In the year 1858, Felix Mendelssohn’s Wedding March becomes a popular wedding recessional (Jan 25), the first aerial photography is carried out, from tethered balloon in France (Aug), after a summer of problems, a bill is passed to create a modern sewage system in London (Aug 2), Macy’s department store in New York City opens for business (Oct 28), the city of Denver, Colorado is founded (Nov 17), homosexuality is legalised in the Ottoman Empire - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1853, the clothing company Levi Strauss is founded (Mar), the first passenger railway in India opens (Apr 16), the world’s first public aquarium opens, at the London Zoo (May), U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan with a request for a trade treaty (Jul 8), potato chips are first prepared in New York, according to popular accounts (Aug 24), the Ottoman Empire begins war with Russia over Crimea (Oct 4), the United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest (Dec 30), the Swiss watch company Tissot is founded - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1863, Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, making the abolition of slavery an official war goal of the American Civil War (Jan 1), the first section of the London Underground opens officially (Jan 10), Adam Opel founds Opel AG (Jan 21), the foundation for the International Red Cross are laid in Geneva (Feb 9), Alanson Crane patents a fire extinguisher (Feb 10), Battle of Gettysburg begins, the Union winning it (Jul 1), the New Zealand Wars against the Maori people resume (Jul 17), Lincoln proclaims a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November (Oct 3), Lincoln delivers his famous Gettysburg Address (Nov 19), Gerard Heineken buys the Haystack brewery in Amsterdam (Dec 15), linoleum is patented in the United Kingdom, and association football is played for the first time (Dec 19), the American Civil War goes on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1846, many Mormons begin their migration from Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah (Jan 5), the Liberty Bell is cracked while being rung for George Washington’s birthday (Feb 26), the United States declares war on Mexico (May 13), the California Republic declares independence from Mexico (Jun 10), the saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax (Jun 28), Neptune is first observed (Sep 23), the Great Famine continues in Ireland, leading to mass emigration, mainly to the United States - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_1454” align=“alignleft” width=“328”]1847 Colt Walker[/caption] In the year 1847, Samuel Colt sells his first revolver to the U.S. government (Jan 4), the American Medical Association is founded (May 7), the United States issues its first postage stamps (Jul 1), Mormon pioneers arrive in what will become Salt Lake City (Jul 24), the world’s oldest vegetarian society is formed in the United Kingdom (Sep 30), Siemens AG, starting out as a telegraph line manufacturer, is founded (Oct 12), chloroform is successfully used as an anesthetic in Edinburgh, Scotland (Nov 4-8), the first brew of Carlsberg beer is finished in Copenhagen (Nov 10), the Mexican-American War rages on, the Great Famine continues in Ireland - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The Philharmonic Society is founded in London (Jan 24), Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is published (Jan 28), Prussia declares war on France (Mar 17), American forces capture Fort George in Canada (May 27), the Carabinieri are founded in the Kingdom of Sardinia (Jul 13), Napoleon’s troops are victorious in Dresden (Aug 27), Simón Bolívar is given the title El Libertador in Venezuela (Oct 5), British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York (Dec 29), the Napoleonic Wars go on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1838, the first public demonstration of a new invention - telegraph - occurs in Morristown, New Jersey (Jan 6), the first known report about the lowest temperature on Earth is made, -60°C (-76°F) in Yakutsk, Siberia (Jan 21), the first East Indian immigrants arrive in British Guiana (May 5), several native tribes in the United States, there among Cherokee, Muscogee and Seminole, are forcefully relocated in what came to be known Trail of Tears (May 26), the