Editing 1884 (section)

== Events ==

=== January&ndash;March ===
* January &ndash; [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s anonymous story "[[J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement]]" appears in the ''[[Cornhill Magazine]]'' (London). Based on the disappearance of the crew of the ''[[Mary Celeste]]'' in [[1872]], many of the fictional elements introduced by Doyle come to replace the real events in the popular imagination.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jones|first=Thomas|title=Arthur Conan Doyle and the ''Mary Celeste''|journal=[[London Review of Books]]|date=2005-02-17|volume=27|issue=4|page=22|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n04/thomas-jones/short-cuts|access-date=2024-12-14}}</ref>
* [[January 4]] &ndash; The [[Fabian Society]] is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress.
* [[January 5]] &ndash; [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s comic opera ''[[Princess Ida]]'', a satire on feminism, premières at the [[Savoy Theatre]], London.
* [[January 7]] &ndash; German microbiologist [[Robert Koch]] isolates ''[[Vibrio cholerae]]'', the [[cholera]] [[bacillus]], working in India.<ref>Koch, R. (1884-03-20). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=yY41AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA191 Sechster Bericht der deutschen wissenschaftlichen Commission zur Erforschung der Cholera]". ''Deutsche medizinische Wochenscrift'' '''10'''(12): 191–2.</ref>
* [[January 18]] &ndash; [[William Price (physician)|William Price]] attempts to cremate his dead baby son, Iesu Grist, in Wales. Later tried and acquitted on the grounds that [[cremation]] is not contrary to [[English law]], he is thus able to carry out the ceremony (the first in the United Kingdom in modern times) on [[March 14]], setting a legal precedent.<ref>{{cite book|title=Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain|author-link=Ronald Hutton|last=Hutton|first=Ronald|year=2009|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|isbn=978-0-300-14485-7}}</ref>
* [[February 1]] &ndash; ''A New English Dictionary on historical principles, part 1'' (edited by [[James Murray (lexicographer)|James A. H. Murray]]), the first fascicle of what will become ''The [[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', is published in England.<ref>{{cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-14-102715-0|year=2006}}</ref>
* [[February 5]] &ndash; [[Derby County F.C.|Derby County Football Club]] is founded in England.
* [[March 13]] &ndash; The [[Siege of Khartoum]] begins in the [[Sudan]] as part of the [[Mahdist War]]: an Egyptian garrison led by British [[Charles George Gordon|General Charles Gordon]] and Sudanese civilians are besieged by [[Mahdist State|Mahdist]] forces;<ref name=CBH>{{cite book|last1=Palmer|first1=Alan|author2=Veronica|year=1992|title=The Chronology of British History|publisher=Century Ltd|location=London|pages=309–310|isbn=0-7126-5616-2}}</ref> the city falls on [[January 26]], [[1885]].
* [[March 28]] &ndash; [[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany|Prince Leopold]], the youngest son and eighth child of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Albert]], dies, aged 30 in [[Cannes]] ([[France]]) following a fall complicated by his [[haemophilia]]. His son, [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], is born nearly 4 months later.
* [[March]] &ndash; [[John Joseph Montgomery]] conducts the first manned glider flights in the United States near Otay, California.

