Explore the major historical events, famous births, and notable deaths that occurred in the year 1888. This year saw 72 significant events. 13 notable figures were born. 2 notable figures passed away.
The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge" [1]
“Father of American Golf” John Reid first demonstrates golf on a Yonkers cow pasture to friends
The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace
Industrialist Henry Ford (24) weds Clara Jane Bryant (22) in Greenfield Township, Michigan
Crouching start first used in track and field by Charles Sherrill of Yale
Israel in Egypt, HWV 54, is a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel.
An adding machine is a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations.
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888.
Edith Eleanor McLean is the first baby placed in an incubator at State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, New York
New Zealand Natives, a privately organized and mainly Māori rugby team, play their first game in the UK and beat Surrey 4-1; they are the first national rugby team to wear all black and perform the haka
Vincent van Gogh cuts off part of his left ear with a razor after an argument with fellow painter Paul Gauguin and sends it to a female courtesan for safekeeping
A drinking straw is a utensil that uses suction to carry the contents of a beverage to one's mouth. A straw is used by placing one end in the mouth and the other in a beverage.
Dutch Heidemaatschappij (land reclamation) established
Harry Moses 297 not out for NSW against Victoria
Frank Sprague opens the first successful U.S. electric street railway system, the Richmond Union Passenger Railway, in Richmond, Virginia
Louisville, Kentucky, becomes 1st government in US to adopt Australian ballot (i.e. secret ballot on standard voting forms)
Ferry in San Pablo Bay explodes
Vincent d'Indy's Wallenstein trilogy, premieres
1st performance of Caesar Franck's symphonic poem for chorus and orchestra "Psyché"
Great blizzard of '88 strikes northeastern USA
2nd day of the Great blizzard of '88 in north east US (400 die)
Great Blizzard of 1888 rages across the east coast of the USA and Canada
Second largest snowfall in NYC history (21")
Premiere of the very first Romani language operetta staged in Moscow, Russia
Arthur Pinero's "Sweet Lavender" premieres in London
The English football champions are the annual winners of the top-tier competition in the English football league system.
Socialist leader Domela Nieuwenhuis elected to Dutch 2nd Chamber
Students from Rotterdam, Netherlands establish a cricket club called Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club Sparta which evolves into Sparta Rotterdam
Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area.
Drentse & Friese peat cutters go on strike in the Netherlands
Hailstones allegedly as big as oranges kill 246 people and some 1,600 sheep and cattle in Moradabad, India
Italy and Spain sign a military agreement
Édouard Lalo's opera "Le roi d'Ys" premieres in Paris
"Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888" is a mock-heroic poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer.
CPR opens Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia
Leroy Buffington patents a system to build skyscrapers
California gets its 1st seismograph
"Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888" is a mock-heroic poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer.
Unusual Rio de la Plata Earthquake measures magnitude 5.5
US Congress creates Department of Labor
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations.
Pennsylvania's Monongahela River rises 32 feet (9.7 meters) after 24 hours of rainfall
Bandai volcano in Japan erupts for the first time in 1,000 years
John Boyd Dunlop applies for a patent for the pneumatic tyre
Philip Pratt unveils the first American electric tricycle
The roof of Seville's cathedral collapses after an earthquake
A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a central shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure.
California Theatre in San Francisco closes, built in 1869, it was replaced by a more modern facility in 1889 (later destroyed in the 1907 earthquake)
In an epic first-round US men's singles tennis match, Palmer Presbrey takes 80 games to defeat T.S. Tailer, 19-21, 8-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Lord Walsingham kills 1,070 grouse in a single day
Holten is a railway station located in Holten, Netherlands. The station was opened on 1 September 1888 and is located on the Deventer–Almelo railway.
Events from the year 1888 in the United Kingdom. This year is noted for the first Whitechapel murders.
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system.
One of the first known modern beauty contests is held in Spa, Belgium
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opened in...
Jack the Ripper murders two more women, Liz Stride and Kate Eddowes, in Whitechapel, London
National Geographic (formerly The National Geographic Magazine, sometimes branded as Nat Geo) is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners.
Washington Monument opens for public admission
Teetotalers' excursion train crashes, killing 64 at Mud Run, Pennsylvania
Moshav Gedera is attacked by Arabs
Chicago and All America baseball teams play an exhibition match in Auckland, New Zealand
Pelham Bay Park in Bronx vested
A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Bangladeshi, Hong Kong, Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, Japanese and Philippine English), or dot pen (Nepali English and South Asian...
John Boyd Dunlop (5 February 1840 – 23 October 1921) was a Scottish inventor and veterinary surgeon who spent most of his career in Ireland.
Concertgebouw Orchestra debuts in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, under the baton of founding conductor Willem Kes
Jack the Ripper's fifth and probably last victim, Mary Jane Kelly, is found on her bed
St Andrews Golf Club, Yonkers NY, opens with just 6 holes
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducts the premiere of his 5th Symphony at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia
Willard Bundy patents the timecard clock
French Panama Canal Company fails; costs estimated to exceed over $287M and over 22,000 lives
Richard Wetherill (1858–1910), a member of a Colorado ranching family, was an amateur archaeologist who discovered, researched and excavated sites associated with the Ancient Pueblo People.
First indoor baseball game played at fairgrounds in Philadelphia; 2,000 watch the Uptowners beat the Downtowners, 6-1
Lead Belly, American musician, known for american folk and blues musician, was born on 1888-01-20.
John Foster Dulles, New Zealand politician and diplomat, known for american politician and diplomat, was born on 1888-02-25.
Tris Speaker, American athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1888-04-04.
Florence Price, American musician, known for american composer, was born on 1888-04-09. Florence Beatrice Price was an American classical composer, pianist, organist and music teacher.
Irving Berlin, American musician, known for american songwriter, was born on 1888-05-11. Irving Berlin was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter.
Clarence DeMar athlete, known for american marathon runner, was born on 1888-06-07. Clarence Harrison DeMar (June 7, 1888 – June 11, 1958) was a U.S.
Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet, writer, and philosopher, known for portuguese poet, writer, and philosopher, was born on 1888-06-13.
Joseph P. Kennedy, American businessman and politician, known for american businessman and politician, was born on 1888-09-06.
José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban athlete, known for cuban chess player, was born on 1888-11-19.
Harry Crerar, Canadian general, known for canadian general, was born on 1888-04-28.
W. O. Bentley, English engineer, known for english engineer, was born on 1888-09-16. Walter Owen Bentley, (16 September 1888 – 13 August 1971) was an English engineer who founded Bentley in London.
C.V. Raman, Indian physicist, known for indian physicist, was born on 1888-11-07. Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (IAST: Candraśēkhara Veṅkaṭarāmaṉ; 7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian…
Maxwell Anderson, American playwright and writer, known for american playwright and writer, was born on 1888-12-15.
Wilhelm I dies
Charles Crocker dies
The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge" [1]
“Father of American Golf” John Reid first demonstrates golf on a Yonkers cow pasture to friends
The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace
Industrialist Henry Ford (24) weds Clara Jane Bryant (22) in Greenfield Township, Michigan
Crouching start first used in track and field by Charles Sherrill of Yale
Israel in Egypt, HWV 54, is a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel.
An adding machine is a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations.
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888.
Edith Eleanor McLean is the first baby placed in an incubator at State Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, New York
New Zealand Natives, a privately organized and mainly Māori rugby team, play their first game in the UK and beat Surrey 4-1; they are the first national rugby team to wear all black and perform the haka
Vincent van Gogh cuts off part of his left ear with a razor after an argument with fellow painter Paul Gauguin and sends it to a female courtesan for safekeeping
A drinking straw is a utensil that uses suction to carry the contents of a beverage to one's mouth. A straw is used by placing one end in the mouth and the other in a beverage.
Dutch Heidemaatschappij (land reclamation) established
Harry Moses 297 not out for NSW against Victoria
Frank Sprague opens the first successful U.S. electric street railway system, the Richmond Union Passenger Railway, in Richmond, Virginia
Louisville, Kentucky, becomes 1st government in US to adopt Australian ballot (i.e. secret ballot on standard voting forms)
Ferry in San Pablo Bay explodes
Vincent d'Indy's Wallenstein trilogy, premieres
1st performance of Caesar Franck's symphonic poem for chorus and orchestra "Psyché"
Great blizzard of '88 strikes northeastern USA
2nd day of the Great blizzard of '88 in north east US (400 die)
Great Blizzard of 1888 rages across the east coast of the USA and Canada
Second largest snowfall in NYC history (21")
Premiere of the very first Romani language operetta staged in Moscow, Russia
Arthur Pinero's "Sweet Lavender" premieres in London
The English football champions are the annual winners of the top-tier competition in the English football league system.
Socialist leader Domela Nieuwenhuis elected to Dutch 2nd Chamber
Students from Rotterdam, Netherlands establish a cricket club called Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club Sparta which evolves into Sparta Rotterdam
Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area.