coronation of Queen Victoria takes place at Westminster Abbey in London (Jun 28), Governor of Missouri declares Mormons to be enemies of state, leaving either extermination or exile their only option (Oct 27) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1840, British colonists reach New Zealand, officially founding Wellington (Jan 22), Queen Victoria marries her cousin Prince Albert (Feb 10), Britain issues the Penny Black, the world’s first postage stamp (May 1), New Zealand is declared a British colony (May 21), the Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union (Jul 23), David Livingstone leaves Britain for Africa (to be located only 31 years later by Henry Morton Stanley) (Dec 7) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1873, Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar (Jan 1), the world’s first kennel club is founded in the United Kingdom (Apr 4), barbed wire is exhibited at an Illinois county fair, and is soon being mass-produced (May), Levi Strauss and Co. begin manufacturing the famous Levi’s brand of jeans (May 20), Jesse James and his gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West (Jul 21), Heineken Brewery is founded in Amsterdam (Dec 16), the Long Depression that started in October lasts for many years, the American Indian Wars go on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_1700” align=“alignleft” width=“352”]Strong Arm Contest at Oktoberfest in 2009[/caption] In the year 1810, Napoleon marries Marie-Louise of Austria (Mar 11), Beethoven composes his famous piano piece, Für Elise (Apr 27), Colombia declares its independence from Spain (Jul 20), Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden (Aug 21), Munich in Bavaria, Germany holds its first Oktoberfest (Oct 12), the United States annexes West Florida from Spain (Oct 27) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1877, the Satsuma Rebellion breaks out in Japan between disaffected samurai and the new imperial government (Jan 29), microphone is invented, and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake debuts (Mar 4), Crazy Horse surrenders in Nebraska (May 6), Alexander Graham Bell installs the world’s first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Canada (Jun 20), the Wimbledon tennis tournament is played for the first time (Jul 9), Deimos, the outer moon of Mars, is discovered (Aug 12) and days later its inner moon Phobos (Aug 18), Thomas Edison demonstrates his newest invention, the phonograph (Nov 29), American Indian Wars go on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1871, the German Empire is founded (Jan 18) and Otto von Bismarck becomes its first Chancellor (Mar 21), the Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria (Mar 29), the first supposedly Major League Baseball game is played in America (May 4), the first cat expedition is held, at Crystal Palace in London (Jul 13), British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada (Jul 20), New York Herald correspondent Stanley locates the missing missionary and asks: Dr. Continue reading

In the year 1878, Umberto I becomes King of Italy (Jan), the phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison (Feb 19), the Tokyo Stock Exchange is established (May 15), the Congress of Berlin convenes to discuss the Ottoman Empire, and as a result the empire gradually shrinks in size (Jun 4), Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld leaves on a voyage that makes him the first man to navigate the Northern Sea Route (Jun 22), Cleopatra’s Needle is erected in London (Sep 12), the last remnants of the once-great herds of bison around the Calgary area cross south into Montana - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_1461” align=“alignleft” width=“414”]A dining hall at Oxford University[/caption] In the year 1879, the Anglo-Zulu War begins in Southern Africa (Jan 11), Sandford Fleming first proposes the global adoption of standard time (Feb 8), the world’s first ocean-going steamer made of mild steel is launched in Scotland (Jun 6), the first issue of what will be known as The Watchtower, is published (Jul 1), Oxford University allows female students to study for degrees (Oct 13), Thomas Edison buys the patent for the incandescent light bulb (Nov 4) and demonstrates it to the public for the first time in Menlo Park, New Jersey (Dec 31) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1880, Wabash, Indiana becomes the first electrically lighted city in the world (Mar 31), in Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway (May 13), France annexes Tahiti (Jun 29), The University of Southern California opens its doors (Oct 6), the first cash register is patented in Ohio (Nov 4) - and all these fine people were born: 1880-0101 Ernst Gennat* director of the Berlin criminal police/coined the term “Serienmörder” (serial killer) - Plötzensee, German Empire (1939/59) Continue reading

