- February 17
- Mississippi becomes ninth state re-admitted to US after Civil War. [1]
- February 22
- US naval commander Thomas Selfridge begins a survey of the Isthmus of Darien in Nicaragua, at Caledonia Bay. [722.41]
- February 23
- Mississippi is re-admitted to US. [1]
- March 30
- Texas becomes last confederate state re-admitted to Union. [1]
- April 15
- Last day US silver coins are allowed to circulate in Canada. [1] [618.77]
- July 15
- Georgia becomes last confederate to be re-admitted to US. [1]
- September 18
- Old Faithful Geyser is observed and named by Henry D. Washburn. [5]
- November 30
- First National Gold Bank San Francisco No. 1741 becomes the first national bank chartered in California. [573.42]
- December 13
- The first national bank charter is granted in New Mexico Territory, to land owner Lucien Maxwell, for the First National Bank of Sante Fe. [645.46]
1871
- May 1
- The US Supreme Court rules 5-4 in favor of the legal tender status of paper money, overruling a decision made in 1870 which considered it unconstitutional. [578.36]
- October 8
- Great Chicago Fire kills 200, destroys over 4 square miles (10 square km) of Chicago buildings, and original Emancipation Proclamation. Three other major fires take place on the shores of Lake Michigan. (In 1944, the estate of Louis Cohn releases a letter claiming he knocked over a lantern in a barn while playing craps with friends.) [1] [80.147] [187.283] [565.104]
1872
- January 3
- First patent list issued by US Patent Office. [1]
- January 15
- The US Supreme Court rules the Legal Tender Acts are constitutional. [630.72]
- January 20
- California Stock Exchange Board organized. [1]
- March 1
- Yellowstone National Park (world's first national park) is established under the act signed into law by President Ulysses Grant. [1] [415.4] [444.38] [549.4]
- August 23
- First Japanese commercial ship visits San Francisco, California, carrying tea. [1]
- September 14
- Britain pays the US $15 million for damages during Civil War. [1]
- October 21
- The Treaty of Washington is signed by Canada and the USA, settling the "Pig War" of 1859, establishing the final boundary between the USA and Canada, granting the USA sole and permanent possession of San Juan Island, south of Vancouver Island. [391.32]
1873
- February 12
- The US Mint Act of 1873 is signed into law:
- the mint is established as a bureau within the Treasury Department;
- the silver dollar, 2-cent, silver 3-cent, and silver half dime are discontinued;
- half dollar weight increases from 192 grains to 192.904 (12.5 grams), with quarter dollar and dime set proportionately;
- a $3 gold coin is authorized;
- a Trade dollar is established as 420 grains of 0.900 fine silver.
[1] [416.108] [421.1,132] [448] [466.38] [504.79] [646.18] [657.51] [688.30]
- May 7
- US marines attack Panamá. [1]
- September 20
- Panic on New York Stock Exchange as railroad bonds default and bank failures lead to ten-day New York bank holiday. [1] [437.80]
1874
- January 29
- US Congress passes an act allowing the Bureau of the Mint to produce coinage for foreign governments. [456.61] [733.138] (January 3 [466.79] [568.58] [609.81])
- April 21
- President Ulysses Grant vetoes a bill to increase greenbacks in circulation by $100 million. [393.60]
- October 8
- John Michael Eckfeldt, former San Francisco Mint coiner, shoots himself in the head with a pistol and kills himself. Cause of the suicide was never determined. (In 1891 movers of the house of former coiner John Michael Eckfeldt discover a box containing estimated $100,000-150,000 in gold ingots and granulations, which may be the missing $152,000 of gold unaccounted for at the Mint in 1857.) [684.44]
- December 8
- Jesse James gang takes train at Muncie Kansas. [1]
1875
- January 14
- The Specie Resumption Act is enacted, calling for the resumption of specie payments (gold, silver) at par on United States notes. [448.56] [471.22] [646.19]
- October 16
- Brigham Young University is founded in Provo, Utah. [5]
1876
- May 10
- The US Centennial Exposition opens in Philadelphia's Fairmont Park. (About 10 million visitors attend over five months.) [676.46]
- July 22
- Congress removes legal tender status from the Trade dollar. [471.28]
- August 2
- In Deadwood, South Dakota, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok is shot dead (from behind) by Jack "Crooked Nose" McCall while playing poker, for no known reason. He reportedly held a pair of Aces and a pair of 8s. [1] [187.264] [565.79]
- August 9
- Gold is discovered in the Black Hills of Dakota Territory of the USA. [518.70] (August 15 [430.68])
- October 23
- The New Orleans Mint reopens as an Assay Office. [1] [516.93]
1877
- January 3
- In Warrenton, Missouri, a meteorite falls to the ground; no damage or injuries. [521]
- March 5
- Rutherford B Hayes inaugurated as 19th US President. [1] [397.96]
- May 8
- At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens. [1] [5]
- September 20
