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General Sheridan ordered the two Generals George Cook and Alfred Terry to fight against the "hostiles" (Native Americans) starting The Great Sioux War. The U.S. would be fighting against the Indian Chiefs Crazy Horse (Oglala Lakota Tribe), Sitting Bull (Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux), Little Wolf (Cheyenne), Dull Knife (Cheyenne) and all of their warriors. -
Alexander Bell is granted patent 174465, which stated "the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically ... by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air accompanying the said vocal or other sound". By receiving this, he was able to invent the very first telephone. -
Nikolaus August Otto had previously invented the first Four Stroke Combustion engine in 1861, but he later partnered with Eugen Langen to improve the engine and win a gold medal at the Paris Exposition. The engine included a four stroke cycle, and was found to be relatively quiet which made it become an immediate success. -
Battle of Little Big Horn was found to be one of the most significant battles in American History due to the fall of General Custer and his troops. The Native American forces led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull received the victory by killing Custer who had terrorized them and their people for such a long time. -
Colorado becomes a state in the United States! -
Thomas Edison finally receives a patent for "Autographic Printing" which covered the electric pen and flatbed press. This opened up an opportunity to create the Mimeograph. -
Crazy Horse and his warriors end up having their last stand against the United States Calvary in Montana. -
The United States Presidential Election is finally resolved with Samuel B. Hayes as the winner despite the fact that Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote. -
Rutherford is sworn in and becomes the 19th President of the United States. -
Crazy Horse finally surrenders to the US troops in Nebraska -
Riots by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers leads to a massive rebellion until Rutherford B. Hayes calls in the armed forces to put a stop to it. -
This was the Knights of reliance first meeting in Lampasas County Texas, which eventually became the Farmer's Alliance and then the Populist's Party. -
Thomas Edison announces his invention of the Phonograph, which is a machine that records sound. -
Mississippi State University is created by the Mississippi Legislature. -
Yellow fever epidemic begins in New Orleans. It eventually kills 4,500 people total. -
The deadliest tornado in Connecticut history, destroys the town of Wallingford, killing 34 people and injuring 70 or more. -
Virginia Tech opens as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. -
Soprano Marie Selika Williams becomes the first African American artist to perform at the White House. -
American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. -
Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric light bulb (it lasts thirteen and a half hours before burning out). -
Wabash, Indiana becomes the first electrically lighted city in the world. -
James Garfield defeats Winfield S. Hancock. -
Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company. -
Kansas becomes the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages. -
James A. Garfield is sworn in as the 20th President of the United States, -
Billy the Kid escapes from his two 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 as quickly as possible. -
The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton. -
Old West outlaw Jesse James is shot in the back of the head and killed by fellow outlaw Robert Ford in his home at St. Joseph, Missouri for reward. -
The U.S. Congress passes the 1882 Immigration Act. -
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show Debuts In Omaha Nebraska -
Mary F. Hoyt becomes the first woman appointed to the U.S. federal civil service (and the second person appointed by examination instituted under the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act) when she becomes a clerk in the Bank Redemption Agency of the Department of the Treasury. -
The University of Texas at Austin opens to students. -
The Supreme Court of the United States declares part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional, since the Court allows private individuals and corporations to discriminate based on race. -
The eight-hour workday is first proclaimed by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in the United States. May 1, called May Day or Labour Day, is now a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country. -
Alaska becomes a United States territory. -
Mark Twain publishes Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the United States -
Grover Cleveland is sworn in as the 22nd President of the United States -
The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor. -
The Dawes Act is signed into law by President Grover Cleveland -
President of the United States Grover Cleveland declares the Chinese "impossible of assimilation with our people and dangerous to our peace and welfare" (in a letter accepting renomination for the office of President). -
Democratic Party incumbent Grover Cleveland wins the popular vote, but loses the Electoral College vote to Republican challenger Benjamin Harrison, therefore losing the election. -
President Grover Cleveland signs the Enabling Act admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states. -
Benjamin Harrison is sworn in as the 23rd President of the United States, and Levi P. Morton is sworn in as Vice President of the United States. -
Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. State, and Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. State -
President Wilford Woodruff issues the "1890 Manifesto" officially advising against any future polygamy in the Church. -
Grover Cleveland is elected over Benjamin Harrison and James B. Weaver to win the second of his non-consecutive terms.
The four-day New Orleans General Strike begins -
Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio in West Orange, New Jersey. -
Grover Cleveland is sworn in as the 24th President of the United States, -
Frederick Jackson Turner gives a lecture titled "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" before the American Historical Association in Chicago. -
Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state -
Republican William McKinley defeats William Jennings Bryan. This is later regarded as a realigning election, starting the Fourth Party System in which Republicans dominate politics until 1913. -
William McKinley is sworn in as the 25th President of the United States, and Garret Hobart is sworn in as Vice President of the United States. -
The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports and USS Nashville captures a Spanish merchant ship. -
American forces capture the San Juan Heights near Santiago de Cuba. Theodore Roosevelt memorably leads the charge of the Rough Riders. -
The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Spanish–American War. -
Established gold as the only standard for redeeming paper money