1880-1881:Superheroes

Check out NRLinks the Links page for more links to web accessible pages!

From: Working Americans, 1880-1999

1880-1881

The U.S. population was 50 million; 65 percent of the people lived in the country
539,000 Singer sewing machines were sold, up from 250,000 in 1875
The United States boasted 100 millionaires
A&P grocery stores operated 95 stores from Boston to Milwaukee
The plush Del Monte Hotel in Monterey, California, opened
The country claimed 93,000 miles of railroad
Halftone photographic illustrations appeared in newspapers for the first time
Midwest farmers burned their corn for fuel; prices were too low to warrant shipping
President James A. Garfield was assassinated
The Diamond Match Company was created
Marquette University was founded in Milwaukee
Barnum & Bailey's Circus was created through the merger of two companies
Chicago meatpacker Gustavus F. Swift perfected the refrigeration car to take Chicagodressed meat to the East Coast markets
Josephine Cockrane of Illinois invented the first mechanical dishwasher
For the first time, a U.S. Constitutional amendment to grant full suffrage to women was introduced in Congress; it was introduced every year until its passage in 1920
Economic unrest swept California, including its Chinese laborers, who numbered 75,000 and represented nine percent of the population
Thanks to high tariffs, the U.S. Treasury was running an annual surplus of $145 million
The U.S. had 2,400 magazines and daily newspapers, plus 7,500 weekly newspapers
The typewriter and the telephone were both novelties at the 1876 Centennial in Philadelphia; by 1880, approximately 50,000 telephones existed nationwide, a number that would triple to 1.5 million by the turn of the twentieth century
The camera was increasing in importance as an instrument of communications among all people; George Eastman's famous slogan was "You Push the Button, We Do the Rest" helped make Kodak a part of many American homes
Most magazines carried little advertising in 1880; Harper's Monthly refused all advertising but those of its publisher until 1882
Only 367 hospitals had been founded nationwide in 1880

1882-1883

An internal combustion engine powered by gasoline was invented by German engineer Gottlieb Daimler
In Chicago, electric cable cars were installed, travelling 20 blocks and averaging a speed of less than two miles per hour
Only two percent of New York homes had water connections
The Andrew Jergens Company was founded to produce soaps, cosmetics and lotions
Canadian Club whiskey was introduced by the Hiram Walker Distillery
Van Camp Packing Company produced six million cans of pork and beans for shipment to Europe and U.S. markets
Brooklyn Bridge opened
Ladies' Home Journal began publication, with Cyrus H. K. Curtis as its publisher
Thomas Edison invented the radio tube
The first malted milk was produced in Racine, Wisconsin
The first peapodder machine was installed in Owasco, New York, replacing 600 cannery workers
The American Baseball Association was established
The United States banned Chinese immigration for 10 years
The three-mile limit for territorial waters was agreed upon at the Hague Convention
Robert Lewis Stevenson's Treasure Island was first published
Boxer John L. Sullivan defeated Paddy Ryan to win the heavyweight boxing crown
The first skyscraper was built in Chicago, topping out at 10 stories
Robert Koch described a method of preventative inoculation against anthrax

1883-1884

The Brooklyn Bridge opened to traffic in New York
The Northern Pacific Railroad line was completed
The Ladies' Home Journal began publication; Cyrus H.K. Curtis was the publisher
Thomas Edison invented the radio tube
The nation's first skyscraper was built in Chicago, totaling 10 stories
Nationwide 367 hospitals have been established
U.S. frontiersman W.F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody organized his touring "Wild West Show"
The first malted milk was produced in Racine, Wisconsin
The first successful pea-podder machine was installed in Owasco, New York, replacing 600 cannery workers
American author and feminist Lillie Devereaux Blake published Women's Place Today
The Linotype typesetting machine was patented by Ottmar Mergenthaler, revolutionizing newspaper composing rooms
More than 80 percent of the petroleum from the United States was marketed by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust
The Waterman pen was invented by New York insurance agent Lewis Edson Waterman
Montgomery Ward's mail order catalogue offered 10,000 items

