peshtigo fire]] begins and destroys the town of [[Peshtigo, Wisconsin]], and kills as many as 2,500 people, becoming the deadliest wildfire in United States history. 
* [[October 8]] – The [[Great Chicago Fire]] breaks out in [[Chicago, Illinois]] and burns for 2 days, killing 300 people, destroying 17,500 buildings and leaving 100,000 people homeless.
** [[Continental AG]] is founded as ''Continental-Caoutchouc und Gutta-Percha Compagnie'' in [[Hanover]], Germany.
* [[October 11]] – [[Heinrich Schliemann]] begins the [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavation]] of [[Troy]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Schliemann |first=Heinrich |title=Ilios |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028248593 |publisher=Harper |location=New York |language=en |year=1881 |page=21 |access-date=2020-01-20}}</ref>
* [[October 12]] – The [[Criminal Tribes Act]] is enacted by the [[British Raj]] in India, naming over 160 communities as "[[Denotified Tribes]]", allegedly habitually criminal (it will be repealed in [[1949]], after Indian independence).
* [[October 20]] – The [[Royal Regiment of Artillery]] forms the first regular Canadian army units, when they create two [[Artillery battery|batteries]] of [[garrison]] artillery, which later become the [[Royal Canadian Artillery]].
* [[October 24]] – [[Chinese massacre of 1871]]. In [[Los Angeles]]' [[Chinatown, Los Angeles|Chinatown]], 19 [[China|Chinese]] [[immigrants]] are killed by a mob of 500 men.
* [[October 26]] – Liberian President [[Edward James Roye]] is deposed in [[1871 Liberian coup d'état|a coup d'état]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dunn|first1= Elwood D.|last2=Beyan|first2=Amos J.|last3=Burrowes|first3=Carl Patrick|date=2000|title=Historical Dictionary of Liberia |trans-title=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qt0_RrW8ghkC|language=English |location= |isbn=9781461659310|page=90|publisher= Scarecrow Press}}</ref>
* [[October 27]]
** British forces march into the [[Griqualand West#Diggers Republic (1870–71)|Klipdrift Republic]] and annex the territory as [[Griqualand West#Direct British rule (1871–1880)|Griqualand West Colony]].
** [[Henri, Count of Chambord]], refuses to be crowned "King Henry V of France" until France abandons its tricolor, and returns to the old Bourbon flag.
** [[Boss Tweed]] of [[Tammany Hall]] is arrested for bribery, ending his grip on New York City.
* c. November – The [[South Improvement Company]] is formed in Pennsylvania by [[John D. Rockefeller]] and a group of major United States railroad interests, in an early effort to organize and control the American petroleum industry.
* [[November 5]] – [[Wickenburg Massacre]]: Six men travelling by stagecoach, in the [[Arizona Territory]], are reportedly murdered by [[Yavapai people]].
* [[November 7]] – The London–Australia [[telegraph]] cable is brought ashore at [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1871 Java – Port Darwin Cable |url=http://atlantic-cable.com/Cables/1871Java-PortDarwin/ |work=History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications |date=2014-11-05 |access-date=2015-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105222157/http://atlantic-cable.com/Cables/1871Java-PortDarwin/ |archive-date=January 5, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[November 10]] – [[Henry Morton Stanley]], Welsh-born correspondent for the ''[[New York Herald]]'', locates missing Scottish explorer and missionary Dr. [[David Livingstone]] in [[Ujiji]], near [[Lake Tanganyika]], and greets him by saying, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" (according to his later account).<ref name="Stanley">{{cite book |last=Stanley |first=Henry Morton |date=1872 |edition=1984 |chapter=XI. Through Uhawendi, Uvinza, and Uhha, to Ujiji |title=How I Found Livingstone: Travels, Adventures, and Discoveries in Central Africa; Including Four Months' Residence with Dr. Livingstone |location=London |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ddKYqb6A6gsC/page/411/mode/2up 412] |isbn=9780705415132}}</ref>
* [[November 17]]
** The [[National Rifle Association of America]] is granted a charter by the state of New York.
** [[George Biddell Airy]] presents his discovery that [[astronomical aberration]] is independent of the local medium.
* [[December 10]] – German chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] tries to ban [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] from the political stage by introducing harsh laws concerning the [[separation of church and state]].
* [[December 15]] – The [[Deseret Telegraph Company]] office in [[Pipe Spring National Monument|Pipe Spring]] begins service with a message keyed by [[Ella Stewart Udall|Ella Stewart]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKoy |first=Kathleen L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsD9o6SQQ6UC&q=%22The%20first%20message%20was%20sent%20from%20there%20on%20December%2015,%201871.%22 |title=Cultures at a Crossroads: An Administrative History of Pipe Spring National Monument |publisher=[[United States Department of the Interior|U. S. Department of the Interior]], [[National Park Service]], Intermountain Region |year=2000 |pages=35}}</ref> It is the first telegraph sent from [[Arizona Territory]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Boren |first=Ray |date=February 28, 2013 |title=A Visit to Pioneer Oasis: Arizona's Pipe Spring |work=Deseret News |url=https://www.deseret.com/2013/2/28/20515246/a-visit-to-pioneer-oasis-arizona-s-pipe-spring |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109160947/https://www.deseret.com/2013/2/28/20515246/a-visit-to-pioneer-oasis-arizona-s-pipe-spring#a-year-round-water-source-and-range-lands-south-of-the-vermilion-cliffs-drew-pioneer-cattlemen-to-pipe-spring-in-the-mid-1800s-however-drought-and-over-grazing-turned-the-once-grassy-plain-into-a-terrain-dominated-by-sagebrush-and-tumbleweeds-by-the-late-19th-century |archive-date=November 9, 2020}}</ref>
* [[December 19]] – The city of [[Birmingham, Alabama]], is incorporated with the merger of three existing towns.
* [[December 24]] – The opera ''[[Aida]]'' opens in Cairo, Egypt.
* [[December 25]] – [[Reading F.C.]] is formed as an [[Association football]] club in England.
* [[December 26]] – [[Thespis (opera)|''Thespis'']], the first of the [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operas, premières in London. It does modestly well, but the two composers will not collaborate again for four years.

=== Date unknown ===
* In South Africa
** [[Gold]] is discovered at Pilgrim's Creek in the [[Pilgrim's Rest, Mpumalanga|Pilgrim's Rest]] area.
** An {{Convert|83.50|carat|g|adj=on}} diamond is discovered, resulting in a [[diamond rush]], and the town of [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|New Rush]] springs up; Colonial Commissioners arrive there on November 17.
* The [[Harvard Summer School]] is founded.
* The [[Shinto shrine]] of [[Izumo-taisha]] in Japan is designated as an Imperial shrine.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ponsonby-Fane |first=Richard |year=1959 |title=The Imperial House of Japan |page=125}}</ref>
* Modern "[[neoclassical economics]]" is initiated by publication of [[William Stanley Jevons]]'s ''Theory of Political Economy'' and [[Carl Menger]]'s ''[[Principles of Economics (Menger)|Principles of Economics]] (Grundsätze der Volkswirtschaftslehre)''.