Category Archives: 1870s

Great Chicago Fire erupts on the city’s southwest side 150 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 8 1871)

1870s


Video: 'The Fire Begins — The Great Chicago Fire: A Chicago Stories Special'

(Sunday, October 8, 1871, about 8:30 p.m. local time; during the Great Chicago Fire) — The Great Chicago Fire, a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago over three days, started tonight in or around a small barn belonging to the O’Leary family that bordered the alley behind 137 DeKoven Street, a neighborhood southwest of the city center. Continue reading Great Chicago Fire erupts on the city’s southwest side 150 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 8 1871) →

Hiram Rhodes Revels becomes first African-American to sit in Congress 150 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 25 1870)

1870s


Video: 'This Week In History: February 25, 1870'

(Friday, February 25, 1870) — Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, was sworn into the United States Senate today, becoming the first African-American to sit in Congress. Continue reading Hiram Rhodes Revels becomes first African-American to sit in Congress 150 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 25 1870) →

Fifteenth Amendment grants African-American men the right to vote 150 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 3 1870)

1870s


Video: 'Sound Smart: The 15th Amendment | History'

(Thursday, February 3, 1870, during the Reconstruction era) — The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” was ratified today as the third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments. Continue reading Fifteenth Amendment grants African-American men the right to vote 150 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 3 1870) →

Thomas Edison invents first practical electric light bulb 140 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 22 1879)

1870s


Video: 'Documentary | Thomas Edison - The Wizard of Menlo Park' (light bulb at 33:38; Oct. 22, 1879, at 44:35)

(Wednesday, October 22, 1879, 1:30 a.m. local time) — After 14 months of experiments, Thomas Edison invented the first practical electric incandescent lamp today at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Continue reading Thomas Edison invents first practical electric light bulb 140 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 22 1879) →

U.S. Vice President Alben W. Barkley born 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 24 1877)

1870s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Remember the Veep: The Life of Alben Barkley'

(Saturday, November 24, 1877) — Alben W. Barkley, the 35th Vice President of the United States who served under President Harry S. Truman (1949-1953), was born today in Lowes, Kentucky. Continue reading U.S. Vice President Alben W. Barkley born 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 24 1877) →

Edison announces he’s invented the phonograph 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 21 1877)

1870s


Video: 'The Phonograph | Thomas Edison's Favorite Invention'

(Wednesday, November 21, 1877) — American inventor Thomas Edison announced today his invention of the phonograph, the first device to be able to reproduce the recorded sound, considered his first great invention. Continue reading Edison announces he’s invented the phonograph 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 21 1877) →

Hayes publicly sworn in as 19th U.S. President, Wheeler as 19th VP 140 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 5 1877)

1870s, U.S. Presidents

(Monday, March 5, 1877, midday local time) — Former Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio was publicly inaugurated today as the 19th President of the United States on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., with Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite administering the oath of office. Continue reading Hayes publicly sworn in as 19th U.S. President, Wheeler as 19th VP 140 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 5 1877) →

Hayes secretly sworn-in as 19th U.S. President 140 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 3 1877)

1870s, U.S. Presidents

(Saturday, March 3, 1877, 7:05 p.m. local time) — Because outgoing President Ulysses S. Grant feared an insurrection by supporters of Samuel J. Tilden following the Compromise of 1877 and with the traditional inauguration day of March 4 on a Sunday, President-elect Rutherford B. Hayes took the oath of office as the 19th President of the United States tonight in a secret ceremony in the Red Room of the White House.

Grant was still technically President through Sunday, March 4, at noon, and remained in the White House until Hayes was formally inaugurated on Monday, March 5.

Hayes declared winner in disputed 1876 presidential election this hour 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 2 1877)

1870s, U.S. Presidents

(Friday, March 2, 1877, 4:10 a.m. local time) — Just three days before his public inauguration, Republican presidential candidate Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election today, defeating the Democrat Samuel J. Tilden in one of the most disputed elections in American history. Continue reading Hayes declared winner in disputed 1876 presidential election this hour 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 2 1877) →

‘Chopsticks’ deposited at British Museum 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 3 1877)

1870s


Video: 'The Celebrated Chop Waltz'

(Saturday, February 3, 1877) — The song “Chopsticks,” a simple, widely known waltz for the piano written by 16-year-old Euphemia Allen under the pseudonym Arthur de Lulli, was deposited today at the British Museum under the title “The Celebrated Chop Waltz.”