1888-1889

The gramophone was invented
Benjamin Harrison was elected president of the United States
The alternating-current electric motor was developed
Anti-Chinese riots erupted in Seattle
National Geographic Magazine began publication
The first typewriter stencil was introduced
Parker Pen Company was started in Janesville, Wisconsin
Tobacco merchant Washington B. Duke produced 744 million cigarettes
The Ponce de Leon Hotel was opened in St. Augustine, Florida
The Oklahoma Territory lands, formerly reserved for Indians, were opened to white settlers
Safety Bicycle was introduced; more than one million would be sold in the next four years
Electric lights were installed in the White House
Aunt Jemima pancake flour was invented at St. Joseph, Missouri
Calumet baking powder was created in Chicago
"Jack the Ripper" murdered six women in London
George Eastman perfected the "Kodak" box camera
J.P. Dunlop invented the pneumatic tire
Heinrich Hertz and Oliver Lodge independently identified radio waves as belonging to the same family as light waves

1890

Jane Addams set up Hull House in Chicago, the first of many settlement houses to aid the poor
Two hundred Sioux were killed by soldiers at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Lightweight aluminum cooking pans, which were easier to care for than iron pots, were invented in Ohio
Two-thirds of the nation's 62.9 million people still lived in rural areas; 32.7 percent were immigrants or the children of at least one immigrant parent
American women began wearing knickerbockers instead of skirts while riding bicycles
All members of a women's baseball club were arrested following a game against the Danville, Illinois Browns before 2,000 fans on Sunday, June 8; they were fined a total of $100 for disturbing the peace by playing baseball on Sunday in violation of the local "Blue Laws"
New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochran Seaman) became the first woman to travel around the world; she did it in just 72 days
Fay Fuller climbed the 14,410-foot Mt. Rainier in Washington
The San Francisco Examiner reporter Winifred Sweet Black became the first woman to report on a prize fight
The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded
The first commercial dry cell battery was invented
Three percent of Americans, age 18 to 21, attended college
Elizabeth Cady Stanton became the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association
The first full-service advertising agency was established in New York City
Ceresota flour was introduced by the Northwest Consolidated Milling Company
Alice Sanger became the first female staffer for the U.S. White House
The United Mine Workers of America was founded
Because of the demand for domestic servants, more women than men were emigrating from Ireland to America
Thousands of Kansas farmers were bankrupted by tight money conditions
Yosemite Park was created by an Act of Congress
Idaho was admitted as the forty-third state, and Wyoming as the forty-fourth
The census showed that 53.5 percent of the farms in the United States comprised fewer than 100 acres
Dr. Ida Gray became the first African-American woman dentist in the United States

1890-1891

Two-thirds of the nation's 62.9 million people still lived in rural areas, while 32.7 percent were immigrants or the children of at least one immigrant parent
Ceresota flour was introduced by the Northwest Consolidated Milling Company
Literary Digest began publication
The population of Los Angeles reached 50,000, up 40,000 in 10 years
The 1890 census showed that 53.5 percent of the farms in the United States comprised fewer than 100 acres
As the demand for domestic servants grew in urban areas, women dramatically outnumbered the men emigrating from Ireland to the United States
The Tampa Bay Hotel was completed at a cost of $3 million
The first commercial dry cell battery was invented
Only three percent of Americans, aged 18 to 21, attended college
The nation's first full-service advertising agency was established in Florida
"American Express Travelers Cheques" was copyrighted
Thousands of Kansas farmers were bankrupted by the tight money conditions
Restrictive "Jim Crow" laws were being enacted throughout the South
The first electric oven for commercial sale was introduced in St. Paul, Minnesota
America claimed 4,000 millionaires

