1887

Events in 1887 52

• 1803 – 1887 John Ericsson (1803-1887) Died 8 March 1887, aged 83 John Ericsson was a Swedish-American engineer and inventor best known for designing the ironclad warship USS Monitor, which fought the CSS Virginia in the American Civil War's first battle between ironclads. He also contributed to the development of the screw propeller for ships. He emigrated to the United States in 1839 and spent the rest of his career there.
• 1811 – 1887 François Achille Bazaine (1811-1887) Died 23 September 1887, aged 76 François Achille Bazaine was a French Marshal who commanded French forces besieged at Metz during the Franco-Prussian War, surrendering with over 170,000 troops in 1870. He was later court-martialed and convicted of treason for the surrender, though he escaped from prison and lived out his life in exile in Spain. His case remains one of the most controversial in French military history.
• 1812 – 1887 Alfred Krupp (1812-1887) Died 14 July 1887, aged 75 Alfred Krupp was a German industrialist who transformed his family's steelworks in Essen into one of the world's largest arms manufacturers, supplying cannon and armaments to numerous nations. Under his leadership, Krupp became synonymous with German heavy industry and military technology. He was known for paternalistic labor policies alongside aggressive business expansion.
• 1813 – 1887 Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) Died 8 March 1887, aged 73 Henry Ward Beecher was an American Congregationalist minister and abolitionist known for his oratory and social reform advocacy, including support for the Underground Railroad. He was a prominent public figure in Brooklyn, New York, and a leading voice against slavery before the Civil War. His later life was marked by a highly publicized adultery scandal that damaged his reputation.
• 1820 – 1887 Jenny Lind (1820-1887) Died 2 November 1887, aged 67 Jenny Lind was a Swedish operatic soprano known as the "Swedish Nightingale," celebrated for her performances across Europe and a highly successful American tour promoted by P.T. Barnum in the early 1850s. She later retired from the stage to focus on charitable work and teaching. She died in England, where she had settled.
• 1824 – 1887 Gustav Kirchhoff (1824-1887) Died 17 October 1887, aged 63 Gustav Kirchhoff was a German physicist who formulated Kirchhoff's circuit laws for electrical networks and, with Robert Bunsen, pioneered spectroscopic analysis to identify chemical elements. Their work laid the foundation for astrophysical spectroscopy, allowing scientists to determine the composition of stars. He spent much of his career at the University of Heidelberg and later Berlin.
• 1833 – 1887 Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) Died 27 February 1887, aged 54 Alexander Borodin was a Russian chemist and composer, a member of the group of composers known as "The Mighty Handful." He is best known for the opera Prince Igor, left unfinished at his death, and for orchestral works including the Polovtsian Dances. He collapsed suddenly during a party at his home in Saint Petersburg.
• 1849 – 1887 Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) Died 19 November 1887, aged 38 Emma Lazarus was an American poet best known for her sonnet "The New Colossus," written to help raise funds for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Its closing lines, including "Give me your tired, your poor," later became closely associated with American immigration. She was also an early advocate for Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Russia.
• 1887 – 1975 Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) Died 5 April 1975, aged 87 Chiang Kai-shek led the Republic of China's Nationalist government and, after defeat in the Chinese Civil War, ruled Taiwan from 1949 until his death. He remained a key Cold War ally of the United States and head of the Kuomintang. His son Chiang Ching-kuo eventually succeeded him as Taiwan's leader.
• 1887 – 1961 Chico Marx (1887-1961) Died 11 October 1961, aged 74 American comedian and actor, the eldest of the Marx Brothers, known for his piano playing and Italian-accented comic character in the group's films. He appeared in classics including Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera.
• 1887 – 1934 Ernst Röhm (1887-1934) Died 1 July 1934, aged 46 Co-founder and chief of staff of the Nazi SA stormtroopers. He was arrested and shot on Hitler's orders during the Night of the Long Knives.
