Also Within This Year in History:
1886
1886 was a big year for Grover Cleveland, who dedicated the Statue of Liberty and became the first president to marry in the White House. A labor demonstration at Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned deadly after a bomb exploded and police fired on protesters, while in Seattle, anti-Chinese mobs dragged residents from their Chinatown homes. Coca-Cola went on sale for the first time at an Atlanta pharmacy, and in Germany, rival inventors Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler filed the first patent applications for gasoline-powered automobiles.
Destined to become one of the state’s major exports, the first trainload of oranges grown by Southern California farmers leaves Los Angeles via the transcontinental railroad. The Spanish had established…
Ohio passes a statute that criminalizes seduction by all men over the age of 18 who worked as teachers or instructors of women. The law even prohibited men from having…
At Haymarket Square in Chicago, Illinois, a bomb is thrown at a squad of policemen attempting to break up what had begun as a peaceful labor rally. The police responded…
What begins as a peaceful labor protest in Haymarket Square in Chicago, Illinois, turns into a riot, leaving more than 100 wounded and 8 police officers dead. After Chicago authorities…
President Grover Cleveland becomes the first sitting president to marry in the White House on June 2, 1886. Cleveland entered the White House as a bachelor and left a married…
In an intimate ceremony held in the Blue Room of the White House, President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom, the daughter of Cleveland’s late law partner and friend, Oscar Folsom.…
On this day in 1886, President Grover Cleveland submits a proposal to the Senate that outlines conventions for extraditing criminals of Japanese nationality who had committed crimes on U.S. soil…
Future President William Howard Taft marries Helen “Nellie” Herron in Cincinnati, Ohio, on this day in 1886. According to biographers at the National First Ladies Library, Nellie was strong‑willed, bright…
On this day in 1886, Joseph Conrad, born Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski in Poland, becomes a British citizen. Conrad’s father had been a Polish poet and patriot. He was arrested…
An earthquake near Charleston, South Carolina, on August 31, 1886 leaves more than 100 people dead and hundreds of buildings destroyed. This was the largest recorded earthquake in the history…
On September 4, 1886, Apache leader Geronimo surrenders to U.S. government troops. For 30 years, the Native American warrior had battled to protect his tribe’s homeland; however, by 1886 the Apaches…
For almost 30 years he had fought the whites who invaded his homeland, but Geronimo, the wiliest and most dangerous Apache warrior of his time, finally surrenders in Skeleton Canyon,…
The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States, is dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.…
On this day in 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The statue’s full name was Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World. It had…
On this day in 1886, former President Chester Alan Arthur succumbs to complications from a debilitating and fatal kidney ailment known as Bright’s Disease. In the words of former President…
Once a hall for operettas, pantomime, political meetings and vaudeville, the Folies Bergère in Paris introduces an elaborate revue featuring women in sensational costumes on November 30, 1886. The highly…
On this day in 1886, the often controversial baseball legend Ty Cobb is born in Narrows, Georgia. From the beginning of his career, a shadow seemed to hover over the…