Drentse & Friese peat cutters go on strike in the Netherlands
Hailstones allegedly as big as oranges kill 246 people and some 1,600 sheep and cattle in Moradabad, India
Italy and Spain sign a military agreement
Édouard Lalo's opera "Le roi d'Ys" premieres in Paris
"Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888" is a mock-heroic poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer.
CPR opens Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia
Leroy Buffington patents a system to build skyscrapers
California gets its 1st seismograph
"Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888" is a mock-heroic poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer.
Unusual Rio de la Plata Earthquake measures magnitude 5.5
US Congress creates Department of Labor
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations.
Pennsylvania's Monongahela River rises 32 feet (9.7 meters) after 24 hours of rainfall
Bandai volcano in Japan erupts for the first time in 1,000 years
John Boyd Dunlop applies for a patent for the pneumatic tyre
Philip Pratt unveils the first American electric tricycle
The roof of Seville's cathedral collapses after an earthquake
A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a central shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure.
California Theatre in San Francisco closes, built in 1869, it was replaced by a more modern facility in 1889 (later destroyed in the 1907 earthquake)
In an epic first-round US men's singles tennis match, Palmer Presbrey takes 80 games to defeat T.S. Tailer, 19-21, 8-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Lord Walsingham kills 1,070 grouse in a single day
Holten is a railway station located in Holten, Netherlands. The station was opened on 1 September 1888 and is located on the Deventer–Almelo railway.
Events from the year 1888 in the United Kingdom. This year is noted for the first Whitechapel murders.
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system.
One of the first known modern beauty contests is held in Spa, Belgium
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opened in...
Jack the Ripper murders two more women, Liz Stride and Kate Eddowes, in Whitechapel, London
National Geographic (formerly The National Geographic Magazine, sometimes branded as Nat Geo) is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners.
Washington Monument opens for public admission
Teetotalers' excursion train crashes, killing 64 at Mud Run, Pennsylvania
Moshav Gedera is attacked by Arabs
Chicago and All America baseball teams play an exhibition match in Auckland, New Zealand
Pelham Bay Park in Bronx vested
A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Bangladeshi, Hong Kong, Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, Japanese and Philippine English), or dot pen (Nepali English and South Asian...
John Boyd Dunlop (5 February 1840 – 23 October 1921) was a Scottish inventor and veterinary surgeon who spent most of his career in Ireland.
Concertgebouw Orchestra debuts in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, under the baton of founding conductor Willem Kes
Jack the Ripper's fifth and probably last victim, Mary Jane Kelly, is found on her bed
St Andrews Golf Club, Yonkers NY, opens with just 6 holes
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducts the premiere of his 5th Symphony at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia
Willard Bundy patents the timecard clock
French Panama Canal Company fails; costs estimated to exceed over $287M and over 22,000 lives
Richard Wetherill (1858–1910), a member of a Colorado ranching family, was an amateur archaeologist who discovered, researched and excavated sites associated with the Ancient Pueblo People.
First indoor baseball game played at fairgrounds in Philadelphia; 2,000 watch the Uptowners beat the Downtowners, 6-1
Lead Belly, American musician, known for american folk and blues musician, was born on 1888-01-20.
John Foster Dulles, New Zealand politician and diplomat, known for american politician and diplomat, was born on 1888-02-25.
Tris Speaker, American athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1888-04-04.
Florence Price, American musician, known for american composer, was born on 1888-04-09. Florence Beatrice Price was an American classical composer, pianist, organist and music teacher.
Irving Berlin, American musician, known for american songwriter, was born on 1888-05-11. Irving Berlin was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter.
Clarence DeMar athlete, known for american marathon runner, was born on 1888-06-07. Clarence Harrison DeMar (June 7, 1888 – June 11, 1958) was a U.S.
Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet, writer, and philosopher, known for portuguese poet, writer, and philosopher, was born on 1888-06-13.
Joseph P. Kennedy, American businessman and politician, known for american businessman and politician, was born on 1888-09-06.
José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban athlete, known for cuban chess player, was born on 1888-11-19.
Harry Crerar, Canadian general, known for canadian general, was born on 1888-04-28.
W. O. Bentley, English engineer, known for english engineer, was born on 1888-09-16. Walter Owen Bentley, (16 September 1888 – 13 August 1971) was an English engineer who founded Bentley in London.
C.V. Raman, Indian physicist, known for indian physicist, was born on 1888-11-07. Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (IAST: Candraśēkhara Veṅkaṭarāmaṉ; 7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian…
Maxwell Anderson, American playwright and writer, known for american playwright and writer, was born on 1888-12-15.