1892

To meet the needs of the automotive industry, an improved carburetor was invented
Violence erupted during a steelworker's strike at Carnegie-Phipps Mill in Homestead, Pennsylvania
The General Electric Company was created through a merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company
The $1 Ingersoll pocketwatch was introduced
Chicago's first elevated railway went into operation to begin the famous Loop
The first U.S. motorcar was produced in Springfield, Massachusetts, by Duryea Brothers
The Hamilton Watch Company was founded
The United States boasted 4,000 millionaires
New York's 13-story Waldorf Hotel was under construction
The first successful gasoline tractor was produced by a farmer in Waterloo, Iowa
Thousands of Kansas farmers were bankrupted by tight money conditions
The first full-service advertising agency was established in New York City
"Gentleman Jim" Corbett defeated John L. Sullivan for the heavyweight boxing title
William Ewart Gladstone became prime minister of Great Britain, Prince Ito was made premier of Japan, and Grover Cleveland was elected president of the United States
America's first automatic telephone switchboard was introduced

1892-1893

American industry was benefiting from the 1890 decision by Congress to increase tariffs on foreign goods from 38 to 50 percent, making U.S. manufactured items less expensive
New York City boss Richard Croker's fortune was estimated to be $8 million, not including his own railway car and a $2.5 million stud farm
An improved carburetor for automobiles was invented
The first successful gasoline tractor was produced by a farmer in Waterloo, Iowa
Chicago's first elevated railway went into operation, forming the famous Loop
The $1 Ingersoll pocket watch was introduced, bringing affordable timepieces to the masses
The General Electric Company was created through a merger
Violence erupted at the steelworkers' strike of the Carnegie-Phipps Mill at Homestead, Pennsylvania
President Benjamin Harrison extended for 10 years the Chinese Exclusion Act, which suspended Chinese immigration to the United States
The United States population included 4,000 millionaires
The name Sears, Roebuck & Company came into use
Pineapples were canned for the first time
Diesel patented his internal combustion engine
The Census Bureau announced that for the first time in America's history, a frontier line was no longer discernible; all unsettled areas had been invaded
The first automatic telephone switchboard was activated
Cream of Wheat was introduced by Diamond Mill of Grand Forks, North Dakota
New York's 13-story Waldorf Hotel was opened
The first Ford motorcar was road tested
The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad went into receivership
Wrigley's Spearmint and Juicy Fruit chewing gum were introduced by William Wrigley, Jr.

1894

Approximately 12,000 New York City tailors struck to protest the existence of sweatshops
The first Sunday newspaper color comic section was published in the New York World
Antique-collecting became popular, supported by numerous genealogy-minded societies
A well-meaning group of Anglophiles called the America Acclimatization Society began importing English birds mentioned in Shakespeare, including nightingales, thrushes and starlings, for release in America
Overproduction forced farm prices to fall; wheat that sold for $1.05 a bushel in 1870 now sold for $0.49 a bushel
The first Greek newspaper in America was published as the New York Atlantis
New York Governor Roswell P. Flower signed the nation's first dog-licensing law; the license fee was $2.00
Hockey's first Stanley Cup championship game was played between the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and the Ottawa Capitals
Thomas Edison publicly demonstrated the kinetoscope, a peephole viewer in which developed film moved continuously under a magnifying glass
Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company in Illinois went on strike to protest a wage reduction; President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops onto the trains to insure the delivery of mail
Labor Day was established as a holiday for federal employees
Congress established the Bureau of Immigration
Congress passed a bill imposing a 2 percent tax on incomes over $4,000, which was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court
The United States Government began keeping records on the weather
Astronomer Percival Lowell built a private observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and began his observations of Mars
The Regents of the University of Michigan declared that "Henceforth in the selection of professors and instructors and other assistants in instruction in the University, no discrimination will be made in selection between men and women"
French Baron Pierre de Coubertin proposed an international Olympics competition to be held every four years in a different nation to encourage international peace and cooperation
The Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze was released in movie theaters

