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John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company was incorporated in Ohio. Rockefeller was active in the oil business since 1863. Standard Oil was first formed as a partnership in 1868. Standard Oil dominated the oil market through horizontal integration. -
The collapse of Jay Cooke and Company, a Philadelphia investment bank, triggered a nationwide financial panic that led to a broader economic depression which lasted until 1879. -
Brakemen and firemen from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad walk off the job at Camden Junction, Maryland, initiating a wildcat strike that will shut down thousands of miles of track throughout the northeastern United States. -
Hoping to reduce corruption in the distribution of government jobs, the United States Congress passed the Pendleton Act, which introduced an examination system for selecting federal civil servants. Only 10% of all federal appointees were made subject to this process of selection by examination. -
A rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square in support of striking workers from McCormick Harvester Works ends when a bomb was thrown, killing six policemen and wounding more than sixty others. Eight anarchists were convicted of the crime, but all supporters of unions and the eight-hour day were found guilty by association in the public eye. -
Industrialist Andrew Carnegie published an essay entitled "The Gospel of Wealth," which outlined the social responsibilities and social benefits of those that were wealthy. -
Henry Frick, Chairman of the Board of Carnegie Steel and plant manager at Carnegie's Homestead steel plant, shut down the factory and locked out their employees when negotiations with representatives from the Amalgamated Association of Steel and Iron Workers broke down. -
Democrat Grover Cleveland was re-elected president of the United States, returning to a second term in the White House after a four-year hiatus. He received 5,554,414 popular votes; Republican Benjamin Harrison received 5,190,802; Populist James Weaver received 1,027,329. In the Electoral College, Cleveland received 277 votes compared to Harrison's 145 and Weaver's 22. -
Workers employed at the Pullman Company, outside of Chicago, went on strike when the company's owner, George Pullman, refused to reduce rents in the company housing to match announced wage cuts. -
Republican William McKinley was elected president of the United States, received 7,035,638 popular votes. Democrat and Populist candidate William Jennings Bryan received 6,467,946 votes.