What happened in 1896

32 events　World 3, North America 9, Europe 10, USSR / Russia 2, Asia 3, Africa 5

Highlights of 1896

Mar 1AfricaBattle of Adwa: Ethiopia defends its independence from Italy, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
AprEuropeFirst modern Olympic GamesHeld in Athens at the call of Coubertin of France. About 14 countries took part, and only men competed.
May 26North AmericaEleven years after its foundation, a group of 12 purely industrial stocks are chosen to form the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the U.S. The index is composed entirely of industrial shares for the first time.
May 30USSR / RussiaKhodynka Tragedy: a crowd crush at Khodynka Field in Moscow kills at least 1,200 of those marking the coronation year of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia.
Aug 23AsiaThe Cry of Pugad Lawin initiates the Philippine Revolution.
Aug 27WorldThe shortest war in recorded history, the Anglo-Zanzibar War, starts at 9:00 in the morning, and lasts for 45 minutes of shelling.

Jun 15The 8.5 Sanriku earthquake and tsunami kills 22,000 in northeastern Japan.
Aug 27The shortest war in recorded history, the Anglo-Zanzibar War, starts at 9:00 in the morning, and lasts for 45 minutes of shelling.
Sep 28Pathé Frères, a French film company and one of the oldest film companies, is founded by the brothers Charles Pathé, Théophile Pathé, Émile Pathé and Jacques Pathé.

May 18Plessy v. Ferguson: The U.S. Supreme Court introduces the separate but equal doctrine, and upholds racial segregation.
May 26Eleven years after its foundation, a group of 12 purely industrial stocks are chosen to form the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the U.S. The index is composed entirely of industrial shares for the first time.
Jul 9William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech at the Democratic National Convention, which nominates him for president of the United States.
AugThe 1896 Eastern North America heat wave kills 1,500 people from Chicago, Illinois to Boston, Massachusetts.
Sep 2Clarkson University holds its first classes, with 17 students attending in Potsdam, New York.
Sep 15The Crash at Crush train wreck stunt is held in Texas.
Nov 31896 United States presidential election: Republican William McKinley defeats William Jennings Bryan. The event is viewed by some as a political realignment for the United States Republican Party.
Dec 10The New York Aquarium opens.
Dec 25John Philip Sousa composes The Stars and Stripes Forever which will become the national march of the United States.

Jan 6Cecil Rhodes is forced to resign as Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope for his involvement in the Jameson Raid.
Feb 1Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème premieres in Turin, Italy.
Mar 3Publication begins for Der Eigene, the world's first magazine with an orientation to male homosexuality, by Adolf Brand in Berlin.
Mar 19Dvořák's Cello Concerto premieres, in London.
AprFirst modern Olympic GamesHeld in Athens at the call of Coubertin of France. About 14 countries took part, and only men competed.
Aug 17Bridget Driscoll is run over by a Benz car on the grounds of The Crystal Palace, London, the world's first motoring fatality.
Nov 27Richard Strauss's orchestral tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra is first performed, in Frankfurt, conducted by the composer.
Dec 10The premiere of Alfred Jarry's absurdist play Ubu Roi in Paris causes a near-riot.
Dec 14The Glasgow Subway, the third-oldest underground metro system in the world, opens.
The pharmaceutical and healthcare company Hoffmann-La Roche in Switzerland comes wholly under the control of Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche.

May 26Coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna in the Dormition Cathedral, Moscow; this will be the last coronation of the Russian monarch. The Qing dynasty is represented at the coronation by Chinese official Li Hongzhang who through September goes on to visit Germany, Britain, Canada and the United States.
May 30Khodynka Tragedy: a crowd crush at Khodynka Field in Moscow kills at least 1,200 of those marking the coronation year of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia.

Aug 1The Park Seung-jik shop, predecessor of South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group, is founded in Joseon (the kingdom of Korea).
Aug 23The Cry of Pugad Lawin initiates the Philippine Revolution.
Dec 30José Rizal, Filipino scholar and poet, is executed by Spanish authorities in the Philippines.

Jan 2The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
Feb 19Braamfontein Explosion: A train carrying 56 tons of dynamite explodes at Braamfontein, Johannesburg, killing more than 78 people.
Mar 1Battle of Adwa: Ethiopia defends its independence from Italy, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
Jun 7Mahdist War: Battle of Ferkeh – British and Egyptian troops are victorious.
A school of mines opens in Kimberley and will form the core of the University of the Witwatersrand.