February 1
February 1
Religious leader goes underground
John Taylor, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church), goes “underground” to avoid arrest and continue resisting federal demands for…
A Year In History: 1885
This Year in History:
1885
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
February 18
February 18
This Day in History Video: What Happened on February 18
Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published, Michelangelo died, the planet Pluto is discovered in This Day in History video. The date is February 18th. Michelangelo was often…
February 18
February 18
Mark Twain publishes “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
On February 18, 1885, Mark Twain publishes his famous—and famously controversial—novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the U.S. Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) first introduced Huck Finn…
February 21
February 21
Washington Monument dedicated
The Washington Monument, built in honor of America’s revolutionary hero and first president, is dedicated in Washington, D.C. The 555‑foot‑high marble obelisk was first proposed in 1783, and Pierre L’Enfant…
February 23
February 23
Convicted murderer gets spared from death when gallows malfunction
On February 23, 1885, a 19‑year‑old man named John Lee is sent to the gallows in Exeter, England, for the murder of Emma Keyse, a rich older woman for whom…
March 7
March 7
Kansas quarantines Texas cattle
The Kansas legislature passes a law barring Texas cattle from the state between March 1 and December 1, the latest action reflecting the love‑hate relationship between Kansas and the cattle…
April 17
April 17
Isak Dinesen, author of “Out of Africa,” is born
Karen Dinesen, Baroness Blixen‑Finecke, better known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, is born in Rungsted, Denmark. Dinesen’s memoir, Out of Africa, helped demystify the continent for millions of readers.…
May 2
May 2
“Good Housekeeping” goes on sale for the first time
On May 2, 1885, Good Housekeeping magazine debuts in Holyoke, Massachusetts with this bold stated mission: “To produce and perpetuate perfection—or as near unto perfection as may be attained in…
May 17
May 17
Apache leader Geronimo flees Arizona reservation, setting off panic
For the second time in two years, the Apache leader Geronimo breaks out of an Arizona reservation, sparking panic among Arizona settlers. A famous medicine man, Geronimo achieved national fame by…
June 10
June 10
Arizona Deputy Sheriff Billy Daniels is killed
Two years after Arizona Deputy Sheriff William Daniels apprehended three of the five outlaws responsible for the Bisbee Massacre, Apache Indians kill him. Billy Daniels was typical of the thousands…
June 17
June 17
Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor
On June 17, 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of America, arrives in New York Harbor after being…
June 24
June 24
Woodrow Wilson marries Ellen Axson in Savannah, Georgia
On this day in 1885, future President Woodrow Wilson marries his first wife, Ellen Louise Axson, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. The two had met at her father’s church…
July 23
July 23
Former president Ulysses S. Grant dies
On July 23, 1885, just after completing his memoirs, Civil War hero and former president Ulysses S. Grant dies of throat cancer. The son of a tanner, Grant showed little…
September 2
September 2
Chinese miners are massacred in Wyoming Territory
On September 2, 1885, 150 white miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, brutally attack their Chinese coworkers, killing 28, wounding 15 others, and driving several hundred more out of town. The…
November 7
November 7
Canada’s transcontinental railway completed
At a remote spot called Craigellachie in the mountains of British Columbia, the last spike is driven into Canada’s first transcontinental railway. In 1880, the Canadian government contracted the Canadian…
November 11
November 11
George Patton born
George Smith Patton, one of the great American generals of World War II, is born in San Gabriel, California. Patton came from a family with a long history of military…
