What happened in 1889

World2

• Jun 28The annular solar eclipse of June 28, 1889 is visible across the Atlantic Ocean, Africa and Indian Ocean, and is the 47th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 125.
• Jul 14International Workers Congresses of Paris open, and establish the Second International.

Japan2

• Feb 11The Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted; the 1st Diet of Japan convenes in 1890.
• SepNintendo foundedIt began when Yamauchi Fusajiro started making hanafuda playing cards in Kyoto, and in 1902 it made the first Western-style playing cards in Japan. It later moved into toys and then video games.

North America11

• Jan 1The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
• Jan 1Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the Dakotas.
• Jan 22Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C.
• Mar 11The North Carolina Legislature issues a charter for the creation of Elon College.
• Apr 22At high noon in Oklahoma Territory, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Rush of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed, with populations of at least 10,000.
• May 31Johnstown Flood: The South Fork Dam collapses in western Pennsylvania, killing more than 2,200 people in and around Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
• Jun 6The Great Seattle Fire ravages through the downtown area without any fatalities.
• Jul 8The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published in New York City.
• Sep 17American Civil War veteran Charles Jefferson Wright founds New York Military Academy, with 75 students on of land in Cornwall, New York.
• Nov 27Clemson University is founded in Clemson, South Carolina.
• The Capilano Suspension Bridge (the longest suspension foot-bridge in the world) is opened in British Columbia.

Europe16

• Jan 30Mayerling incident: Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera commit a double suicide (or a murder-suicide) at the Mayerling hunting lodge in the Vienna Woods.
• Feb 15The first issue of the Filipino liberal newspaper La Solidaridad is published in Spain.
• Feb 17The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is founded in Manchester (England), originally known as "The Plumage League" to campaign against the use of plumage in women's clothing.
• Mar 31The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated in Paris (opens May 6). At, its height exceeds the previous tallest structure in the world by. Contemporary critics regard it as aesthetically displeasing.
• May 6The Exposition Universelle opens in Paris, with the Eiffel Tower as its entrance arch. The Galerie des machines, at, spans the longest interior space in the world at this time. The Exposition, which marks the centenary of the French Revolution, runs until October 31.
• May 28Rubber tire company Michelin is registered by Édouard and André Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
• May 31The Naval Defence Act dictates that the fleet strength of the British Royal Navy must be equal to that of at least any two other countries.
• JunVincent van Gogh paints The Starry Night at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
• Jul 6Several aristocrats are implicated in the Cleveland Street scandal after police raid a male brothel in London.
• Aug 6The Savoy Hotel in London opens.
• Aug 10At the Vienna Hofburg, the grand opening ceremony is held for the Imperial Natural History Museum (), begun in 1871; from August 13 to the end of December, the museum counts 175,000 visitors.
• Oct 6The Moulin Rouge cabaret opens in Paris.
• Oct 29The British South Africa Company receives a Royal Charter.
• Nov 2English Association football team Wimbledon F.C. plays their first match.
• Nov 20Gustav Mahler premieres his Symphony No. 1, in Budapest.

1 more in the app

USSR / Russia1

• MayThe first case of the 1889–1890 pandemic of is reported in the city of Bukhara in the Central Asian part of the Russian Empire.

Asia1

• Mar 23Claiming to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founds the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Punjab Province (British India).

Middle East1

• Dec 30Abdul Hamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, introduces the Kanunname of 1889 against the slave trade.

Latin America1

• Nov 19The modern-day flag of Brazil is adopted by the Provisional Government of the Republic.

Africa2

• Mar 9Battle of Metemma: Yohannes IV, Emperor of Ethiopia, is killed; Sudanese forces, who have been almost defeated, rally and destroy the Ethiopian army. Yohannes is probably the world's last ruler ever to die in battle; on March 25 Menelik II proclaims himself as his successor.
• Aug 3Mahdist War: Battle of Toski – Egyptian and British troops are victorious.

Oceania1

• Mar 15Samoan crisis: German and American warships keep each other at bay in a standoff in Apia Harbor, ending when a cyclone blows in and sinks them all.