January 4 Ontario Rugby Football Union (forerunner of CFL) forms January 6 Ontario Rugby Football Union forms January 10 Fire at uninsured Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin kills 71. General Tom Thumb of P T Barnum fame, escapes unhurt January 13 Fire in circus Ferroni in Berditschoft Poland kills 430 January 13 Henrik Ibsen's "En Folkefiende," premieres in Oslo January 16 Pendleton Act creates basis of U.S. Civil Service system January 16 Quebec Rugby Football Union forms January 20 Billy Barnes takes a hat-trick, England vs. Australia MCG January 22 England complete 1st innings victory in Tests vs. Australia MCG January 30 England team presented with ashes of a bail after Sydney Test February 1 French Lt-colonel Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes reaches Bamako on the Niger February 7 Lt-colonel Borgnis-Desbordes founds Fort Bamako Niger February 8 Louis Waterman begins experiments to invents fountain pen February 10 Fire at un-insured New Hall Hotel in Milwaukee Wisconsin, kills 71 February 14 1st state labor union legislation; New Jersey legalizes unions February 16 "Ladies Home Journal" begins publishing February 17 A. Ashwell patents free-toilet in London February 21 2nd French government of Ferry begins February 23 Alabama becomes 1st U.S. state to enact an antitrust law February 23 American Anti-Vivisection Society organized in Philadelphia February 27 Oscar Hammerstein patents 1st cigar-rolling machine February 28 1st U.S. vaudeville theater opens in Boston March 3 Congress authorizes the 1st steel vessels in U.S. navy March 4 John Gordon Cashmans begins "Vicksburg Evening Post" in Mississippi March 19 Jan Matzeliger invents 1st machine to manufacture entire shoes March 20 Unity treaty of Paris signed: protects industrial property March 24 1st telephone call between New York and Chicago March 31 1st performance of Cesar Franck's "Le Chasseur Maudit" March 31 Utrecht begins water pipe system April 2 Battle at Bamako: French assault on Fabous arm forces attack April 6 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Speckled Band" April 12 French troops under Lt-colonel Borgnis-Desbordes occupy Bamako Senegal April 13 Alfred Packer convicted of cannibalism April 14 Leo Delibes' opera "Lakme," premieres in Paris April 16 Paul Kruger chosen president of Transvaal April 23 John Heemskerk Azn forms Dutch government April 24 28 Surinamers depart to Amsterdam World's Fair May 1 Amsterdam World's Fair opens May 1 Baseball returns to Philadelphia, 1st NL game since 1876 May 1 "Buffalo Bill" Cody put on his 1st Wild West Show May 1 New York Athletic Club hires Bob Rogers as 1st American pro sports trainer May 4 John Gordon Cashmans begins "Vicksburg Evening Post" (Miss) May 15 Italy signs military treaty with Austria-Hungary and Germany May 17 Buffalo Bill Cody's 1st wild west show premieres in Omaha May 22 Cub's Billy Sunday's 1st at bat, begins 14 consecutive strikes out May 23 9th Kentucky Derby: William Donohue aboard Leonatus wins in 2:43 May 23 Baseball game between one-armed and one-legged players May 24 Brooklyn Bridge opened by President Arthur and Governor Cleveland May 26 11th Preakness: G Barbee aboard Jacobus wins in 2:42 May 27 Czar Alexander III crowned in Moscow May 30 Rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse caused a stampede that kills 12 May 31 French fleet under Pierre begins siege of Tamatave, Madagascar June 2 1st night baseball under lights, Ft. Wayne Indiana June 2 Chicago's "El" opens to traffic June 9 17th Belmont: Jim McLaughlin aboard George Kinney wins in 2:42 June 9 1st commercial electric railway line begins operation in Chicago June 16 1st baseball "Ladies' Day" (New York Gothams beat Cleveland Spiders 5-2) July 1 ANWB forms in Utrecht July 3 SS Daphne sinks on Clyde River Scotland; 195 die July 4 Buffalo Bill Cody presents 1st wild west show, North Platte, Nebr July 24 Arabi Pasha declares a holy war in Egypt July 28 Shocks triggered by volcano Epomeo (Isle of Ischia, Italy) destroyed 1,200 houses at Casamicciola killing 2,000 August 1 A papyrus offered to British Museum for 10,000 pounds, forgery August 1 Amsterdam's Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky gets electric lights August 1 Inland postal service begins in Great Britain August 21 Providence shuts out Phillies 28-0 August 23 Phillies make 27 errors against Providence (wild pitches, walks and and passballs count as errors prior to 1888) August 26 Krakatoa erupts with increasingly large explosions kills 36,000 August 27 Krakatoa, west of Java, explodes with a force of 1,300 megatons August 28 Slavery banned throughout British Empire August 29 Seismic sea waves created by Krakatoa eruption create a rise in English Channel 32 hours after explosion September 6 Cub's Burns (extra bases), Williamson and Pfeiffer get 3 hits in 1 inn September 8 New York Giants score 13 runs in an inning against Phillies September 8 Northern Pacific RR's last spike driven at Independence Creek, Mont September 11 James Cutler patents postal mail chute September 13 Cleveland Hugh Daily no-hits Philadelphia 1-0 September 13 Hugh Daily, a one-armed pitcher for Cleveland (Forest City), tosses 1-0 no-hitter against Philadelphia September 21 1st direct U.S. - Brazil telegraph connection September 24 National black convention meets in Louisville, Kentucky October 4 Orient Express' 1st run, linking Turkey to Europe by rail October 15 Supreme Court declares Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional October 20 Max Bruch's "Kol Nidre," 1st performed October 20 Treaty of Ancon, Peru cedes Tarapaca to Chile October 22 1st New York Horse Show held (Madison Square Garden) October 22 Original Metropolitan Opera House (New York City) grand opening (Faust) October 30 Austria-Hungary/Germany/Romania signs military treaty November 3 Race riots in Danville Virginia (4 blacks killed) November 3 U.S. Supreme Court decides Native Americans can't be Americans November 5 Battle at El Obeid Sudan: Mahdi's army destroys Egyptian army November 5 Musical "Cordelia's Aspirations" premieres in New York City November 6 NYAC organizes 1st American cross-country championship race November 8 English freighter Nisero stranded at Atjeh (crew taken hostage) November 10 Toronto Argonauts defeat Ottawa FC 9-7, for 1st ORFU Championship November 18 Antonin Dvorak's "Husitska," premieres November 18 Standard time zones forms by railroads in U.S. and Canada December 2 John Brahms' 3rd Symphony in F, premieres December 3 48th Congress (1883-85) convenes December 9 New Brunswick adopts Eastern Standard Time (until 1902) December 20 International cantilever railway bridge opens at Niagara Falls December 22 August Strindberg's "Lycko-Pers Reja," premieres