• 1887 – 1953 Jim Thorpe (1887-1953) Died 28 March 1953, aged 65 Jim Thorpe was an American athlete of Sac and Fox descent who won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics before also playing professional football and baseball. He was stripped of his Olympic medals over amateurism rules, a decision posthumously reversed decades later. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-around athletes in history.
• 1887 – 1920 John Reed (1887-1920) Died 17 October 1920, aged 32 American journalist and communist activist best known for "Ten Days That Shook the World," his firsthand account of the Russian Revolution. He co-founded the Communist Labor Party in the United States. He died of typhus in Moscow and was buried at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
• 1887 – 1947 Jozef Tiso (1887-1947) Died 18 April 1947, aged 59 Jozef Tiso was a Slovak Catholic priest and politician who was president of the Nazi-allied Slovak Republic from 1939 to 1945. His government deported tens of thousands of Jews. He was convicted of treason and war crimes and hanged in Bratislava.
• 1887 – 1927 Juan Gris (1887-1927) Died 11 May 1927, aged 40 Juan Gris was a Spanish painter based in Paris. He was one of the leading artists of Synthetic Cubism, alongside Picasso and Braque.
• 1887 – 1948 Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948) Died 8 January 1948, aged 60 Kurt Schwitters, the German artist known for his Merz collages assembled from discarded materials, died on January 8, 1948, in exile in England. He had fled Nazi Germany, where his work was condemned as degenerate art. His collage and installation techniques influenced later movements including assemblage and pop art.
• 1887 – 1968 Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) Died 2 October 1968, aged 81 The French-American artist, whose readymade works such as "Fountain" challenged conventional definitions of art, died at his home near Paris. He was a central figure in the Dada and conceptual art movements. His influence on later twentieth-century art is difficult to overstate.
• 1887 – 1940 Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) Died 10 June 1940, aged 52 Jamaican political activist who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and led the Pan-Africanist "Back to Africa" movement. He died in London after a series of strokes.
• 1887 – 1972 Marianne Moore (1887-1972) Died 5 February 1972, aged 84 Moore was an American modernist poet known for her precise, witty verse and won the Pulitzer Prize for her "Collected Poems" in 1952. She was also a well-known cultural figure in New York literary circles late in life. She died in New York City.
• 1887 Nikola Tesla develops the AC induction motor Prototype built in New York Inventor Nikola Tesla builds his first working alternating-current induction motor, using rotating magnetic fields rather than a commutator. The design forms the basis of the patents he files the following year and licenses to George Westinghouse. It becomes central to the practical adoption of AC power systems.
• 1887 – 1943 Nikolai Vavilov (1887-1943) Died 26 January 1943, aged 55 Nikolai Vavilov was a Soviet botanist and geneticist who identified the centres of origin of cultivated plants and built a world-leading seed bank. He opposed Trofim Lysenko's pseudoscience, and in 1940 he was arrested. He died of starvation in Saratov prison.
• 1887 – 1933 Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle (1887-1933) Died 29 June 1933, aged 46 One of the biggest stars of silent film comedy, his career was wrecked by the 1921 Virginia Rappe scandal despite his acquittal. He died of a heart attack just as his comeback was starting.
• 1887 – 1915 Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) Died 23 April 1915, aged 27 English poet Rupert Brooke died of blood poisoning from an infected mosquito bite while serving with the Royal Naval Division near the Greek island of Skyros. His war sonnets, especially "The Soldier," made him one of the era's most celebrated poets.
• 1887 – present Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The first publication of the most famous detective in literature.
• 1887 – 1920 Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920) Died 26 April 1920, aged 32 Self-taught Indian mathematician who made extraordinary contributions to number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions despite having almost no formal training. His collaboration with G. H. Hardy at Cambridge produced results still studied today. He died of illness shortly after returning to India.
• 1887 – 1944 Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1887-1944) Died 12 July 1944, aged 56 US Army brigadier general and eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt. He was the only general to land with the first wave on D-Day, at Utah Beach. He died of a heart attack in Normandy weeks later and was awarded the Medal of Honor.
