January 14
January 14
Joseph Conrad returns to London
On this day in 1894, Joseph Conrad returns to London to settle down after a long career at sea. There, he begins rewriting a story he had been working on…
A Year In History: 1894
This Year in History:
1894
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
February 28
February 28
Ben Hecht is born
Novelist, playwright, and screenwriter Ben Hecht was born on this day in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrants. Hecht’s family moved to Racine, Wisconsin, where Hecht attended high school.…
March 12
March 12
Coca‑Cola sold in glass bottles for the first time
On March 12, 1894, Coca‑Cola is first sold in bottles. Though today there is almost nothing as ubiquitous as a bottle of Coca‑Cola, this was not always the case. For…
March 16
March 16
Gunslinger John Wesley Hardin is pardoned
Infamous gunslinger John Wesley Hardin is pardoned after spending 15 years in a Texas prison for murder. Hardin, who was reputed to have shot and killed a man just for…
March 17
March 17
Novelist and playwright Paul Green is born
Paul Green, future winner of the 1927 Pulitzer Prize for his play In Abraham’s Bosom, is born. Although Green was white, his work examined the problems of blacks in the…
March 22
March 22
First Stanley Cup championship played
On March 22, 1894, the first championship series for Lord Stanley’s Cup is played in Montreal, Canada. The Stanley Cup has since become one of the most cherished and recognized…
April 15
April 15
Bessie Smith is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee
American singer and Blues great Bessie Smith, a monumental figure in her own time and beyond, was likely born on April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At least, that is…
April 26
April 26
Rudolf Hess is born
Rudolf Hess, Nazi party secretary and deputy to Adolf Hitler who caused an international sensation when he parachuted into Scotland in an attempt to negotiate a truce between Britain and…
May 27
May 27
Hard‑boiled mystery writer Dashiell Hammett is born
Dashiell Hammett, author of The Maltese Falcon, is born in Maryland on this day in 1894. Hammett left school at age 13 and took a series of low‑paying jobs, eventually…
September 1
September 1
Minnesota town burns
The town of Hinckley, Minnesota, is destroyed by a forest fire on this day in 1894. A total of 440 people died in the area. The upper Midwest was particularly…
September 25
September 25
Grover Cleveland pardons bigamists, adulterers, polygamists and unlawful cohabitants
On September 25, 1894, President Grover Cleveland issues a presidential proclamation pardoning followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints (also known as Mormons) who had previously engaged in…
December 8
December 8
Humorist James Thurber is born
On December 8, 1894, humorist James Thurber is born in Columbus, Ohio. When Thurber was about 7, he lost an eye in an accident while playing with his brothers. His…
December 22
December 22
Albert Dreyfus found guilty, sparking French scandal
French officer Alfred Dreyfus is convicted of treason by a military court‑martial and sentenced to life in prison for his alleged crime of passing military secrets to the Germans. The…
December 22
December 22
Governing body for U.S. golf is founded
On December 22, 1894, the Amateur Golf Association of the United States—later renamed the United States Golf Association—is formed in New York to govern the sport. Five charter golf clubs…