1896

"Yellow journalism" was named after the color comic figure featuring the Yellow Kid that ran in the Hearst New York Journal and the Pulitzer New York World
Theodore Herzl called for a Jewish homeland in Palestine
Legendary lawman Wyatt Earp refereed a heavyweight title fight between Bob Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey
F. W. Rueckheim & Brother of Chicago received a trademark for the candy treat "Cracker Jack"
The United States Army took over the operation of Yellowstone National Park
The Anchor Brewing Company was founded in San Francisco
An advertisement appeared in Horseless Age, the first automotive trade journal, for the Duryea Motor Wagon Company
Swedish chemist Svante Arrhennius explained the "greenhouse effect," predicting that the planet would gradually become warmer
American physician Franz Pfaff discovered that the oily residue in poison oak was responsible for the painful rash
Utah was admitted to the Union as the forty-fifth state
Dr. Henry Louis Smith at Davidson, North Carolina, produced the first x-ray photo in the United States to reveal a bullet in a dead man's hand
Civil War photographer Matthew B. Brady died in the charity ward of a New York hospital at age 73
U.S. Marines landed in Nicaragua to protect U.S. citizens in the wake of a revolution
The first modern Olympic Games, with eight nations participating, formally opened in Athens, Greece, after a lapse of 1,500 years
The Vitascope system for projecting movies onto a screen was demonstrated in New York City
The United States Supreme Court ruled 7 to 1 in Plessy v. Ferguson and endorsed the concept of "separate but equal" racial segregation
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published by Charles H. Dow using an index of 12 industrial companies
William Jennings Bryan propelled himself to presidential candidacy when he stood before the Democratic Convention and made his famous "Cross of Gold" speech
Booker T. Washington became the first African American to receive an honorary degree from Howard University

1896-1897

The bicycle industry reported sales of $60 million; the average bike sold for $100
The earliest trading stamps, issued by S&H Green Stamps, were distributed for the first time
Michelob beer was introduced
The Klondike gold rush in Bonanza Creek, Canada, began
The Boston Cooking School Cook Book was published, advocating the use of precise measurements to produce identical results
Radioactivity was discovered in uranium
William Ramsay discovered helium
Five annual Nobel prizes were established in the fields of physics, physiology and medicine, chemistry, literature, and peace
Bituminous coal miners staged a 12-week walkout
Continental Casualty Company was founded
Dow Chemical Company was incorporated
Radio transmission over long distances was achieved by Gugielmo Marconi
Winton Motor Carriage Company was organized
The New York City Health Board began enforcing a law regulating women in mercantile establishments
Mail Pouch tobacco was introduced
Ronald Ross discovered the malaria bacillus
Wheat prices rose to $1.09 per bushel
Jell-O was introduced by Pearl B. Wait
Boston's H.P. Hill used glass bottles to distribute milk

1897

Mail Pouch tobacco was introduced
Thorstein Veblen developed the key concepts that would appear in his book, Theory of the Leisure Class, summed up by the statement: "conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentlemen of leisure"
Continental Casualty Company was founded
Radical Emma Goldman, advocate of free love, birth control, homosexual rights and "freedom for both sexes," was arrested
The Royal Automobile Club was founded in London
John Davison Rockefeller, worth nearly $200 million, stopped going to his office at Standard Oil and began playing golf and giving away his wealth
The Presbyterian Assembly condemned the growing bicycling fad for enticing parishioners away from church
Motorcar production reached nearly 1,000 vehicles
Nearly 150 Yiddish periodicals were being published, many of which advocated radical labor reform, Zionism, and even anarchism, to obtain reform
Wheat prices rose to $1.09 per bushel
Republican William McKinley was sworn into office as America's 25th president; manager businessman Mark Hanna had raised $7 million for McKinley's campaign, compared with the $300,000 raised by opponent William Jennings Bryan
Prospectors streamed to the Klondike in search of gold
Boston's H.P. Hill used glass bottles to distribute milk
Jell-O was introduced by Pearl B. Wait
The Winton Motor Carriage Company was organized
Dow Chemical Company was incorporated

