What happened in 1881

40 events　World 3, Japan 4, North America 14, Europe 8, USSR / Russia 1, Asia 2, Latin America 5, Africa 2, Oceania 1

Highlights of 1881

FebAsiaFebruary 24 (February 12 Old Style) – Qing dynasty China signs the Treaty of Saint Petersburg with the Russian Empire providing for the return to China of the eastern part of the Ili Basin.
Mar 23WorldThe First Boer War comes to an end.
MarUSSR / RussiaMarch 13 (March 1 Old Style) – Assassination of Alexander II of Russia: Emperor Alexander II of Russia ("the Liberator") is killed near his palace in Saint Petersburg when bombs are thrown at him, an act committed by the revolutionary socialist group Narodnaya Volya coordinated by Sophia Perovskaya but falsely blamed upon Russian Jews. He is succeeded by his son, Alexander III. The assassin Ignacy Hryniewiecki is also killed by his own bomb.
Jul 2North AmericaAssassination of James A. Garfield: United States President James A. Garfield is shot by lawyer Charles J. Guiteau in Washington, D.C. The wound becomes infected, killing Garfield on September 19.
Jul 7EuropeThe first episode of Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio is published in Italy.
JapanHattori Watch Shop (服部時計店) is founded by Kanetarō Hattori in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, predecessor of watch brand Seiko.

Mar 23The First Boer War comes to an end.
Nov 3The Mapuche uprising of 1881 begins with an attack on Quillem, Chile.
Nov 9Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 premieres in Budapest with the composer as soloist.

Hattori Watch Shop (服部時計店) is founded by Kanetarō Hattori in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, predecessor of watch brand Seiko.
The Vocational and Technical College of Tokyo, later Tokyo Institute of Technology, is founded in Japan.
Meiji Law School, predecessor of Meiji University, is founded in Yurakucho, Tokyo, Japan.
Tokyo Law College, predecessor of Hosei University, is founded in Japan.

Feb 16The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated.
Apr 11Spelman College is established in Atlanta, Georgia.
Apr 21The University of Connecticut is founded as the Storrs Agricultural School.
Apr 28Billy the Kid escapes from his 2 jailers at the Lincoln County Jail in Mesilla, New Mexico, killing James Bell and Robert Ollinger, before stealing a horse and riding out of town.
May 21The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton.
May 21The United States Tennis Association is established by a small group of tennis club members; the first U.S. Tennis Championships are played this year.
Jun 20The current Cincinnati Reds baseball team plays its first game.
Jul 2Assassination of James A. Garfield: United States President James A. Garfield is shot by lawyer Charles J. Guiteau in Washington, D.C. The wound becomes infected, killing Garfield on September 19.
Jul 4Tuskegee Institute opens in Alabama.
Jul 14Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett, outside Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
Sep 19President James A. Garfield dies eleven weeks after being shot. Vice President Chester A. Arthur becomes the 21st president of the United States.
Oct 26The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral occurs in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona, USA.
Oct 29The satirical magazine Judge is first published in the United States.
New York City's oldest independent school for girls, the Convent of the Sacred Heart New York (91st Street), is founded.

Feb 13The first issue of the feminist newspaper La Citoyenne is published by Hubertine Auclert in Paris.
MarMarch 26 (March 14 Old Style) – The Principality of Romania is proclaimed the Kingdom of Romania.
MayMay 22 (May 10 Old Style) – Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is crowned King of Romania.
Jul 7The first episode of Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio is published in Italy.
Aug 3The Pretoria Convention peace treaty is signed, officially ending the war between the Boers and Britain.
Dec 8At least 380 die in a fire at the Vienna Ringtheater.
Dec 25The Warsaw pogrom is carried out in Vistula Land, Russian Empire.
The Pali Text Society is founded by British scholar Thomas William Rhys Davids, for the study of Pali (Ceylonese) texts.

MarMarch 13 (March 1 Old Style) – Assassination of Alexander II of Russia: Emperor Alexander II of Russia ("the Liberator") is killed near his palace in Saint Petersburg when bombs are thrown at him, an act committed by the revolutionary socialist group Narodnaya Volya coordinated by Sophia Perovskaya but falsely blamed upon Russian Jews. He is succeeded by his son, Alexander III. The assassin Ignacy Hryniewiecki is also killed by his own bomb.

Jan 1Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans.
FebFebruary 24 (February 12 Old Style) – Qing dynasty China signs the Treaty of Saint Petersburg with the Russian Empire providing for the return to China of the eastern part of the Ili Basin.

Jan 13War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The Chilean army defeats Peruvian forces.
Jan 15War of the Pacific – Battle of Miraflores: The Chileans take Lima, capital of Peru, after defeating its second line of defense in Miraflores.
Jun 26War of the Pacific – Battle of Sangrar: Peruvian and Chilean forces battle to a draw.
Jul 23The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
Rafaela, Argentina, is formed.

May 12In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate by the Treaty of Bardo.
Kinshasa (the capital of the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) is founded by Henry Morton Stanley as a trading outpost called Léopoldville.

May 13The Pacific island of Rotuma cedes to Great Britain, becoming a dependency of the Colony of Fiji.