February 5
February 5
The “French Henry Ford” born
On this day in 1878, Andre Citroen, later referred to as the Henry Ford of France for developing his country’s first mass‑produced automobiles, is born in Paris. Citroen revolutionized the…
A Year In History: 1878
This Year in History:
1878
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
February 11
February 11
First US cycling club formed
On February 11, 1878, the Boston Bicycle Club, the first organization for recreational cyclists, is formed. The following year, a club is formed in Buffalo, followed by a club in…
February 18
February 18
Murder ignites Lincoln County War
Long simmering tensions in Lincoln County, New Mexico, explode into a bloody shooting war when gunmen murder the English rancher John Tunstall. Tunstall had established a large ranching operation in…
February 19
February 19
Thomas Edison patents the phonograph
On February 19, 1878, Thomas Edison is awarded U.S. Patent No. 200,521 for his invention—the phonograph. The technology that made the modern music business possible came into existence in the…
February 28
February 28
Silver dollars made legal
Strongly supported by western mining interests and farmers, the Bland‑Allison Act—which provided for a return to the minting of silver coins—becomes the law of the land. The strife and controversy…
May 25
May 25
Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera “HMS Pinafore” premieres in London
By the spring of 1877, the English light‑opera team of W.S. Gilbert and Richard Sullivan had established a strong reputation based on several well‑received earlier works, but they had yet…
June 23
June 23
Frontiersman Martin Sweeny is murdered
Martin Sweeny, a former Indian agent and Arizona mining entrepreneur, is murdered near Tombstone, Arizona, in a dispute over a mining property. Though he would never become famous, Martin Sweeny’s…
July 25
July 25
Black Bart strikes again
On July 25, 1878, Black Bart robs a Wells Fargo stagecoach in California. Wearing a flour sack over his head, the armed robber stole the small safe box with less…
July 26
July 26
Officer Wyatt Earp fatally wounds cowboy
Attempting to preserve the peace in Dodge City, Assistant Marshal Wyatt Earp trades shots with a band of drunken cowboys, fatally wounding one of them. Although he ended up on…
August 13
August 13
First victim of Memphis yellow fever epidemic dies
On August 13, 1878, Kate Bionda, a restaurant owner, dies of yellow fever in Memphis, Tennessee, after a man who had escaped a quarantined steamboat visited her restaurant. The disease…
September 17
September 17
The Allegheny Arsenal explodes, killing 78 people
In the early afternoon on September 17, 1862, just about 200 miles from where the Battle of Antietam was taking place, another Civil War‑era tragedy occurs: Three explosions rip through…
September 20
September 20
Upton Sinclair is born
Upton Sinclair, Pulitzer Prize‑winning writer and reformer, is born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20, 1878. Sinclair came from a once well‑to‑do Southern family that had suffered reverses. When he…
December 18
December 18
Last member of Irish secret society is executed
John Kehoe, the last of the Molly Maguires, is executed in Pennsylvania. The Molly Maguires, an Irish secret society that had allegedly been responsible for some incidences of vigilante justice…
December 29
December 29
Cuban professional baseball league holds first game
On December 29, 1878, the first game is played between two teams of the first professional baseball league in Cuba, later known as the Cuban League. Representing the city of…