- Chase National Bank opens in New York City (later merges into Chase Manhattan). [1] [549.72]
- October 1
- The Bureau of Engraving and Printing assumes printing of all US paper currency. [551.22]
1878
- February 12
- The Bland-Allison Act eliminates the Trade dollar, and provides for a new silver dollar of 412.5 grains. The Act requires the US Treasury purchase $2-4 million in silver bullion, for silver dollar production. [471.28] [584.10]
- February 28
- US Congress enacts the Bland-Allison Act (over President Rutherford B. Hayes' veto), requiring the US Treasury to buy silver at market rates and coin it as silver dollars, and authorizes silver certificates of deposit. [1] [388.188] [603.56]
- June 26
- Land for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing facility is purchased for US$27,500. [416.60]
- December 1
- First White House telephone installed. [1]
- December 17
- Gold and paper money exchangeable at par in USA, ending Civil War inflation. [463.42] [558.64] [668.104]
- December 20
- Former Dahlonega Mint building destroyed by fire. [463.42]
1879
- January 2
- The US government resumes specie payments for paper currency. [466.79] [668.104] (January 1 [646.18] [732.81])
- May 30
- Gilmore Garden (New York City) renamed Madison Square Garden. [1]
- May 31
- Madison Square Garden opens its doors. [1]
- June 21
- F W Woolworth opens first store (failed almost immediately). [1]
- November 4
- James and John Ritty patent first cash register, to combat stealing by bartenders in their Dayton, Ohio saloon. [1] [557.36]
- December 31
- Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time. [1] [5]
- Gilbert and Sullivan's play Pirates of Penzance premieres in New York City, New York. [1]
1880
- October 1
- John Philip Sousa becomes the leader of the US Marine Band. [5]
- The first electric lamp factory is opened by Thomas Edison, in the USA. [5]
1881
- March 4
- James Garfield is inaugurated as 20th President of the USA. [1] [718.50]
- May 21
- In Washington, D.C., humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons found the American National Red Cross. [1] [5] [129] [407.60]
- July 2
- In Washington, D.C., US President James Garfield is shot twice from behind by Charles Guiteau. [1] [5] [718.54]
- July 4
- Brooker T Washington establishes Tuskegee Institute. [1]
- July 20
- Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull, surrenders to federal troops. [1]
- July 22
- The Saint Louis Assay Office opens. [420.62]
- August 1
- US Quarantine Station authorized for Angel Island, San Francisco Bay. [1]
- September 19
- Death of James Garfield in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA from a gunshot wound; 20th President of the USA. [1] [718.50]
- September 20
- Chester A Arthur is sworn in as US President. [1]
- October 15
- First American fishing magazine, American Angler published. [1]
- November 14
- Charles J. Folger takes office as US Treasury Secretary. [453.66] [542.38] [559.66]
1882
- January 3
- The Saint Louis, Missouri, Assay Office opens. [466.79]
- January 25
- Jury finds Charles Guiteau guilty of killing President James Garfield. [718.54]
- June 30
- Death of Charles Guiteau by hanging, for the assassination of President James Garfield. [718.54]
1883
- April 4
- Death of Peter Cooper, US presidential candidate for Greenback Party in 1876. [397.52]
- May 24
- In New York State, the Brooklyn Bridge opens over the East River, connecting New York and Brooklyn. Construction took 14 years, cost $15 million, and caused 27 deaths. With a span of 1595 feet, the Brooklyn Bridge is the largest suspension bridge ever built to date. [1] [129] (20 deaths [648.39])
- May 30
- Rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, USA, is going to collapse causes a stampede that kills 12. [1] [648.39]
1884
- October 6
- US Secretary of Navy signs order to establish Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island. [1] [645.86]
- October 28
- Hugh McCulloch takes office as Treasury Secretary for the second time. [450.52] [540.68] [556.72]
1885
- February 21
- The Washington Monument is dedicated, in Washington, D.C. Its height is 555 feet and 5 1/8 inches. [706.62]
- June 17
- Statue of Liberty arrives in New York City aboard French ship Isere. [1] [5]
- November 6
- US mint at Carson City, Nevada directed to close. [1]
- November 7
- The Carson City Mint is closed. [452.70] [541.36] [712.32]
1886
- April 9
- US House of Representatives votes to reject the free silver coinage bill. [399.22]
- May 8
- Atlanta pharmacist (Jacob's Pharmacy) Dr John Styth Pemberton invents Coca Cola (contained cocaine). [1] [5]
- October 23
- The Statue of Liberty is presented to the US, a gift from the government of France. [648.40]
- October 28
- The statue of Liberty Enlightening the World is dedicated by President Grover Cleveland in New York Harbor. It is celebrated by the first confetti (ticker tape) parade in New York City. [1] [677.5]
1888
