Timeline May 1875

Events in May 1875 4

• 1875 Critique of the Gotha Programme Critique of German socialist unity platform In 1875, Marx wrote a private critique of the draft programme for the unification of German socialist parties at Gotha, objecting to its concessions to Lassallean socialism. The critique, published posthumously, contains Marx's famous formulation "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs," and his distinction between lower and higher phases of communist society.
• 1875 Treaty of Saint Petersburg signed Japan and Russia exchange Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands Japan ceded its claims to Sakhalin Island in exchange for Russia's recognition of Japanese sovereignty over the Kuril Islands. The treaty settled a long-running territorial dispute between the two empires in the North Pacific.
• 1875 Whiskey Ring scandal exposed Treasury raids uncover a distillers' tax fraud conspiracy Treasury agents raided distilleries across the Midwest, exposing a conspiracy among distillers and federal officials to evade liquor taxes and funnel the proceeds to the Republican Party. The scandal implicated President Grant's own private secretary, Orville Babcock, though he was acquitted.
• 1875 Metre Convention signed Seventeen nations establish an international system of measurement Delegates from seventeen countries signed the Metre Convention in Paris, creating the International Bureau of Weights and Measures to maintain uniform standards for the metre and kilogram. The treaty laid the institutional groundwork for the later International System of Units.