This Year in History:
1884
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
On February 1, 1884, the first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)—considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language—is published in the United States,…
Future President Theodore Roosevelt’s wife and mother die, only hours apart, on February 14, 1884. Roosevelt was at work in the New York state legislature attempting to get a government…
On this day in 1884, an astonishing series of 37 tornadoes sweeps across the Southeast United States. The twisters, which came at a time in which there was no warning…
Texas gunslinger Ben Thompson dies in a San Antonio theatre where accomplices of his longtime enemies ambushed and murdered him. Thompson’s career as a gunman began early. In 1858, when…
Isoroku Yamamoto, perhaps Japan’s greatest strategist and the officer who would contrive the surprise air attack on U.S. naval forces at Pearl Harbor, is born on April 4, 1884. A…
On May 8, 1884, Harry S. Truman is born in Lamar, Missouri. The son of a farmer, Truman could not afford to go to college. He joined the army at…
On June 16, 1884, the first roller coaster in America opens at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York. Known as a switchback railway, it was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson,…
In a ceremony held in Paris on July 4, 1884, the completed Statue of Liberty is formally presented to the U.S. ambassador as a commemoration of the friendship between France…
On this day in 1884, President Chester Arthur issues a proclamation that grants him and the federal government the power to quarantine persons entering the United States through its ports…
Judge Allen disposes of the 13 criminal cases on his Oakland, California, docket in only six minutes. Although he apparently set a new record for speed, defendants in Oakland’s criminal…
Elfego Baca, legendary defender of southwestern Hispanos, manages to hold off a gang of 80 cowboys who are determined to kill him. The trouble began the previous day, when Baca…
On December 6, 1884, in Washington, D.C., workers place a nine‑inch aluminum pyramid inscribed with “Laus Deo,” meaning praise (be) to God, atop a tower of white marble, completing the construction of…
On this day in 1884, the nation’s architectural tribute to its founding father, Revolutionary War hero and first president, George Washington, is completed. The Washington Monument, a 550‑foot obelisk, still…
A central player in the violent Lincoln County War of 1878‑81, the cattleman John Chisum dies at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Born in Tennessee in 1824, Chisum moved with his family…
Hideki Tojo, prime minister of Japan during the war, is born in Tokyo. After graduating from the Imperial Military Academy and the Military Staff College, Tojo was sent to Berlin…