In the year 1882, P. T. Barnum acquires Jumbo the elephant from the London Zoo (Feb 3), polygamy is made a felony in the United States (Mar 22), the world’s first trolley bus begins operating in Berlin (Apr 29), the Chinese Exclusion Act is the first law restricting immigration into the U.S. (May 8), the first United States Labor Day parade is held in New York City (Sep 4), Egypt becomes a British protectorate (Sep 13) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1887, construction of the Eiffel Tower begins (Jan 28), the first Groundhog Day is observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (Feb 2), Chester Greenwood patents earmuffs (Mar 4), Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show opens in London (May 9), Emile Berliner is granted a patent for his Gramophone (Nov 8), Heinrich Hertz discovers the photoelectric effect on the production and reception of electromagnetic (EM) waves i.e. radio - and all these fine people were born: 1887-0101 Max Ritter von Müller* WWI fighter ace - Rottenburg an der Laaber, Bavaria, German Empire (1918/31) 1887-0104 Viljo Huttunen* Finnish actor/theater director - Toksova, Ingria, Russian Empire (1951/64) 1887-0110 1887-0111 Monte Blue* actor - Indianapolis, IN USA (1963/76) 1887-0120 1887-0121 Georges Vézina* hockey goalie (NHL 100)/the Vezina Trophy since 1926 - Chicoutimi, QC Canada (1926/39) 1887-0122 Helen Hoyt* poet - Norwalk, CT USA (1972/85) 1887-0128 Arthur Rubinstein* pianist - Lodz, Poland, Russian Empire (1982) 1887-0131 1887-0201 1887-0210 John Franklin Enders* biomedical scientist/N/“the Father of Modern Vaccines” - West Hartford, CT USA (1985/88) 1887-0217 Leevi Madetoja* composer - Oulu, GD of Finland (1947/60) 1887-0220 1887-0223 Kössi Kanto* actor/killed by an ice block - Kangasala, GD of Finland (1917/30) 1887-0228 Annie Mörk* actress/ theater director - Hanko, GD of Finland (1959/72) 1887-0303 Kurt Wolff* journalist/ writer/publisher - Bonn, Prussia, German Empire (1963/76) 1887-0311 Raoul Walsh* film director/actor - New York, NY USA (1980/93) 1887-0314 Sylvia Beach* bookseller/publisher/active in France - Baltimore, MD USA (1962/75) 1887-0315 Marjorie Merriweather Post* businesswoman/ socialite/ philanthropist - Springfield, IL USA (1973/86) 1887-0322 Chico Marx* actor/comedian/musician - New York, NY USA (1961/74) 1887-0323 Juan Gris* (b González-Pérez) painter - Madrid, Spain (1927/40) 1887-0324 Roscoe Arbuckle* actor/screenwriter/director - Smith Center, KS USA (1933/46) 1887-0324 Dickinson Bishop* businessman/ honeymoon survivor of the Titanic - Dowagiac, MI USA (1961/73) 1887-0325 1887-0331 1887-0401 1887-0402 Louise Schroeder* politician - Altona, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (1957/70) 1887-0403 Edgar Lansbury* politician/ father of Angela Lansbury - London, England (1935/48) 1887-0403 Nishizō Tsukahara* 塚原 二四三 navy admiral - Fukui Prefecture, Empire of Japan (1966/78) 1887-0410 Bernardo Houssay* physiologist/N - Buenos Aires, Argentina (1971/84) 1887-0412 Harold Lockwood* actor/ director/producer - Brooklyn, NY USA (1918/31) 1887-0415 Felix Pipes* Austrian tennis player (OSd)/physician - Prague, Austria-Hungary (1983/95) 1887-0420 1887-0422 Harald Bohr* football player/mathematician/brother of Niels Bohr - Copenhagen, Denmark (1951/63) 1887-0425 Kojo Tovalou Houénou* (b Marc Tovalou Quénum) prominent critic of the French colonial empire in Africa - Porto-Novo, Kingdom of Dahomey (1936/49) 1887-0426 Elisabeth Risdon* actress - London, England (1958/71) 1887-0430 1887-0502 Vernon Castle* (b William Vernon Blyth) dancer - Norwich, Norfolk, England (1918/30) 1887-0510 1887-0513 Lorna Hodgkinson* educator/psychologist - Melbourne, Australia (1951/63) 1887-0522/28 Jim Thorpe* athlete/first native American to win OG - Prague, Indian Territory, USA (1953/65) 1887-0531 Saint-John Perse* (b Alexis Leger) French poet-diplomat/N - Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe (1975/88) 1887-0603 Toivo Niskanen* dancer/choreographer/ popularizer of tango in Finland - Helsinki, GD of Finland (1961/74) 1887-0620 Floyd Collins* cave explorer - Auburn, KY USA (1925/37) 1887-0622 Julian Huxley* evolutionary biologist/eugenicist - London, England (1975/87) 1887-0630 William Rosenberg* painter - Nurmijärvi, GD of Finland (1952/64) 1887-0706 Marc Chagall* Russian-French painter - Liozna, Russian Empire (1985/97) 1887-0716 Shoeless Joe Jackson* baseball player - Pickens County, SC USA (1951/64) 1887-0718 Vidkun Quisling* military officer/politician - Fyresdal, Telemark, Norway (1945/58) 1887-0722 Gustav Ludwig Hertz* physicist/N - Hamburg, German Empire (1975/88) 1887-0812 Erwin Schrödinger* physicist/N - Vienna, Austria-Hungary (1961/73) 1887-0817 Marcus Garvey* proponent of Black nationalism - Saint Ann’s Bay, Jamaica (1940/52) 1887-0830 Kalle Anttila* wrestler/OG - Muhos, Finland (1975/87) 1887-0830 Adam Kuckhoff* writer/journalist/ German resistance member (Rote Kapelle) - Aachen, German Empire (1943/55) 1887-0901 Blaise Cendrars* (b Frédéric-Louis Sauser) Swiss-French novelist - La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland (1961/73) 1887-0903 Frank Christian* jazz trumpeter - New Orleans, LA USA (1973/86) 1887-0905 Irene Fenwick* (b Frizell) actress/m to Lionel Barrymore - Chicago, IL USA (1936/49) 1887-0910 Giovanni Gronchi* politician/P - Pontedera, Tuscany, Kingdom of Italy (1978/91) 1887-0913 Frank Gray* physicist/ researcher at Bell Labs/remembered for the Gray code - Alpine, IN USA (1969/81) 1887-0913 Theodore Roosevelt Jr* government&business& military leader - Cove Neck, NY USA (1944/56) 1887-0913 Leopold Ružička* chemist/N - Vukovar, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary (1976/89) 1887-0916 Nadia Boulanger* music teacher/conductor - Paris, France (1979/92) 1887-0928 Avery Brundage* athlete/ businessman/IOC president - Detroit, MI USA (1975/87) 1887-0930 Tyyne Savia* photographer/ photography teacher - Tampere, GD of Finland (1959/72) 1887-1001 1887-1015 Frederick Fleet* sailor/ Titanic crewman and survivor - Liverpool, England (1965/77) 1887-1020 Arne Halse* athlete (javelin/OS) - Kristiansund, Norway (1975/87) 1887-1022 John Reed* journalist/political activist - Portland, Oregon USA (1920/32) 1887-1031 Chiang Kai-shek* Chinese political and military leader - Fenghua, Zheijang (1975/87) 1887-1110 Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu* one of the first female engineers - Galati, Kingdom of Romania (1973/86) 1887-1119 James B. Continue reading

In the year 1890, the Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony in northeast Africa (Jan 1), Wilhelm II of Germany fires Otto von Bismarck (Mar 20), Vincent van Gogh allegedly shoots himself in the stomach and dies two days later (Jul 27), in New York´s Auburn Prison, William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed in the electric chair (Aug 6), the New Scotland Yard opens near the Big Ben clock tower (Nov), at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, a massacre takes place (Dec 29) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1891, paying of old age pensions begins in Germany (Jan 1), Jesse W. Reno patents the first escalator at Coney Beach (Mar 15), the Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago (Apr 1), Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes appears in the Strand Magazine in London for the first time (Jun 25), James Naismith invents baseball, production of the Swiss Army Knife (see the video below) by Victorinox begins, Nikola Tesla invents the Tesla coil - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1892, Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States (Jan 1), the Liverpool Football Club is founded (Mar 15), the world’s first fingerprinting bureau is formally opened by the Buenos Aires Chief of Police (Mar 31), the Pledge of Allegiance is first recited (Sep 8), the Dalton Gang is shot by two townspeople in Coffeyville, Kansas (Oct 5), first issue of Vogue is published (Dec 17), a tortoise called Timothy is brought to the estate of Powderham Castle in England, where she lives until her death in 2004 - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading