istoryworld
All Events
English polymath Francis Galton publishes Inquiries in Human Faculty, developing the theme of eugenics and coining the term
French marines land at Tamatave in Madagascar to protect French interests and assert French control
In Thus Spake Zarathustra Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche envisages the Übermensch ('superman') enhancing human existence
Mark Twain's autobiographical book Life on the Mississippi details his own personal involvement with the great river
Mohammed Ahmed, proclaiming himself the Mahdi, defeats three Egyptian armies in the Sudan
Eruption of the volcano on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa sends six cubic miles of debris into the atmosphere and causes a huge tsunami
Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure story, Treasure Island, features Long John Silver and Ben Gunn
William Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, celebrates the world of the cowboy in his immensely successful Wild West Show
After the gallery is built in Kew Gardens at her expense, Marianne North continues to travel and paint, eventually filling it with 832 pictures. She dies in 1890.
Experiments by August Weismann establish the so-called Weismann barrier, proving that the Larmarckian concept of the inheritance of acquired characteristics is false
French artist Claude Monet moves to Giverny, where he creates and paints a famous lily pond
Antoni Gaudí begins a life-long commitment to the building of a modern cathedral in Barcelona, El Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia
Cetshwayo dies, after being expelled from his kingdom in an uprising led by Zibhebhu and supported by Boer mercenaries
The theatre, still known affectionately in Richmond as Kean's, falls on hard times and is pulled down
The British empire is first described as a 'Commonwealth of Nations', by Lord Rosebery speaking in Australia
General Gordon marches south to protect Khartoum from the advancing forces of the Mahdi
Bismarck launches the colonial scramble for Africa by suddenly annexing three territories for Germany (Togo, Cameroon and Angria Pequena)
The Boer republic in the Transvaal regains its independence from Britain
English socialists, including Bernard Shaw and Sidney Webb, found the Fabian Society as part of a long-term political strategy
A new Reform Act in Britain further reduces the financial threshold for voters in Britain, in effect extending the franchise to male workers in rural areas
Greenwich becomes accepted internationally as the prime meridian, or 0° longitude
The newly founded Fabian Society publishes Manifesto by George Bernard Shaw
Gustav Nachtigal arrives in Togo and persuades local chiefs to accept the protection of the German emperor
The Gaelic Athletic Association is founded in Ireland to promote indigenous games such as hurling
Gustav Nachtigal, moving on to Cameroon, annexes this region too for the new German empire
