The brothers John and Simeon Reno staged what is generally believed to be the first train robbery in American history. Their take was $13,000 from an Ohio and Mississippi railroad train in Jackson County, Indiana.
Also considered the first train robbery by some, a similar train burglary exactly nine months before. In early 1866, bandits entered an Adams Express car in route to Boston from New York and stole over half a million dollars from safes on the unoccupied car. As in the Seymour case, detectives from the Pinkerton National Detective Agency quickly identified the criminals. More
The United States formally takes possession of Alaska from Russia in a ceremony known as the Alaska Purchase. The $7.2 million purchase, ended Russia’s presence in North America and ensured U.S. access to the Pacific northern rim.
Skeptics had dubbed the purchase of Alaska “Seward’s Folly,” but the former Secretary of State was vindicated when a major gold deposit was discovered in the Yukon in 1896, and Alaska became the gateway to the Klondike gold fields. The strategic importance of Alaska was finally recognized in World War II. Alaska became a state on January 3, 1959. More
Cuba Independence Day. It Commemorates the beginning of the 10 years unsuccessful war of independence from Spain from 1868-78. and the the U.S. intervention in 1898 that ended the Spanish colonial presence in the Americas. Following the war, U.S. forces occupied Cuba until 1902, when the United States allowed a new Cuban government to take full control of the state’s affairs.
As a condition of independence, the United States forced Cuba to grant a continuing U.S. right to intervene on the island in accordance with the Platt Amendment. The amendment was repealed in 1934 when the United States and Cuba signed a Treaty of Relations.
The most devastating forest fire in American history swept through Northeast Wisconsin, claiming 1200+ lives. It scorched 1.2 to 1.5 million acres. The fire skipped over the waters of Green Bay to burn parts of Door and Kewaunee counties. The fire also burned 16 other towns, but the damage in Peshtigo was the worst.
The city of Peshtigo was gone in an hour and 800 lives were lost. The damage estimate was at $169 million. The Peshtigo Fire usually receives little note outside the region because another horrific fire happened the same night -- the great Chicago Fire. More
The Great Chicago Fire starts at about 9:00 p.m. in or around a small barn belonging to Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. The fire quickly spread and lasted two days. It killed about 300 people, and destroyed over 17,000 buildings, leaving 100,000 homeless. The estimated damage costs were $200 million dollars (roughly $4 billion in 2020 dollars). The real cause of the fire has never been determined by city officials. More
Joseph Glidden applies for a patent for a reinforced wire fence that placed the barbs along a wire and then twisted another wire around it to keep the barbs in place, an improvement over Michael Kelly's 1868 invention that "twisted two wires together to form a cable for barbs.
Nine patents for improvements to wire fencing were granted by the U.S. Patent Office to American inventors, beginning with Michael Kelly and ending with Joseph Glidden in November 24 1874 when he was 61 years old. By the time of his death in 1906, he was one of the richest men in America. More
Haiphong cyclone, Over 300,000 people perished in one of most catastrophic natural disasters in history. The cyclone smashed into the Gulf of Tonkin causing widespread destruction as tidal waves flooded the city of Haiphong in northeastern Vietnam.
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, USA, involving the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. More
The Orient Express train makes its inaugural run leaving Paris with 40 passengers for Constantinople, (as the city of Istanbul was still commonly called in the west) and ending in Giurgiu, Romania, with stops in Munich and Vienna.
At Giurgiu, passengers were ferried across the Danube to Ruse, Bulgaria, to pick up another train to Varna where they were then ferried by steamship across the Black Sea to Constantinople. With this one trip, the notion of long-distance travel was completely redefined. All original Orient Express routes finally retired in 2009 after almost 100 years of the most famous train journeys in the world. More
The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the United States, is dedicated on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. President Grover Cleveland oversaw the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in front of thousands of spectators. More
The Royal Charter for The British South Africa Company (BSAC) is granted by Queen Victoria, marking the start of British colonization activities in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia).
President Benjamin Harrison signed the law that created Yosemite National Park. More
The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited by students in many U.S. public schools as part of the Columbus Day celebration.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is published. A collection of 12 Sherlock Holmes short stories had been previously published in monthly installments in The Strand Magazine. Arthur Conan Doyle was a large contributor to the magazine with novels, short stories, poems and articles.
The last Spanish troops in Puerto Rico sail back to Spain and the US flag is raised in most public buildings on the island formalizing U.S. control of the former Spanish colony. A military government was established under the command of General John R. Brooke.
On August 12, Spain and the United States had agreed to an armistice; on September 13, the Protocol of Peace was ratified; and on December 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Spanish-American War. and giving the United States full control over all former Spanish military installations as well as some 120,000 acres of land formerly owned by the Spanish Crown on the island. Puerto Rico remained under direct control of US military forces until the US Congress ratified the Foraker Law on April 12th, 1900, bringing a civilian government to the island. More Spanish - American War Historical Timeline
African-American inventor Isaac R. Johnson patented a revolutionary folding bicycle frame on October 10, 1899 (U.S. Patent No. 634,823). His design allowed the bicycle to be separated or folded for easier storage and transportation and it contributed to the popularity of cycling during that era.
The Second Boer War begins between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics in South Africa.
USS Holland (SS-1) the first US Submersible Torpedo Boat, is commissioned by the Navy, Lt. Harry H. Caldwell in command in Newport, R.I. The USS Holland, was named for its designer John Philip Holland. It had been launched in 1898 by Crescent Shipyards, Elizabeth, N.J. More
Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to successfully take the plunge over Niagara Falls inside an oak barrel. She was a 63-year-old at the time. Seventy one years earlier, on October 17,1829, Sam Patch, had survived jumping down the Horseshoe Falls of the Niagara River, on the Canadian side of the border. More