• 1887 – 1945 Vidkun Quisling (1887-1945) Died 24 October 1945, aged 58 Quisling led a Norwegian fascist party and headed a puppet government installed under German occupation. His name became a lasting synonym for a traitor who collaborates with an occupying power. He was convicted of treason after the war and executed by firing squad.
• 1887 – 1945 Wilhelm Canaris (1887-1945) Died 9 April 1945, aged 57 Canaris headed the Abwehr, Nazi Germany's military intelligence service, while secretly aiding resistance efforts against Hitler. He was implicated in the July 1944 assassination plot and executed at Flossenbürg concentration camp. His double role remains a subject of historical debate.
• 1887 – 1966 William Frawley (1887-1966) Died 3 March 1966, aged 79 William Frawley was an American actor best known for playing Fred Mertz on the television series I Love Lucy. He died of a heart attack in Hollywood on 3 March 1966.
• 1887 Battle of Dogali fought in Eritrea Ethiopian forces defeat an Italian garrison An Ethiopian force under Ras Alula Engida ambushes and destroys an Italian column near Dogali in the Eritrean highlands, killing around 430 Italian soldiers. The defeat shocks public opinion in Italy and slows, but does not halt, Italian colonial expansion in the region. Italy formally establishes the colony of Eritrea the following year.
• 1887 – 1982 Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) Died 20 December 1982, aged 95 Polish-American pianist regarded as one of the greatest concert pianists of the 20th century. He died in Geneva after a career spanning more than eight decades.
• 1887 Eiffel Tower construction begins Work starts on Gustave Eiffel's Paris landmark Construction begins on the Eiffel Tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, designed by engineer Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Exposition Universelle. The wrought-iron lattice tower will become the tallest man-made structure in the world upon completion. It faces criticism from artists and writers who consider the design an eyesore.
• 1887 Interstate Commerce Act signed into law Creates the Interstate Commerce Commission President Grover Cleveland signs the Interstate Commerce Act, establishing the Interstate Commerce Commission as the first independent federal regulatory agency in the United States. The law requires railroad rates to be "reasonable and just" and prohibits discriminatory pricing practices. It sets a precedent for federal economic regulation that later agencies would follow.
• 1887 Verdi's opera Otello premieres Premiere at Teatro alla Scala in Milan Giuseppe Verdi's opera Otello, based on Shakespeare's play, premieres at La Scala in Milan to great acclaim. It is Verdi's first new opera in over a decade and is considered one of his finest achievements, notable for its through-composed structure. Composer Arrigo Boito wrote the libretto.
• 1887 Dawes Act signed into law US policy divides tribal lands into individual allotments President Grover Cleveland signs the Dawes Act, authorizing the federal government to break up communally held Native American tribal lands into individual allotments. Surplus land not allotted to tribal members is opened to sale to non-Native settlers. The policy leads to the loss of tens of millions of acres of Native-held land over subsequent decades.
• 1887 Emin Pasha Relief Expedition departs for Africa Henry Morton Stanley leads mission to relieve besieged governor Explorer Henry Morton Stanley departs from England leading an expedition to relieve Emin Pasha, the besieged governor of Equatoria province in Sudan, cut off by the Mahdist uprising. The expedition crosses the Congo basin under harsh conditions, suffering heavy losses. It becomes one of the last major European exploration ventures into interior Africa.
• 1887 Reinsurance Treaty signed between Germany and Russia Secret pact aims to preserve peace between the two empires Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiates the Reinsurance Treaty, a secret agreement between the German and Russian empires pledging neutrality if either is attacked by a third power. The treaty is designed to prevent Russia from allying with France against Germany. It lapses in 1890 after Bismarck's dismissal, and is not renewed.
• 1887 Queen Victoria celebrates her Golden Jubilee Fifty years marking her accession to the British throne Queen Victoria marks fifty years since her accession with a Golden Jubilee, attending a thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey attended by representatives from across the British Empire. Celebrations include a state banquet with kings and princes from around the world. The jubilee showcases Britain's imperial power at its height.
