Events in year of 1876
- 01-031st free kindergarten in US opens in Florence, Massachusetts
- 02-03Albert Spalding with $800 starts sporting goods co, manufacturing 1st official baseball, tennis ball, basketball, golf ball, and football
- 02-12Al Spalding opens his sporting good shop
- 02-14A G Bell and Elisha Gray apply separately for telephone patents Supreme Court eventually rules Bell rightful inventor
- 02-15Historic Elm at Boston blown down
- 02-17Sardines 1st canned (Julius Wolff-Eastport, Maine)
- 02-18Direct telegraph link established between Britain and New Zealand
- 02-22Johns Hopkins University opens
- 03-01Guernsey Cattle Club forms (Farmington Conn)
- 03-04US Congress decides to impeach Minister of War Belknap
- 03-07Alexander Graham Bell patents telephone
- 03-07Battle at Gura: Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes beats Egyptians
- 03-101st telephone call made (Alexander Graham Bell to Thomas Watson)
- 03-16Nelly Saunders and Rose Harland fight 1st female boxing match (NY)
- 03-17Gen Crook destroy Cheyennes and Oglala-Sioux indian camps
- 03-25Glasgow 1st soccer match Scotland-Wales (4-0)
- 04-011st official NL baseball game (Boston-6, Phila-5)
- 04-02Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Caps play 1st NL game, in Philadelphia
- 04-11Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks organizes
- 04-11Sir Charles Gordon ends religious tolerance in Sudan
- 04-221st NL game, Boston Braves beat Philadelphia Athletics 6-5
- 04-22Tsjaikovsky completes his "Swan Lake" ballet
- 04-25Chicago Cubs 1st NL game, beats Louisville 4-0 (1st NL shutout)
- 05-02Ross Barnes hit 1st home run in National League
- 05-10Centennial Fair opens in Philadelphia
- 05-13Amersfoort-Zutphen railway opens
- 05-177th US Cavalry under Custer leaves Ft Lincoln
- 05-231st NL no-hitter (Joe Borden, Boston)
- 05-251st tie in NL history (Athletics & Louisville, 2-2 in 14)
- 05-254th Preakness: G Barbee aboard Shirley wins in 2:44.75
People born in year of 1876
- 01-01Johan C Altorf: Sculptor (October 3rd monument)
- 01-03Wilhelm Pieck: Co-founder German Communist Party / President (1949-60)
- 01-05Konrad Adenauer: Cologne, Germany -- Chancellor of Germany (BRD, 1949)
- 01-07William Yeates Hurlstone: Composer
- 01-09Hans Bethge: Writer
- 01-10Johannes W "Jan" Eisenloeffel: Dutch goldsmith
- 01-12Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari: Venice, Italy -- Composer
- 01-17Olga Fastrova: Writer
- 01-29Carl Henrik Ludolf Nielsen: Composer
- 01-29Havergal Brian: Dresden Staffordshire, England -- Composer
- 02-04Victor Jean Leonard Vreuls: Composer
- 02-06Wilhelm Schmidtbonn[-Schmidt]: German playwright (Der Sprechende Eros)
- 02-08Paula Modersohn-Becker: German "entartet" painter
- 02-09Martin Stixrud: Norway -- Figure skater (1920 Olympics - Bronze Medalist)
- 02-16George Macauley Trevelyan: England, United Kingdom -- Historian (Giuseppi Garibaldi)
- 02-20Fyodor Akimenko: Composer
- 02-21Constantin Brancusi: Romanian / French sculptor (Princesse X)
- 02-23Agnes M Royden: Writer
- 02-24Jean Poveigh: Composer
- 02-24Victor Moore: Hammonton, New Jersey -- Comedian (Ziegfeld Follies, 7 Year Itch)
- 02-26Agustin P Justo y Rolon: President Argentina (1931-38)
- 02-28John Alden Carpenter: Chicago, Illinois -- Composer (Sea Drift)
- 03-02Pius XII [Euhenio MGG Pacelli]: 260th Pope (1939-58)
- 03-08Franco Alfano: Italian opera composer (Il dottore Antonio)
- 03-11Carl Ruggles: Marion, Massachusetts -- Composer (Evocations)
- 03-11David Wijnkoop: Dutch revolutionary socialist
- 03-16Charles Halton: Washington, DC -- Actor (Dr Cyclops, Tugboat Annie Sails Again)
- 03-17Frederic Ayers: Composer
- 03-23Muirhead Bone: Glasgow, Scotland -- Etcher / engraver of architecture
- 03-29Jan Ingenhoven: Composer
People died in year of 1876
- 01-10Charles EH de Coussemaker: Belgian musicologist / historian, dies at 70
- 02-03Gino Capponi: Italian Marquis / literary / Premier of Toscane, dies at 83
- 02-10Johan August Soderman: Composer, dies at 43
- 02-21Henry John Gauntlett: Composer, dies at 70
- 02-24Jan Pieter Heije: Dutch Physician / writer / poet, dies at 67
- 02-28Charles Edward Horsley: Composer, dies at 53
- 03-04Alfred Holmes: Composer, dies at 38
- 03-05Marie-C-S de Flavigny Agoult [Daniel Stern]: French author, dies at 70
- 03-18F Freiligrath: Writer, dies at 65
- 03-19Jozef Stefani: Composer, dies at 75
- 04-02Paul van Vlissingen: Dutch ship owner, dies at 78
- 04-03Henriette Davidis: Writer
- 04-16Augustin-Philippe Peellaert: Composer, dies at 83
- 04-19Samuel Sebastian Wesley: Composer, dies at 65
- 05-07Franz Count of Pocci: German artist / Composer (Alchemist), dies at 69
- 05-08Truganini: Last originating Tasmanian
- 05-12Henri A Esquiros: French Poet (Evangile du peuple), dies at 63
- 05-19Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer: Dutch Historian / politician, dies at 74
- 05-20Harold: Grandson of English Queen Victoria, dies at 8 days old
- 05-20Khristo Botev: Bulgarian poet
- 05-24Henry Kingsley: English / Australian writer, dies at 46
- 05-26Frantisek Palacky: Czech Historian / MP, dies at 77
- 05-27Joseph Bosworth: Lexicographer / scholar
- 06-01Christo Botew: Writer
- 06-08George Sand: French Author (Indiana, Consuelo), dies at 71
- 06-18August Rockel: Composer, dies at 61
- 06-20Antonio L de Santa Ana: President Mexico, dies at 79
- 06-21Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna: Mexican General (took Alamo), dies at 79
- 06-25Boston Custer: Brother of George Custer, dies at Little Bighorn
- 06-25George A Custer: US General (Little Bighorn), dies at 36
Events in year of 1877
- 01-15US Assay Office in Helena, Montana opens
- 01-16Color organ (for light shows) patented, by Bainbridge Bishop
- 01-25Congress determines presidential election between Hayes-Tilden
- 01-30Storm flood ravages Dutch coastal provinces
- 02-071st Guernsey Cattle Club organizes (NYC)
- 02-121st news dispatch by telephone, between Boston and Salem, Massachusetts
- 02-12US railroad builders strike against wage reduction
- 02-201st cantilever bridge in US completed, Harrodsburg, Kentucky
- 02-20International Association (minor baseball league) organizes
- 02-27US Electoral College declares R Hayes winner presidential election
- 03-02Rutherford B Hayes (R) declared President despite Samuel J Tilden (D) winning the popular vote, but is 1 electoral vote shy of victory
- 03-03Rutherford B Hayes is sworn in as the 19th President
- 03-05Rutherford B Hayes inaugurated as 19th US President
- 03-12British annex Walvis Bay in southern Africa
- 03-12Great Britain annexes Walvis Bay at Cape colony
- 03-18President Hayes appoints Frederick Douglass marshal of Washington DC
- 03-19Australia beat England by 45 runs in very 1st Test match
- 03-24University boat race between Oxford and Cambridge ends in a dead heat
- 03-31British high director / Governor sir Bartle Frere arrives in Cape Town
- 04-021st Easter egg roll held on White House lawn
- 04-101st human cannonball act performed in London
- 04-10Federal troops withdrawn from Columbia, South Carolina
- 04-12British annex Transvaal, in South Africa
- 04-151st telephone installed: Boston-Somerville, Massachusetts
- 04-19Opera "Les Cloches de Cornerville" is produced (Paris)
- 04-24Last federal occupying troops withdraw from south (New Orleans)
- 04-24Russia declares war on Turkey through Romania
- 04-27Opera "Le Roi de Lahore" is produced (Paris)
- 04-27President Hayes removes Federal troops from LA, Reconstruction ends
- 05-07Cin Enquirer, 1st uses term "Bullpen" to indicate foul territory
People born in year of 1877
- 01-04Gibson Gowland: England, United Kingdom -- Actor (Blind Husbands, Phantom of the Opera)
- 01-07Johannes F Buziau: Dutch cabaret performer (1 great dog)
- 01-10Frederick Gardner Cottrell: Inventor (elecrostatic precipitator)
- 01-15Lewis M Terman: Indiana, United States -- Psychologist (developed Stanford-Binet IQ test)
- 01-17Hans Jelmoli: Composer
- 01-20Ruth St Denis: Newark, New Jersey -- Ballerina (Dances of the 5 Senses)
- 01-22Hjalmar Schacht: President of German Reichsbank / Minister of Economics
- 01-26Kees van Dongen: Netherlands -- French painter
- 01-31Max Ettlinger: German philosopher
- 02-01Thomas Frederick Dunhill: Composer
- 02-07Feliks Nowowiejski: Composer
- 02-07Godfrey H Hardy: England, United Kingdom -- Number theorist
- 02-07Julius Curtius: German Minister of Foreign Affairs (1929-..)
- 02-13Jazeps Medins: Composer
- 02-18Betsy Ranucci-Beckmann [Theodora]: Dutch author / actress (Dead Water)
- 02-19Else Berg: German / Dutch painter
- 02-19Louis Francois-Marie Aubert: French composer (Habanera)
- 02-21Jacob D du Toit [Totius]: South African poet / theologist
- 02-22Yme C Schuitmaker: Dutch potato salesman / dramatist
- 02-24Rudolf Ganz: Composer
- 02-26Carel S Adama van Scheltema: Dutch poet / writer (socialism)
- 02-26Russell Alexander: Composer
- 02-28Sergei Bortkiewicz: Composer
- 03-03Garrett Morgan: African-American inventor
- 03-04Alexander Fyodorovich Gedike: Composer
- 03-05Malcolm D Whitman: Tennis champ (US Open-1898)
- 03-09Emil Abderhalden: Switzerland -- Physiologist / bio-chemist
- 03-10David M Chumaceiro: Poet
- 03-12Wilhelm Frick: German protector of Bohemia / Moravia
- 03-17Albert P Hahn: Dutch political cartoonist (People / Nutcracker)
People died in year of 1877
- 01-04Cornelius Vanderbilt: US robber baron, dies at 82
- 01-11Pietro Romani: Composer, dies at 85
- 02-01Joseph-Leon Gatayes: Composer, dies at 71
- 03-04Hendrik E van Rijgersma: Dutch Governor (St Maarten), dies at 42
- 03-09Mark Prager Lindo: English / Dutch Author (Netherlands Spectator), dies at 58
- 03-12Crystobal Oudrid y Segura: Composer, dies at 52
- 03-24Walter Bagehot: English economist / critic / banker, dies at 51
- 03-28Vincenzo Fioravanti: Composer, dies at 77
- 03-31Antoine A Cournot: French Mathematician (rule of C), dies at 75
- 04-07Errico Petrella: Composer, dies at 63
- 05-14John Roberts: Composer, dies at 54
- 05-29John Lothrop Motley: (History of United Netherlands), dies at 63
- 06-03Frank Pocock: British explorer, drowned in the Congo
- 06-06Prairie Flower: Daughter of Ponca and chief Standing Bear
- 06-07Winand C H Staring: Geologist (Bottom of the Netherlands), dies at 68
- 07-13Wilhelm E Freiherr von Ketteler: German Bishop of Mainz, dies at 65
- 08-03Karl Georg Lickl: Composer, dies at 75
- 08-12James Drummond: Historical painter
- 08-29Brigham Young: 2nd President of Mormon Church
- 09-03Adolphe Thiers: 1st President of 3rd French Rep (1871-77), dies at 80
- 09-05Crazy Horse [Tashunka Witko]: Last great Sioux war chief, dies at 27
- 09-12Julius Reitz: Composer, dies at 64
- 09-17William Henry Fox Talbot: Photographic pioneer, dies at 77
- 09-23Urbain JJ Leverrier: Codiscoverer of Neptune
- 10-14Antoine-Amable-Elie Elwart: Composer, dies at 68
- 10-16John Zwijsen: Archbishop of Utrecht, dies at 83
- 10-28Johann Herbeck: Composer, dies at 45
- 11-13Pietro Coppola: Composer, dies at 83
- 12-10Federico Ricci: Composer, dies at 68
- 12-10Jared Kirtland: US Physician / naturalist
Events in year of 1878
- 01-10US Senate proposes female suffrage
- 01-14US Supreme court rules race separation on trains unconstitutional
- 01-281st telephone exchange (New Haven, CT)
- 01-28George W Coy hired as 1st full-time telephone operator
- 01-28Yale Daily News published, 1st college daily newspaper
- 02-02Greece declares war on Turkey
- 02-111st US bicycle club, Boston Bicycle Club, forms
- 02-111st weekly Weather report published in the UK
- 02-16Silver dollar became US legal tender
- 02-171st telephone exchange in SF opens with 18 phones
- 02-19Thomas Alva Edison patents gramophone (phonograph)
- 02-211st telephone book issued, 50 subscribers (New Harbor, Connecticut)
- 02-22Greenback Labor Party forms (Toledo Ohio)
- 02-28US Congress authorizes large-size silver certificate
- 03-03Bulgaria liberated from Turkey (Peace of San Stefano)
- 03-13Oxford defeats Cambridge in their 1st golf match
- 03-24British frigate Eurydice sunk; 300 lost
- 03-26Hastings College of Law founded
- 03-31Jack Johnson is 1st black to hold a heavyweight boxing title
- 04-091st Lady Lucy Hayes begins egg rolling contest on White House lawn
- 04-10California St. Cable Car RR Co starts service
- 04-15Harley Procter introduces Ivory Soap
- 04-21New York installs 1st firehouse pole
- 04-21Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Inscrutabili
- 04-21Ship Azor leaves Charleston with 206 blacks for Liberia
- 04-231st Dutch test drive of steam tram
- 05-02US stops minting 20 cent coin
- 05-04Phonograph shown for 1st time at Grand Opera House
- 05-081st unassisted triple play in organized baseball, by Paul Hines
- 05-14Vaseline is 1st sold (registered trademark for petroleum jelly)
People born in year of 1878
- 01-01Edwin Franko Goldman: Composer
- 01-04Alfred Edgar Coppard: England, United Kingdom -- Writer (Black Dogs & Other Stories)
- 01-11Theodorus Pangalos: Greek General / Dictator (1926)
- 01-12Ferenc Molnar: Hungarian / US playwright (A Pal Utrai Fiuk)
- 01-15Johanna Muller-Hermann: Composer