=== April&ndash;June ===
* [[April 4]] &ndash; The [[Treaty of Valparaiso]], an armistice between [[Chile]] and [[Bolivia]], ends the [[War of the Pacific]]; Bolivia is obliged to cede [[Antofagasta]] to Chile, leaving Bolivia as a [[landlocked country]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The International Politics of Latin America|last=Calvert|first=Peter|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=1994|page=80}}</ref>
* [[April 20]] &ndash; [[Pope Leo XIII]] publishes the [[encyclical]] ''[[Humanum genus]]'', denouncing [[Freemasonry]] and certain liberal beliefs which he considers to be associated with it.
* [[April 22]]
** A German protectorate is established over [[German South-West Africa|South-West Africa]].
** The [[1884 Colchester earthquake|Colchester earthquake]] ("the Great English earthquake") measuring EMS-98 VIII ''(Heavily damaging)''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bib.gfz-potsdam.de/pub/str0302/0302_cat.pdf|title=An earthquake catalogue for central, northern and northwestern Europe based on Mw magnitudes / Annex. STR 03/02|last=GeoForschungsZentrum|page=68|accessdate=2011-12-16}}</ref> is the UK's most destructive, although no direct fatalities can be confirmed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Musson|first=R. M. W.|url=https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article-pdf/44/1/1.14/420519/44-1-1.14.pdf|title=Fatalities in British earthquakes|journal=Astronomy & Geophysics|volume=44|issue=1|date=2003-02-01|pages=1.14–1.16|doi=10.1046/j.1468-4004.2003.44114.x }}</ref>
* [[May 1]] &ndash; The [[Eight-hour day|eight-hour workday]] is first proclaimed by the [[Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions]] in the United States. This date, called ''[[May Day]]'' or ''[[Labour Day]]'', becomes a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country.
* [[May 4]] &ndash; The [[Panic of 1884]] creates a credit shortage that accelerates the current [[United States]] economic recession into the [[Depression of 1882–1885]].
* [[May 16]] 
** [[Angelo Moriondo]] of [[Turin]] is granted a [[patent]] for an [[espresso machine]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Patent #33/256|journal=Bollettino delle Privative Industriali del Regno d'Italia|series=2nd Series|volume=15|year=1884|pages=635–655}}</ref>
** [[Sweden]]'s Finance Minister [[Robert Themptander]] becomes his country's Prime Minister (1884–88).
* [[June 4]] (N.S.) ([[May 23]] O.S.) &ndash; The future [[flag of Estonia]] is consecrated as the flag of the [[Estonian Students' Society]].
* [[June 13]] &ndash; [[LaMarcus Adna Thompson]] opens the "Gravity Pleasure [[Switchback Railway]]" at [[Coney Island]], New York City.
* [[June 28]] &ndash; The [[Norwegian Association for Women's Rights]] (''Norsk Kvinnesaksforening'') is founded. Also this year, the [[Fredrika Bremer Association]] (''Fredrika Bremer Förbundet'') is founded in Sweden for the same purpose.
* June &ndash; The first ascent is made of [[Castle Mountain]] in the [[Canadian Rockies]], by geologist [[Arthur Philemon Coleman]].