• 1887 Rocky Mountains Park Act creates Canada's first national park Banff becomes a protected reserve The Canadian Parliament passes the Rocky Mountains Park Act, formally establishing Banff as Canada's first national park around hot springs discovered in the Rockies. The reserve, initially a small area, expands substantially in later decades. It becomes a model for national park systems elsewhere in the country.
• 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment conducted Failed detection of the luminiferous ether Physicists Albert Michelson and Edward Morley perform their interferometer experiment at Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, attempting to detect Earth's motion through the hypothetical luminiferous ether. The experiment finds no significant difference in the speed of light in different directions, contradicting ether theory predictions. The null result later becomes key evidence supporting Einstein's special relativity.
• 1887 Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg becomes Prince of Bulgaria Elected by the Bulgarian National Assembly Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is elected Prince of Bulgaria by the Bulgarian National Assembly, filling the throne vacated by Alexander of Battenberg's abdication. His election is not initially recognized by the Great Powers, including Russia. He rules Bulgaria until 1918, later taking the title of Tsar.
• 1887 – 1985 Marc Chagall Surrealism · Belarus / France Marc Chagall (July 7, 1887 – March 28, 1985) was a Russian-French artist whose dreamlike, colourful paintings drew on Jewish folklore and his Belarusian childhood. He lived to 97 and worked across painting, stained glass and tapestry.
• 1887 US Championships 1887 Men: Richard Sears · Women: Ellen Hansell First women's US Championships. Sears' 7th consecutive title.
• 1887 – 1979 Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) Died 22 October 1979, aged 92 French composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger, who trained generations of leading composers including Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, and Astor Piazzolla, died in Paris. She was also one of the first women to conduct major orchestras in the US and Europe. She died on 22 October 1979.
• 1887 Yellow River floods Henan province One of the deadliest floods in recorded history The Yellow River breaches its dikes near Zhengzhou in Henan province, China, inundating thousands of square miles of farmland and towns. Estimates of the death toll range from several hundred thousand to nearly two million, from drowning, disease, and the ensuing famine. It ranks among the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded.
• 1887 – 1965 Le Corbusier Modern Architecture Born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, he was a pioneer of modern architecture and urban planning.
• 1887 Heinrich Hertz confirms existence of electromagnetic waves Experimental proof of Maxwell's theory Physicist Heinrich Hertz conducts experiments at the University of Karlsruhe demonstrating the existence of electromagnetic waves, confirming predictions made by James Clerk Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. He generates and detects radio waves using a spark-gap transmitter and receiver. The discovery lays the groundwork for wireless telegraphy and radio technology.
• 1887 – 1976 L.S. Lowry (1887-1976) Died 23 February 1976, aged 88 L. S. Lowry, the English painter known for industrial scenes of northern England populated by simplified 'matchstick' figures, died in Glossop. His work captured the urban landscapes of Salford and Manchester during the twentieth century. A major retrospective of his paintings followed his death.
• 1887 Haymarket anarchists executed in Chicago Four men hanged following 1886 bombing convictions Four anarchists convicted in connection with the 1886 Haymarket Square bombing are hanged in Chicago after appeals fail, despite international protests over the fairness of their trial. The executions make martyrs of the men within the international labor movement. The case later inspires the designation of May Day as an international workers' holiday.
• 1887 – 1986 Georgia O'Keeffe Modernism · USA Georgia O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American Modernist painter known for her large-scale close-ups of flowers and New Mexico landscapes. She lived to 98 and is considered the mother of American modernism.
• 1887 – 1969 Boris Karloff (1887-1969) English actor, born William Henry Pratt, whose Frankenstein's monster made him the defining star of classic horror films.
• 1887 Sadi Carnot elected President of France Succeeds Jules Grévy after resignation scandal Sadi Carnot is elected President of France by the National Assembly following the resignation of Jules Grévy, who stepped down after a scandal involving his son-in-law selling Legion of Honour decorations. Carnot's election ends months of political turmoil known as the Wilson affair. He serves as president until his assassination in 1894.