What happened in 1885

38 events　World 3, Japan 2, North America 15, Europe 8, Asia 5, Africa 4, Oceania 1

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Highlights of 1885

World3

  • Jun 17The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
  • Jul 28Louis Riel's trial for treason begins in Regina.
  • Nov 16Louis Riel, Canadian rebel leader of the Métis, is executed for high treason.

Japan2

  • JulJapan Brewery, predecessor of Kirin Holdings, is founded in Yokohama, Japan.
  • Chuo Law College, as predecessor of Chuo University, founded in Kanda, Tokyo, Japan.

North America15

  • Feb 21United States President Chester A. Arthur dedicates the Washington Monument.
  • Mar 3A subsidiary of the American Bell Telephone Company, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), is incorporated in New York.
  • Mar 14Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado opens, at the Savoy Theatre in London.
  • Mar 26The North-West Rebellion in Canada by the Métis people, led by Louis Riel, begins with the Battle of Duck Lake.
  • Apr 2Frog Lake Massacre: Cree warriors led by Wandering Spirit kill 9 settlers at Frog Lake in the Northwest Territories.
  • May 2Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time in the United States.
  • May 2North-West Rebellion: Battle of Cut Knife – Cree and Assiniboine warriors win their largest victory over Canadian forces.
  • May 9North-West Rebellion: Battle of Batoche – Canadian government forces inflict a decisive defeat on Métis rebels, bringing an end to their part in the rebellion.
  • Jun 3Battle of Loon Lake: The Canadian North-West Mounted Police and allies force a party of Plains Cree warriors to surrender in the last skirmish of the North-West Rebellion, and the last battle fought on Canadian soil.
  • Sep 2The Rock Springs massacre occurs in Rock Springs, Wyoming; 150 white miners attack their Chinese coworkers, killing 28, wounding 15, and forcing several hundred more out of town.
  • Sep 15A train wreck of the P. T. Barnum Circus kills giant elephant Jumbo, at St. Thomas, Ontario.
  • Oct 13The Georgia Institute of Technology is established in Atlanta as the Georgia School of Technology.
  • Dec 1Dr Pepper is served for the first time (as acknowledged by the U.S. Patent Office; the exact date of Dr. Pepper's invention is unknown).
  • The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, designed by William Le Baron Jenney, is completed. With ten floors and a fireproof weight-bearing metal frame, it is regarded as the first skyscraper.
  • Michigan Technological University (originally Michigan Mining School) opens its doors for the first time, in the future Houghton County Fire Hall.

Europe8

  • Jan 3Sino-French War: Battle of Núi Bop – French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam.
  • Feb 5King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State, as a personal possession.
  • Feb 26The final act of the Berlin Conference regulates European colonization and trade, in the "scramble for Africa".
  • Mar 7The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid is founded.
  • Apr 22Dvořák's Symphony No. 7 is premiered at St James's Hall in London with the composer himself conducting.
  • Oct 25Brahms's Symphony No. 4 is premiered in Meiningen, Germany, with the composer himself conducting.
  • Nov 14Serbo-Bulgarian War: Serbia declares war against Bulgaria, but is defeated in the Battle of Slivnitsa on November 17–19.
  • Karl Benz produces the Benz Patent-Motorwagen in Mannheim (Germany), regarded as the first automobile (patented and publicly launched the following year).

Asia5

  • Feb 23Sino-French War: Battle of Đồng Đăng – France gains an important victory over China, in the Tonkin region of modern-day Vietnam.
  • Mar 30The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident, which nearly gives rise to war between the British Empire and Russian Empire.
  • Apr 14Sino-French War: A French victory at Kép causes China to withdraw its forces from Tonkin, in the final engagement of the conflict.
  • NovThe Third Anglo-Burmese War begins.
  • Dec 2872 Indian lawyers, academics and journalists gather in Bombay to form the Congress Party.

Africa4

  • Jan 17Mahdist War in Sudan: Battle of Abu Klea – British troops defeat Mahdist forces.
  • Jan 26Mahdist War in Sudan: Troops loyal to Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad conquer Khartoum; British commander Charles George Gordon is killed.
  • Mar 31The United Kingdom establishes the Bechuanaland Protectorate.
  • Sep 30A British force abolishes the Boer republic of Stellaland, and adds it to British Bechuanaland.

Oceania1

  • Feb 20The Richmond Football Club is officially formed at the Royal Hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria.