What happened in 1894

22 events　North America 4, Europe 13, USSR / Russia 1, Asia 3, Oceania 1

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Highlights of 1894

North America4

  • May 11Pullman Strike: Three thousand Pullman Palace Car Company factory workers go on a "wildcat" (without union approval) strike in Illinois.
  • Jul 6A fire at the site of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago destroys most of the remaining buildings.
  • Sep 1Great Hinckley Fire: A forest fire in Hinckley, Minnesota, kills more than 450 people.
  • Nov 1The first issue of Billboard magazine is published in Cincinnati, Ohio by William Donaldson and James Hennegan. Initially, it covers the advertising and bill posting industry, and is at the time known as Billboard Advertising.

Europe13

  • Jan 4A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire.
  • Feb 12Ère des attentats: Café Terminus attack – In one of the first acts of modern terrorism, French anarchist Émile Henry throws a bomb into the Café Terminus in Paris, France, killing one person and injuring at least seventeen.
  • Mar 5The Local Government Act (coming into effect December 1894–January 1895) reforms local government in Britain, creating a system of urban and rural districts with elected councils, with elected civil parish councils in rural areas, and gives women, irrespective of marital status, the right to vote and stand in local (but not national) elections.
  • May 14Blackpool Tower is opened in Blackpool, in north-west England, as a visitor attraction.
  • May 21The Manchester Ship Canal and Docks are officially opened by Queen Victoria, linking the previously landlocked industrial city of Manchester, in north-west England, to the Irish Sea.
  • Jun 23The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne, Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
  • Jun 24Sadi Carnot, president of France, is assassinated in Lyon.
  • Jun 30Tower Bridge in London opens for traffic.
  • Jul 16The United Kingdom and Japan sign the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation, as the U.K. becomes the first of the Western nations to agree to give up its extraterritorial rights in Japan.
  • Aug 16Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio is executed by guillotine for the assassination of French President Carnot in Lyon.
  • Oct 15Dreyfus affair: French Army officer Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for spying.
  • Nov 7The Masonic Grande Loge de France is founded, splitting from the larger and older Grand Orient de France.
  • Dec 22Dreyfus affair: French Army officer Alfred Dreyfus is convicted of treason. It will be 12 years before his innocence is officially recognised.

USSR / Russia1

  • Nov 1Emperor Alexander III of Russia is succeeded by his son, Nicholas II.

Asia3

  • Feb 15In Korea, peasant unrest erupts in the Donghak Peasant Revolution, a massive revolt by followers of the Donghak movement. Both China and Japan send military forces, claiming to come to the ruling Joseon dynasty government's aid.
  • Aug 1War is declared between the Qing Empire of China and the Empire of Japan over their rival claims of influence on their common ally, the Joseon dynasty of Korea. The event marks the start of the First Sino-Japanese War.
  • Nov 21First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Lushunkou – Japanese troops secure a decisive victory over the Chinese, capture the port city of Lüshunkou, and begin the Port Arthur massacre, in which more than 1,000 Chinese servicemen and civilians die.

Oceania1

  • Jul 4The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.