- 01-16Harry Carey, Sr.: Bronx, New York -- Actor (Aces Wild, Border Cafe, Air Force)
- 01-16Henry Dewitt "Harry" Carey II: US actor (Informer)
- 01-17Oscar Apfel: Cleveland, Ohio -- Actor (Abraham Lincoln, Inspiration, Before Dawn)
- 01-18Hendrik Baels: Belgian politician
- 01-20Finlay Currie: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Actor (Quo Vadis, Ivanhoe, Avengers)
- 01-21Egon Friedell: Austria -- Journalist / actor / writer (Der Partylowe)
- 01-22Constance Collier: Windsor, England -- Actress / writer (Kitty, Whirlpool)
- 01-22Francis Picabia: French painter / illustrator
- 01-23Oton Zupancic: Slovenian poet (Zimzelen pod Snegom)
- 01-23Rutland Boughton: Composer
- 01-28Walter Kollo [Kollodziepski]: German composer (Der Juxbaron)
- 01-29Barney Oldfield: Ohio, United States -- Daredevil
- 01-31Willem J M van Eysinga: Dutch international law jurist
- 02-01Hattie Wyatt Caraway: Politician / teacher / 1st woman elected to Senate
- 02-02Christian Gauss: Educator / writer (Phi Beta Kappa award namesake)
- 02-03Joseph Gordon Coates: Prime Minister of New Zealand (1925-28)
- 02-06Waclaw Gieburowski: Composer
- 02-07Ossip Gabrilovich: Composer
- 02-08Martin Buber: German / Israeli philosopher / theologist (Ich und Du)
- 02-16Selim Palmgren: Finnish pianist / composer / conductor (Peter Schlemihl)
- 02-21Fritz Cortolezis: Composer
- 03-01Gabriel Edouard Xavier Dupont: Composer
- 03-02Wander J de Haas: Dutch physicist / son-in-law of Lorentz
- 03-10Karel van de Woestijne: Flemish writer / poet (God at Sea)
- 03-12Gemma Galgani: Italian Saint
People died in year of 1878
- 01-09Victor Emmanuel II: King of Sard (1849-61) / Italy (1861-78), dies at 57
- 01-19Henri V Regnault: French physicist / chemist, dies at 67
- 02-01George Cruikshank: English illustrator (Grimm), dies at 85
- 02-07Pius IX: "Pio Nono", [Giovanni Ferretti], Pope (1846-78), dies at 85
- 02-08Elias M Fries: Swedish Botanist (mycologicum), dies at 83
- 02-18Peter D Regout: Industrialist (Sphinx, Maastricht), dies at 76
- 02-19Charles F Daubigny: French restaurateur / painter, dies at 61
- 02-22Franz Hunten: Composer, dies at 84
- 03-16William Banting: English undertaker
- 03-24Albin Masek: Composer, dies at 73
- 03-27Dobri Voynikov: Composer, dies at 44
- 03-27George Gilbert Scott: Architect
- 04-01Eugene Gautier: Composer, dies at 56
- 04-05Wilhelm Speyer: Composer, dies at 87
- 04-12William M "Boss" Tweed: New York politician
- 04-21Temistocle Solera: Composer, dies at 62
- 04-23Friedrich Preller: Landscape painter
- 05-22Franz von Holstein: Composer, dies at 52
- 05-27Carlo Marsili: Composer, dies at 49
- 06-06Gottfried Herrmann: Composer, dies at 70
- 06-12Hendrik J Jut: Dutch murderer [Head of Jut], dies at 26
- 07-02Francois-Emmanuel-Joseph Bazin: Composer, dies at 61
- 07-17Aleardo [Gaetano] Aleardi: Italian / Aust Poet (Tre Fiumi), dies at 65
- 07-23Miguel Hilarion Eslava y Elizondo: Composer, dies at 70
- 08-17Richard Upjohn: US architect
- 08-23Adolf Fredrik Lindblad: Composer, dies at 77
- 09-09Jacobo Ficher: Composer, dies at 18
- 09-12Friedrich August von Alberti: Geologist (Triasic Age), dies at 83
- 10-25Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer: Composer, dies at 89
- 11-28Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti: Composer, dies at 78