- July 11
- 118 degrees F (48 degrees C), Bennett, Colorado (state record). [1]
1889
- January 15
- The Pemberton Medicine Company (later the Coca-Cola Company), is incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia. [5]
- March 7
- William Windom begins second term as Treasury Secretary. [481.62]
- August 13
- William Gray patents coin-operated telephone. [518.70]
- November 2
- North Dakota becomes 39th and South Dakota becomes the 40th state of the USA. [1] [453.70]
- November 23
- The first jukebox makes its debut at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco, California. For a nickel, one can listen to a few minutes of music through a tube of an Edison tinfoil phonograph. [5] [457]
1890
- July 3
- Idaho is admitted to the USA as 43rd state. [446.58]
- August 19
- Chickaumauga and Chattanooga are established as national military parks in Georgia and Tennessee, respectively. [416.72]
- August 30
- Antietam is established as a national battlefield in Maryland. [416.72]
- September 24
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy. [5]
- September 25
- Sequoia is established as a National Park in California. [1] [416.72]
- September 26
- US stops minting $1 and $3 gold coin and 3-cent piece. [1] [388.80] [646.18]
- US Congress passes a law requiring coinage designs be used for a minimum of 25 years before they can be redesigned without special congressional approval. [438.42]
- September 27
- Rock Creek Park is established as a National Park in the District of Columbia. [416.72]
- October 1
- General Grant National Park and Yosemite National Park (1189 square miles) are established in California. [1] [5] [416.72] [439.5] [459.52]
- December 31
- Ellis Island (New York City, New York) opens as a US immigration depot. [1]
1891
- February 25
- Charles Foster takes office as Treasury Secretary. [602.34]
- October 1
- Stanford University is opened. [5]
- December 2
- 52nd US Congress (1891-93) convenes. [1]
- December 7
- 52nd US Congress (first to appropriate $1 billion) holds first session. [1]
1892
- January 15
- James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball, in Triangle Magazine, Massachusetts. [1] [5]
- April 21
- First buffalo born in Golden Gate Park. [1]
- July 6
- Striking steelworkers in Homestead, Pennsylvania, USA fire on scabs, killing 7. [1]
- October 21
- The World's Columbian Exposition is dedicated. [445.60]
1893
- January 17
- -17 degrees F (-27 degrees C), Millsboro, Delaware (state record). [1]
- February 20
- An act of US Congress protects the Grand Canyon as a Forest Reserve. [446.4]
- May 1
- World Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago, Illinois, USA. [117.19] [447.18] [676.47]
- June 21
- First Ferris wheel premieres (Chicago's Columbian Exposition). [1]
- September 28
- An act of US Congress establishes Cascade Range Forest Reserve. [446.4]
- October 26
- Battleship USS Oregon is christened at a launching ceremony in San Francisco Bay, California. [304.69]
- October 30
- US Senate approves repealing Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. [450.52] [556.72]
- October 31
- The World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois closes. [117.20] (October 30 [447.18])
1894
- January 27
- Midwinter Fair opens in Golden Gate Park. [1]
- The US Senate confirms G.E. Roberts as Mint director. [686.20]
- March 12
- In Vicksburg, Mississippi, Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time. [5]
- November 13
- US Treasury sells second issue of $50 million in bonds to restore gold reserve. [542.38] [559.66]
1895
- January 30
- With the US Treasury gold reserve at $22 million, about 11 days from bankruptcy, President Grover Cleveland makes a deal with financier J.P. Morgan, to sell a US bond issue at 3.75 percent interest to the Rothschilds and others in London, with Morgan being given a free hand to run the country for a month. [641.42]
- February 20
- US Congress changes designation of the Denver Assay Office to Denver Mint, with authority to strike gold and silver coins. [1] [699.24]
1896
- April 20
- Congress appropriates $60,000 to purchase property to erect a mint facility in Denver, Colorado. [393.60] [488.36]
- July 15
- Battleship USS Oregon is commissioned. [304.69]
- August 12
- Gold is discovered at Dawson on the Klondike River in Alaska. [430.68] [474.30]
1897
- March 11
- In New Martinsville, West Virginia, a man is reported struck by a meteorite, a horse killed, and walls pierced. [521]
- April 19
- John J. McDermott of New York wins the first Boston Marathon (15 runners, 24.5 miles) with a time of 2:55:10. [1] [129]
- May 31
- Augustus Saint-Gaudens' Shaw Memorial statue is unveiled opposite Massachusetts State House in Boston. Colonel Robert Shaw and soldiers of Massachusetts 54th Regiment were killed by Confederate soldiers in an assault on Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor May 28, 1863. [252.42]
- December 31
