January 31
January 31
Author Zane Grey is born
Zane Grey, author of Riders of the Purple Sage, is born in Zanesville, Ohio. The son of a successful dentist, Grey enjoyed a happy and solid upper‑middle‑class childhood, marred only…
A Year In History: 1872
This Year in History:
1872
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
March 1
March 1
Yellowstone, America’s first national park, established
President Grant signs the bill creating the nation’s first national park at Yellowstone on March 1, 1872. Native Americans had lived and hunted in the region that would become Yellowstone…
March 26
March 26
Deadly earthquake hits California
An earthquake felt from Mexico to Oregon rocks the Owens Valley in California on this day in 1872, killing 30 people. California, with the large San Andreas Fault running through…
November 5
November 5
Susan B. Anthony casts a vote, prompting arrest
On November 5, 1872, 48 years before American women gain the right to vote with the 19th Amendment, pioneering women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony illegally attempts to cast a…
November 9
November 9
Fire rips through Boston
On this day in 1872, a fire in Boston destroys hundreds of buildings and kills 14 people. In the aftermath, the city established an entirely new system of firefighting and…
November 26
November 26
The Great Diamond Hoax is exposed
The Great Diamond Hoax, one of the most notorious mining swindles of the time, is exposed with an article in the San FranciscoEvening Bulletin. Fraudulent gold and silver mines were…
December 5
December 5
The Mary Celeste, a ship whose crew mysteriously disappeared, is spotted at sea
The Dei Gratia, a small British brig under Captain David Morehouse, spots the Mary Celeste, an American vessel, sailing erratically but at full sail near the Azores Islands in the…
December 17
December 17
Buffalo Bill Cody makes his first stage appearance
Already appearing as a well‑known figure of the Wild West in popular dime novels, Buffalo Bill Cody makes his first stage appearance on December 17, 1872, in a Chicago‑based production…