=== July&ndash;September ===
[[File:HARPER'S WEEKLY-NewYork 6 June 1885.jpg|thumb|200px|right| [[August 5]]: [[Statue of Liberty]] erection begins]]
* [[July 1]] &ndash; [[First International Forestry Exhibition]] opens in [[Edinburgh]], Scotland.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Forestry Exhibition|newspaper=[[The Morning Post]]|location=London|date=1884-07-02|page=3}}</ref>
* [[July 3]] &ndash; The [[Dow Jones Transportation Average]], consisting of eleven transportation-related companies (nine railroads and two non-rail companies, Western Union and Pacific Mail), is created in the United States. The index is the oldest stock index to remain in use.
* [[July 5]] &ndash; [[German Empire|Germany]] takes possession of [[Togoland]].
* [[July 7]] &ndash; Nagasaki Shipyard, predecessor of the Japanese [[aircraft]] and [[shipbuilding]] business [[Mitsubishi]], is founded on the island of [[Kyushu]].<ref>[[:ja:三菱重工長崎造船所#沿革]] (Japanese language edition) Retrieved on June 28, 2020.</ref>
* [[July 14]] &ndash; German administration is established in [[Cameroon]].
* [[July 23]] &ndash; The first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall, [[Leamington Spa]], England, are recorded in today's ''Courier''.
* [[August 5]] &ndash; The cornerstone for the [[Statue of Liberty]] is laid on [[Bedloe's Island]] in [[New York Harbor]].
* [[August 10]] &ndash; An [[earthquake]] measuring 5.5 {{M|fa|link=y}} affects a very large portion of the eastern United States. The shock has a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of VII (''Very strong''). Chimneys are toppled in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Property damage is severe in [[Jamaica, Queens]] and [[Amityville, New York]].<ref>{{citation|last1=Stover|first1=C. W.|last2=Coffman|first2=J. L.|title=Seismicity of the United States, 1568–1989|edition=Revised|series=U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY0KAQAAIAAJyear|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|pages=314–316}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* [[August 22]] &ndash; The [[Sino-French War]] (for control of [[Tonkin]]) breaks out (continues to April [[1885]]).
* [[August 23]] &ndash; [[Sino-French War]]: [[Battle of Fuzhou]] &ndash; French Admiral [[Amédée Courbet]]'s [[Far East Squadron]] virtually destroys China's [[Fujian Fleet]].
* [[September 5]] &ndash; [[Staten Island Academy]] is founded.
* [[September 15]] &ndash; The invention of [[local anesthesia]] by ophthalmologist [[Karl Koller (ophthalmologist)|Karl Koller]] is made public at a medical congress in [[Heidelberg]], Germany.
* [[September 23]]–[[September 24|24]] (night) &ndash; Steamship ''Arctique'' runs aground near [[Cape Virgenes]], leading to the discovery of nearby [[Placer mining|placer]] gold and beginning the [[Tierra del Fuego gold rush]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=La minería aurífera en la región austral americana (1869-1950)|journal=[[Historia (history of the Americas journal)|Historia]]|url=https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-71942003003600009|last=Martinic Beros|first=Mateo|volume=36|doi=10.4067/S0717-71942003003600009|year=2003|doi-broken-date=November 1, 2024|language=Spanish|author-link=Mateo Martinic|access-date=January 25, 2021|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129120413/https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-71942003003600009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== October&ndash;December ===
[[File:United States Naval War College museum.jpg|thumb|200px|right| [[October 6]]: US Naval War College founded.]]
* [[October 6]] &ndash; The United States [[Naval War College]] is established in [[Newport, Rhode Island]].
* [[October 18]] &ndash; The [[Bangor University|University College of North Wales, Bangor]], is founded in the UK.
* [[October 22]]
** The [[International Meridian Conference]] meeting in Washington, D.C., fixes the [[Greenwich meridian]] as the world's prime meridian (voted on October 13).
** The "[[Nine Graces]]", nine women who are the first to be awarded degrees from the [[Royal University of Ireland]], become the first women in the United Kingdom to be awarded degrees. They include [[Alice Oldham]], [[Isabella Mulvany]] and Charlotte M. Taylor.
* [[October 30]] &ndash; [[Hosay massacre]] in Trinidad: British colonial authorities fire on Indian indentured labourers marking a religious festival, killing at least 9.
* [[November 1]]
** The Irish [[Gaelic Athletic Association]] is founded in Thurles, Ireland.
** [[Leicester City F.C.]] play their first match, as Leicester Fosse Football Club, in England.
* [[November 2]] &ndash; [[Timișoara]], Romania, is the first town in Europe with streets illuminated by electric light.<ref>{{cite book|first=Kurt W.|last=Treptow|title=A History of Romania|location=Iasi|publisher=Center for Romania Studies|year=1996|isbn=978-0-88033-345-0|page=590}}</ref>
* [[November 4]] &ndash; [[1884 United States presidential election]]: [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] governor of New York [[Grover Cleveland]] defeats [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[James G. Blaine]] in a very close contest, to win the first of his non-consecutive terms.
* [[November 15]] &ndash; The [[Berlin Conference]], which regulates European [[colonisation of Africa|colonisation]] and trade in Africa, begins (ends February 26, [[1885]]).
* [[December 1]]
** [[American Old West]]: Near [[Frisco, New Mexico]], deputy sheriff [[Elfego Baca]] holds off a gang of 80 Texan [[cowboy]]s, who want to kill him for arresting cowboy Charles McCarthy (the cowboys have been terrorizing the area's [[Hispanic|Hispanos]], and Baca is working against them).
** [[Porfirio Díaz]] returns as [[President of Mexico]], an office he will hold until [[1911]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Porfirio Díaz|url=https://www.buscabiografias.com/biografia/verDetalle/633/Porfirio%20Diaz|language=es|website=Busca Biografias|access-date=June 8, 2019}}</ref>
* [[December 4]]
** Reformers in Korea who admire the [[Meiji Restoration]] in Japan stage the [[Gapsin Coup]], with Japan's help. China intervenes to rescue the king and help suppress the rebels.
** [[Tom Dudley]] and Edwin Stephens are convicted of [[murder]] in the survival [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]] case of ''[[R v. Dudley and Stephens]]'' in the English courts.
* [[December 6]]
** The [[Washington Monument]] is completed in Washington, D.C., becoming the [[List of tallest buildings and structures in the world|tallest structure in the world]] at this date.
** The [[Third Reform Act]] widens the adult male electorate in the United Kingdom to around 60%.
* [[December 10]] &ndash; [[Mark Twain]]'s ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' is first published, in London.
* [[December 16]] &ndash; The [[World Cotton Centennial]] [[world's fair]] opens in [[New Orleans]].
* [[December 30]] &ndash; [[Anton Bruckner]]'s [[Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner)|Symphony No. 7]] is premiered in [[Leipzig]], bringing the composer his first great success.

=== Date unknown ===
* The first Christian [[missionary]] arrives in Korea.
* Police training schools are established in every [[prefecture]] in Japan.
* The [[Yellow Crane Tower]] last burns in [[Wuhan]].
* Scottish [[Plymouth Brethren]] [[missionary]] [[Frederick Stanley Arnot]] identifies the source of the [[Zambezi]] River, near [[Kalene Hill]].
* The [[Stefan–Boltzmann law]] is reformulated by [[Ludwig Boltzmann]].
* Mexican General [[Manuel Mondragón]] designs an early form of the [[Mondragón rifle]], the world's first automatic rifle.
* [[Thomas Parker (inventor)|Thomas Parker]] builds a practical production [[electric car]] in Wolverhampton (England) using his own specially designed high-capacity rechargeable batteries.
* The [[water hyacinth]] is introduced in the United States, and quickly becomes an [[invasive species]].