- Brooklyn's last day as a city, next day it incorporates into New York City. [1]
1898
- February 15
- A massive explosion of unknown origin sinks the battleship USS Maine in Cuba's Havana harbor, killing 260 of the American crew members. [1] [129] [304.69] [548.101]
- April 24
- US fleet under commodore Dewey sails from Hong Kong to Philippines. [1]
- April 25
- US declares war on Spain over Cuba. [1] [689.67] [717.22]
- May 1
- US Navy Commodore George Dewey aboard Olympia with four cruisers and two gunboats engage Spanish fleet in Manila Harbor, Philippines, annihilating the fleet of ten ships, 167 men killed, 214 wounded. [1] [648.41]
- June 13
- Congress authorizes bonds to finance the Spanish-American War. [413.50]
- July 7
- President McKinley signs resolution of annexation of Hawaiian Islands. [1]
- July 25
- First US troops land and occupy Puerto Rice, at Guanica Bay. [1] [462.10]
- October 18
- Spain formally cedes Puerto Rico to the USA. [1] [462.10]
- December 10
- Signing of the Treaty of Paris ends war between the USA and Spain. Under terms of the treaty, control of the Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico, and Cuba are turned over to the USA. [1] [486.94] [548.101]
- December 12
- The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the Spanish-American War and granting the United States former Spanish possessions as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. [129]
- December 28
- US President William McKinley proclaims US currency will circulate in Puerto Rico as of January 1, 1899. [464.44] [609.81]
1899
- January 1
- Cuba liberated from Spain by US (National Day). [1]
- January 17
- US takes possession of Wake Island in Pacific. [1]
- January 28
- American Social Science Association incorporated by US Congress. [1]
- February 3
- -16 degrees F (-27 degrees C), Minden Louisiana (state record). [1]
- February 4
- Revolt against US occupation of Philippines. [1]
- February 6
- Spanish-American War ends, peace treaty ratified by Senate. [1]
- February 10
- -39 degrees F (-39 degrees C), Milligan Ohio (state lowest temperature record). [1]
- US-Spain peace treaty signed by President McKinley; US gets Puerto Rico and Guam. [1]
- February 11
- -15 degrees F (-26 degrees C), Washington DC (district record). [1]
- -61 degrees F (-52 degrees C), Montana (record low temperature). [1]
- February 12
- -47 degrees F (-44 degrees C), Camp Clarke, Nebraska (state record). [1]
- February 13
- -16 degrees F (-27 degrees C) in Minden, Louisiana (state record). [1]
- -2 degrees F (-19 degrees C) in Tallahassee, Florida (state record). [1]
- February 14
- US Congress begins using voting machines. [1]
- February 18
- San Francisco named as a port of dispatch for Army transports. [1]
- February 20
- Birth of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney in Long Island, New York, USA; railroad tycoon. [1]
- Illinois Tel and Tel granted franchise for Chicago freight tunnel system. [1]
- February 21
- Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi is established as a national historic site. [702.5]
- February 24
- Congress changes status of Carson City Mint to assay office. [705.36]
- March 2
- President William McKinley signs bill creating Mount Rainier National Park (5th in US). [1]
- March 3
- George Dewey becomes first in US with rank of Admiral of the Navy. [1]
- March 17
- Windsor luxury hotel in New York City, USA catches fire; 92 die. [1]
- April 11
- Treaty of Paris is ratified, ending Spanish-American War; Spain cedes Puerto Rico to US. [1]
- April 16
- West of Eureka, California, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs. [53]
- May 24
- First auto repair shop opens (Boston, Massachusetts, USA). [1]
- June 2
- The government of the Philippines declares war on the USA. [548.101]
- Black Americans observe day of fasting to protest lynchings. [1]
- June 10
- The Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks forms in Cincinnati, Ohio. [1]
- June 29
- Brazo River in Texas, USA, floods 12 miles wide causing $10 million in damage. [1]
- July 14
- In Cook Inlet, Alaska, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurs. [53]
- September 4
- Near Cape Yakataga, Alaska, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurs. [53]
- September 10
- In Yakutat Bay, Alaska, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurs. [1] [53]
- September 14
- Death of Henry Bliss in New York, USA; first automobile fatality. [1]
- September 23
- In Cape Yakataga, Alaska, a magnitude 6.9 - 7.0 earthquake occurs. [53]
- November 23
- First jukebox (Palais Royal Hotel, San Francisco, California). [1]
- December 2
- US and Germany agree to divide Samoa between them. [1]
- December 4
- 56th US Congress (1899-1901) convenes. [1]
- Webb Hayes, son of US President Rutherford Hayes, receives Medal of Honor. [1]
- December 25
- In Hemet-San Jacinto, California, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurs. [53]
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