1898

Toothpaste in collapsible metal tubes was now available, thanks to the work of Connecticut dentist Lucius Sheffield
The creation in 1892 of the crown bottle cap was hailed as being responsible for extending the shelf life of beer
America boasted more than 300 bicycle manufacturing companies
Uneeda Biscuit Company was created
J.P. Stevens & Company was founded in New York
The production of motorcars reach 1,000 annually
The racist "grandfather clause" marched across the South, ushering in widespread use of Jim Crow laws and restricting most blacks from voting
Pepsi-Cola was introduced in New Bern, North Carolina, by pharmacist Caleb Bradham
Bricklayers were paid $3.41 per day and worked a 48-hour week; marble cutters made $4.22 per day
The consolidation of Greater New York City was created through the merger of Brooklyn and Manhattan
Henry James published "The Turn of the Screw"
The Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, issued the first automobile insurance policy which cost $11.25 to purchase $5,000 in liability coverage
The Supreme Court ruled that a child born in the United States to Chinese immigrants was a U.S. citizen, and therefore could not be deported under the Chinese Exclusion Act
Postcards were first authorized by the Post Office
The song "Happy Birthday to You," composed by sisters Mildred and Patty Hill, was coming into common use
The battleship Maine was destroyed in Havana harbor, Cuba, killing 260 of its crew, triggering the Spanish-American, War
Admiral George Dewey's fleet attacked Spain's holdings in Manila Bay, the Philippines conquering the nation for America
Wesson Oil was introduced
The trolley replaced horse-drawn cars in Boston
The New York Times dropped its price from three cents to one cent a copy, tripling circulation
The boll weevil began its destructive spread through the cotton fields of the South
Cellophane was invented by Charles F. Cross and Edward J. Bevan
The Union Carbide Company was formed
H.G. Wells published the classic "War of the Worlds," about an invasion of Earth by Martians
The northern California Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods railroad was featured in the first documentary film made in the San Francisco Bay Area
Buddy Bolden, cornetist and New Orleans brass band leader, was an early practitioner of what would later be called jazz
Giraud Foster used the money earned from the invention of closure snaps for clothing to build a $2.5 million estate on 400 acres in Lee, Massachusetts
America's first forestry school was founded in the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina
A telephone excise tax was created to help finance the Spanish-American War

1898-1899

The "grandfather" clause marched across the South, restricting most Blacks from voting, and ushering in discriminatory "Jim Crow" laws
Union Carbide Company was founded
Motorcar production reached 1,000 per year
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded
The New York Times dropped its price from $0.03 to $0.01; circulation tripled
Pepsi-Cola was introduced by a New Bern, North Carolina, pharmacist
Uneeda Biscuits was created
J.P. Stevens & Company was founded in New York
The trolley replaced horse cars in Boston
Wesson Oil was developed
United Mine Workers of America was founded
The boll weevil began spreading across cotton-growing Southern states
Virginia continued to experience an influx of Scots-Irish farmers
The first shots of the Spanish-American War were fired
The Louisiana "grandfather clause" restricted most blacks from voting
The Union Carbide Company was founded
Motorcar production reached 1,000 vehicles per year in 1898; production topped 2,500 in 1899
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded
The New York Times dropped its price from $0.03 daily to $0.01; as a result, circulation tripled
Pepsi-Cola was introduced by pharmacist Caleb D. "Doc" Bradham in New Bern, North Carolina
Uneeda Biscuits was created
J. P. Stevens & Company was founded in New York
Shiga Kiyoshi, a Japanese bacteriologist, discovered the Shigella bacillus, responsible for dysentery and named after him
Trolley cars replaced horse cars in Boston
Wesson Oil was developed
The United Mine Workers of America was founded
The first concrete grain elevator was erected near Minneapolis
A very destructive insect, the boll weevil, began spreading across cotton-growing Southern states

Superheroes : NRTimelines